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NHL Capsules: Benn's two goals lift Stars past Blue Jackets
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — There are no pushovers at this point in an NHL season — even with a three-goal lead on the road.
Jamie Benn scored twice and Kari Lehtonen had 26 saves to make an early lead stand up in the Dallas Stars' 4-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night. But it was a struggle for a team in the middle of the playoff race against another club headed nowhere.
"It's going to be tough. Every year is, those last 30 games of the year," said Alex Goligoski, who had a goal and an assist for the Stars. "Everybody's fighting for position. And you've got other teams fighting for other reasons, for jobs and whatnot."
Stephane Robidas also had a goal and an assist, and Mike Ribeiro added two assists for the Stars, who began the night 12th in the Western Conference but just two points behind eighth-place Minnesota.
Up 3-0 barely 21 minutes in, it was still a battle as the Blue Jackets scored two power-play goals in the second period and then threatened to score several times down the stretch.
Columbus had several chances to get the tying goal in the final period. With 6 minutes left, Jeff Carter, who had goals in his last two games, hit the post on a hard shot from the right hash. Fedor Tyutin was just wide with another big slap shot with just over a minute remaining and Lehtonen smothered R.J. Umberger's redirect attempt with 29 seconds left.
"I thought he was real good," Stars coach Glen Galutzan said of Lehtonen. "He cleaned a lot of our stuff up. Most of our stuff was self-inflicted."
The Stars hung on to win their fourth in the last six games. The Blue Jackets failed to win their third in a row — something they haven't accomplished all season.
Dallas wasted little time in taking control, scoring twice in the opening 4½ minutes. After a giveaway by Columbus' Samuel Pahlsson handed him the puck in the high slot, Benn wheeled and flicked a rising forehand shot into the top right corner for his 16th of the season.
Then the Blue Jackets lost a player and allowed a goal on the same play. The Stars were swarming when Tomas Vincour's hard slap shot hit Columbus defenseman Marc Methot on the side of his face. The puck dropped almost straight down — where Goligoski was waiting to jam in the rebound.
Bleeding profusely, Methot skated away unaided, pressing a towel to his face to stem the flow. He did not return. After the game, a team spokesman said Methot sustained a broken jaw.
The bad news didn't end there. Forward Jared Boll also broke his foot and will be sidelined for an extensive period.
"It was a great start, getting those two goals was huge," Benn said. "Getting some momentum for our team on the road is big. We definitely want that in the first period."
Still on the power play to start the second period, the Stars pushed the lead to three when Robidas' high-velocity shot from the right point got past goalie Curtis Sanford, who couldn't see the puck due to congestion in front of the net.
Vinny Prospal and Rick Nash scored, and Tyutin and Derick Brassard had two assists apiece for Columbus. The Blue Jackets, 24th in the NHL with a man advantage, scored twice in the second period — both on power plays.
"I liked the way we battled back," Blue Jackets interim coach Todd Richards said. "I liked the way we fought all the way to the end. The problem was, we weren't ready at the start. We dug ourselves a 2-0 hole and we just couldn't overcome that deficit."
Benn closed the scoring on an empty-net goal with less than a second left.
"There's going to be no easy games. We know that," Goligoski said. "I think our work ethic was a lot better tonight. That was good to see."
NOTES: NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman was at the game, coming in hours after the official announcement of the 2013 Winter Classic between Detroit and Toronto at the University of Michigan's "Big House" ... Just 18 days before the trade deadline, scouts from Tampa Bay, St. Louis, Chicago, Vancouver, Montreal, New Jersey, Detroit, Ottawa, Nashville and San Jose were at the game. ... The Stars improved to 16-0-0 when leading after two periods, tied for first in the league. The last time they lost a game in regulation when leading going into the third was Oct. 31, 2009. Since then they are 57-0-5. ... Sanford finished with 31 saves.
Other NHL Capsules
Richards' OT goal gives Rangers win over Lightning
NEW YORK (AP) — Brad Richards scored 2:37 into overtime to give the New York Rangers a 4-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night.
