ST. LOUIS (AP) — Ivan Barbashev’s parents and younger brother traveled from Russia to watch him play for the Blues on Thursday night. The 23-year-old center made the long trip worth it — and in a big way.Barbashev recorded his first career NHL hat trick to lead St. Louis to a 5-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings.“It feels great
www.officialsabres.com ,” Barbashev said. “It’s their second game here to watch me. It was unbelievable.”Oskar Sundqvist and Pat Maroon also scored for the Blues, who have points in their last four games. Rookie Jordan Binnington made 20 saves, improving to 19-4-1.The win gave the Blues 86 points as they attempt to hold on to third place in the Central Division over Dallas, who lost at Colorado and has 82 points.Thomas Vanek scored twice and Jonathan Bernier made 19 saves for the Red Wings, who had their two-game winning streak snapped.Barbashev gave the Blues a 2-1 lead, poking home a loose puck amid a scramble in front of the Red Wings’ net, at the 3:22 mark of the second period.“I thought our first period wasn’t really good, but the second and third we just started playing better,” Barbashev said. “We played physical. It was a lot of fun to be out there.”Barbashev made it 3-1 less than two minutes later, starting the play with a hit on the Red Wings’ Michael Rasmussen that jarred the puck to Alexander Steen. The Blues forward gave it right back to Barbashev, who punched in a rebound off of his initial shot.“We talk to Barbie about being a power forward more,” Blues coach Craig Berube said. “Banging and crashing, getting to the net and scoring dirty goals around the net. He’s capable of that stuff.”Vanek’s 15th of the season got Detroit back to within one, but Maroon’s goal midway through the third period gave St. Louis a two-goal lead again. Maroon has scored in four straight games.Barbashev completed the hat trick with an empty-netter with 48 seconds left.“He’s worked extremely hard, a great guy
Buffalo Sabres T-Shirts Authentic , you saw the reaction on our bench, everyone’s pumped for him,” Steen said. “It was a nice touch to see him get three tonight.”Vanek gave the Red Wings a 1-0 lead at the 2:05 mark of the first period, banging in his own rebound off of Binnington’s pad. It was his first goal in five games.“He competed extremely hard tonight,” Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said of Vanek. “He was one of our best forwards, him and Taro (Hirose) probably. He comes. He competes hard every night.”Sundqvist evened the game for the Blues with 8:14 remaining in the opening period, scoring on a quick shot from the slot after being set up by a no-look pass from Michael Del Zotto from the corner. Del Zotto, acquired from Anaheim at the trade deadline, has assists in three straight games.“They’ve got four guys in the rush the whole time, and they create a lot of offense through the back end,” Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall said of the Blues. “They’re a good team.”NOTES: Blues LW David Perron had an assist on Sundqvist’s goal to extend his streak to 17 consecutive appearances with a point, becoming the first Blues player to do it since Brett Hull in the 1991-92 season (25 games). … Red Wings F Jacob de la Rose (accelerated heartbeat) returned to Detroit and is expected to miss the rest of the team’s five-game road trip. … Steen had three assists to give him 601 career points. … Red Wings D Trevor Daley (back) will likely miss the rest of the season.UP NEXTDetroit: travels to Las Vegas on Saturday.St. Louis: hosts Tampa Bay on Saturday. CALGARY, Alberta (AP) Brad Marchand scored his 22nd goal 3:36 into overtime to give the Boston Bruins a 2-1 victory over the Calgary Flames on Monday.After a turnover by defenseman TJ Brodie deep in the Flames end, Riley Nash sprung Marchand on a breakaway and he slipped the puck through the pads of rookie goaltender David Rittich.David Pastrnak also scored for Boston (36-13-8), which moved within one point of Tampa Bay for first place in the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference. The Bruins
