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Rick Nash’s return to Columbus was a successful one for him and the New York Rangers. The Rangers scored three times in the third period of Friday’s 3-1 win over the Blue Jackets. There was much hype surrounding Nash’s first game as a visitor at Nationwide Arena, but the contest also had playoff implications. |
With the win, the Rangers moved into third place in the Metropolitan Division, two points ahead of Columbus and one behind second-place Philadelphia.
The Blue Jackets, however, have played one fewer game. Henrik Lundqvist made 25 saves for New York, which has won three of its last four games. Sergei Bobrovsky turned away 29 shots in the Blue Jackets’ third loss in five games.
Jonathan Toews scored a tie-breaking short- handed goal in the third period as the Chicago Blackhawks edged the Carolina Hurricanes, 3-2, at United Center. Patrick Sharp and Kris Versteeg each had second-period goals for the Blackhawks, who played their first game without Patrick Kane.
The star forward was placed on long-term injured reserve Friday with a lower-body ailment suffered in Wednesday’s 4-0 victory over St. Louis. Kane is likely going to miss the remainder of the regular season. Corey Crawford made 26 saves for Chicago, which closed to within four points of the Central Division-leading Blues.
Alexander Semin potted both Carolina goals, while Anton Khudobin stopped 22 shots in defeat. The Hurricanes have dropped three of their last four games and remain nine points back in the race for the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot.
The Boston Bruins extended their winning streak to 11 games and became the first team to clinch a playoff berth by blanking the suddenly-struggling Colorado Avalanche, 2-0, on Friday night. Chad Johnson earned his third career shutout with a 31-save performance. Patrice Bergeron and Carl Soderberg scored for the Bruins, who last won 11 straight during a 13-game run from Feb. 23-March 20, 1971.
Boston also tied St. Louis for the most points in the league with 101. Semyon Varlamov was sharp in defeat, making 26 saves, but the Avalanche still lost their third consecutive game. Colorado, which has dropped four of five overall, was shut out for the first time this season despite playing almost the entire final five minutes with Varlamov on the bench for an extra skater.
Matt Cullen scored what proved to be the game-winner with 2:52 to play and added three assists as the Nashville Predators survived for a 6-5 win over the Calgary Flames.