Devils hammer out 3-2 win over Bruins
Edmonton Oilers' Theo Peckham (49) and Columbus Blue Jackets' Jared Boll (40) fight during the first period of their NHL hockey game in Columbus, Ohio, on Monday. (Reuters)
Published: Mar 16, 2010 17:06 Updated: Mar 16, 2010 20:51
NEWARK, N.J.: David Clarkson had a goal and an assist as the New Jersey Devils scored three times in the first period against Tim Thomas and held on for a 3-2 victory over the Boston Bruins on Monday night.
Clarkson took the shot that Rob Niedermayer deflected in and then scored on a breakaway — set up by goalie Martin Brodeur — to make in 2-0. Zach Parise finished the barrage that assured the Devils (41-24-3) their 18th straight .500 or better season.
Blake Wheeler scored for the third consecutive game to cut Boston’s deficit to 3-1 at 43 seconds of the middle period, but the eighth-place Bruins failed to stretch their lead at the bottom of the Eastern Conference playoff race. Boston is one point ahead of the New York Rangers and has played one fewer game.
Blue Jackets 5 Oilers 3: In Columbus, Ohio, Antoine Vermette had two assists and scored the clinching empty-netter, and Kristian Huseliusadded a goal and three assists for Columbus.
Jake Voracek, Chris Clarkand Marc Methot also scored for the Blue Jackets, who totaled only three goals in their previous two games. Derek Dorsett chipped in with two assists for the first multipoint game of his 91-game career.
It was a wild, wide-open game full of odd-man rushes. That wasn’t a surprise, since the two teams rank near the bottom of the NHL in goals allowed.
Robert Nilsson and Aaron Johnson each had a goal and an assist and Dustin Penneralso scored for the Oilers, who are just 1-14-1 on the road since mid-December.
Red Wings 2 Flames 1: In Calgary, Alberta, Tomas Holmstrom scored his 20th goal of the season with 1:19 left in the third period to lift Detroit past Calgary.
The Red Wings (34-23-12) extended their lead to three points ahead of the Flames (34-26-9) for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference with 13 games remaining for each team.
Pavel Datsyukalso scored for Detroit, which won its third straight.
Craig Conroyhad the lone goal for Calgary, loser of two in a row following a four-game winning streak.
Ovechkin suspended for Capitals’ next 2 games
Meantime, two-time MVP Alex Ovechkin was suspended Monday for the Washington Capitals’ next two games because of a reckless hit.
The forward drove Chicago’s Brian Campbell into the boards from behind in the first period Sunday and received a major penalty and a game misconduct. With Ovechkin, who is leading the league in points with 96, kicked out of the game, the Capitals later came back from a 3-0 third-period deficit to win 4-3 in overtime.
“There’s nothing I can do right now. He just fell and this happens,” Ovechkin said after the game.
Because he also was suspended for two games earlier this season, Ovechkin is now considered a repeat offender under the collective bargaining agreement. He’ll forfeit more than $232,000 in salary based on the number of games in the season instead of the number of days.
Ovechkin was suspended for two games Dec. 1 for a knee-to-knee hit on Carolina defenseman Tim Gleason.
Ovechkin will miss games Tuesday at Florida and Thursday at Carolina. He can return Saturday at Tampa Bay.
“We have no problem with the way Alex tried to finish his check,” Capitals general manager George McPhee said in a statement. “Unfortunately, an injury resulted. We are disappointed with the suspension but do not want to comment further.”
Campbell stayed down for several minutes before he was able to leave the ice with a trainer at his side and then headed to the locker room. He did not return to the game.
Campbell, out with what the team is calling an upper-body injury, will miss the team’s three-game road trip this week out West that starts Wednesday night in Anaheim, Calif. He is a key defenseman for the Blackhawks, who are second overall in the Western Conference two points behind San Jose.
Campbell has seven goals and 31 assists on the season.
“Brian Campbell is one of the best skaters in the National Hockey League,” Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau said in an interview with the team’s Web site. “If he thought danger was coming, and he saw Alex right behind him, he would have moved. I think he was trying to spin away and the spin didn’t work, and he got caught in the ice and he fell into the boards.
“That’s me, and a lot of people are going to bash that thought. But that’s my opinion.”