Buffalo Sabres Hoodies Authentic , who are 12-1-2 in their last 15 road games, have two games in hand on the Lightning.Article continues below ...Boston has lost only three times in regulation in the last 28 games (21-3-4). Tuukka Rask made 28 saves.Matthew Tkachuk scored for the Flames (30-21-9), who fell to 1-3-4 in their last eight home games. They began the day one point out of third place in the Pacific Division.DUCKS 2, GOLDEN KNIGHTS 0LAS VEGAS (AP) – Jakob Silfverberg and Ryan Getzlaf scored to lead Anaheim over Vegas in their Pacific Division showdown.The Ducks regained sole possession of third place in the division, two points ahead of Los Angeles and Calgary. They are a point behind second-place San Jose.Starting goalie John Gibson (22-15-6) stopped all 13 shots he saw for Anaheim, but was inadvertently clipped by Vegas’ Reilly Smith behind the net with three seconds left in the second period and didn’t return due to a lower-body injury.Backup goalie Ryan Miller played cleanup in the third, stopping 20 shots to preserve the win.Golden Knights netminder Marc-Andre Fleury (19-7-2) made 18 saves.The Ducks have won four of five away from home. Anaheim became just the seventh team – and fifth in regulation – to win on Vegas’ home ice.Vegas, which leads the NHL with 82 points, had its three-game winning streak snapped.CAPITALS 3, SABRES 2BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) – Alex Ovechkin scored his league-leading 35th goal and Washington reclaimed the top spot in the Metropolitan Division with a win over Buffalo.John Carlson had a goal and assist and Philipp Grubauer stopped 32 shots in a game the Capitals led 2-0 after two periods.Evgeny Kuznetsov sealed the victory by scoring into an open net with 26 seconds remaining. Washington completed a 2-1-1 road trip and bounced back from a 7-1 loss at Chicago on Saturday.Washington improved to 34-18-7 for 75 points, one ahead of idle Pittsburgh.Kyle Okposo and Evander Kane scored late for the Sabres, who dropped to 2-7-1 in their past 10 home games.WILD 5, ISLANDERS 3NEW YORK (AP) – Matt Cullen and Tyler Ennis scored in Minnesota’s three-goal second period against New York.Jason Zucker added two goals and Joel Eriksson Ek also scored for the Wild, who have earned at least one point in six of their past seven games (4-1-2). Devan Dubnyk stopped 32 shots.Ross Johnston
Buffalo Sabres Hats Authentic , Anders Lee and Tanner Fritz scored for the Islanders. Jaroslav Halak, coming off a 50-save shutout against the Rangers on Thursday night, finished with 27 stops.KINGS 3, BLACKHAWKS 1CHICAGO (AP) – Torrey Mitchell and Andy Andreoff scored during Los Angeles’ dominant first period against Chicago.Dion Phaneuf added his second goal in three games since joining Los Angeles in a trade with Ottawa, and Jonathan Quick made 27 saves in the Kings’ second straight win since a three-game slide. Los Angeles (32-22-5) also improved to 3-3 on its seven-game trip as it fights for playoff positioning in the Western Conference.Last-place Chicago looked awful for most of the night during its ninth loss in 10 games, and Quick turned away a possible comeback early in the third. Anton Forsberg made 29 stops for the Blackhawks (25-27-8), and Patrick Sharp snapped an 11-game scoring drought with his seventh goal of the season.It was the first game at the United Center since the Blackhawks banned four fans from their home games for directing a racist taunt toward Washington’s Devante Smith-Pelly. The team also apologized to the forward and the Capitals.PREDATORS 5, SENATORS 2NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Viktor Arvidsson scored twice to reach 20 goals this season, and Nashville beat Ottawa.Roman Josi, Ryan Ellis and Craig Smith also scored for Nashville, which ended a two-game skid and tied Winnipeg for first place in the Central Division.The Predators recorded two power-play goals and scored on the man advantage in their second straight game after going six games without converting on the power play.Pekka Rinne made 36 saves to earn his 30th win of the season.Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Max McCormick scored for the Senators. Craig Anderson stopped 36 shots.The Predators improved to 12-3-3 in their last 18 games.—