New York's Brian Boyle tied it at 10:13 of the third period, pouncing on a loose puck and driving it past Mathieu Garon.
Steven Stamkos scored his NHL-best 36th goal of the season in the first period and added an assist for Tampa Bay, which has lost three of four. Defenseman Bruno Gervais and Vincent Lecavalier also scored.
Derek Stepan had a goal and an assist, and captain Ryan Callahan added a goal for the Eastern Conference-leading Rangers, who have earned at least one point in six of seven games.
FLYERS 4, MAPLE LEAFS 3
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Claude Giroux and Brayden Schenn scored 1:14 apart in the second period to lift Philadelphia over Toronto.
Scott Hartnell and Max Talbot also had goals for Philadelphia, which snapped a three-game losing streak.
Tyler Bozak scored two goals and Joffrey Lupul had one for the resurgent Maple Leafs, who were 6-2-1 in their previous nine games.
Coming off a 1-0 shootout loss to the New York Islanders on Tuesday night, the Flyers needed this victory to strengthen their hold on fourth place in the Eastern Conference.
Sergei Bobrovsky made 24 saves, including a pad stop on Bozak's hard shot during a 4-on-2 rush with five minutes left.
JETS 3, CAPITALS 2, SO
WASHINGTON (AP) — Winnipeg overcame a two-goal deficit in the final 2:15 of regulation and then prevailed in a shootout for a victory over Washington.
Evander Kane and Dustin Byfuglien awoke a pedestrian Jets attack with power-play goals to get Winnipeg into a tie. Blake Wheeler and Bryan Little scored in the shootout.
Alex Ovechkin had the lone shootout goal for the Capitals. Winnipeg goalie Ondrej Pavelec stopped shots by Alexander Semin and Mathieu Perreault.
All of the game's goals came in the final 10½ minutes of the third period, and all were on power plays. Ovechkin broke a scoreless tie with 10:14 to play, and Semin made it 2-0 with 7:30 remaining.
Pavelec made 32 saves for the Jets. Tomas Vokoun stopped 25 for the Capitals.
BLUES 4, DEVILS 3, SO
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — T.J. Oshie scored the only goal in the shootout and relief goalie Brian Elliott was perfect as St. Louis snapped New Jersey's five-game winning streak.
Oshie, the first shooter in the tiebreaker for the Blues, fooled Johan Hedberg with an off-speed shot that trickled through his pads.
Elliott, who replaced Jaroslav Halak in the second period, stopped Ilya Kovalchuk, Patrik Elias and Zach Parise. Elliott also stopped all 15 shots in regulation and overtime.
Chris Stewart, David Perron and Patrik Berglund scored for the Blues, who are 11-0-2 against the Eastern Conference.
Parise, Adam Henrique and Elias had New Jersey's goals. Hedberg made 23 saves, getting the start because Martin Brodeur sat out after twisting his right ankle on Tuesday in a 1-0 shutout of the Rangers in New York.
CANADIENS 4, ISLANDERS 2
UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) — Max Pacioretty had three goals, Scott Gomez netted his first in more than a year, and Montreal beat the New York Islanders for its third straight win.
Pacioretty scored in all three periods, and the Canadiens (22-24-9) moved one point ahead of the Islanders (22-23-8) in the tightly packed non-playoff section of the Eastern Conference.
Carey Price made 31 saves for his fifth win in seven games. The Islanders scored twice in the last three minutes, but couldn't get even.
Gomez, who hadn't scored in 24 games this season and since last Feb. 5 overall, tallied 9:50 into the third.
Matt Moulson made it 3-1 with 2:41 remaining on a power play, with an assist from John Tavares, who earned the 100th helper of his NHL career. Islanders captain and defenseman Mark Streit made it 3-2 just 48 seconds later.
PANTHERS 3, KINGS 1
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Sean Bergenheim and Mike Santorelli scored in the second period, sending Florida past Los Angeles.
Matt Bradley also scored for the Panthers and Scott Clemmensen stopped 22 shots. Florida beat the Kings for the first time in eight tries, snapping a seven-game losing streak in the series that dated to Nov. 27, 2002.
