Associated Press
The NHL roundup …
RALEIGH ó Two nights after being benched against Tampa Bay and hearing goalie Francois Allaire coach maligned, James Reimer felt he had something to prove Wednesday night against Carolina.
It showed.
The Toronto rookie made 36 saves, and defenseman Dion Phaneuf had two power-play goals and added an assist in the Maple Leafsí 3-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes.
ěTo be honest, I had a little bit of extra motivation today because I had heard through the grapevine that Tampa Bay had said that something to the effect that I was just a typical Francois Allaire goalie and they knew how to beat me,î Reimer said. ěIím not going to lie ó that kind of rubbed me the wrong way and ticked me off.î
Toronto is 10th in the Eastern Conference, two points behind ninth-place Carolina and four back of eighth-place Buffalo for the final playoff spot.
ěTheyíre huge points for our team, and itís a big win,î Phaneuf said.
Phaneuf broke a tie with 9:09 left in the second period, blasting a shot past Cam Wardís glove, then helped set up Tyler Bozakís goal 12 seconds later. Bozak took advantage of weak defensive coverage by the Hurricanes and tipped Darryl Boyceís centering pass from the boards past Ward.
Coming off a 6-2 home loss to Tampa Bay on Monday night, Toronto is 5-0-2 in its last seven road games.
Red Wings 3, Capitals 2
DETROIT ó Over three weeks had passed since Henrik Zetterbergís last goal.
He was probably due to catch a break.
Zetterberg scored twice Wednesday night to lead the Detroit Red Wings to a 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals. His second goal ó the winner with 10:07 remaining ó came from a severe angle but somehow slipped past goalie Michal Neuvirthís glove to snap Washingtonís nine-game winning streak.
The puck appeared to deflect off Neuvirthís mask on the way in.
ěIt was a little luck to hit the mask and get it in,î Zetterberg said. ěEvery time youíre in a slump, you start to think, you start to doubt yourself, so itís definitely good for the confidence to see you can still score goals.î
Zetterberg, who hadnít scored since Feb. 22, has 20 goals on the season. Valtteri Filppula added a goal for Detroit, and Brian Rafalski, who hadnít played since Feb. 24 because of an injured back, had three assists.
Alex Ovechkin and John Carlson scored for Washington, which missed a chance to move past Philadelphia into first place in the Eastern Conference.
ěPretty good game to watch. It was fun to play,î Ovechkin said. ěIt was tough for us. They have a great team.î
With the game tied at 2 and Detroit on a power play, Zetterberg flipped a shot from Neuvirthís left. Neuvirth appeared to have his near post covered, but the puck slipped past him.
Washington won six one-goal games as well as a shootout during its winning streak, but the Capitals never led against Detroit. After Zetterbergís second goal gave the Red Wings the lead, Alexander Semin took a pass from Ovechkin and skated in on goalie Jimmy Howard, but Howard was able to poke the puck away.
Detroit withstood one more scare in the final seconds when Seminís seemingly harmless shot from the point hit a post.
ěIt was like a Tim Wakefield knuckleball,î Howard said. ěIt just sort of dropped there at the end. Did it hit the top part of the crossbar? After it went by me, all I heard was ëthump.íî
Zetterberg opened the scoring in the first period, beating Neuvirth with a slap shot over the goalieís left shoulder. Washington tied it 33 seconds later when Carlson scored from the top of the right circle.
ěIt was a little easier to get fired up for this game. We donít see them that often ó great players coming in,î Zetterberg said. ěI think we had a good start, showed that we were in the game from the start.î
Filppula put the Red Wings back ahead with 5:15 left in the first. Rafalski took a shot from the point, and Filppula was able to deflect it in as Detroit created traffic in front.
ěTheyíre good. What are you going to do? When theyíre rested like they have been and they come out like that, not much you can do,î Washington coach Bruce Boudreau said. ěOur goal in the first period was to hang in.î
Ovechkin tied it in the second, taking a pass from Semin and skating in on defenseman Brad Stuart. Ovechkinís wrist shot went through Stuartís legs and over Howardís right shoulder for his 29th goal of the season.
Immediately after that, Mike Knuble came in alone on Howard but wasnít able to put Washington ahead.
Late in the second, Todd Bertuzzi took a shot that slipped past Neuvirth but went wide. The goalie stood motionless next to the post ó apparently believing he was freezing the puck for a faceoff ó for several seconds while the teams played on. Detroit wasnít able to take advantage.
Washington is without injured stars Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green.
ěYou know when youíre on a roll ó no different for us ó that rollís going to come to an end at one time,î Detroit coach Mike Babcock said. ěI thought they played good and I thought we played good. We were able to get one more than them. I thought we carried the bulk of the play there in the middle of the game, but I thought they pushed good at the end. It was a good game.î
NOTES: Washington D Dennis Wideman went down briefly near the end of the second period after he appeared to be hit in the chest with a shot. He got up quickly. … Detroit recalled G Joey MacDonald from Grand Rapids of the AHL before the game. … Knuble set up Detroitís winning power play with an offensive-zone tripping penalty. … Detroit outshot Washington 35-28.
The Associated Press
03/16/11 23:04