Leon Draisaitl scored his league-leading 22nd goal and also had two assists as the host Edmonton Oilers jumped out to a five-goal lead and then held on for a 6-3 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday afternoon.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Connor Brown each added a goal and an assist for Edmonton, which extended its win streak to a season-best five games. Zach Hyman and Corey Perry scored goals, Darnell Nurse added two assists and Stuart Skinner made 38 saves for the Oilers, who improved to 8-2-0 over their last 10 games.
Ivan Barbashev scored his team-high 15th goal and Brett Howden and Victor Olofsson also scored for Vegas, which had a four-game win streak snapped. Noah Hanifin added two assists and Adin Hill finished with 28 saves while allowing a season-high six goals for the Golden Knights, who had allowed a total of just five goals in their previous four games.
The Oilers opened the second period with four consecutive goals by Hyman, Brown, Draisaitl and Perry on just eight shots in the first 12:53 to extend their lead to 5-0. The Golden Knights cut it to 5-3 a minute into the third period, but the Oilers added an insurance goal to secure the win.
Senators 3, Penguins 2 (OT)
Brady Tkachuk fired in the overtime game-winner as Ottawa won its season-high third straight game, edging visiting Pittsburgh.
Tkachuk took a stretch pass from Jake Sanderson, toe-dragged his way by defenseman Erik Karlsson and beat goaltender Tristan Jarry (28 saves) for his club-best 15th goal. Thomas Chabot had a goal and an assist and Drake Batherson netted his 13th as the Senators moved to 5-1-1 in their past seven matches.
Ottawa goaltender Linus Ullmark was back in goal on the back-to-back and recorded 25 saves for his fifth straight victory. Pittsburgh’s Blake Lizotte scored for the fifth time in nine games, while Kris Letang hit the net.
Stars 2, Blues 1 (OT)
Matt Duchene scored on an overtime rush up the ice to lift Dallas past visiting St. Louis.
Jason Robertson had a goal and an assist for the Stars and Jake Oettinger made 15 saves while making his fifth straight start. He extended his left pad to deny Pavel Buchnevich in overtime before Duchene scored the winner.
Jordan Kyrou scored for the Blues, who are 5-2-2 under new coach Jim Montgomery. Jordan Binnington made 35 saves to earn St. Louis a point.
Ducks 4, Blue Jackets 3 (OT)
Alex Killorn capped his two-goal performance by scoring 1:43 into overtime, fueling the visiting Anaheim to a victory over Columbus.
Killorn scored in the second period, then in overtime, he accepted an outlet feed from Robby Fabri and beat Jet Greaves on a partial breakaway to end the game. Anaheim defenseman Jackson LaCombe collected a goal and an assist and Mason McTavish scored a goal to record his 100th career point.
John Gibson turned aside 39 shots for the Ducks, who snapped a season-high five-game skid. Kirill Marchenko and Cole Sillinger scored 34 seconds apart late in the first period and Greaves made 23 saves for the Blue Jackets, who have lost six of their last seven games (1-4-2).
Devils 4, Blackhawks 1
Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier and Timo Meier scored in a span of about two minutes to cap a four-goal, third-period flurry by host New Jersey, which beat Chicago in Newark, N.J.
Dawson Mercer began the comeback 2:45 into the third for the Devils, who won the final two games of a five-game homestand (3-1-1). Goalie Jacob Markstrom made 16 saves.
Jason Dickinson scored in the second for the Blackhawks, who endured some familiar struggles while losing for the seventh time in eight games. Chicago goalie Drew Commesso, making his second NHL appearance and first start, recorded 20 saves.
Bruins 5, Canucks 1
Czech linemates David Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha each scored a goal and combined for seven points as Boston eased past host Vancouver.
Pastrnak (one goal, three assists) became the 11th player in Bruins history to reach 400 career assists after contributing to the team’s first three goals before scoring 26 seconds into the third period. Zacha (one goal, two assists) and Morgan Geekie (one goal, one assist) also recorded multiple points while Brad Marchand and Marc McLaughlin added goals for Boston, which has won five of seven despite starting 0-2-0 on its five-game road trip.
For Vancouver, which has won just one of its last four (1-2-1), Max Sasson netted his first NHL goal and Thatcher Demko made 23 saves in his second start following a knee injury.
Kings 5, Rangers 1
Los Angeles erupted for three goals in the second period to take a commanding lead and finished off a road victory over New York.
Adrian Kempe, Quinton Byfield, Alex Turcotte, and Warren Foegele each tallied a goal and an assist while Darcy Kuemper turned aside 31 of 32 shots. Anze Kopitar added two assists for the Kings, who won for the seventh time in their past eight games.