Drew Doughty scored for the Kings and Jonathan Quick made nine saves. Quick was replaced by Jonathan Bernier to start the third period, and stopped 11 shots. The Kings have scored one goal or fewer six times in 10 games. They are the lowest-scoring team in the NHL with 119 goals.
SENATORS 4, PREDATORS 3
OTTAWA (AP) — Chris Phillips scored his first two goals of the season in his 1,000th NHL game, Jason Spezza also scored twice, and Ottawa ended a seven-game losing streak by topping Nashville.
Phillips scored his first goal in 75 games 7:50 into the second. He lay on his back on the ice after adding a power-play goal 13:35 into the third to put Ottawa up by two. It was his fourth two-goal game — his first since Nov. 19, 2009, in a 6-2 win over Pittsburgh. That was his 800th career game.
CANUCKS 5, WILD 2
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Henrik and Daniel Sedin both scored against Minnesota for the first time in their careers to lead Vancouver over the Wild.
Maxim Lapierre, Manny Malhotra and Ryan Kesler also scored for the Canucks.
A CT scan earlier in the day on Henrik Sedin's foot came back clean and the Canucks captain played in his 553rd consecutive game, the second-longest active streak in the NHL.
Henrik's foot appeared to be just fine when he flew in behind a Wild defender and gave the Canucks (34-15-5) a 3-1 lead early in the second period.
Dany Heatley scored 13 seconds in for the Wild (25-21-8), the fastest goal to start a game in team history. Devin Setoguchi got Minnesota within 4-2 in the third period.
Minnesota captain Mikko Koivu returned after missing eight games because of a shoulder injury.
COYOTES 2, FLAMES 1, OT
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Shane Doan scored a power-play goal at 3:05 of overtime, and Phoenix beat Calgary to extend its winning streak to a season-high four games.
Doan's game-winner came 58 seconds after Calgary's Mikael Backlund was called for tripping. Phoenix moved into the eighth place in the Western Conference.
Flames defenseman Blair Jones was hit by a shot in front during the overtime power play and was left ineffective. With essentially two Calgary defenders on the ice, Doan was set up by Radim Vrbata at the left circle and ripped a one-timer past goalie Leland Irving.
Taylor Pyatt gave the Coyotes a 1-0 lead in the first period. Olli Jokinen got the Flames even 4:01 into the third.
Other NHL News
Red Wings and Maple Leafs to play at Big House
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs will began 2013 by renewing their rivalry at one of North America's most iconic stadiums.
The two Original Six foes will play in the Winter Classic on Jan. 1 at Michigan Stadium, part of an outdoor showcase that will also include minor league and college hockey games at Detroit's Comerica Park.
Toronto will become the first Canadian team to play in the Winter Classic when the Maple Leafs and Red Wings face off in Ann Arbor, about 45 miles west of Detroit.
"It's Hockeytown versus the center of the hockey universe," Toronto general manager Brian Burke said.
The NHL announced its plan at a news conference Thursday at Comerica, the home of the Detroit Tigers. Later, there was an additional event for media on the field at Michigan Stadium, the football venue that also hosted a college hockey game in 2010 between Michigan and Michigan State. That game set a Guinness World Record for most fans at a hockey game with 104,173.
The league is already talking about setting a new mark when the pros take the ice.
"Even with 115,000 or more tickets available, we still won't have enough to satisfy the demand," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said.
The Detroit-Toronto rivalry dates to 1927. Although they're in different conferences right now, the franchises have played 117 playoff games against each other, second only to the 170 meetings between Boston and Montreal.
Buffalo, Chicago, Boston, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia have all hosted the Winter Classic. With the Detroit area hosting next year, Bettman felt the time was right to include a team from Canada.
"We thought that we had built this event to a level where it made sense to do it, and that even from a U.S. network television standpoint, we were comfortable that it would work well," Bettman said.
There have been two outdoor Heritage Classics north of the border: Montreal at Edmonton in 2003, and Montreal at Calgary last year. The game at Edmonton was the league's first outdoor regular-season game.
