VANCOUVER
David Perron Jersey Womens , British Columbia (AP) Thatcher Demko couldn’t stop grinning the whole game in his first NHL start despite giving up
the tying goals before the Vancouver Canucks won it in overtime.Alex Edler
scored 1:21 into the extra period and Demko finished with 26 saves in the
Canucks’ wild 5-4 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday.”I just tried
to enjoy it,” the 22-year-old Demko said. ”I had a blast. … Even when they
scored on three consecutive shots I was still smiling. It was a lot of fun to be
part of it.”On the winning goal, Edler picked up a loose puck in the Blue
Jackets’ end, waited patiently, then beat Columbus goalie Joonas Korpisalo with
a shot to the far side.”I knew we had a 2-on-1,” Edler said. ”I wanted to pass
it but it just wasn’t there.”Jussi Jokinen had a goal and two assists against
his former team, and Darren Archibald, Bo Horvat and Nikolay Goldobin also
scored for the Canucks, who tied a season-high with their fourth straight win
and fifth in six games after a seven-game skid.The Blue Jackets erased a 4-1
deficit by scoring three goals in 2:37 late in the third period to tie
it.Pierre-Luc Dubois started the comeback with a power-play goal with just under
four minites remaining, Zach Werenski pulled Columbus within one with 1:37 left
and Cam Atkinson tied it 16 seconds later.”We’re a team that regardless of the
score we are never out of the fight,” said Atkinson. ”We’re still fighting for
our lives, so we can’t afford to take our foot off the gas pedal for a second.
When we did, it showed.”Seth Jones had a goal and three assists, Artemi Panari
had four assists and Korpisalo finished with 24 saves for the Blue Jackets, who
are 12-1-1 in their last 14 games as they try to pass Pittsburgh for second
place in the Metropolitan Division.Columbus coach John Tortorella was happy his
team didn’t quit.”There were a number of guys that struggled, some big guys that
struggled
Jimmy Hayes Jersey Womens , but those last few minutes some big guys stood up,” he said. ”No matter what happened we found a way to get a
point.”Demko, picked 36th overall in the 2014 draft, was called up from Utica of
the AHL because backup goalie Anders Nilsson has the flu. He arrived in
Vancouver late Friday night, then was in net for the game which started at 1
p.m. Vancouver time.”My body was pretty confused,” he said. ”I was almost too
tired to be nervous.”Demko looked tight early in the game. Just 19 seconds into
the first period Atkinson blasted a shot that hit the crossbar behind him. Four
shots hit the post.”I think the posts are bigger up here than they are in the
AHL,” Demko said.By the second period, Demko seemed more relaxed and looked
sharp getting a pad on Atkinson’s shot during a 3-on-1 Columbus breakaway.”I
thought he looked good,” Canucks coach Travis Green said. ”I don’t think he
looked out of place. … He’s confident enough to do what he does.”Jokinen gave
Vancouver a 3-1 lead at 5:14 of the third period. He took Jake Virtanen’s pass
from behind the net and sent a shot over Korpisalo’s blocker. It was Jokinen’s
third goal since coming to Vancouver along with center Tyler Motte at the trade
deadline in a deal that sent Thomas Vanek to Columbus.”Every time you play
against your old team you want to show they made a mistake letting you go,”
Jokinen said. ”For sure I had extra motivation.”He also assisted on Horvat’s
goal later in the period, giving him five assists and eight points in 11 games
with the Canucks.The Canucks scored goals 1:44 apart in the second period to
take a 2-1 lead.Archibald tied it at 11:53. His shot from the faceoff circle
looked to be tipped by a Columbus defenseman. Korpisalo still managed to get a
piece of the puck but it went off his glove and into the net. Ashton Saunter,
another callup from Utica, earned an assist for his first NHL point.Goldobin put
Vancouver ahead on a pretty give-and-go with Jokinen, scoring his sixth of the
season on a sharp-angle shot.The Blue Jackets opened the scoring at 13:55 of the
first period, just seven seconds after Daniel Sedin was called for tripping.
Jones scored after taking a pass from Atkinson and ripping a shot from the blue
line. Demko looked slow at moving across his crease on the play.NOTES: Jones’
two-point night gave him 54 points, setting a Columbus record for a defenseman.
