There's always a Winner and a Loser in the NHL, and this is a new nightly look at some of the winners and losers in the biggest games and biggest situations across the league.
Winners
New York Rangers: After spending most of the first period in the penalty box and falling down by two goals after one period, the New York Rangers stormed back with four unanswered goals in Winnipeg and opened up a five-point lead over the Pittsburgh Penguins for the No. 1 spot in the Eastern Conference.
It was a big special teams performance by the Rangers, as they not only converted on two of their five power play chances, they also successfully killed off all five of the Jets chances, and also scored a shorthanded goal early in the second period to start the comeback.
[Related: Rangers 4, Jets 2]
Los AngelesKings: By stopping all 19 shots he faced from the Calgary Flames, Jonathan Quick recorded his ninth shutout of the season on Wednesday night as he helped the Los Angeles Kings snap a two-game losing skid and win for the 10th time in their past 14 games, and in the process, help send the Flames playoff chances down the tubes.
It was not only another solid outing by Quick in the crease, but the Kings defense also helped to shut down the Flames limiting to only a handful of chances throughout the night.
[Related: Kings 3, Flames 0]
Dallas Stars: The Stars moved back into first place thanks to the combination of their 3-1 win in Edmonton and the Sharks losing in Anaheim.
It was another spectacular performance from goaltender Kari Lehtonen, and Michael Ryder continued his rather unbelievable season by scoring two more goals, giving him 35 on the season.
[Related: Stars 3, Oilers 1]
Losers
Detroit Red Wings: There is no way to sugarcoat it -- the Red Wings are a terrible road team.
After dismantling the Blue Jackets on Monday in Detroit, the Red Wings completed the road portion of a home-and-home set with Columbus with a 4-1 loss at Nationwide arena, dropping their road record on the season to just 16-21-3, which is one of the worst marks of any playoff team (or potential playoff team) in the NHL.
Wednesday's game was the "game in hand" Detroit had remaining on Nashville, the team the Red Wings lead by one point for home-ice advantage in the opening round, and letting that slip away with a clunker of a performance in Columbus could be costly.
[Related: Blue Jackets 4, Red Wings 1]
Winnipeg Jets and Calgary Flames: For these two teams ... it looks like it's over for this season.
[Related: Playoff Picture]
San Jose Sharks: Their three-game winning streak came to an end, and as a result, they dropped from third place in the West all the way down to eighth place in the west. In other words: just another crazy day in the Pacific Division.
[Related: Ducks 3, Sharks 1]
And for a bonus video: Vancouver Canucks forward David Booth doesn't fight all that often, but as Mark Olver of the Colorado Avalanche found out on Wednesday, he can handle himself whenever he does.
For more hockey news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnHockey and @agretz on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
Winners
New York Rangers: After spending most of the first period in the penalty box and falling down by two goals after one period, the New York Rangers stormed back with four unanswered goals in Winnipeg and opened up a five-point lead over the Pittsburgh Penguins for the No. 1 spot in the Eastern Conference.
It was a big special teams performance by the Rangers, as they not only converted on two of their five power play chances, they also successfully killed off all five of the Jets chances, and also scored a shorthanded goal early in the second period to start the comeback.
[Related: Rangers 4, Jets 2]
Los AngelesKings: By stopping all 19 shots he faced from the Calgary Flames, Jonathan Quick recorded his ninth shutout of the season on Wednesday night as he helped the Los Angeles Kings snap a two-game losing skid and win for the 10th time in their past 14 games, and in the process, help send the Flames playoff chances down the tubes.
It was not only another solid outing by Quick in the crease, but the Kings defense also helped to shut down the Flames limiting to only a handful of chances throughout the night.
[Related: Kings 3, Flames 0]
Dallas Stars: The Stars moved back into first place thanks to the combination of their 3-1 win in Edmonton and the Sharks losing in Anaheim.
It was another spectacular performance from goaltender Kari Lehtonen, and Michael Ryder continued his rather unbelievable season by scoring two more goals, giving him 35 on the season.
[Related: Stars 3, Oilers 1]
Losers
Detroit Red Wings: There is no way to sugarcoat it -- the Red Wings are a terrible road team.
After dismantling the Blue Jackets on Monday in Detroit, the Red Wings completed the road portion of a home-and-home set with Columbus with a 4-1 loss at Nationwide arena, dropping their road record on the season to just 16-21-3, which is one of the worst marks of any playoff team (or potential playoff team) in the NHL.
Wednesday's game was the "game in hand" Detroit had remaining on Nashville, the team the Red Wings lead by one point for home-ice advantage in the opening round, and letting that slip away with a clunker of a performance in Columbus could be costly.
[Related: Blue Jackets 4, Red Wings 1]
Winnipeg Jets and Calgary Flames: For these two teams ... it looks like it's over for this season.
[Related: Playoff Picture]
San Jose Sharks: Their three-game winning streak came to an end, and as a result, they dropped from third place in the West all the way down to eighth place in the west. In other words: just another crazy day in the Pacific Division.
[Related: Ducks 3, Sharks 1]
And for a bonus video: Vancouver Canucks forward David Booth doesn't fight all that often, but as Mark Olver of the Colorado Avalanche found out on Wednesday, he can handle himself whenever he does.
For more hockey news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnHockey and @agretz on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
