St. Louis Blues forward Dalibor Dvorský registered a plus-two rating in Monday night’s NHL action against the Anaheim Ducks.
The 20-year-ancient forward contributed to a decisive 4-0 victory for his team. New Jersey Devils defenseman Šimon Nemec couldn’t prevent a 3-0 home loss to the Detroit Red Wings. Meanwhile, Tampa Bay Lightning’s Erik Černák was involved in a physical altercation on the ice against the Buffalo Sabres, sustaining an injury that forced him to abandon the game. The Sabres ultimately won a high-scoring affair, 8-7.
Černák dropped the gloves early in the second period. His brief fight with Michael Kesselring occurred after the Buffalo player checked the Slovakian defenseman into the boards.
VIDEO: Erik Černák Fight
According to hockeyfights.com, it was Černák’s second fight of the season and his 20th career bout. Before the altercation, he had recorded two minor penalties and blocked three shots, playing a total of 6:47.
Tampa Bay, recently at the top of the Eastern Conference, has now lost five of its last six games.
Four points from offensive leader Nikita Kucherov (2+2) weren’t enough to turn the tide. Kucherov leads the league with an average of 1.78 points per game, just three behind league-leading Connor McDavid.
The four-point performance against the Sabres made him the third player this season to surpass 100 points.
Buffalo’s victory was their seventh consecutive win, building on a 6-2 win over the same opponent last week.
Nemec Logs Over Twenty Minutes
Nemec played 20:45 against Detroit and was the third-highest utilized defenseman on his team. He registered three shots on goal and a minor penalty.
The Devils lost for the first time in five games and now trail the second wild card spot in the playoffs by ten points.
Detroit goaltender John Gibson sustained an injury late in the second period and was replaced by Cam Talbot. Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider factored into all three Detroit goals (1+2).
Detroit forward Dominik Shine scored the game-winning goal, his first in the NHL at 32 years and 342 days old.
He became the oldest player to score his first NHL goal in Detroit history since December 8, 1977, when Václav Nedomanský scored at 33 years and 269 days.
Dvorský Still Seeking First Point Post-Olympics
Dvorský remains without a point in six games since the Olympic break.
Against Anaheim, he played 14:18, recording two shots on goal and a minor penalty, winning 8 of 13 faceoffs for a 62% success rate.
Blues goaltender Joel Hofer earned his fifth shutout of the season and seventh of his career. St. Louis, who faced a significant gap in the playoff race before the Olympics, has now won four straight and trails the second wild card in the Western Conference by eight points.
“Today was one of our most complete performances of the season. I think we’ve been trending in the right direction since the Olympic break.
There’s a reason for that. We practiced at a high tempo during the break, and now it’s showing in the way we’re playing,” said St. Louis coach Jim Montgomery.
MacKinnon Decides It in Shootout
In a matchup of Western Conference contenders, the Colorado Avalanche defeated the Minnesota Wild 3-2 in a shootout. Captain Nathan MacKinnon scored the decisive goal in the fourth round of the shootout. The Avalanche have now won five games in a row.
VIDEO: MacKinnon’s Winning Shootout Goal
They had previously lost to the Wild, 2-5, ten days prior. Newly acquired forwards Nazem Kadri (0+1) and Nicolas Roy (1+0) recorded their first points as members of the Avalanche.
“The Avs” have secured the top spot in the Western Conference and the entire NHL, while Minnesota remains in third place in the Central Division.
This was Colorado’s first home game after a three-game road trip where they earned a full allotment of points.
“I have no complaints about today’s performance, especially coming off that travel. We were still focused and ultimately found a way to get two points,” said Colorado coach Jared Bednar.
Zacha Nets Hat Trick in Pittsburgh
A three-goal performance from Pavel Zacha wasn’t enough for the Boston Bruins to secure a win on the road against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Penguins completed a comeback, with Tommy Novak scoring the game-winning goal in overtime.
Pittsburgh was again without captain Sidney Crosby, who is recovering from an injury sustained at the Olympics. However, he has begun skating again.
Another veteran forward, Evgeni Malkin, was also absent from the Penguins lineup, serving the second game of a five-game suspension for high-sticking Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin.
“The Penguins” won for the first time in four games, defeating Boston at home for the first time since April 2022.
It was also the first time in over 25 years (since February 10, 2001) that Pittsburgh overcame a three-goal deficit without Crosby and Malkin in the lineup. Both Pittsburgh and Boston are competing for playoff positioning in the Eastern Conference.
“When you’re down in a game, you have an opportunity to elevate your game and get a result that will boost you. That’s what happened today,” said Pittsburgh coach Dan Muse, via nhl.com.
Zacha has 19 goals in 60 games this season, putting him on track to surpass his career-high of 21. He completed his hat trick in the 49th minute, giving his team a 4-3 lead.