Although Detroit hasn't hosted the Winter Classic, the Red Wings played in it in 2009, beating the Chicago Blackhawks 6-4 at Wrigley Field, home of baseball's Chicago Cubs.
While the centerpiece game next January will take place in a college town, the league is making sure to include Detroit, scheduling what it calls the Hockeytown Winter Festival at Comerica. The rink at the ballpark will host college hockey's Great Lakes Invitational, as well as AHL and OHL games. Youth and high school games are also expected, along with the Red Wings-Maple Leafs alumni game.
The Comerica rink will also be open for public skating.
Michigan Stadium has undergone changes recently, such as the addition of permanent lights. Michigan hosted its first primetime football game last season, beating Notre Dame in dramatic fashion.
"This is just an incredible facility," Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon said. "We spent $226 million expanding and renovating it, and we use it eight days a year. To the extent we can come up occasionally with an opportunity — and that's why we're doing weddings and we're doing corporate parties. We're doing a lot of things to try to say, 'You know what, let's use this, let people enjoy it, take advantage of it.'"
The possibility of the NHL breaking attendance records brought out Brandon's competitive side. Michigan's night football game at the Big House drew an NCAA-record crowd of 114,804.
"If they can figure out a way to do better than that, then they will set the record not only for the largest crowd to ever watch a hockey game, but the largest crowd to ever watch anything in this stadium," Brandon said. "And then my job will be to figure out a way to beat it."
Veteran Detroit defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom was at the Big House to promote the Winter Classic. That raised an obvious question: Does it mean he's definitely planning on coming back for a 21st season in 2012-13?
"We'll have to wait and see," Lidstrom said. "It's only one game, but it's an intriguing one."
-- Noah Trister
Bettman believes Blue Jackets will make turnaround
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman says he is aware of how frustrated Columbus Blue Jackets fans are about another losing season. He is also certain that the franchise has the right people in charge to turn the sorry club around.
"I'm aware of the fact that there's a little bit of frustration by some fans in the on-ice performance," he said of the Blue Jackets, 15-32-6 heading into Thursday night's game against Dallas. "I can assure you, because I know it firsthand, there is nobody more frustrated than ownership and management. And nobody more committed to getting it right on the ice than ownership and management. I have no doubt about the future of this franchise because it's in extremely strong, committed hands."
A few hundred Blue Jackets held a rally recently to protest the club's front office, which has overseen a terrible season. The team faltered at the start and hasn't recovered. The Blue Jackets entered their most recent game with just 36 points — 11 behind Edmonton, the team with the next-worst record.
Bettman has chosen to view the angry fans as a plus.
"I saw that somebody was trying to organize a pep rally. But that's a good sign," joked the commissioner, who is often met with jeers when introduced at games to make on-ice presentations. "It's kind of like when you get booed when you go out on the ice, it's better than when it's quiet. I know about that firsthand."
Columbus was recently awarded the 2013 NHL All-Star game. The Blue Jackets, who hosted the draft in 2007, are averaging 14,526 spectators per game this season and 16,236 over their 11 seasons.
Earlier Thursday, Bettman was in Detroit for the announcement of next year's Winter Classic. The game between Original Six rivals, the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs, is expected to draw around 115,000 to Michigan's "Big House."
Bettman was asked if Columbus might someday host a Winter Classic game at 105,000-seat Ohio Stadium.
"We just did the All-Star game," he said with the laugh. "You want more right now?"
Bettman declined to discuss proposed conference realignment, which would most benefit teams such as Detroit and Columbus — the only Eastern time zone teams in the Western Conference. The NHL Players' Association refused to allow the league to implement the new alignment.
"This league has had 13 different types of alignment and scheduling in the regular season since 1966. The playoffs, since the league took control of the Stanley Cup 80-some odd years ago, had 13 different formats," Bettman said. "This is the first time that the union has weighed in. We're not looking for a confrontation right now. We'll deal with this at another time. But ultimately our hope and expectation is that we'll wind up where we want."
