BOSTON (AP) Buffalo star Jack Eichel went down with an injury
and his teammates responded with one of their best performances of the
season.Scott Wilson had a goal and an assist during Buffalo¡¯s big second
period
Anders Lee
Jersey , helping the Sabres cool off Tuukka Rask and the Boston
Bruins with a 4-2 victory on Saturday night.¡±I thought the guys made a terrific
effort tonight,¡± Buffalo coach Phil Housley said. ¡±One of the best games I¡¯ve
seen us check.¡±Eichel left midway through the opening period, favoring his right
knee after falling awkwardly on a check by Boston defenseman Matt Grzelcyk along
the boards behind the Bruins¡¯ net.¡±He got tangled up in the corner,¡± Housley
said. ¡±We¡¯ll know tomorrow when he sees our doctors.¡±Evander Kane and Benoit
Pouliot also scored during the second and Rasmus Ristolainen added an
empty-netter with 29 seconds remaining. Former Bruins goalie Chad Johnson made
25 saves as the Sabres picked up the road win with their fathers along for the
trip.¡±To see Jack go down like that, that¡¯s a big hole to fill,¡± Pouliot said.
¡±(The win) feels good for the dads and for everyone.¡±The Sabres had lost four of
five and entered with the NHL¡¯s second-fewest points.Rask stopped 24 shots, but
lost in regulation for the first time since Nov. 26. It snapped his career-best
21-game streak with at least a point (19-0-2), the fourth-longest in team
history.The Bruins were bothered by their subpar effort.¡±I think it was pretty
obvious that wasn¡¯t our best game ¨C the way we want to play ¨C but those games
happen
Andrew
Ladd Jersey ,¡± Rask said.Boston center Patrice Bergeron agreed they
had a poor effort from the start.¡±We were flat,¡± Bergeron said. ¡±When you do
that, you don¡¯t deserve it ¨C plain and simple.¡±Ryan Spooner and David Backes
accounted for Boston¡¯s goals. The Bruins failed to get a point for just the
second time in 24 games (18-2-4).Backes scored with 59 seconds left after Rask
was replaced by an extra skater. But Ristolainen fired one nearly the length of
the ice for his fifth of the season.Kane made it 1-0 when he broke in on a clean
breakaway after Bruins forward David Pastrnak flubbed a pass near the right
point and Sam Reinhart passed the puck to the winger. Kane fired a hard wrist
shot that beat Rask on the glove side inside the right post 7:44 into the
second.Wilson made it 2-0 just over five minutes later when he collected a loose
puck that was blocked by Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid and slipped a wrist shot
into the net.Spooner¡¯s goal sliced the lead in half before Pouliot one-timed
Wilson¡¯s pass by Rask at the end of a 3-on-1 break with 71 seconds left in the
second.Rask made a pair of nice pad stops in a relatively quiet opening period.
Boston¡¯s first shot on goal by a forward came in the final minute.NOTES: Kane¡¯s
goal snapped his 10-game scoreless stretch. ¡ Sabres C Jacob Josefson played his
300th NHL game. ¡ Bruins D Kevan Miller missed his fourth straight game because
of an upper-body injury. ¡ The teams play again Feb. 25 in their final
regular-season matchup.UP NEXTSabres: Host Colorado on Sunday. They beat the
Avalanche in the only other meeting this season.Bruins: At New Jersey on Sunday.
