News » Matthew Highmore scored for Chicago

CHICAGO — If the Chicago Blackhawks have any chance of rebounding from last year’s last-place finish in the Western Conference’s Central Division http://www.arizonacardinalsteamonline.com/pat-tillman-jersey , getting contributions from their big-name veterans will play a big role.That’s where captain Jonathan Toews enters the picture.Heading into the Blackhawks’ home opener Sunday against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Toews has produced goals in the first two games of the season for the first time in his career.Article continues below ...Toews had three goals in a 5-4 overtime victory over the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night in which the Blackhawks watched a one-goal lead vanish in the third period when the Blues scored twice in a 22-second span to take the lead. But Chicago responded with a Toews game-tying goal in the third period before he delivered the winner at 2:20 of overtime.“Johnny’s been unbelievable the first two games as far as leading the way and leading the charge,” Chicago winger Patrick Kane told reporters after Saturday’s victory, according to the Blackhawks’ official website. “You couldn’t really ask much more from the captain.”While the Blackhawks will carry the momentum of back-to-back overtime victories into Sunday’s game at the United Center, the fact that Toews has found a way to come up with a heavy dose of early season production with his four goals is a serious positive for the Blackhawks moving forward.“Johnny looked powerful,” Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville told reporters after Chicago’s season-opening victory over the Ottawa Senators, according to The Athletic. “He was quick in the puck area, got some explosiveness out of it. Got some free pucks. With his line having the puck, or him having the puck. A lot of things can happen.”As one of Chicago’s aging veterans, Toews understands what a fast start could mean for him — and the Blackhawks. But after an off season, both from a personal and team standpoint, Toews said that getting back to basics could go a long way as he attempts to bounce back.“We’re all trying to find our legs and get used to that pace and get our timing down, myself included,” Toews said, according to The Athletic. “As the game went on Authentic Josh Rosen Jersey , I just felt a little bit more comfortable. I think as a team, we did a better job winning our battles and just being tough in the puck areas later in the game. Hopefully, I can build off of that.”The Blackhawks will face the Maple Leafs, who dropped a 5-3 decision to the Senators on Saturday.Toronto, which scored all three of its goals in the second period, couldn’t produce the equalizer after Ottawa scored 1:42 into the third period before the Senators picked up an empty-net goal with 25 seconds remaining.Frederik Andersen finished with 19 saves for the Maple Leafs. Backup goalie Garret Sparks will start in net for Toronto against Chicago on Sunday.Despite the Maple Leafs’ loss on Saturday, Andersen was encouraged by how his teammates played in front of him.“I thought we had a good game,” Andersen said, according to NHL.com. “I think we created some good opportunities to score and so did (Ottawa), but they scored a little bit more. They got the most of their opportunities.”Leafs forward Auston Matthews also saw improvement.“I think we played a much better game than we did opening night,” Matthews said, according to NHL.com. DENVER (AP) Anze Kopitar became the first Kings player with a four-goal game since 1993, Jonathan Quick stopped 29 shots and Los Angeles beat the Colorado Avalanche 7-1 on Thursday night.Kopitar was so efficient that he picked up his fourth career hat trick with 7:33 remaining in the second period. He added another goal early in the third. This was the first four-goal game by a Kings player since Luc Robitaille on Nov. 25, 1993, at Quebec.Tobias Rieder had two goals and Jake Muzzin scored his first goal since Feb. 3. Los Angeles improved to 6-0-2 in its last eight roads games and passed Anaheim for the third spot in the Pacific Division.Mikko Rantanen scored for Colorado.LIGHTNING 7 http://www.arizonacardinalsteamonline.com/josh-rosen-jersey , ISLANDERS 6NEW YORK (AP) – J.T. Miller scored twice, Brayden Point had a goal and two assists, and high-scoring Tampa Bay held off New York.Anthony Cirelli, Mikhail Sergachev and Victor Hedman each added a goal and an assist, Tyler Johnson also scored, and Braydon Coburn and Yanni Gourde each had two assists.Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 35 shots for his NHL-leading 42nd victory, extending Tampa Bay’s franchise record. The Lightning improved to 12-2-1 in their last 15 games, extending their Eastern Conference and Atlantic Division leads to six points over idle Boston.Anders Lee, Ryan Pulock and Anthony Beauvillier each scored twice for the Islanders. They lost for the 12th time in 14 games (2-8-4).SHARKS 2, GOLDEN KNIGHTS 1, OTSAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) – Logan Couture scored 39 seconds into overtime to send San Jose to its season-high sixth straight victory.Brent Burns also scored and Martin Jones made 24 saves to help the Sharks move within seven points of first-place Vegas with eight games remaining in the regular season. San Jose also opened a four-point lead over third-place Los Angeles in the Pacific Division with a game in hand as the Sharks close in on home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.Tomas Tatar scored the lone goal for the Golden Knights, who were kept in the game by a sterling performance by goalie Malcolm Subban. He stopped 42 shots but it wasn’t enough for Vegas to come up with the win.BLUE JACKETS 4, PANTHERS 0.COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 33 shots for his fifth shutout of the season Josh Rosen Jersey Limited , Cam Atkinson had a goal and an assist, and Columbus beat Florida for its 10th straight victory.Sonny Milano, Seth Jones and Thomas Vanek also scored. The Blue Jackets joined Philadelphia (1984-86) and Pittsburgh (2010-13) as the only teams with 10-game winning streaks in consecutive seasons.CAPITALS 1, RED WINGS 0DETROIT (AP) – Philipp Grubauer made 39 saves for his third shutout of the season, and Brett Connolly scored on a third-period breakaway to lift Washington past Detroit Red.The Capitals have won six of seven and lead Pittsburgh and Columbus by four points atop the Metropolitan Division as the regular season winds down. Washington has turned increasingly to Grubauer of late after Braden Holtby struggled in February and at the beginning of March. Holtby wasn’t available Thursday because of an injury coach Barry Trotz described as a tweak.The Capitals took the lead with 13:19 remaining in the game after Detroit defenseman Xavier Ouellet couldn’t control the puck near Washington’s blue line. Connolly and teammate Jakub Vrana went the other way on a two-man breakaway, and Connolly beat Jimmy Howard with a wrist shot to the glove side.MAPLE LEAFS 5, PREDATORS 2NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Auston Matthews had a goal in his return from a shoulder injury that sidelined him for 10 games and Toronto beat Nashville.The Predators had been 14-0-1 since their previous regulation loss on Feb. 17.James van Riemsdyk and Mitchell Marner each had a goal and an assist, and William Nylander and Jake Gardiner also scored for Toronto. The Maple Leafs have won five of six.Morgan Rielly had three assists for the Maple Leafs, and Tyler Bozak had two. Frederik Andersen stopped 23 shots. Viktor Arvidsson and Scott Hartnell scored for Nashville.HURRICANES 6, COYOTES 5RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – Jeff Skinner scored his second goal with 1:58 left, and Carolina beat Arizonadespite giving up a weird goal when the puck stuck in goalie Cam Ward’s skate.Skinner added an assist, and Valentin Zykov scored two goals, the second tying it at 5 with 10:14 remaining. Phil Di Giuseppe had a goal and two assists Authentic Julio Jones Jersey , and Jaccob Slavin had three assists. Teuvo Teravainen also scored, and Ward made 28 saves.Alex Goligoski scored twice, including arguably the most bizarre goal of the season when Ward unknowingly skated across the red line with the puck lodged in his right skate.Rookie Clayton Keller had a goal and an assist, Josh Archibald and Nick Cousins also scored and Darcy Kuemper stopped 24 shots for Arizona.OILERS 6, SENATORS 2.OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) – Connor McDavid had two goals and two assists and Edmonton eliminated Ottawa from playoff contention.Drake Caggiula also had two goals, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Ty Rattie scored and Cam Talbot stopped 33 shots for the Oilers. They were 3-1-0 on a four-game trip.Matt Duchene and Filip Chlapik replied for Ottawa, and Craig Anderson made 32 saves.FLYERS 4, RANGERS 3PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Travis Konecny scored twice, Claude Giroux had three assists and Philadelphia Flyers beat New York.Jakub Voracek had a goal and an assist, and Oskar Lindblom also scored for the Flyers. Jesper Fast had two goals and an assist and Mika Zibanejad also scored for the Rangers.CANUCKS 5, BLACKHAWKS 2CHICAGO (AP) – Alexander Edler scored twice, Jacob Markstrom made 39 saves and Vancouver beat Chicago to stop a seven-game slide.Henrik Sedin and Bo Horvat each had a goal and an assist, and Brent Sutter also scored.Nick Schmaltz and Matthew Highmore scored for Chicago.