Intense Capitals tip Flyers
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In a statement game against a "we don't like them" rival, the unusual happened as Washington Capitals red overcame Philadelphia Flyers orange - on the ice and in the stands.
The host Capitals did some payback last night, beating the Flyers, 2-1, in a shootout to avenge the only loss they've had in a month and ease some of the sting from last year's first-round playoff series loss.
Jose Theodore made 33 saves and stopped all three shots in the shootout, strengthening his claim to the No. 1 goaltender spot. Nicklas Backstrom scored in the first period for the Capitals, and Viktor Kozlov was the only player in the shootout to find the net.
Washington has won seven straight, 12 of 13, and 18 of 20, its last defeat a 7-1 drubbing at Philadelphia Dec. 20. The Capitals improved 18-1-1 at the
The most startling turnabout, however, was the atmosphere in the arena. Throngs traveling from Philadelphia usually match the home fans in noise if not in number, yet for the first time in memory the Flyers faithful were a minor blip when compared to a playoff-intensity Capitals crowd that sold out the building for the sixth straight game and ninth overall.
Last year on this date, Washington had exactly one sellout for the entire season.
Sabres 4, Senators 2 - Ottawa's Jarkko Ruutu bit the gloved thumb of Sabres enforcer Andrew Peters during a first-period altercation, overshadowing host Buffalo's win.
"It's a pretty goofy thing that happened," Peters said. "It's not the injury, it's the incident. Just the fact that that happened it's unfortunate. It's not good for the game of hockey."
Ruutu denied biting Peters, and accused the Sabre of gouging him in the eye. "His fingers were by my mouth but I didn't bite him," Ruutu said.
With a bandage wrapped around his right thumb following the game, Peters said Ruutu broke his skin while biting him through the glove. Peters started the skirmish by rubbing his glove into Ruutu's face behind the play. Replays then showed Ruutu using his teeth to tear Peters's glove off his hand.
Derek Roy had a goal and two assists and Ryan Miller stopped 31 shots in helping Buffalo to its third straight victory.
Flames 5, Sharks 2 - Daymond Langkow scored two goals to help host Calgary surge past San Jose.
The Flames have been one of the NHL's hottest teams since losing, 6-1, to the Sharks Nov. 13.
Calgary has gone 15-4-3 since then, and kept up its strong play with an impressive performance against the NHL's top team.
Hurricanes 3, Devils 2 - Sergei Samsonov scored his 200th career goal and host Carolina withstood a late rally to beat New Jersey.
Ray Whitney and Tuomo Ruutu also scored for the Hurricanes, who extended their winning streak to a season-high four games.
Cam Ward continued his recent surge for the Hurricanes, making 26 saves. The goalie won all three of his starts last week and posted a 1.33 goals against-average with a .944 save percentage.
Penguins 3, Thrashers 0 - Petr Sykora ended host Pittsburgh's seven-game drought without a power-play goal while scoring twice and Evgeni Malkin came out of a slump with three assists for the winners.
The Penguins, outscored, 10-1, in their previous two games, also got captain Sidney Crosby's first power-play goal in 26 games and ended a five-game losing streak.
Red Wings 3, Blue Jackets 0 - Ty Conklin made 23 saves for his eighth career shutout and Pavel Datsyuk had a goal and two assists for host Detroit.
Conklin got his fourth shutout this season and stretched his home scoreless streak to 138 minutes 46 seconds.
Blackhawks 6, Coyotes 0 - Adam Burish started a four-goal outburst in the opening period with his first score of the season, and visiting Chicago routed Phoenix backed by Cristobal Huet's 22 saves.
Panthers 4, Maple Leafs 2 - Stephen Weiss, Ville Peltonen, Michael Frolik, and Gregory Campbell scored to lead visiting Florida.
Avalanche 2, Predators 1 - Wojtek Wolski scored both goals for visiting Colorado.
Ducks 3, Kings 1 - Samuel Pahlsson and Bobby Ryan scored power-play goals and Jonas Hiller made 17 saves to lead host Anaheim.
