Just when it looked like Josh Bailey was going to snap his six-game goalless skid, Keith Kinkaid goes and does this.

The New Jersey Devils goaltender made a miraculous diving stop to deny Bailey of - what appeared to be - a tap-in goal.

Bailey is five goals shy of matching his career high of 16 and it doesn't look like he's going to get any help from Kinkaid.

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PITTSBURGH - Tomas Tatar and Thomas Vanek scored early third-period goals to lead the Detroit Red Wings to a 5-2 victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday.

Nick Jensen and Steve Ott also scored and Luke Glendening added a late empty-netter for the Red Wings, who completed a back-to-back sweep of Washington and Pittsburgh, two of the top teams in the league. Petr Mrazek made 24 saves for his second win in as many days; he lost his previous four games.

Detroit defeated Washington in a shootout at home Saturday and followed with the win at Pittsburgh, the NHL's best home team. It was the Red Wings' second victory against Pittsburgh this season.

Detroit, which lost five straight before the weekend victories, remained near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, but within striking distance of the final playoff spot.

Sidney Crosby scored his league-leading 32nd goal and Tom Kuhnhackl added his third with the Penguins short-handed. The Penguins lost in regulation for the first time since the All-Star break. Matt Murray stopped 19 shots.

Pittsburgh, which could've equaled a season-high 10-game points streak, had points in 13 of its previous 15 contests. But it missed a chance to move closer than five points behind Washington for the top spot in the Metropolitan Division; the Capitals lost to the New York Rangers earlier in the day.

The teams combined for three goals in the first 2:23 of the third period.

Tatar scored his 14th for a 3-1 lead 27 seconds into the period. Vanek, who scored Saturday in the shootout against Washington, extended the Red Wings' advantage 1:49 later when he beat Murray with a wrist shot from the slot.

Crosby made it a 4-2 only 7 seconds later with a wrist shot from the left faceoff dot, but the Penguins couldn't complete the comeback.

Penguins defenseman Trevor Daley rang a shot off the crossbar and Mrazek stopped Phil Kessel on a breakaway in the first three minutes of the game. That allowed Jensen to open the scoring when he faked a slap shot and worked around an outstretched Murray on a partial breakaway. Kuhnhackl responded later in the period with a short-handed goal, but Ott put Detroit back in front on a backhander from the slot.

Mrazek kept it a one-goal game entering the third period with a sharp blocker stop on Ian Cole and a sprawling glove save on Nick Bonino later in the second period.

NOTES: The Penguins honored Crosby for reaching the 1,000-point milestone Thursday against Winnipeg with a pregame ceremony Sunday. Crosby was given a gold-plated stick and a plaque made from the roof of the former Civic Arena by Penguins owner Mario Lemieux. . Pittsburgh played without defensemen Justin Schultz (concussion) and Olli Maatta for the second straight game. Maatta is expected to miss six weeks following hand surgery. Red Wings D Ryan Sproul played on Sunday after Mike Green missed his second straight game with an illness. . Gustav Nyquist and Tomas Jurco were also scratched for Detroit. . Penguins F Conor Sheary, who missed his ninth game with an upper body injury, skated Sunday morning.

UP NEXT

Red Wings: Will host the New York Islanders on Tuesday before the team's bye week.

Penguins: Visit Carolina on Tuesday before Saturday's outdoor Stadium Series game against Philadelphia at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh.

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The Detroit Red Wings are riding the hot hand of late, that obviously being Petr Mrazek and his glove hand.

The Detroit netminder made a sensational snag on Pittsburgh Penguins forward Nick Bonino on Sunday afternoon.

For Mrazek, Sunday's start is his second in as many days. And after he backstopped his club to a win over the first-place Washington Capitals on Saturday, he looks to be putting together a nice little streak.

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Dave Strader will be seen and heard by a national audience next weekend.

The resilient play-by-play man was already planning to call the Dallas Stars' game against the Boston Bruins next Sunday, but it will now be shown on NBC and he'll call it with his Stars broadcast partner, Daryl Reaugh, the club announced.

Strader was diagnosed with cancer last June and underwent months of treatment before returning to the booth for his first game of the season Saturday night.

Related - Stars' Strader: 'For 4 hours, I didn't feel like I was sick at all'

The veteran broadcaster was scheduled to call the Stars' entire five-game homestand, which began with Saturday's overtime victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The home side gave him a touching tribute after the game.

Watch: Stars salute Dave Strader after winning in his return to booth

Strader was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma, a rare and aggressive form of bile duct cancer.