Boston won the first meeting, at home on Jan. 23. The Columbus Blue Jackets¡®
offseason move that received the most attention was the addition of center Riley
Nash. Not much attention was paid to the acquisition of Anthony Duclair.But
Duclair is making people stand up and take notice on the ice in his first season
in Columbus. He certainly attracted plenty of attention with his goal in the
Blue Jackets¡¯ 6-3 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night that
set social media abuzz and made all the highlight shows.At 17:53 of the first
period, Duclair skated down the ice to the right dot after taking a pass from
defenseman Ryan Murray. Duclair lost an edge while making a cut and, while on
his knees, gathered the puck, got back up
Anthony
Beauvillier Jersey , fell again after he was tripped, but was able
to shoot the puck past Flyers goaltender Calvin Pickard for his second goal of
the season.Article continues below ...¡°It was a nice goal. I don¡¯t know how he
did it,¡± Blue Jackets center Pierre-Luc Dubois said. ¡°I don¡¯t think he could do
it again, but if he could, it would be great for us and great for the fans. That
was an amazing goal. I¡¯ve never seen a goal like that in my life.¡±¡°I was pretty
lucky,¡± Duclair said.Duclair will put his skills on display again Saturday night
when the Blue Jackets (4-2-0) and the 23-year-old winger face the Chicago
Blackhawks (3-1-2), one of the two teams he was with last season, at Nationwide
Arena.After signing a one-year
Authentic
Brock Nelson Jersey , free agent contract with the Blue Jackets on
July 4, Duclair made the opening day roster and so far, has seized upon the
chance to play mostly on a line with center Alexander Wennberg and winger Nick
Foligno.Duclair has four points (two goals, two assists) in six games after
producing eight points in 23 games with the Blackhawks last year before he was
sent to the Arizona Coyotes.¡°I¡¯m getting an opportunity to play with (Wennberg)
and (Foligno) here,¡± Duclair said. ¡°I definitely want to stay with those two
guys. They¡¯re very skilled, very smart. We complement each other well.¡±Cam
Atkinson scored two goals in the win over the Flyers. He¡¯s tied with Josh
Anderson for the team lead with four goals. Artemi Panarin, also a former
Blackhawks player, had two assists to boost his team-best point total to nine
(three goals
Casey
Cizikas Jersey , six assists).The Blue Jackets scored three goals
in the second period after falling behind in the first.¡°We got out legs under us
after the first period and started playing our game, our style in the second and
third periods,¡± Atkinson said.The Blue Jackets rebounded from a humbling 8-2
road loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night. They¡¯ve scored at least
five goals for the third time in their last four games.¡°We have a lot of things
to iron out and it¡¯s not going to happen overnight,¡± Blue Jackets coach John
Tortorella said. ¡°We¡¯re not going to go into any panic mode. We¡¯re going to go
about our business and try to get better each day.¡±The Blackhawks had scored at
least three goals in each of their first five games, all of those in overtime,
before losing 4-1 at home on Thursday night to the Arizona Coyotes.Jonathan
Toews and Alex DeBrincat have contributed points in each of Chicago¡¯s first six
games. Eight Blackhawks players each have four points or more.Chicago¡¯s trip to
Columbus is in the midst of a stretch of three games in four days. The
Blackhawks will return home to face the Lightning on Sunday.Corey Crawford is
slated to make his second straight start in goal for the Blackhawks after
appearing for the first time since December 2017 in the loss to the Coyotes. He
finished with 27 saves in a losing effort. ¡°I think the most important thing is
just to get back to playing and winning hockey games,¡± Crawford said. ¡°It¡¯s
another game. Just trying to get back to the routine.¡±¡°It¡¯s just a matter of
getting more games to shake off the rust¡± he said.¡°I think the more you play and
the more you get into games, the little details are what make a big
difference
http://www.islandersfanproshop.com/authentic-cal-clutterbuck -jersey ,¡±
Crawford said. ¡°The more games I play it¡¯s going to feel better. I¡¯ve just got
to work hard and make sure I¡¯m in the right spot to give myself the best chance
to make saves.¡±One of Crawford¡¯s best stops against Arizona came on a
third-period breakaway.¡°I thought he was unreal,¡± Toews said. ¡°Stopped a couple
breakaways, though we just kept testing him with those tough ones. It¡¯s almost
to be expected. He comes in, so confident and relaxed and just plays
hockey.¡±Defenseman Brandon Davidson is expected to make his regular-season
Blackhawks debut in the third defensive pairing with Jan Rutta. The 27-year-old,
who made the team on a professional trying during the preseason, has played in
the NHL with the Montreal Canadians, Edmonton Oilers and New York
Islanders.Davidson will replace Brandon Manning.