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Ivan Barbashev’s parents and younger brother traveled from Russia to watch him play for the Blues on Thursday night. The 23-year-old center made the long trip worth it — and in a big way.Barbashev recorded his first career NHL hat trick to lead St. Louis to a 5-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings.“It feels great www.officialsabres.com ,” Barbashev said. “It’s their second game here to watch me. It was unbelievable.”Oskar Sundqvist and Pat Maroon also scored for the Blues, who have points in their last four games. Rookie Jordan Binnington made 20 saves, improving to 19-4-1.The win gave the Blues 86 points as they attempt to hold on to third place in the Central Division over Dallas, who lost at Colorado and has 82 points.Thomas Vanek scored twice and Jonathan Bernier made 19 saves for the Red Wings, who had their two-game winning streak snapped.Barbashev gave the Blues a 2-1 lead, poking home a loose puck amid a scramble in front of the Red Wings’ net, at the 3:22 mark of the second period.“I thought our first period wasn’t really good, but the second and third we just started playing better,” Barbashev said. “We played physical. It was a lot of fun to be out there.”Barbashev made it 3-1 less than two minutes later, starting the play with a hit on the Red Wings’ Michael Rasmussen that jarred the puck to Alexander Steen. The Blues forward gave it right back to Barbashev, who punched in a rebound off of his initial shot.“We talk to Barbie about being a power forward more,” Blues coach Craig Berube said. “Banging and crashing, getting to the net and scoring dirty goals around the net. He’s capable of that stuff.”Vanek’s 15th of the season got Detroit back to within one, but Maroon’s goal midway through the third period gave St. Louis a two-goal lead again. Maroon has scored in four straight games.Barbashev completed the hat trick with an empty-netter with 48 seconds left.“He’s worked extremely hard, a great guy Buffalo Sabres T-Shirts Authentic , you saw the reaction on our bench, everyone’s pumped for him,” Steen said. “It was a nice touch to see him get three tonight.”Vanek gave the Red Wings a 1-0 lead at the 2:05 mark of the first period, banging in his own rebound off of Binnington’s pad. It was his first goal in five games.“He competed extremely hard tonight,” Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said of Vanek. “He was one of our best forwards, him and Taro (Hirose) probably. He comes. He competes hard every night.”Sundqvist evened the game for the Blues with 8:14 remaining in the opening period, scoring on a quick shot from the slot after being set up by a no-look pass from Michael Del Zotto from the corner. Del Zotto, acquired from Anaheim at the trade deadline, has assists in three straight games.“They’ve got four guys in the rush the whole time, and they create a lot of offense through the back end,” Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall said of the Blues. “They’re a good team.”NOTES: Blues LW David Perron had an assist on Sundqvist’s goal to extend his streak to 17 consecutive appearances with a point, becoming the first Blues player to do it since Brett Hull in the 1991-92 season (25 games). … Red Wings F Jacob de la Rose (accelerated heartbeat) returned to Detroit and is expected to miss the rest of the team’s five-game road trip. … Steen had three assists to give him 601 career points. … Red Wings D Trevor Daley (back) will likely miss the rest of the season.UP NEXTDetroit: travels to Las Vegas on Saturday.St. Louis: hosts Tampa Bay on Saturday. CALGARY, Alberta (AP) Brad Marchand scored his 22nd goal 3:36 into overtime to give the Boston Bruins a 2-1 victory over the Calgary Flames on Monday.After a turnover by defenseman TJ Brodie deep in the Flames end, Riley Nash sprung Marchand on a breakaway and he slipped the puck through the pads of rookie goaltender David Rittich.David Pastrnak also scored for Boston (36-13-8), which moved within one point of Tampa Bay for first place in the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference. The Bruins Buffalo Sabres Hoodies Authentic , who are 12-1-2 in their last 15 road