Rested Ducks soar over spiralling Leafs
ANAHEIM, California — Rickard Rakell scored twice, Jonathan Bernier made 37 saves and the Anaheim Ducks returned from their bye week with a 5-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday night.
Sami Vatanen and Jakob Silfverberg also scored to help the Ducks get their third straight win at home and maintain a two-point lead over Calgary for third in the Pacific Division. Patrick Eaves added an empty-net goal with 1:14 remaining for his first since being acquired from Dallas.
Nazem Kadri scored on the power play, Zach Hyman added his ninth goal of the season and Curtis McElhinney made 31 saves as the Maple Leafs dropped their fifth in a row.
Toronto went winless on its three-game California trip and has won just two of its last 10 away from Air Canada Centre.
Jets 3, Blues 0
WINNIPEG — Connor Hellebuyck knows his Winnipeg Jets don’t have much room for error. So he made no mistakes.
Hellebuyck stopped all 29 shots he faced as the Jets shut out the St. Louis Blues 3-0 for a crucial win in the NHL’s Western Conference post-season chase.
“It’s huge. It’s a four-point game and we’re kind of chasing them right now,” said Hellebuyck. “We do want to make the playoffs, and that’s our goal here so this is another good step in the right direction.”
The Jets’ (29-30-6) victory moves them to within three points of the Blues (31-27-5), and four points of the Los Angeles Kings who hold the final wild-card spot in the West.
“The importance of this game was evident throughout these last two days of practice,” said Winnipeg captain Blake Wheeler, who scored his 18th and 19th goals of the season. “After that [6-5 loss to Minnesota on Tuesday], there was a sour taste in the room. We didn’t play our best game but had an opportunity to salvage something.
“This time of year you can’t miss out on those opportunities.”
Wheeler’s winner came on a first-period power play, as the Jets handed the Blues their fifthconsecutive loss. Bryan Little added an empty-netter for his 18th of the season.