Andrei Vasilevskiy made 23 saves in his return and the Tampa Bay Lightning received a hat trick from Brayden Point in an 8-2 victory against the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night in Raleigh, N.C.
Nikita Kucherov scored two goals to go with four assists and Point had two assists for Tampa Bay, which has a five-game point streak. Steven Stamkos, Brandon Hagel and Luke Glendening also scored. Hagel had two assists.
Stefan Noesen and Michael Bunting had Carolina’s goals, but the Hurricanes lost for just the second time in eight home games this season. Antti Raanta made only six saves on 14 shots just two nights after leaving after one period because of a health concern.
Vasilevskiy hadn’t played an NHL game since April because of offseason back surgery. He got the call as Tampa Bay began a stretch of three straight road games. He is a two-time Stanley Cup winner and 2021 Conn Smythe Trophy recipient as playoff MVP.
Blackhawks 4, Maple Leafs 3 (OT)
Kevin Korchinski scored a wild goal with 30 seconds left in overtime as host Chicago broke a five-game losing streak, edging Toronto.
After Connor Bedard’s shot from the high slot hit the back glass, it rebounded onto the top of the net in three-on-three play then fell close to Toronto goaltender Ilya Samsonov (30 saves). Korchinski then one-handed it in from in close.
Jason Dickinson recorded his first career hat trick for Chicago, and Arvid Soderblom made 34 saves for the win. Nicholas Robertson, Calle Jarnkrok and Ryan Reaves hit the net while Max Domi recorded two assists as Toronto saw its four-game winning streak end.
Red Wings 5, Bruins 2
Detroit remains the only team that has handed Boston a regulation loss this season as a pair of power-play goals helped lead to a road win.
Alex DeBrincat and J.T. Compher each posted a goal and an assist to pace the Red Wings, who have won back-to-back games and taken points from five of their past six. Robby Fabbri, Dylan Larkin and David Perron also lit the lamp and Shayne Gostisbehere had two assists for Detroit, which never trailed. Ville Husso made 25 saves.
Jake DeBrusk and Danton Heinen scored for Boston, which had gained points in seven straight games since a 5-4 loss in Detroit on Nov. 4. David Pastrnak reached the 30-point mark in 20 or fewer games for the third time with an assist on DeBrusk’s goal. Jeremy Swayman (24 saves) took his first regulation loss after starting 7-0-2.
Rangers 3, Flyers 1
Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider continued their success against host Philadelphia, combining for three goals in a New York victory.
Zibanejad and Kreider scored within a 68-second span early in the first before Zibanejad — who had just two goals this season entering Friday — extended the lead to 3-0 in the second. Zibanejad has 18 goals in 42 career games against the Flyers while Kreider has 17 goals in 40 games against the Metropolitan Division rival.
Igor Shesterkin made 36 saves for the surging Rangers, who are 12-1-1 in their past 14 games. Sean Couturier scored late in the second for the Flyers, who have lost two straight following a five-game winning streak.
Predators 8, Blues 3
Luke Evangelista and Filip Forsberg each logged two goals in a three-point game and visiting Nashville scored four times in the second period to beat St. Louis.
Kiefer Sherwood had a goal and two assists for the Predators, who won their fourth straight game. Ryan O’Reilly, Yakov Trenin and Spencer Stastney also scored for Nashville. Alexandre Carrier had two assists, and Kevin Lankinen made 36 saves to earn the victory.
Pavel Buchnevich and Robert Thomas had a goal and an assist apiece and Jake Neighbours also scored for the Blues, who have allowed 24 goals in their past five games.
Kings 5, Ducks 2
Kevin Fiala scored two goals and Cam Talbot made 29 saves for Los Angeles, which beat Anaheim for its ninth consecutive road win to start the season. The Buffalo Sabres set the NHL record of 10 road victories to open the 2006-07 season.
Anze Kopitar had a goal and an assist, Arthur Kaliyev and Quinton Byfield also scored and Adrian Kempe, Trevor Moore and Drew Doughty had two assists each as the Kings won their fourth consecutive game overall. Kopitar recorded his 757th assist to tie the Kings’ franchise record established by Marcel Dionne.
Radko Gudas and Alex Killorn each scored goals for the Ducks, who lost their fifth consecutive game and have dropped seven of nine overall following a six-game winning streak. John Gibson stopped 26 shots.
Blue Jackets 2, Devils 1
Elvis Merzlikins made 32 of his season-high 37 saves in the final two periods and Columbus halted an eight-game road losing streak by holding on for a victory in Newark, N.J.
Merzlikins made six saves during a Devils power play early in the third and then stopped three more shots in the final two-plus minutes. He made eight saves on Jack Hughes and six on Jesper Bratt. Eric Robinson scored the tiebreaking goal in the final minute of the opening period as the Blue Jackets got their first road win since Oct. 22.
Boone Jenner scored for the third straight game as the Blue Jackets followed up a 7-3 win over Chicago by winning consecutive games for the second time this season after losing nine straight. Alexander Holtz scored for the Devils, who dropped under .500 in points percentage for the first time this season at 8-9-1. Akira Schmid stopped 26 shots.
