Boston and New York emerge victorious in Sunday's two Original Six matchups.
The sudden rise of Devan Dubnyk has been one of the best and most surprising stories of 2014-15. Prior to Sunday's action, he owned a .940 save percentage, a 1.60 goals against average and a 18-3-1 record as a member of the Minnesota Wild.
His 24th start with the Minnesota, however, did not go particularly well: Dubnyk allowed three goals on just 21 shots and took the loss, 3-2. He's yet to receive a night off since being acquired by the Wild, so perhaps the time has come to give the guy some rest.
As good as Minnesota has looked, it's only four points ahead of ninth-place Los Angeles, who not only has a game in hand, but is far better than its record. The Wild have been winning at a ridiculous pace -- one that's certainly unsustainable -- and it may take a similar clip to get into the postseason.
Mike Yeo's group didn't get much help from Ottawa: Somehow, the Calgary Flames recovered from a 0-4 deficit against the Senators to earn a point with a 5-4 shootout defeat. Calgary is now two points behind Minnesota.
Several minutes after that thrilling conclusion in Ontario, the New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks entered overtime in a scoreless affair at the United Center. Chicago, also fighting for positioning in the Western Conference, eventually fell in the extra frame when Derick Brassard beat Corey Crawford.
Scores
Boston Bruins 5, Detroit Red Wings 3
Carolina Hurricanes 7, Edmonton Oilers 4
New Jersey Devils 5, Philadelphia Flyers 2
Colorado Avalanche 3, Minnesota Wild 2
Ottawa Senators 5, Calgary Flames 4 (SO)
New York Rangers 1, Chicago Blackhawks 0 (OT)
Three things we learned
1. The Bruins earned a huge win over the Red Wings
Detroit played a pretty bad game on Sunday. That said, a lot of credit goes to Boston, who has won four of its last five.
Brad Marchand and Daniel Paille have picked up the slack while others struggle. Marchand has five goals in his last four games, while Paille scored twice on Sunday and once on Saturday.
The Bruins are no longer the dominant, Cup-contending team of recent years, but they do appear capable clinching a postseason spot. If Tuukka Rask -- who hasn't looked like himself of late -- can return to form, it may be tough to supplant Boston from the top eight in the Eastern Conference.
2. Canes, Oilers have exciting young talent
The average hockey fan probably didn't have much interest in Sunday's matchup between Edmonton and Carolina. Those who did tune in, however, witnessed a barnburner, one that resembled a video game.
Long story short: the Oilers blew a three-goal lead, the Canes won, 7-4, and each team recorded a hat trick. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Elias Lindholm -- 21 and 20 years old, respectively -- finished the afternoon with three tallies apiece. Oh, and Eric Staal registered four assists.
Neither franchise will contend this spring, but both have some solid young guns to build around. Yes, it's hard to believe in what Edmonton's doing, even with Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle. Nonetheless, Carolina's foundation of Lindholm, Jeff Skinner (who added two goals of his own) and Justin Faulk, among others, is not too shabby.
3. Torey Krug's face had a rough day
GIF: Torey Krug gets manhandled by Henrik Zetterberg http://ift.tt/1AVynH6
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) March 8, 2015
At least he has a new contract to comfort him.
Impact moment
Alex Semin is in the midst of an awful season, but this goal is one of the best we've seen in a long time.
Semin's tally ignited the Hurricanes' big comeback that resulted in a 7-4 victory.
Stat of the night
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, 20-year-old Elias Lindholm is the youngest Hurricane to notch a hat trick since the franchise relocated from Hartford. The only player in franchise history to score a hat trick at a younger age: the team's current general manager Ron Francis, who did so at 19.
Source SBNation.com - All Posts http://ift.tt/1AVyoLg
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