Brandon Hagel scored twice in 23 seconds during Tampa Bay’s five-goal outburst in the first period as the Lightning trounced the visiting San Jose Sharks 8-1 on Thursday.
Cam Atkinson and Conor Geekie had a goal and an assist apiece before Hagel hit the net twice. Jake Guentzel, who finished with two points, scored to cap the explosive frame, putting the Lightning in position to improve to 8-0-1 in their past nine meetings with San Jose.
Brayden Point tied a career high with four assists in his 600th NHL game.
Tampa Bay goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 20 shots to improve to 8-2-0 all-time against San Jose and win for the second time in his past five starts.
Oilers 6, Blue Jackets 3
Zach Hyman made the most of his return to the ice, scoring twice to lead Edmonton past visiting Columbus.
The left wing missed the Oilers’ five previous games due to an unspecified injury. Even before missing time, the 32-year-old, who scored 54 goals last season, was battling through a slump with just three goals through 20 games.
The Oilers’ top weapons joined Hyman in the scoring barrage. Leon Draisaitl also scored twice to tie Florida’s Sam Reinhart for the league lead with 19 goals, and Connor McDavid had a season-high four assists.
Blues 4, Flames 3 (OT)
Colton Parayko scored the overtime winner and Robert Thomas tallied once in a three-point performance as St. Louis continued its winning ways by knocking off host Calgary.
Zack Bolduc and Pavel Buchnevich also scored for the Blues, who are 4-0-1 since Jim Montgomery was named coach of the club following the firing of Drew Bannister on Nov. 24. Philip Broberg collected a pair of assists, and Jordan Binnington made 36 saves.
Jakob Pelletier, Matt Coronato and MacKenzie Weegar scored for the Flames, who have one win in six games (1-3-2). Goalie Dan Vladar stopped 20 shots. Calgary’s six-game home winning streak was snapped.
Canadiens 3, Predators 0
Sam Montembeault made 29 saves and Patrik Laine scored his second power-play goal in as many games to lift host Montreal past reeling Nashville.
Montembeault turned aside all 13 shots he faced in the third period to preserve his third shutout of the season and fourth in his career. Captain Nick Suzuki and rookie defenseman Lane Hutson each notched an assist to extend their respective point streaks, as the Canadiens improved to 2-0-0 on their five-game homestand.
Nashville’s Justus Annunen finished with 27 saves in his first start since being acquired from the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday but received no offensive support as the Predators lost their sixth straight game overall (0-3-3).
Hurricanes 5, Avalanche 3
Andrei Svechnikov’s empty-net goal combined with three earlier assists gave him the first four-point outing of his seven-year career in Carolina’s victory against Colorado in Raleigh, N.C.
NHL points leader Martin Necas provided a goal and an assist for Carolina, which snapped a season-worst three-game losing streak. Pyotr Kochetkov made 16 saves for his first victory since Nov. 20. He had missed time with a concussion and took the loss Tuesday against Seattle.
Valeri Nichushkin scored two goals after Colorado teammate Artturi Lehkonen opened the game’s scoring. Scott Wedgewood stopped 30 shots. Wedgewood, acquired from Nashville on Saturday, made his first start for Colorado after picking up a victory in relief earlier in the week.
Jets 3, Sabres 2 (OT)
Adam Lowry scored late in overtime as Winnipeg snapped its season-worst four-game losing streak with a road win over Buffalo.
Gabriel Vilardi had a goal and an assist, Kyle Connor also scored and Connor Hellebuyck made 28 saves for Jets, who had been 3-7-0 since winning 15 of their first 16. Winnipeg also got two assists apiece from Josh Morrissey and Mark Scheifele while snapping a three-game road slide.
Tage Thompson and Dylan Cozens scored first-period goals for the Sabres, who are 0-3-2 since winning seven of their previous nine. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 28 shots.
Senators 2, Red Wings 1
Josh Norris’ second goal of the game came with 43 seconds left and gave host Ottawa a narrow win over Detroit.
Norris, who is from the Detroit suburb of Oxford, Mich., and played at the University of Michigan, beat Red Wings’ goalie Ville Husso with a wrist shot from the high slot off of the rush for the winner. It was Norris’ 11th goal of the season.
Drake Batherson had two assists and Linus Ullmark made 19 saves for Ottawa, which snapped a two-game losing streak. The Red Wings lost their fourth consecutive game.
Panthers 7, Flyers 5
Sam Reinhart scored the go-ahead goal with 1:59 remaining and Matthew Tkachuk tallied a goal and four assists to highlight Florida’s wild road win over Philadelphia.
Amid a scramble in front of the net, Carter Verhaeghe sent a no-look backhand pass to a wide-open Reinhart, who hammered a slap shot into the wide-open net for his 19th goal, snapping a 5-5 tie. Reinhart and Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl are tied atop the league’s goal list.
Owen Tippett scored twice and Matvei Michkov had three assists for Philadelphia, which saw its three-game winning streak halted. Florida netminder Spencer Knight made 29 saves, helping the Panthers win for the fourth time in five games.
Kraken 5, Islanders 2
Vince Dunn had a goal and two assists as Seattle rolled over New York in Elmont, N.Y.
Tye Kartye, Oliver Bjorkstrand and Shane Wright added goals for the Kraken, who have won the first two games of a four-game Eastern Conference road trip. Goalie Joey Daccord carried a shutout into the third before finishing with 27 saves.
Noah Dobson and Maxim Tsyplakov scored in the back half of the third for the skidding Islanders, who have lost 10 of 13 games (3-5-5). Ilya Sorokin recorded nine saves before being pulled after two periods for Marcus Hogberg, who stopped all 11 shots he faced in his first NHL action since April 28, 2021, when he was a member of the Ottawa Senators.
–Field Level Media