The way the Detroit Red Wings have picked on the NHL’s elite teams suggests the Stanley Cup champions are poised to make a serious run at a repeat.
The same can’t be said for the Pittsburgh Penguins, who are far from the class of the Eastern Conference this time around.
Detroit started its unique home-and-home series with the upstart Chicago Blackhawks with a bang Tuesday night, shutting out its surging Central Division rivals 4-0 in Hockeytown. The Blackhawks carried a team-record, nine-game winning streak into the 700th matchup with the Red Wings and left with a humbling defeat.
“You’ve got to play well against the good teams,” said Johan Franzen, who scored two goals. “We kind of need that on this team to get motivated.”
Pittsburgh, the defending Eastern Conference champions, didn’t fare well against the current conference-leading Boston Bruins, who beat them 5-2 on Tuesday night.
In other NHL games, it was: Washington 4, Buffalo 2; Toronto 4, Atlanta 3 in overtime; Montreal 2, Tampa Bay 1 in a shootout; New Jersey 4, St. Louis 3; Philadelphia 3, Vancouver 2; and Ottawa 3, Edmonton 2.
han two weeks that Detroit shut out a red-hot team. The Red Wings and Ty Conklin defeated the San Jose Sharks, who have the NHL’s best record, 6-0 at Joe Louis Arena on Dec. 18.
Conklin made 36 saves against the Blackhawks for his seventh NHL shutout. He will face them again on Thursday at Chicago’s Wrigley Field, out in the elements in the Winter Classic. That is nothing new for Conklin, who also played in the NHL’s two previous outdoor games.
The Penguins raced through the East playoffs last season en route to a meeting with the Red Wings in the Stanley Cup finals. After a convincing home loss to the Bruins on Tuesday, they might be feeling left out in the cold every bit as much as those who fill Wrigley on New Year’s Day.
Marc Savard scored a power-play goal, then set up Boston’s next two goals as the streaking Bruins ran their longest winning streak in nearly 26 years to nine games. Boston improved to 23-2-1 in its last 26 games, outscoring opponents 106-51.
Boston, which barely made the playoffs last season, hasn’t had a run like this since the 1982-83 team won nine in a row in January, tied one, then won its next five. These Bruins won five in a row, lost one, and have won their last nine – five on the road.
ther thing. After each game we want to look forward instead of back on whatever the record is.”
The Penguins are 7-10-1 since beginning November by going 7-0-1. Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby wasn’t ready to concede anything to the Bruins, who lead them by 18 points in the conference standings.
“There’s not much separating each team, they’re disciplined in the way they play and capitalized on the chances they got, and that’s what good teams do,” Crosby said. “But it’s not a matter of them being way ahead of us.”
Pittsburgh’s latest defeat led to a postgame players meeting.
“First of all, it’s about time they had a meeting,” Penguins coach Michel Therrien said. “You have to show some leadership. If I were a player, I would have called a meeting. I’m interested to see what comes of this.”
Evgeni Malkin, the NHL’s leading scorer, was held without a point, took a penalty that led to Savard’s goal and committed a giveaway that set up Phil Kessel’s goal that made it 3-2 at 16:43 of the second period.
Crosby had an assist in his 250th NHL game, but gave away the puck ahead of Martin St. Pierre’s short-handed goal at 5:28 of the third.
Capitals 4, Sabres 2
Nicklas Backstrom had a goal and assist, and Jose Theodore made 31 saves to help surging Washington beat the host Sabres.
and Brooks Laich and Boyd Gordon also scored for the Capitals, who won for the ninth time in 10 games.
Adam Mair and Clarke MacArthur scored for Buffalo, which has lost four of five (1-2-2).
Washington star Alex Ovechkin was held without a point for the second time in 11 games.
Canadiens 2, Lightning 1, SO
Maxim Lapierre scored the winning shootout goal for Montreal.
The Canadiens won the shootout 2-1 to complete a two-game, two-day sweep in the Sunshine State. Montreal beat the Florida Panthers 5-2 on Monday.
Guillaume Latendresse scored Montreal’s goal in regulation. The Canadiens have won five of six.
Vinny Prospal scored for Tampa Bay, which had a three-game winning streak snapped.
Devils 4, Blues 3
At St. Louis, Zach Parise scored twice and New Jersey earned its fifth win in seven games. Brian Rolston and Jay Pandolfo also had goals for the Devils.
Brad Boyes, David Backes and Alex Steen scored for St. Louis.
Maple Leafs 4, Thrashers 3, OT
Curtis Joseph made 29 saves to earn his first win of the season and the 450th of his NHL career, leading the host Maple Leafs over Atlanta in overtime.
Pavel Kubina scored the winner on a power play 33 seconds into the extra session to help Toronto snap a three-game losing streak. The 41-year-old Joseph hadn’t won since April 5.
e third period. Bryan Little, with his seventh goal in four games, and Jim Slater also scored for the Thrashers, who have lost three in a row.
Flyers 3, Canucks 2
Jeff Carter had a goal and an assist for Philadelphia, which won despite losing top forward Simon Gagne to injury just 15 seconds into the game.
The Flyers have 10 wins and four ties in Vancouver since their last loss there on Jan. 17, 1989.
Scott Hartnell and Jon Kalinski also scored for the Flyers. Daniel Sedin and Ryan Kesler netted Vancouver’s goals.
Senators 3, Oilers 2
Brian Lee’s first NHL goal helped Ottawa beat Edmonton and break a 12-game losing streak on the road.
Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson also scored for the Senators (13-17-5), who had lost three straight overall.
Ethan Moreau and Liam Reddox had goals for the Oilers, whose three-game winning streak ended.
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