Nightly Scrap: Flyers, Boucher hang on to beat Caps

The Philadelphia Flyers blew their 4-3 lead over the Washington Capitals with only 39 seconds left in the game but still found a way to persevere through overtime and shootout.  Backup goalie Brian Boucher made 33 of 37 saves and all three during the skills competition to edge League-leader in wins Michal Neuvirth.

With this win the Flyers now delivered the Caps their second consecutive loss and break a short losing streak of their own.  Thanks to goals from Mike Richards, Claude Giroux, Andreas Nodl and Jeff Carter, the team now has four points on the Pittsburgh Penguins.  Marcus Johansson, Eric Fehr, Jason Chimera and Nicklas Backstrom all scored for the first place Caps.

In Montreal, Carey Price and the Canadiens shut out the lowly Toronto Maple Leafs, defeating them 2-0.  For Price, this shutout is his third in six games as he has started 19 of the Hab’s 20 games and ties Neuvirth for the lead in wins.  The team’s special teams also shined as Jeff Halpern scored a shorthanded goal and Michael Cammalleri found the back of the net on the powerplay.  Jonas Gustavsson takes the hard luck loss against their first place counterpart, even though he stopped 37 attempts.

Jack Capuano, Scott Gordon, does it even matter? Even Chris Botta of SNY TV/Fanhouse behind the bench could not get this New York Islanders team to win.  Matt Moulson began the scoring with his eighth goal of the year but the scoring dried up after that.  The Florida Panthers would score four second period goals en route to their 4-1 win, keeping the Isles winless over their last 12 games. Tomas Vokoun stopped 39 of 40 for his eighth win of the season.

In what should have been a low-scoring game the Los Angeles Kings defeated the Boston Bruins 4-3 via shootout.  Both starting goalies, Tim Thomas and Jonathan Quick, entered the game with stellar peripherals but were up against some lethal offenses. The Kings jumped out to a 3-0 lead on the strength of their second and third lines before the Bruins scored three to tie the game.  Surprisingly only fourth line center Trevor Lewis finished with more than one point– two assists which were actually his first two on the season.

Since Ryan Miller became a last second scratch, backup Patrick Lalime was forced into action.  Unfortunately for Lalime and the Sabres, they remain winless during his starts this season, falling to Mike Smith and the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1.  Even more surprising is Steven Stamkos not having any part in the team’s scoring, registering three shots and two PIM.

St. Louis native Mike McKenna tried to give the New Jersey Devils a spark playing in his first NHL game since April 11th, 2009.  However, the Devils’ powerplay continued to struggle going 0 for 3 and the penalty kill allowed a pivotal goal from Alex Pietrangelo.  Mattias Tedenby got the team back on top before goals by Eric Brewer and Brad Winchester sealed the game.

Just one night after getting blown out 7-2 to the Calgary Flames, the Chicago Blackhawks reminded the Vancouver Canucks who knocked them out of the playoffs in consecutive years.  Fernando Pisani scored two goals while Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa each finished with three points in the Blackhawks’ 7-1 win over their rivals.  Corey Crawford came within seven minutes of his second career shutout while the team chased starting goalie Roberto Luongo and peppered backup Cory Schneider.

Mathieu Garon and Rick Nash combined for a 3-0 win over the San Jose Sharks.  The captain Nash would score all three Blue Jackets’ goals while the veteran Garon turned aside all 35 shots.  The Blue Jackets have now one three straight games.

In other games around the League, the Nashville Predators defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 2-1 in shootout… The New York Rangers avoided losses in consecutive nights with a 5-2 win over the Minnesota Wild… The Colorado Avalanche have now won four straight with their shootout winner against the Dallas Stars.

That wraps up an incredible night of hockey.  Be sure to check us all day as we bring you the most relevant fantasy hockey news possible.  You can follow us on twitter @dailyfaceoff as we continue to bring you information on starting goalies, team lineups and major injury updates as well as provide in-depth injury updates and player rankings in the future.