Habs break out for cathartic 10-1 rout of Avs
Philly flies by Stars for 8th straight triump Red-hot Flames win 6th in a row Leafs snap a skid
Max Pacioretty had four goals, Brian Flynn scored twice during a six-goal first period and the Montreal Canadiens routed the Colorado Avalanche 10-1 on Saturday night in their biggest offensive output at home since moving to the Bell Centre in 1996.
That was weighed against a 10-0 beating they took November 4 in Columbus.
“We went through the same thing earlier this year and we know that one game doesn’t make our club,” Pacioretty said. “They obviously didn’t show their best, just like we didn’t in our game in Columbus.
“It seemed like everything went against us in that game and tonight everything went against them. We have a lot of respect for that club, but we liked the way we played.”
Flynn, Pacioretty and Artturi Lehkonen each scored against Calvin Pickard in the opening 7:12, and then Pacioretty, Paul Byron and Flynn each had a goal among the first four shots on Semyon Varlamov.
Pacioretty completed his hat trick in the second period and added another in the third to give the captain seven goals in his last four games.
Alexander Radulov and Jeff Petry also scored for Montreal, which has shown no drop-off without injured scoring leader and first-line center Alex Galchenyuk. Montreal outshot the Avs 36-16.
“We have guys that have stepped up,” Petry said. “That’s what good teams have when injuries come along . ... It’s not just one guy. It has to be everybody.”
Montreal’s six-goal first period was its first since December 17, 1992 against the Quebec Nordiques in an 8-3 win.
Flyers 4, Stars 2
Brayden Schenn scored three power-play goals for his second career hat trick to lead Philadelphia past Dallas for its eighth consecutive victory.
Schenn tied the game with 3:48 left and completed his second career hat trick with 2:15 remaining before Jakub Voracek capped his second consecutive four-point game with an empty-net goal.
Flames 6, Jets 2
Dougie Hamilton scored twice and had an assist during a four-goal second period as Calgary dumped Winnipeg for its sixth straight victory.
Sam Bennett, Mikael Backlund, Lance Bouma and Sean Monahan also scored for the Flames. Joining Hamilton with three points was Backlund, who added two assists, and rookie Matthew Tkachuk, who contributed three assists.
Blue Jackets 6, Islanders 2
Josh Anderson scored to break a third-period tie as red-hot Columbus defeated New York.
Brandon Saad, Lukas Sedlak and Seth Jones scored in a five-minute span of the third period to help the Blue Jackets improve to 7-0-1 in their last eight games.
Penguins 4, Lightning 3
Pittsburgh rallied from a two-goal deficit late in the second period with three power-play goals to defeat Tampa Bay.
Evgeni Malkin scored two goals for the Penguins, who were mired in a 1-for31 power-play slump until breaking out in a big way. Sidney Crosby added his 20th of the season for Pittsburgh, which won its fifth straight and scored 29 goals during that span.
Sharks 4, Hurricanes 3
Despite losing the special teams’ battle and being outshot badly, San Jose somehow survived to beat Carolina.
Four different goal-scorers contributed as the Sharks snapped a two-game losing streak before heading out for a four-game road trip that starts Tuesday in Toronto.
Kings 4, Senators 1
Jeff Carter and Alec Martinez scored on the same power play in the first period to help Los Angeles end a four-game losing streak to Ottawa.
The Senators’ Mark Borowiecki received a five-minute major for boading Tyler Toffoli and shortly after the penalty expired, he was back in the penalty box after fighting Matt Greene. Borowiecki was soon joined by teammate Chris Neil, who fought Jordan Nolan in his 1,000th career game – all with Ottawa.
Panthers 4, Canucks 2
Aleksander Barkov and Derek MacKenzie each produced a goal and an assist to lead Florida over Vancouver.
The Panthers also got goals from Aaron Ekblad and an empty-netter by Vincent Trocheck. Goaltender Roberto Luongo earned the win against his former team.
Maple Leafs 4, Bruins 1
Frederik Andersen continued his career dominance of Boston and rookie Auston Matthews scored a goal to help Toronto snap a three-game slide.
Andersen turned aside 32 shots in improving to 6-0-0 lifetime against the Bruins, including 2-0-0 this season. The other four wins came with Andersen playing for the Anaheim Ducks.
Coyotes 4, Predators 1
Brendan Perlini scored his first NHL goal in his fourth NHL game and Laurent Dauphin scored on the same day he was recalled from the American Hockey League as Arizona defeated Nashville. (Reuters)