NHL roundup: Auston Matthews powers Leafs to win over Habs
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Auston Matthews scored two goals and tallied two assists to lead the Toronto Maple Leafs past the host Montreal Canadiens 5-3 Saturday.
It was Matthews’ third two-goal game in his last four contests that extended a 16-game point streak. He also logged a career best for most points in a single period, grabbing all of his points in a second-period binge.
Mitchell Marner had a goal and two assists for the Leafs while Travis Boyd and Alexander Kerfoot each scored once. Frederik Andersen stopped 30 of 33 shots on goal in net.
Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Paul Byron and Tyler Toffoli scored for the Canadiens as Carey Price made 22 saves.
Avalanche 3, Golden Knights 2
Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and two assists, Devon Toews had a goal and an assist, and Colorado defeated Vegas in the outdoor game at Lake Tahoe in Stateline, Nev.
The rink was located on the 18th fairway of the golf course at Edgewood Tahoe Resort, situated next to Lake Tahoe, and provided a picturesque backdrop for the game. However, problems arose from the start.
The puck dropped at noon local time and then was delayed 8 hours, 8 minutes after the first period. The delay was due to poor ice conditions resulting from “extreme sun” which compromised the players’ health, the NHL said in a statement. The league opted to resume the game at 9 p.m. local time, and it finished 10 hours, 37 minutes after the opening faceoff.
Samuel Girard also scored, Philipp Grubauer had 27 saves and Mikko Rantanen added two assists for Colorado. Alec Martinez and Alex Tuch had goals and Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 36 shots for Vegas.
Oilers 7, Flames 1
Connor McDavid collected a hat trick and five points to lead host Edmonton to a thrashing of slumping Calgary.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins collected two goals and an assist while goaltender Mikko Koskinen made 43 saves for the Oilers, who have won nine of 11 games, including a pair on consecutive nights against their Alberta rivals.
McDavid, the NHL’s leading point producer but who was held off the scoresheet in Friday’s 2-1 victory, kicked off his night by setting up Alex Chiasson’s power-play goal 3:29 into the clash. It’s the fifth straight game Calgary has surrendered the first goal.
Penguins 3, Islanders 2
Kris Letang scored his first two goals of the season, including the game-winner in the third period, as Pittsburgh earned a hard-fought victory over visiting New York.
Mike Matheson also scored for Pittsburgh, and Crosby had two assists while playing in his 1,000th career game. Crosby is the 25th active player to reach 1,000 games and the first in Penguins history to play that many games with the team. Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry, making his fourth straight start, made 33 saves.
Jordan Eberle and Brock Nelson scored for the Islanders, while Varlamov stopped 15 of 18 shots as the Islanders lost for the third time in four tries (1-2-1) against the Penguins this season.
Hurricanes 4, Lightning 0
Goalie Alex Nedeljkovic authored his first career shutout, Cedric Paquette scored against his former club and Carolina defeated Tampa Bay in Raleigh, N.C.
In his 10th NHL appearance, Nedeljkovic started his second game this week and stopped all 24 shots to move to 2-1-1 this season. Traded to Ottawa by Tampa Bay on Dec. 27 after winning the Stanley Cup last season, Paquette scored his first goal in four games with Carolina. Vincent Trocheck also scored a goal to record his 300th career NHL point.
Playing for the first time in five days, the Lightning got 24 saves on 27 shots by Andrei Vasilevskiy, and Alex Killorn played in his 600th NHL game. But the club lost for the third time in four contests (1-3-0) and dropped consecutive regulation games for the first time this season.
Sabres 3, Devils 2
Sam Reinhart scored twice in the second period, and visiting Buffalo snapped a four-game losing streak with the win over New Jersey.
Defenseman Colin Miller also scored and Linus Ullmark made 25 saves for the Sabres, who totaled only two goals while dropping three straight after a COVID-19-related layoff from Feb. 1-14.