Dallas is now on its bye week, but the Stars will be back in action Friday against the Arizona Coyotes, followed by next Sunday's nationally televised contest against the Bruins. They'll battle the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday, then conclude the homestand against the New York Islanders on March 2.

Strader will return to upstate New York to continue his treatment at the conclusion of the homestand, according to the Stars.

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Ryan Johansen surely knew it was on the calendar, but that didn't make the lead-up to his first game back in Columbus any less strange for him.

"It feels like everyone's forgotten about it, it's been so long," the Nashville Predators forward told reporters, including Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch. "Definitely weird walking in here, but I'm looking forward to it."

Johansen will face the Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Sunday night for the first time since being traded to the Predators for defenseman Seth Jones over a year ago.

"I had a lot of fun in my time here, built some great relationships, have a lot of fond memories of Columbus," he said Sunday. "That's all that matters, really."

After back-to-back seasons scoring more than 25 goals (33 in 2013-14 and 26 in 2014-15), Johansen struggled to maintain that pace before and after he was dealt, but still posted a solid 60-point campaign combined between the two clubs.

The goal scoring hasn't been there for the 24-year-old this season either (nine goals), but he's once again contributing in the playmaking department with 31 assists in 57 games.

Johansen spent parts of five seasons with the Blue Jackets, who drafted him fourth overall in 2010.

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From one legend to another.

Prior to Sunday's contest between the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins, former NHL superstar Mario Lemieux presented Penguins captain Sidney Crosby with a commemorative plaque recognizing his 1,000th point.

Making it extra special, part of the plaque is made of steel from the Civic Arena, the Penguins' former home and where Crosby began his NHL career in 2005.

Crosby hit the millennial mark in a three-point outing against the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday.

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Fool me once, shame on you.

The Ottawa Senators must not get fooled again when it comes to re-signing their backup goaltender.

A pending unrestricted free agent, the Senators have a decision to make when it comes to Mike Condon's future with the team.

With starter Craig Anderson away on a leave of absence, Condon stepped into the No. 1 job in Ottawa, holding down the fort as he posted a 16-9-5 record prior to Anderson's Feb. 11 return. That run included a .912 save percentage, 2.56 goals-against average, and 27 consecutive appearances.

Condon has been relegated to second-string duty since Anderson's return, and while his accomplishments during his time with the top job can't be ignored, the Senators don't have to look far to see how a similar story played out. Condon's case is familiar territory for the franchise.

Facing a netminding bind late in the 2014-15 campaign, Ottawa called on minor-leaguer Andrew Hammond to assume No. 1 goaltender duties, who then dragged the Senators to the playoffs on the back of a near-perfect 20-1-2 record.

Given that performance, then-general manager Bryan Murray signed Hammond to a lucrative three-year pact. But just over a year into that contract, "The Hamburglar" has since returned to the AHL, unable to keep up the pace of his magical run. In fact, in the ensuing two seasons, Hammond has come away with just seven wins in 30 outings, including an 0-for-6 mark this year.

As for Condon, there is no doubt he's earned a fair raise from his current $575,000 salary, but the Senators aren't forced to commit to a long-term deal with Anderson playing well and backups being a dime a dozen. Recall that it took all of a lowly fifth-round pick to acquire Condon in the first place.

The Senators reportedly have already been in talks with Condon regarding a new contract, but the team would be wise to keep Hammond in mind when it comes time for their newfound backup to put pen to paper.

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Ottawa Senators winger Bobby Ryan will be out of the lineup indefinitely with a hand injury, the team announced today.

The winger took a shot off his hand during the third period of Ottawa's 6-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs Saturday night, according to the Senators. Ryan is currently being evaluated to determine whether his hand is broken.

According to Postmedia's Bruce Garrioch, Ryan's injury is to his right index finger, the same one he injured earlier this season. He could miss up to six weeks if it is found to be broken.

Ryan initially injured his right hand in mid-November, suffering the injury in similar fashion by taking a shot off his hand against the Nashville Predators. He returned to the lineup in late November before being removed again after re-aggravating the injury.

The 29-year-old finally returned for the Senators in December, remaining in the lineup until re-injuring his hand once again Saturday night.

Ryan has 12 goals and 24 points in 50 games this season.

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Over the past couple of years, the NHL saw an extensive period during which one could ask: What in the H-E-double-hockey-sticks has happened to scoring? The entirety of the 2015-16 NHL season didn’t include a single game with a total of more than 5.5. The 2014-15 season had only seven games with a total of 6 or more, the last of those coming on Dec. 29, 2014.