“It felt good at the time, but after the loss, you don’t really think about it. We were leading for most of the game, but we didn’t win, so the joy from the goals quickly fades,” said Zacha.
Boston’s David Pastrňák also found the back of the net, scoring his first goal in eight games.
The Vegas Golden Knights lost their fifth game in six contests, falling 4-2 to the Edmonton Oilers.
Dallas Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen scored the overtime winner in a 4-3 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks. The Stars have now won 12 consecutive games. Newly acquired defenseman Tyler Myers made his debut for the team.
“The atmosphere in the locker room is very positive. These players have approach a long way and have a lot of experience. I just want to help the team in any way I can. It was fun to spot the fans enjoying themselves today,” said Myers, via nhl.com.
Blackhawks Continue to Struggle
The Chicago Blackhawks have won just two of their last thirteen games.
They are second-to-last in the Western Conference with 57 points, ahead of only the Vancouver Canucks (47), and trail the second wild card spot by ten points.
“Early in the game, it looked like we weren’t as focused defensively as we needed to be. We gradually improved our intensity and commitment to defense. We had some issues with our centers, as Oliver Moore was injured. We had to juggle the lineup. We had a lot of good things going on in the game, but also things we require to learn from. A big part of this team’s growth is understanding that defense is important in this league,” said Blackhawks coach Jeff Blashill.
NHL – Results (March 9):
Pittsburgh Penguins – Boston Bruins 5:4 pp (0:1, 1:2, 3:1 – 1:0)
Goals: 35. Činachov (Rakell, Karlsson), 47. Dewar (Shea), 47. Mantha (Novak, Solovjov), 52. Mantha (Wotherspoon, Karlsson), 61. Novak – 10. Zacha (Geekie, McAvoy), 29. Zacha (Arvidsson, Aspirot), 33. Pastrňák, 49. Zacha (Arvidsson, Aspirot)
Goalies: Šilovs – Korpisalo, shots on goal: 39:28
Buffalo Sabres – Tampa Bay Lightning 8:7 (1:0, 3:4, 4:3)
Goals: 9. Doan (Thompson, Byram), 23. Zucker (Dahlin, Thompson), 26. Tuch (Thompson, Östlund), 32. Tuch (Thompson, Byram), 47. Carrick (Benson, Kesselring), 52. Dahlin (Thompson, Byram), 55. Zucker (McLeod), 56. Doan (Zucker, Dahlin) – 28. Perry (Kučerov, Raddysh), 33. Kučerov (Raddysh), 35. Girgensons (Gourde, Moser), 38. Moser (Geekie), 41. Kučerov (Hagel, Moser), 46. Point, 50. Hagel (Cirelli, Raddysh)
Goalies: Luukkonen – Johansson, shots on goal: 42:28
Dallas Stars – Chicago Blackhawks 4:3 (1:2, 0:0, 2:1 – 1:0)
Goals: 17. Bastian (Bichsel, Back), 41. Bourque (Bunting), 50. Hryckowian (Bourque, Lindell), 61. Heiskanen (Duchene) – 7. Bertuzzi (Levšunov, Nazar), 9. Rinzel (Teräväinen, Moore), 59. Bedard (Teräväinen, Nazar)
Goalies: DeSmith – Söderblom
New Jersey Devils – Detroit Red Wings 0:3 (0:1, 0:1, 0:1)
Goals: 4. Seider (Kane, Copp), 27. Van Riemsdyk (Seider, Kane), 51. Shine (Van Riemsdyk, Seider)
Goalies: Markström – Gibson (41. Talbot), shots on goal: 31:30
Anaheim Ducks – St. Louis Blues 0:4 (0:0, 0:3, 0:1)
Goals: 25. Kyrou (Neighbours, Fowler), 31. Drouin (Broberg, Snuggerud), 33. Snuggerud (Thomas, Holloway), 56. Suter (Bučnevič, Holl)
Goalies: Husso – Hofer, shots on goal: 22:35
Vegas Golden Knights – Edmonton Oilers 2:4 (0:0, 1:1, 1:3)
Goals: 34. Hanifin (Marner), 57. Eichel (Marner) – 24. Frederic (Bouchard, Dach), 23. Podkolzin, 32. Draisaitl (McDavid), 59. Kapanen (McDavid, Ekholm)
Goalies: Hill – Ingram, shots on goal: 26:19
Colorado Avalanche – Minnesota Wild 3:2 pp a sn (0:0, 1:0, 1:2 – 0:0, 1:0)
Goals: 33. MacKinnon (Kadri), 53. Roy (Kulak, Kiviranta), shootout winner MacKinnon – 45. Kaprizov (Hughes, Eriksson Ek), 48. Sturm (Faber)
Goalies: Wedgewood – Wallstedt, shots on goal: 36:34