Oilers 5, Capitals 0
Leon Draisaitl scored twice in a three-point game and Connor McDavid collected four assists as visiting Edmonton snapped a three-game losing skid with a victory over Washington.
Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner made 25 saves to record his first shutout of the season and the third in his career. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored one goal and added two assists, while Evander Kane and Evan Bouchard also scored for the Oilers. Zach Hyman collected two assists.
Charlie Lindgren stopped 30 shots for the Capitals, who saw their five-game winning streak emphatically snapped.
Canadiens 3, Sharks 2 (SO)
Cole Caufield scored the tying goal and also had an assist and Jesse Ylonen scored the winner in the sixth round of the shootout as Montreal rallied from a two-goal deficit to defeat host San Jose.
Johnathan Kovacevic also scored and Cayden Primeau made 31 saves for Montreal, which won its second straight road game. William Eklund had a goal and an assist for the first multipoint game of his career, Tomas Hertl had two assists and Mike Hoffman also scored for San Jose, which lost its third straight. Mackenzie Blackwood finished with 22 saves.
After Eklund and Nick Suzuki traded goals to start the shootout, Hoffman hit the post with a shot to start the third round. Ylonen then won it at the end of the sixth round when he deked Blackwood with a backhand and then put a forehand shot into an open right side of the goal for the winning score.
Jets 3, Panthers 0
Connor Hellebuyck made 32 saves to lead Winnipeg to its fifth straight win, a victory in Sunrise, Fla.
Winnipeg got goals from Nino Niederreiter, Nikolaj Ehlers and Adam Lowry. The Jets improved to 6-2-1 on the road while winning for the eighth time in the past nine games overall. Hellebuyck, who won the Vezina Trophy in 2019-20, improved his career record against Florida to 8-3-0.
Florida, which fell to 7-3-0 at home, got 29 saves from Sergei Bobrovsky. The Panthers got a boost before the game as center/captain Aleksander Barkov returned to the lineup after missing two consecutive games.
Flames 7, Stars 4
Blake Coleman and Elias Lindholm scored goals 29 seconds apart early in the third period during their two-point games as visiting Calgary erased a two-goal deficit with five unanswered goals to beat Dallas.
Yegor Sharagovich scored once and added two assists while A.J. Greer and Adam Ruzicka also collected one goal and one assist for the Flames, who are on a 6-2-2 run. Calgary’s Mikael Backlund and Nazem Kadri also tallied, while Andrew Mangiapane collected two assists and goaltender Jacob Markstrom made 24 saves.
Wyatt Johnston scored twice, Jason Robertson produced one goal and one assist and Joe Pavelski added a goal for the Stars, who fell to 1-2-1 in their past four games. Jamie Benn and Evgenii Dadonov both collected two assists, and Dallas goalie Jake Oettinger stopped 20 shots.
Avalanche 3, Wild 2
Kurtis MacDermid’s first goal of the season came early in the third period and proved to be the game-winner as Colorado prevailed in Saint Paul, Minn.
Ross Colton and Valeri Nichushkin also scored goals and Alexandar Georgiev had 19 saves for the Avalanche, who won for the fifth time in six games.
Kirill Kaprizov had a goal and an assist and Joel Eriksson Ek also scored for Minnesota, which lost its sixth straight game. Filip Gustavsson made 22 saves.
Sabers 3, Penguins 2
Alex Tuch scored the game-winner with 2:44 left in regulation as Buffalo used a three-goal third period to top visiting Pittsburgh.
Jeff Skinner and Tuch each finished with a goal and an assist, Kyle Okposo also scored and Victor Olofsson added two assists for the Sabres, who are 2-0-1 in their past three games. Buffalo goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 31 saves.
Sidney Crosby and Lars Eller scored for the Penguins, who have lost four of five. Alex Nedeljkovic made 31 saves.
Islanders 5, Senators 3
Mathew Barzal and Anders Lee scored within a six-second span in the second period to lead New York past host Ottawa for its third straight win.
Kyle Palmieri and Oliver Wahlstrom had a goal and an assist for New York, Simon Holmstrom also scored and Alexander Romanov and Brock Nelson each had two assists. Islanders goaltender Semyon Varlamov stopped 28 of 31 shots.
Drake Batherson scored twice for the Senators, who saw their three-game win streak end. Tim Stutzle had a goal and an assist and Mathieu Joseph had two assists. Anton Forsberg stopped 21 of 26 shots for Ottawa.
Canucks 5, Kraken 1
Sam Lafferty, elevated to the first line, scored a goal and Thatcher Demko made 23 saves as Vancouver pulled away in the third period to end host Seattle’s five-game point streak (3-0-2).
Teddy Blueger, Dakota Joshua, Nils Hoglander and Ilya Mikheyev also scored and Nils Aman and Conor Garland had two assists apiece for the Canucks, who had lost three of their previous four games — including a 4-3 decision to visiting Seattle on Nov. 18.
Tye Kartye scored the lone goal for the Kraken, and Joey Daccord stopped 22 of 27 shots.
–Field Level Media