New Jersey’s Kyle Palmieri scored for the third time in two games, this time 40 seconds into the third period. Defenseman P.K. Subban also tallied on the power play with 3:16 left in regulation to get the host Devils within a goal.
Rangers 4, Capitals 1
Alexis Lafreniere and Ryan Strome scored 59 seconds apart late in the second period to power visiting New York to a 4-1 victory over Washington.
The goals by Lafreniere and Strome gave New York a 3-0 edge en route to their second straight win. Chris Kreider scored the Rangers’ first goal, Mika Zibanejad added a short-handed empty-net goal late in the third period and goaltender Igor Shesterkin finished with 26 saves.
Dmitry Orlov scored for Washington, which ended a two-game winning streak.
Predators 4, Blue Jackets 2
Goals by Calle Jarnkrok — his second of the game — and Filip Forsberg in the opening minute of the third period sent Nashville to victory over host Columbus.
Pekka Rinne stopped 21 shots for the Predators, who claimed their second road win of the season in eight tries in well-deserved fashion, despite blowing a two-goal lead. Colton Sissons also scored for the Predators.
Columbus’ Boone Jenner and Gabriel Carlsson scored second-period goals in about a two-minute span to tie the game, before the Predators pulled away. Goalie Elvis Merzlikins left the game shortly after Nashville’s fourth goal, having made 35 saves. Joonas Korpisalo stopped six shots in his relief appearance.
Red Wings 2, Panthers 1
Mathias Brome scored his first career goal late in the second period and host Detroit held on over Florida.
The Wings avenged a 7-2 loss to the Panthers the night before. Florida has defeated Detroit in four of six meetings this season. Patrik Nemeth scored his first goal of the season for the Red Wings and Jonathan Bernier stopped 38 shots, including eight on three Panthers power plays. Detroit had lost its previous six home meetings (0-4-2) with Florida.
Alex Wennberg scored the only goal for the Panthers, who lost in regulation for just the third time in 16 games this season. Sergei Bobrovsky made 25 saves for Florida. Patric Hornqvist, who scored two goals in Friday’s victory, had four shots on goal while Keith Yandle and Aaron Eklbad had a team-high five.
Kings 4, Coyotes 2
Alex Iafallo scored two goals and Los Angeles held on to defeat Arizona at Glendale, Ariz.
Gabriel Vilardi also scored for the Kings, Trevor Moore added a short-handed goal, and Cal Petersen made 22 saves as Los Angeles won its second game in three days against the Coyotes and its fourth consecutive overall.
Derick Brassard and Phil Kessel scored power-play goals, and Darcy Kuemper made 19 saves for the Coyotes. Kessel also had an assist and Oliver Ekman-Larsson had two assists for the Coyotes.
Vilardi gave the Kings a 3-2 lead with 12:52 remaining. He scored with a wrist shot while trailing a rush to move the Kings ahead for the third time in the game.
Sharks 5, Blues 4
Logan Couture scored twice as visiting San Jose defeated St. Louis.
The Blues rallied from 3-0 and 4-1 deficits to tie the game, but Couture scored the decisive goal in the third period.
Evander Kane had a goal and an assist while Rudolfs Balcers and Patrick Marleau also scored for the Sharks. Kevin Labanc had two assists.
Wild 5, Ducks 1
Kevin Fiala had two goals and an assist and Mats Zuccarello added a goal and an assist to lead visiting Minnesota to a victory over Anaheim.
It was the 10th two-goal game of Fiala’s career. Victor Rask, who finished 13-of-14 on faceoffs (93 percent), and Joel Eriksson Ek also scored goals, and Kirill Kaprizov added two assists for Minnesota, which completed a sweep of its back-to-back with the Ducks. Kaapo Kahkonen finished with 26 saves.
David Backes scored a goal for Anaheim, which endured its third straight loss and fourth in five games. John Gibson had 24 saves.
–Field Level Media