Bettman said the NHL was looking into the Blue Jackets' recent last-second loss at Los Angeles in which the clock at Staples Center stopped for more than a second an instant before the winning goal was scored.
The league is in the process of putting high-definition cameras in all goal nets before the playoffs begin this spring. The cameras will have a direct feed to the league's video-review room in Toronto.
-- Rusty Miller
Injured Devils C Zajac still about a month away
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Travis Zajac, working on a second comeback from an Achilles tendon injury, should resume skating in about a week and could be back in the New Jersey Devils' lineup in a month.
Zajac, sidelined most of the season, was first injured during off-ice training in August and underwent surgery. He returned on Dec. 16 and played eight games before soreness in the area of the Achilles tendon flared up. He was shut down after the Devils' game on Jan. 2.
"It appears to be healed the way it should be," Devils General Manager Lou Lamoriello said Thursday night before New Jersey hosted St. Louis. "It's good news."
The 26-year-old center played in a franchise-record 401 consecutive games through the end of last season. Zajac, the Devils' first-round pick in the 2004 draft, was third on the team last season with 44 points. He has 90 goals and 162 assists in 416 career NHL games.
Lamoriello also said center Ryan Carter, out the previous three games with a hand injury, had sustained a non-displaced fracture that didn't require a cast. There is no timetable for his return.
Report says Canada could support up to nine NHL teams
TORONTO (AP) — A new report released by the Conference Board of Canada says the country could support up to nine NHL teams, two more than the current number.
Quebec City and Hamilton are the most suitable cities for having a team, according to the report by the non-profit organization that studies economic trends in the country.
The Conference Board of Canada used four "pillars" in its analysis — population size, market wealth, corporate presence and the level playing field created by a Canadian dollar that is at par with its U.S. counterpart.
It found that "getting and keeping" a second team in Toronto would be difficult.
The Winnipeg Jets became the seventh NHL team in Canada after the Atlanta Thrashers relocated last offseason. The other teams are in Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary.
Church ad urges prayer for last-place Canadiens
MONTREAL (AP) — It's come to this for the Montreal Canadiens: The Catholic church is asking people to pray for the last-place team.
The church has placed an ad in Montreal newspapers in hopes of an eighth-place finish and a spot in the playoffs. The ad shows the Eastern Conference standings with every team listed except the Canadiens. In eighth place, the final playoff spot, it simply says, "Let Us Pray."
Faced with declining church attendance, the Archdiocese of Montreal is known for its clever campaigns to solicit funds each year. The one-time ad was designed by local firm Bos advertising and appeared in French-language newspapers Thursday.
The firm says it has long been considering an ad that combines Quebec's two major religions — Catholicism and the secular passion of hockey. The Canadiens, last in the Northeast Division, are in next-to-last-place in its 15-team conference.
Sedin playing for Canucks against Wild
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Vancouver Canucks captain Henrik Sedin is playing in his 553rd consecutive game Thursday night against the Minnesota Wild.
Sedin's streak, the second-longest active run in the NHL, was in jeopardy after he was hit in the foot Tuesday night by a slap shot from Nashville defenseman Kevin Klein.
Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault said before Thursday's game that a CT scan came back clean. Sedin took part in the morning skate and was a game-time decision. Sedin is fifth in the NHL with 57 points.
Calgary Flames defenseman Jay Bouwmeester is the active consecutive games played leader with 559 entering Thursday.
Koivu returns to Wild lineup after missing eight games
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota Wild captain Mikko Koivu returned to the lineup on Thursday night after missing eight games because of an injured left shoulder.
Koivu was back on the first line, centering Dany Heatley and Devin Setoguchi, in the game against the Vancouver Canucks. Minnesota was 3-4-1 while the center was sidelined. Koivu leads the Wild with 24 assists and is second on the club with 33 points, despite playing in only 41 of the team's 53 games.
Minnesota placed defenseman Clayton Stoner on the injured list with an unspecified leg injury. Wild coach Mike Yeo said his status was week to week.
