Anton Lundell (2+1) and Erik Haula managed to score in 11 games in the NHL round. The Finnish goalkeepers Juuse Saros and Joonas Korpisalo were also in good shape, but numerous saves did not lead to victories.
Jonne Niemeläinen,
STT Sports
The Florida Panthers in the ice hockey NHL Anton Lundell emerged as one of the power cannons of the match, scoring two goals and making one assist, as Florida took an important 5-2 away win over the Montreal Canadiens.
Lundell tied the game at 1-1 in the first period by accurately placing a rebound puck spit out by the Montreal keeper into the goal. Eetu Luostarinen was marked as the number one scorer.
Lundell, chosen as the second star of the match, hit in the middle of the third period, when he shaved the puck away and made fun of by Sam Montembeault already for the second time. The spectacular goal gave Florida a 4–1 lead.
Lundell, chosen as the second star of the match, managed to score in the second match in a row. The 21-year-old Finnish striker now has 12+20=32 out of 67 matches under his belt.
The Panthers power player, along with Lundell, had scored a hat trick Matthew Tkachuk. Lundell set up Tkachuk’s second goal and the Florida skipper Alexander Barkov passed the resulting third goal into an empty net.
Tkachuk has already totaled 101 (38+63) power points this season. He also broke the 100-point mark in the regular season last season. He became the fourth player in NHL history to reach 100 points in two different clubs in consecutive seasons.
The win kept Florida one point out of the Eastern Conference’s final playoff spot. Having won their second consecutive victory, the Panthers are chasing the Pittsburgh Penguins, who won their own game in the round. Florida has six games left in the regular season and the Penguins have one less game to play.
Florida will next face Columbus on the night between Saturday and Sunday.
– We know how important points are. It’s a really big deal that we’ve been able to win two games in a row. These two-point pots are vital for us, Tkachuk summed up.
See the NHL tables via this link (Teksti-TV).
Saros and Korpisalo in puck rain
by Mikael Granlund new club Pittsburgh took a 2–0 victory over the visiting Granlund’s former club Nashville Predators. Granlund changed his jersey at the beginning of March.
Granlund has now played 14 games for Pittsburgh, but so far has only scored one goal and recorded two assists.
Sweating at the Nashville goal Juuse Saros made saves no less than 43/45 times, but this did not lead to victory.
Like Saros, also the Los Angeles Kings Joonas Korpisalo was on the offensive, but this did not lead to victory. Korpisalo stretched in front of the puck 35/37 times, when the Kings lost to the away Edmonton Oilers 0–2.
Haula also hit in the second game in a row
New Jersey Devils Erik Haula scored a goal in his team’s 2–1 win over visiting local opponent New York Rangers. Haula scored the opening goal of the match in the first period when he controlled skillfully by Dougie Hamilton feed directly in.
Haula, like Lundell, hit in the second match in a row and he was also chosen as the second star of the match. The hit was Haula’s tenth of the season.
It is possible that the Devils and Rangers will also face each other in the opening round of the playoffs.
– Both teams know what the situation is in the table. This was like a playoff game in terms of tempo and physicality, the Devils’ second goal Timo Meier said.
With the win and Carolina’s loss to Detroit, the Devils moved within a point of the top spot in the Metropolitan Division. Rangers are now four points behind the Devils.
The results of the NHL round:
Tampa Bay–Washington 5 to 1
Pittsburgh–Nashville 2–0 NSH: Saros 43/45 torj.
New Jersey–NY Rangers 2–1 NJD: Haula 1+0
Boston–Columbus and 2–1
Ottawa–Philadelphia and 5–4 PHI: Ristolainen 0+1
Montreal to Florida 2–5 FLA: Lundell 2+1, Luostarinen 0+1, Barkov 0+1
Detroit–Carolina 3–2 CAR: Aho 0+1
Chicago–St. Louis 3–5 STL: Kapanen 0+1
Edmonton–Los Angeles 2–0 LAK: Korpisalo 35/37 torj.
Seattle–Anaheim in progress
San Jose to Vegas in progress