Flames finally beat Oilers
Smith blanks Edmonton as Calgary ends losing skid in the Battle of Alberta
CALGARY — Mike Smith made 28 saves and Johnny Gaudreau had the winner as the Calgary Flames edged the Edmonton Oilers 1-0 on Tuesday night, ending a seven-game losing streak against their provincial rival.
It was a superb bounce-back performance for Smith in his second game after missing a month with a lower-body injury. Smith was beaten four times on 26 shots in Sunday’s 5-2 loss to the New York Islanders.
Calgary (35-26-10) remains within two points of both Dallas and Colorado, who occupy the wild-card spots in the Western Conference.
The Flames are also now within two points of Los Angeles for third place in the Pacific Division after the Kings lost in a shootout to the Arizona Coyotes.
Cam Talbot made 31 saves as Edmonton (30-35-4) had its three-game winning streak snapped.
The most dangerous Oiler all night was Connor McDavid, who entered on a sevengame point streak (six goals, seven assists) and with 18 goals in his last 19 games. But despite a team-high five shots and several other set-ups, McDavid could not solve Smith.
Early in the third, Smith acrobatically kicked out his pad to rob Ryan NugentHopkins’ one-timer after he was set-up perfectly by McDavid. That same shift, McDavid swooped in alone on Smith, only to be denied by the 35-year-old.
Smith also made a highlight-reel stop late in the second period to preserve the one-goal margin, getting his arm on a shot from Ryan Strome after a bad bounce resulted in the Oilers’ centre having the puck alone in front.
Scoreless after the opening 20 minutes, Calgary took the lead at 5:18 of the second period when Sean Monahan’s pass found Gaudreau alone in front and he zipped a backhander over Talbot’s shoulder.
Gaudreau’s 22nd goal of the season extended his point streak to five games (two goals, five assists).
PREDATORS 3, JETS 1
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Pekka Rinne made 32 saves and surging Nashville scored two shorthanded goals in beating Winnipeg to tie for the top spot in the NHL standings.
Kevin Fiala, Austin Watson and Viktor Arvidsson had the goals for Nashville, which has won 11 of 12.
The Predators reached 100 points in 69 games, the fastest in franchise history. The defending Western Conference champs are even with Eastern Conference-leading Tampa Bay — and Nashville has played one fewer game.
Kyle Connor scored for the Jets, losers of three straight. Winnipeg completed a sixgame road trip and fell eight points behind the first-place Predators in the Central Division.
SENATORS 7, LIGHTNING 4
TAMPA, Fla. — Mike Hoffman scored two goals and six other Ottawa players had multipoint games as the Senators stopped Tampa Bay’s 10-game streak without a regulation loss.
One night earlier, the struggling Senators halted Florida’s eight-game home winning streak.
Tom Pyatt, Erik Karlsson, Ryan Dzingel and Marian Gaborik each had a goal and an assist for Ottawa. Magnus Paajarvi also scored, and Mike Condon made 42 saves.
Tampa Bay hadn’t lost in regulation since Feb. 17, but the Lightning’s lead over Boston in the Atlantic Division was trimmed to four points.
The defeat also spoiled the first career hat trick for J.T. Miller, acquired from the New York Rangers at the trade deadline. Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos each had three assists.
CANADIENS 4, STARS 2
MONTREAL — Artturi Lehkonen scored twice and Montreal snapped its five-game losing streak with a victory over Dallas.
Brendan Gallagher and Nikita Scherbak also scored for the Habs, who hadn’t won since March 2. Alex Galchenyuk had two assists.
Antti Niemi made 36 saves for his fifth win of the season. Niemi hasn’t lost in regulation since Feb. 14, going 3-0-3 during that stretch for the Canadiens.
Radek Faksa and Jamie Benn scored for Dallas.
AVALANCHE 5, WILD 1
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Nathan MacKinnon scored his 33rd goal of the season, J.T. Compher had his first career two-goal game and Colorado dominated Minnesota again.
Semyon Varlamov made 33 saves for Colorado. Nikita Zadorov and Tyson Jost also scored for the Avalanche, who have won the past three meetings this season by a combined score of 19-4.
Colorado has points in 10 of its past 11 games (6-1-4) and is three points behind Minnesota for third in the Central Division.
BRUINS 6, HURRICANES 4
RALEIGH, N.C. — David Pastrnak scored three of Boston’s five goals in the final 10 minutes for his first career hat trick, and the Bruins stunned the Carolina Hurricanes by rallying for a 6-4 victory.