Byfield, Kempe, and Phillip Danault all scored in the first 5:04 of the second period to make it 5-0 and chase Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin (16 saves) from the net
Wild 4, Flyers 1
Kirill Kaprizov scored a pair of goals to lead Minnesota to a win over Philadelphia in Saint Paul, Minn.
Matt Boldy and Marco Rossi added one goal apiece for Minnesota, which bounced back from a 7-1 loss in its previous game against the Edmonton Oilers. Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury made 20 saves on 21 shots for his 567th career victory, which remains second all-time behind Martin Brodeur (691).
Travis Sanheim scored the lone goal for the Flyers, who lost for the first time in their past three games. Flyers goaltender Samuel Ersson stopped 19 of 22 shots.
Red Wings 4, Maple Leafs 2
Jeff Petry scored his first two goals of the season as host Detroit downed Toronto.
Petry helped goaltender Ville Husso (23 saves) earn his first victory in over a year. Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond also scored for the Red Wings, who won for just the second time in eight games. Raymond put home an empty-netter for his 10th goal in his past 12 games.
Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies had the goals for Toronto, which had won five of its last seven games. Joseph Woll made 22 saves.
Lightning 5, Kraken 1
Jake Guentzel scored for the sixth consecutive game and added an assist as Tampa Bay defeated host Seattle.
Brandon Hagel tallied twice, Brayden Point added a goal and an assist, Nikita Kucherov had two helpers and Declan Carlile, recalled earlier in the day, scored his first NHL goal for the Lightning, who went 3-1-0 on their four-game Western swing. Goaltender Jonas Johansson made 21 saves in his first appearance since Nov. 29.
Brandon Montour scored for Seattle, which lost for just the second time in regulation in its past seven games (4-2-1). Philipp Grubauer stopped 26 of 30 shots.
Capitals 4, Sabres 2
Dylan Strome scored the go-ahead goal in the third period to help Washington to a win against visiting Buffalo.
Tom Wilson scored twice and John Carlson had three assists for the Capitals, who have won four straight and are 8-0-1 in their past nine. Logan Thompson made 19 saves.
Jason Zucker and Jiri Kulich scored and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 27 saves for the Sabres, who have lost nine games in a row (0-6-3).
Jets 4, Canadiens 2
Gabriel Vilardi and Kyle Connor each had a goal and an assist as host Winnipeg regained first place in the Central Division by doubling up Montreal.
Josh Morrissey had two assists. Adam Lowry and Vladislav Namestnikov also scored for Winnipeg, while Nino Niederreiter, Dylan DeMelo and Alex Iafallo added assists. Connor Hellebuyck made 26 stops for the Jets.
Lane Hutson and Josh Anderson scored goals for Montreal, with assists from Mike Matheson, Cole Caufield, Christian Dvorak and Brenden Gallagher. Sam Montembeault made 23 saves for the Canadiens.
Avalanche 5, Predators 2
Mackenzie Blackwood had 37 saves in his team debut and Colorado beat Nashville in Denver.
Blackwood, acquired from the San Jose Sharks on Monday, just missed a chance for his second shutout of the season. Nathan MacKinnon had two goals and an assist, Artturi Lehkonen also had two goals, Ross Colton added a goal and Mikko Rantanen had three assists for Colorado.
Steven Stamkos and Luke Evangelista scored goals and Juuse Saros turned away 28 shots for the Predators, who lost for the ninth time in 10 games.
Flames 3, Panthers 0
Nazem Kadri scored a goal for the third straight game, and Dustin Wolf snapped his three-game losing streak as host Calgary defeated struggling Florida.
Coleman and Mikael Backlund also scored for Calgary. Wolf made 32 saves for his second shutout of the season. He improved to 9-5-1, and one of his biggest saves came with 15:05 left in the third as he used his right pad to stop a Sam Bennett breakaway.
The Panthers, shut out in their last two games, rested starting goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. Backup Spencer Knight made 24 saves, but his record fell to 5-5-1.
Utah Hockey Club 4, Sharks 3
Clayton Keller scored the game-winner and added an assist as Utah edged San Jose in the Bay Area.
Nick Schmaltz added a goal and an assist; Dylan Guenther and Michael Carcone had the other goals. Logan Cooley and Mikhail Sergachev added two assists each for Utah, which has won back-to-back games and four of five. Karel Vejmelka made 19 saves.
Fabian Zetterlund scored and added an assist, and Alexander Wennberg and Mikael Granlund had the other goals for San Jose, which has lost four of five. Vitek Vanecek stopped 36 shots in the loss.
–Field Level Media