games, have two games in hand on the Lightning.Article continues below ...Boston has lost only three times in regulation in the last 28 games (21-3-4). Tuukka Rask made 28 saves.Matthew Tkachuk scored for the Flames (30-21-9), who fell to 1-3-4 in their last eight home games. They began the day one point out of third place in the Pacific Division.DUCKS 2, GOLDEN KNIGHTS 0LAS VEGAS (AP) – Jakob Silfverberg and Ryan Getzlaf scored to lead Anaheim over Vegas in their Pacific Division showdown.The Ducks regained sole possession of third place in the division, two points ahead of Los Angeles and Calgary. They are a point behind second-place San Jose.Starting goalie John Gibson (22-15-6) stopped all 13 shots he saw for Anaheim, but was inadvertently clipped by Vegas’ Reilly Smith behind the net with three seconds left in the second period and didn’t return due to a lower-body injury.Backup goalie Ryan Miller played cleanup in the third, stopping 20 shots to preserve the win.Golden Knights netminder Marc-Andre Fleury (19-7-2) made 18 saves.The Ducks have won four of five away from home. Anaheim became just the seventh team – and fifth in regulation – to win on Vegas’ home ice.Vegas, which leads the NHL with 82 points, had its three-game winning streak snapped.CAPITALS 3, SABRES 2BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) – Alex Ovechkin scored his league-leading 35th goal and Washington reclaimed the top spot in the Metropolitan Division with a win over Buffalo.John Carlson had a goal and assist and Philipp Grubauer stopped 32 shots in a game the Capitals led 2-0 after two periods.Evgeny Kuznetsov sealed the victory by scoring into an open net with 26 seconds remaining. Washington completed a 2-1-1 road trip and bounced back from a 7-1 loss at Chicago on Saturday.Washington improved to 34-18-7 for 75 points, one ahead of idle Pittsburgh.Kyle Okposo and Evander Kane scored late for the Sabres, who dropped to 2-7-1 in their past 10 home games.WILD 5, ISLANDERS 3NEW YORK (AP) – Matt Cullen and Tyler Ennis scored in Minnesota’s three-goal second period against New York.Jason Zucker added two goals and Joel Eriksson Ek also scored for the Wild, who have earned at least one point in six of their past seven games (4-1-2). Devan Dubnyk stopped 32 shots.Ross Johnston Buffalo Sabres Hats Authentic , Anders Lee and Tanner Fritz scored for the Islanders. Jaroslav Halak, coming off a 50-save shutout against the Rangers on Thursday night, finished with 27 stops.KINGS 3, BLACKHAWKS 1CHICAGO (AP) – Torrey Mitchell and Andy Andreoff scored during Los Angeles’ dominant first period against Chicago.Dion Phaneuf added his second goal in three games since joining Los Angeles in a trade with Ottawa, and Jonathan Quick made 27 saves in the Kings’ second straight win since a three-game slide. Los Angeles (32-22-5) also improved to 3-3 on its seven-game trip as it fights for playoff positioning in the Western Conference.Last-place Chicago looked awful for most of the night during its ninth loss in 10 games, and Quick turned away a possible comeback early in the third. Anton Forsberg made 29 stops for the Blackhawks (25-27-8), and Patrick Sharp snapped an 11-game scoring drought with his seventh goal of the season.It was the first game at the United Center since the Blackhawks banned four fans from their home games for directing a racist taunt toward Washington’s Devante Smith-Pelly. The team also apologized to the forward and the Capitals.PREDATORS 5, SENATORS 2NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Viktor Arvidsson scored twice to reach 20 goals this season, and Nashville beat Ottawa.Roman Josi, Ryan Ellis and Craig Smith also scored for Nashville, which ended a two-game skid and tied Winnipeg for first place in the Central Division.The Predators recorded two power-play goals and scored on the man advantage in their second straight game after going six games without converting on the power play.Pekka Rinne made 36 saves to earn his 30th win of the season.Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Max McCormick scored for the Senators. Craig Anderson stopped 36 shots.The Predators improved to 12-3-3 in their last 18 games.—