… Blue Jacket D Markus Nutivaara left the game in the second period with an
upper-body injury. … Sedin’s 54 penalty minutes is the most in his 17-year
career with the Canucks. He had 50 minutes in 2007-08. … The last time Vancouver
won four consecutive games was Oct. 20-26.UP NEXTBlue Jackets: Host Detroit on
Tuesday night.Canucks: Host Vegas on Tuesday night. TAMPA
Chris Bigras Jersey Womens , Fla. (AP) — Although they trail Tampa Bay by 14 points in the standings, the Toronto Maple Leafs are having some head-to-head
success against the top team in the NHL.Mitch Marner scored a go-ahead goal late
in the second period, Nazem Kadri and Patrick Marleau each had a goal and an
assist, and the Maple Leafs beat the Lightning 4-2 on Thursday night.“I think we
embrace the challenge of playing against the best, and I think we’ve proved time
and time again even though there’s tough parts to the season we compete with the
best,” Kadri said. “I think that’s an important note to take out of this
game.”Frederik Andersen stopped 36 shots and Zach Hyman added an empty-netter
for the Maple Leafs, who had lost five of seven.“We showed we’re a pretty good
hockey team when we work this hard,” Andersen said.Tampa Bay got goals from
Brayden Point and Victor Hedman, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 27 saves. Nikita
Kucherov, the NHL leader with 76 points, had an assist after two straight games
without a point.“We had our chances, they had their chances,” Lightning coach
Jon Cooper said. “We had some good looks.”The Lightning have a 14-point lead in
the Atlantic Division over Toronto. Tampa Bay’s nine-game home winning streak
ended.The teams are currently lined up for a potential second-round playoff
series.The Maple Leafs lost the first meeting between the teams 4-1 on Dec. 13
despite outshooting Tampa Bay 49-21 and hitting the post or crossbar four times
during the opening 30 minutes.The final two games of the season series are March
11 and April 4 in Toronto.Toronto took a 3-2 lead with 5:11 left in the second
when Andreas Johnsson made a nifty backhand pass from behind the net to John
Tavares, who sent the puck through the crease to a wide-open Marner.Marner
reached 60 points in 46 team games, tied for fourth-fastest in Maple Leafs
history. Only Lorne Carr (39 games, 1943-44)
Jack Johnson Jersey Womens , Darryl Sittler (40, 1977-78) and Doug Gilmour (41, 1992-93) did it quicker.The center is also the first Maple Leafs
player to begin his NHL career with three consecutive 60-point seasons.Tavares
finished with two assists.Both goalies made strong saves during the third.
Andersen went post-to-post to stop Kucherov’s shot, and Vasilevskiy reached back
near the goal line to grab Auston Matthews‘ shot that went off his
glove.Andersen faced 16 shots in the third.“Excellent, especially down the
stretch,” Kadri said. “We needed him. He’s been the backbone of our team.”After
Marleau ended a nine-game goal drought with his 11th of the season at 13:06 of
the second, Hedman pulled Tampa Bay even at 2 just 37 seconds later.Marleau has
546 goals overall, 30th on the career list. He has 695 assists.Point opened the
scoring 9:48 into the game on his 30th goal during a power play. The center
became the first NHL player to have at least 30 goals and 30 assists this
season.“They’re a team that’s kind of built like us,” Point said. “They do a
good job of taking away time and space.”Toronto tied it 1-all two minutes later
on Kadri’s goal.Lightning star Steven Stamkos finished minus-two but had 10
shots on goal, six shots blocked and missed the net on two.NOTES: Toronto
reached 60 points in 46 games, which tied the team record (1934-35, 1950-51 and
1961-62) for fewest games needed. … Point has 13 power-play goals. … Kadri
stopped a 10-game goal drought. … Stamkos got his 350th assist on Point’s goal.
He has six assists over the last five games. … Tampa Bay C Tyler Johnson left
with a lower-body injury.UP NEXTMaple Leafs: Play at Florida on Friday
night.Lightning: Host the San Jose Sharks on Saturday night.
