Devils Slip Nearer To The Brink
NHL
The Hartford Whalers nudged New Jersey closer to becoming the first Stanley Cup champion in 26 years to miss the playoffs by defeating the Devils 1-0 Thursday night at East Rutherford, N.J.
Goaltender Jason Muzzatti had 40 saves for his first career shutout, while Nelson Emerson provided the margin of victory by deflecting a Geoff Sanderson power-play shot past Martin Brodeur with 13:13 to play.
The loss extended the Devils’ winless streak to four games (0-3-1) and left them two points behind Tampa Bay (82 points) in the race for the final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference. New Jersey has five games left, one fewer than the Lightning.
Muzzatti was both phenomenal and lucky in blanking the Devils. But he was at his best in the opening minutes of the third period, when New Jersey had a two-man advantage for the opening 1:54 and then another power play immediately thereafter.
Hartford 0 0 1 - 1
New Jersey 0 0 0 - 0
First period-None. Second period-None. Third period-1, Hartford, Emerson 26 (Sanderson, Brown), 6:47 (pp).
Shots on goal-Hartford 7-6-7-20. New Jersey 13-15-12-40.Power-play opp.-Hartford 1 of 3; New Jersey 0 of 6.Goalies-Hartford, Muzzatti 4-5-3 (40 shots-40 saves). New Jersey, Brodeur 31-28-12 (20-19).A-17,757 (19,040).
Flyers 4, Rangers 1
Philadelphia
Eric Lindros scored twice, and Kevin Haller tallied Philadelphia’s fourth short-handed goal in the last two games as the Flyers beat New York.
It was a costly loss for the Rangers, as captain and leading scorer Mark Messier left the game in the second period with bruised ribs.
N.Y. Rangers 0 1 0 - 1
Philadelphia 2 1 1 - 4
First period-1, Philadelphia, Lindros 45 (LeClair, Desjardins), 10:56. 2, Philadelphia, Haller 5 (Brind’Amour), 15:27 (sh). Second period-3, Philadelphia, Druce 10, 14:42. 4, New York, Kovalev 23 (Leetch), 17:21. Third period-5, Philadelphia, Lindros 46 (Podein, Brind’Amour), 19:53 (en).
Shots on goal-New York 7-12-8-27. Philadelphia 8-13-7-28.Power-play opp.-New York 0 of 5; Philadelphia 0 of 8.Goalies-New York, Healy 17-13-11 (27 shots-24 saves). Philadelphia, Hextall 29-11-7 (27-26).A-17,380 (17,380).
Maple Leafs 3, Blues 1
St. Louis
St. Louis lost Wayne Gretzky to a lower back strain, then fell to Toronto as Mike Gartner gave the Maple Leafs a goal and an assist.
The Blues began the game without goalie Grant Fuhr, Brett Hull and Shayne Corson, all nursing various injuries.
Gretzky joined the list when he limped off the ice at 8:35 of the second period.
Gretzky is likely to be sidelined from a week to 10 days. He has eight goals and 13 assists in 17 games since joining the Blues in a trade from Los Angeles.
Toronto 2 1 0 - 3
St. Louis 0 1 0 - 1
First period-1, Toronto, Schneider 13 (Sundin, Clark), 1:10. 2, Toronto, Gartner 33 (Muller, Murphy), 3:59. Second period-3, Toronto, Convery 2 (Gartner, Macoun), 7:22. 4, St. Louis, MacInnis 17 (Creighton), 13:20. Third period-None.
Shots on goal-Toronto 9-6-6-21. St. Louis 17-15-8-40.Power-play opp.-Toronto 0 of 6; St. Louis 0 of 6.Goalies-Toronto, Potvin 28-25-11 (40 shots-39 saves). St. Louis, Casey 2-2-0 (21-18).A-20,639 (19,260).
Bruins 3, Canadiens 3
Boston
Saku Koivu scored a short-handed goal with 25 seconds left in regulation to earn Montreal a tie with Boston.
The result moved Montreal into fourth place in the Eastern Conference, tied with idle Florida at 87 points apiece. Without Koivu’s goal, the Bruins would have moved into a fifth-place tie with the Canadiens at 86.
Montreal 1 1 1 0 - 3
Boston 1 2 0 0 - 3
First period-1, Montreal, Turgeon 38 (Kovalenko, Groleau), 8:40. 2, Boston, Donato 21 (Heinze), 18:50.
Second period-3, Montreal, Damphousse 37 (Rucinsky), 1:00. 4, Boston, Sutter 4 (Reid, Moger), 5:08. 5, Boston, Tocchet 27 (Bourque, Oates), 11:11 (pp).
Third period-6, Montreal, Koivu 20 (Damphousse), 19:36 (sh).
Overtime-None.
Shots on goal-Montreal 7-12-9-0-28. Boston 12-10-16-4-42.Power-play opp.-Montreal 0 of 5; Boston 1 of 8.Goalies-Montreal, Jablonski 5-8-6 (42 shots-39 saves). Boston, Ranford (13-11), Billington 10-13-3 (4:35 second, 15-14).A-17,565 (17,565).
Penguins 4, Capitals 2
Pittsburgh
Mario Lemieux broke a tie with 1:55 left, and Pittsburgh ended Washington’s seven-game unbeaten streak.
Washington 0 2 0 - 2
Pittsburgh 1 1 2 - 4
First period-1, Pittsburgh, Foster 2 (Smolinski, Kevin Miller), 10:41 (pp). Second period-2, Washington, Pivonka 16 (Ustorf, Bondra), 3:26. 3, Pittsburgh, Lemieux 65 (Kevin Miller, Leroux), 11:56. 4, Washington, Johansson 10 (Pivonka, Bondra), 13:25. Third period-5, Pittsburgh, Lemieux 66 (Smolinski, Foster), 18:05. 6, Pittsburgh, Tamer 3 (Wilkinson, Barrasso), 19:06 (en).
Shots on goal-Washington 7-10-9-26. Pittsburgh 6-7-5-18.Power-play opp.-Washington 0 of 4; Pittsburgh 1 of 4.Goalies-Washington, Carey 33-22-9 (17 shots-14 saves). Pittsburgh, Barrasso 28-14-2 (26-24).A-17,181 (17,181).
Sharks 5, Oilers 3
San Jose, Calif.
San Jose scored four first-period goals then held on to beat Edmonton.
Edmonton 0 2 1 - 3
San Jose 4 0 1 - 5
First period-1, San Jose, Dahlen 15 (Tancill, Sykora), 5:07. 2, San Jose, Turcotte 21 (Nolan), 9:22 (sh). 3, San Jose, Nolan 33 (Friesen, Racine), 15:32. 4, San Jose, Odgers 12 (Racine, Bodger), 16:02. Second period-5, Edmonton, Marchant 17 (de Vries, Marchment), 3:08. 6, Edmonton, Marchant 18 (Marchment), 14:38. Third period-7, Edmonton, Manderville 3, 9:01 (sh). 8, San Jose, Turcotte 22 (Baker), 19:08 (en).
Shots on goal-Edmonton 9-13-8-30. San Jose 11-7-16-34.Power-play opp.-Edmonton 0 of 3; San Jose 0 of 5.Goalies-Edmonton, Gage 2-7-1 (8 shots-4 saves), Brathwaite (16:02 first, 25-25). San Jose, Irbe 4-8-4 (30-27).A-17,190 (17,190).