Preds have season’s longest winning streak
NASHVILLE Austin Watson scored a shorthanded goal late in the second period and the Nashville Predators beat the Anaheim Ducks 4-2 on Thursday night to extend their franchise-record winning streak to 10 games.
The Predators also matched Colorado for the longest winning streak in the NHL this season. The victory kept Nashville’s edge at six points ahead of Winnipeg and Vegas for the Western Conference lead.
Pekka Rinne made 31 saves to improve to 18-1-1 over his last 20 games. Craig Smith, Ryan Johansen and Viktor Arvidsson each scored. Filip Forsberg had two assists for Nashville.
Rickard Rakell scored twice in the third period for the Ducks.
GOLDEN KNIGHTS 4, RED WINGS 0
DETROIT — Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 28 shots, Cody Eakin and Alex Tuch each scored two goals and the Vegas Golden Knights dominated the Detroit Red Wings.
PANTHERS 5, CANADIENS 0
SUNRISE, Fla. — Roberto Luongo made 40 saves in his second shutout of the season, Nick Bjugstad scored his fourth goal in two games, and the Florida Panthers beat the Montreal Canadiens for their seventh straight home win.
BLUE JACKETS 5, AVALANCHE 4, OT
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Seth Jones scored 59 seconds into overtime to lift the Columbus Blue Jackets over the Colorado Avalanche in a matchup of teams fighting to stay in the playoff mix.
HURRICANES 3, BLACKHAWKS 2
CHICAGO — Sebastian Aho snapped a tie with a power-play goal in the third period, and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Chicago Blackhawks in their first game since Ron Francis was forced out as general manager.
JETS 3, DEVILS 2
NEWARK, N.J. — Patrik Laine extended his point-scoring streak to 10 games and Connor Hellebuyck made 41 saves as the Winnipeg Jets won their fourth straight game.
BRUINS 3, FLYERS 2
BOSTON — Brad Marchand scored with 22 seconds left to lift the Boston Bruins over the Philadelphia Flyers for their fifth straight win.
SABRES 4, SENATORS 3, SO
OTTAWA, Ontario — Jacob Josefson scored the winner in the shootout to lead the Buffalo Sabres past the Ottawa Senators.
LIGHTNING 5, RANGERS 3
TAMPA, Fla. — Anthony Cirelli had a goal and two assists and the Tampa Bay Lightning chased Henrik Lundqvist with a barrage of shots in a win over the New York Rangers.
OILERS 2, ISLANDERS 1 (SO)
EDMONTON — Connor McDavid tied the game late in the third period, and then added the shootout winner as the Edmonton Oilers skated away with a victory over the New York Islanders.