Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
Senators goalie, back from layoff, dominant
Anderson tended to cancer-stricken wife
OTTAWA, Ontario — Ottawa Senators goaltender Craig Anderson was just glad to be back around his teammates and to pick up a win. That it was a shutout was icing on the cake.
Anderson made his first start in 69 days and turned aside 33 shots as Ottawa beat the New York Islanders 3-0 on Saturday.
Anderson left the club in early December to be with his wife, Nicholle, who is battling cancer, and returned to practice last week.
“It felt great. Got two points, got the win,” he said. “I think it was an exciting day for myself to get back in the net and just be there for the guys and feel that camaraderie.”
The shutout was the fourth of the season for Anderson in 20 games and the eighth of the season for the Senators.
“I got a little luck, and we got a little luck at the other end,” Anderson said. “It’s one of those nights where fate was in our favor.”
Mark Stone, Zack Smith and Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored for the Senators (29-18-6), who have six goals in their past two games after being outscored 10-0 in the two previous games.
Thomas Greiss made 21 saves for the Islanders (24-19-10) in his eighth start in the past nine games. It was the second regulation loss for the Islanders in their past 12 games.
Rangers 4, Avalanche 2 — At New York, Henrik Lundqvist had 32 saves in his 400th victory, becoming the 12th NHL goalie to achieve the feat and the third to do it with one team. Defenseman Kevin Klein scored two goals for the Rangers, who won their fifth straight.
Capitals 6, Ducks 4 — At Washington, rookie Zach Sanford scored his first NHL goal to break a tie with 2:39 left for Washington, which won its 12th straight home game and tied a league record by scoring five or more goals in 11 straight home games.
Flyers 2, Sharks 1, OT — At Philadelphia, Wayne Simmonds scored on a breakaway 1:04 into overtime to back Michal Neuvirth, who had 23 saves, as Philadelphia snapped a three-game skid and dealt San Jose its fourth straight loss.
Coyotes 4, Penguins 3, OT — At Glendale, Ariz., Connor Murphy scored his first goal of the season with 21.8 seconds left in overtime. Pittsburgh had overcome a 3-1 deficit with 5½ minutes left in regulation.
Stars 5, Hurricanes 2 — At Dallas, Patrick Eaves scored twice, and former Las Vegas Wranglers right wing Adam Cracknell also had a goal for Dallas, which snapped a season-worst four-game slide.
Bruins 4, Canucks 3 — At Boston, David Pastrnak scored the decisive goal with two minutes left in Boston’s fifth win in seven games, including two straight under coach Bruce Cassidy.
Panthers 7, Predators 4 — At Nashville, Tenn., Nick Bjugstad and Vincent Trocheck scored 29 seconds apart in the second period to help Florida overcome Viktor Arvidsson’s first career hat trick.
Blues 4, Canadiens 2 — At Montreal, Patrik Berglund scored three goals to power St. Louis to its fourth straight road win and fifth victory in its past six games overall.
Blackhawks 5, Oilers 1 — At Edmonton, Alberta, Richard Panik scored twice to back Scott Darling, who had 29 saves, as Chicago finished 5-1 on a six-game road trip.
Blue Jackets 2, Red Wings 1 — At Columbus, Ohio, Brandon Dubinsky had two assists to back Sergei Bobrovsky, who had 35 saves, as Detroit lost its third straight.
Lightning 4, Jets 1 — At Winnipeg, Manitoba, Brayden Point, Ondrej Palat and Victor Hedman each had a goal and an assist to back Ben Bishop, who had 32 saves.
Sabres 3, Maple Leafs 1 — At Toronto, Evander Kane had two goals and Jack Eichel three assists to back Robin Lehner, who had 43 saves.
The drive back to Phoenix for Planet Athlete Academy was made even longer by Findlay Prep on Saturday night.
The Pilots, ranked sixth in the nation by USA Today, scored early and often in their 97-69 victory at Henderson International.
Senior Lamine Diane scored Findlay’s opening basket, igniting his 31-point performance, and the Pilots (24-3) never let up. They led 55-32 at halftime, and from there Diane stole the show with several spectacular plays.
P.J. Washington supplied 28 points for Findlay.
“This game right here we called it a trap game,” Pilots coach Paul Washington said. “I thought (our players) did a pretty good job of bringing energy and not looking past our opponent heading to Kentucky next week.”
The rout allowed Washington to get a good look at his bench.
“I just told my team, we need to get better six through 12 because you never know when you’re going to need them in a game,” he said.
The coach saw a lot of room for improvement.
“They (reserves) were average at best,” he said. “Still a little frustrated we didn’t rebound at all. Defensively we didn’t look good at all from the guys that are the second and third guys off the bench.”