It’s all part of a downward trajectory in NHL totals over the past dozen years.

Yet in just the past week, there were three games with totals of 6.5 – on three consecutive nights, no less. And continuing a trend in these contests, the over hit in all three: Winnipeg beat visiting Dallas 5-2 on Tuesday night, host Columbus topped Toronto 5-2 on Wednesday, and Pittsburgh notched a 4-3 overtime home victory Thursday against Winnipeg.

There have been 11 games this season with a total of 6.5, and the over has gone 8-3 in those games.

“Totals are definitely higher this season,” said Greg Sindall, senior oddsmaker for online site SportsInteraction, alluding to an additional 11 games with totals of 6, though the over trend isn’t as strong there. “I don’t know if it’s a short-term anomaly, as it’s been like this all year. Our bettors are certainly betting the over a lot, although the over is always the more popular play in most sports.”

Nick Bogdanovich, director of trading for William Hill US, certainly agrees with that assessment. Bogdanovich doesn’t pay too much attention to hockey outside of the playoffs, but said that when it comes to totals, the NHL is a lot like its more popular peers.

“The higher the total, the more they’re gonna bet the over,” he said. “All the parlays are on the over - 95 percent. That’s just the way it is. In the NBA, baseball, whatever, we always shade to the over, and we’re usually rooting for the under.”

his season’s scoring statistics bear out the need to pump up the total a little more often. The average number of goals per game is 5.56, a marked increase from the 5.42 of the 2015-16 season and the first time since the 2010-11 season (5.59) that the average has been at 5.5 or above.

Sindall said scoring was up right from the get-go this season, so his shop began raising totals about a month into play, particularly in games involving Pittsburgh, Washington, Columbus, Minnesota and the New York Rangers. The defending Stanley Cup champion Penguins lead the league, with their games averaging 6.35 total goals. The first-place Capitals have seen their games just above the league average at 5.58, with the Blue Jackets (5.67), Wild (5.66) and the Rangers (6.05) all well above the league average.

Four teams - Pittsburgh, Toronto, the Rangers and Winnipeg - have cumulative goals per game above 6.0 this year; Dallas was the only team to eclipse that mark in 2014-15 and 2015-16. But Sindall also pointed to certain players impacting betting totals, particularly some of the rising young stars across the league.

“Auston Matthews is definitely on there,” he said of the Toronto rookie, tied for sixth in the league with 27 goals. Cooley also cited Edmonton’s Connor McDavid (20 goals), Toronto’s William Nylander (16), Buffalo’s Jack Eichel (13), Washington’s Evgeny Kuznetsov (12) and Calgary’s Johnny Gaudreau (11).

Matthews and Nylander’s Maple Leafs best demonstrate the goal upswing, averaging 6.14 cumulative goals per game, second only to Pittsburgh.

“I think the biggest reason for the higher totals is that there are a lot of these young players coming into the league who are highly skilled offensive players, and they are extremely fast,” Sindall said. “These guys are making difficult plays at full speed, and it is very difficult for defenses and for goalies.

“There have been some injuries to goalies, and I think penalties are up a bit, so those could also contribute. But I would say the biggest factors are the speed and skill level of these players, and coaches are planning their games around these guys. Teams seem to be playing more of an attacking game because they have such great offensive players.”

The higher totals - and the fact that games posted at 6.5 are seeing the over cash at a high rate - is a welcomed sight for fans of more action and more scoring. Of the 1,230 games during the 2005-06 NHL season, 1,064 had a betting total of six goals or more. The precipitous drop that followed, with the aforementioned seven such games in 2014-15, represented a decrease of more than 99 percent - and there were zero games with totals above 5.5 last season.

Who knew that when Tampa Bay edged visiting Toronto 3-2 in that Dec. 29, 2014 contest, there wouldn’t be another 6 on the board until this past Oct. 22, when Dallas faced Columbus? Or that the Carolina-Washington game on Nov. 28, 2010 - yes, 2010 - would be the last total of 6.5 until the Dec. 17, 2016 clash between Pittsburgh and Toronto?

Now, there have been eight games in just the past month with a total of 6.5 - including three on the same day, Jan. 31 - and the over went 7-1 in those matchups.

“I don’t know how long it will last, but the longer the better,” Sindall said. “Games are so much better when you let these players go out there and do their thing, as opposed to sitting back in some tight defensive system, trying to win every game 2-1.”

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