I鈥檝e always thought of the World Junior Championship as hockey鈥檚 version of March Madness. And like the NCAA basketball tournament that is synonymous with momentous upsets and competitors on the cusp of pro careers Arizona Coyotes Hats Authentic , the WJC gets its share of plucky underdog teams.Back in my day, I鈥檇 watch March Madness to see what a then-unknown program like Gonzaga could do or marvel at the fact there was a team called the Campbell University Fighting Camels. At the world juniors this year, the good folks in Victoria fell in love with the newest team to participate in the top rung of the under-20s: Kazakhstan.Now, Kazakhstan was a minnow in this tournament, to be sure. The team had no NHL draft picks 鈥?even Denmark had a couple 鈥?and no one was even sure if it had a goal song until the second game of ... All-Access +All-Access Member AreaPremium content and in-depth analysis from our team of experts exclusively for magazine subscribers. Simply login to unlock the content or become a member for less than $2.50 a month.LoginBecome a Member PITTSBURGH (AP) Taylor Hall equaled the Devils‘ franchise record with points in 15 straight games, Stefan Noesen scored the only goal of the third period and New Jersey beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 on Tuesday night.Noesen, playing in his 100th NHL game, broke a 2-2 tie with his ninth of the season five minutes into the third. He tipped Andy Greene’s attempt from the side boards behind Penguins goaltender Casey DeSmith.Hall equaled a career high with his 27th goal and had an assist. Hall, who missed three games with a hand injury, has points in the last 22 games in which he’s played Custom Arizona Coyotes Jerseys , scoring 15 goals and 32 points during that span. He’s the fifth player in the last 25 years with at least one point in 22 consecutive appearances.Sidney Crosby scored his 21st goal and Matt Hunwick tallied his fourth for the Penguins, whose 11-game home win streak ended.WILD 8, BLUES 3ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Eric Staal had three goals and two assists to combine with linemates Mikael Granlund and Jason Zucker for 14 points and propel surging Minnesota over St. Louis.The Blues lost their seventh straight.Staal notched his 14th career hat trick, his first in more than five years. By scoring 13 times in 13 games in February, Staal raised his season total to 33 goals to move into the top five in the NHL.Granlund had two goals and two assists and Zucker added a goal and four assists for the Wild, who have won five in a row overall and are 19-2-5 in their last 26 home games since Nov. 14. The Wild’s eight goals matched their franchise record.STARS 2, FLAMES 0DALLAS (AP) – Ben Bishop made 38 saves and Dallas blanked Calgary for his 24th career shutout.Bishop’s shutout was his fifth this season. He had 17 saves in the second period, when Dallas increased its lead to 2-0 on a power-play goal by Tyler Seguin, his 32nd.The Stars maintained their hold on the first Western Conference wild card spot and prevented Calgary www.officialbruinsproonline.com , which sits just outside the second wild card position, from moving ahead of them.Gillies took his first loss in six NHL games. He stopped 24 shots.CAPITALS 3, SENATORS 2WASHINGTON (AP) – Evgeny Kuznetsov scored his 18th and 19th goals of the season to lead Washington past Ottawa.Tom Wilson also scored for Washington, which leapfrogged Philadelphia to regain first place in the Metropolitan Division by one point. The Capitals are 3-0 this season against struggling Ottawa.Matt Niskanen assisted on both of Kuznetsov’s goals, each coming less than a minute after the end of a successful Capitals penalty kill.Philipp Grubauer made 28 saves for Washington in his 18th start of the season.Erik Karlsson had a goal and an assist a day after Ottawa held onto the All-Star defenseman at the NHL trade deadline.PREDATORS 6, JETS 5WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) – Roman Josi had five assists, Craig Smith scored twice and Ryan Hartman redirected in the winning goal during his Nashville debut, sending the streaking Predators over Winnipeg.Hartman, acquired in a trade with Chicago at Monday’s deadline Boston Bruins T-Shirts Authentic , gave the Predators their first lead with a minute left when he deflected a shot by Josi.Kyle Turris, Mattias Ekholm and Ryan Johansen also scored as Nashville won its fifth straight, padding its division lead to four points over the Jets. Josi extended his point streak to five games.Mark Scheifele scored twice and new Winnipeg forward Paul Stastny had a goal and an assist.BRUINS 4, HURRICANES 3, OTBOSTON (AP) – Charlie McAvoy scored 1:08 into overtime and Rick Nash had a goal in his home debut as Boston rallied past Carolina.Tommy Wingels, Riley Nash and McAvoy each had a goal and an assist for Boston, which avoided losing three straight for the first time this season after falling behind 3-1 late in the first period.Brock McGinn, Teuvo Teravainen and Sebastian Aho scored for Carolina, and Justin Faulk had two assists. Scott Darling stopped 28 shots for the Hurricanes, who are 0-5-1 in their last six games.Tuukka Rask made 29 saves for the Bruins Boston Bruins Hoodies Authentic , who overcame a rocky first period and got big nights from two new additions.PANTHERS 3, MAPLE LEAFS 2, OTSUNRISE, Fla. (AP) – Jared McCann scored at 3:47 of overtime and Florida beat Toronto.McCann grabbed a loose puck in the neutral zone, skated in and fired a shot from the slot past goalie Curtis McElhinney.Jonathan Huberdeau had a goal and an assist, and Aleksander Barkov also scored for the Panthers. Vincent Trocheck added two assists and Roberto Luongo stopped 37 shots.Zach Hyman and Dominic Moore scored for the Maple Leafs, and McElhinney made 28 saves. Star center Auston Matthews sat out again with a shoulder injury.KINGS 4, GOLDEN KNIGHTS 1LAS VEGAS (AP) – Anze Kopitar scored his 27th goal of the season, Jack Campbell made 41 saves in his second career start and Los Angeles defeated Vegas.It was the Kings‘ second victory over the Western Conference leaders in two nights.Campbell was making his first NHL start since the 2013-14 season, when he played for Dallas. He made one appearance for Los Angeles last season.Kyle Clifford Boston Bruins Hats Authentic , Tyler Toffoli and Jeff Carter also scored for the Kings, who rank second in the league with 20 road wins. Tampa Bay has 22.Maxime Lagace, who stopped 26 shots for the Golden Knights, was making his first start since Dec. 9, when he won in Dallas. William Karlsson scored the Vegas goal.SHARKS 5, OILERS 2SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) – Evander Kane made an immediate impact in his San Jose debut by assisting on two goals during a four-goal second period and delivering a few big hits that helped the Sharks beat Edmonton.Joe Pavelski had a goal and three assists while centering San Jose’s top line with Kane on his left wing. Justin Braun, Timo Meier and Logan Couture also scored in the second to help the Sharks snap a three-game losing streak and remain in sole possession of second place in the Pacific Division. Chris Tierney added an empty-net goal.Martin Jones allowed a first-period goal by Connor McDavid and a third-period tally by Jesse Puljujarvi but made 24 saves for the win.—