Arvidsson lifts Predators over Capitals with 2-1 win
Viktor Arvidsson scored 1:05 into overtime and the Nashville Predators bucked their season-long trend of OT struggles by beating the Washington Capitals 2-1 in the NHL on Thursday night. Arvidsson’s goal improved the Predators to 4-7 in the 3on-3 period this season and 7-19 over the past two years. Pekka Rinne made 22 saves but didn’t face a shot in overtime from the Capitals, who lost for just the eighth time in 36 home games. James Neal also scored his 21st goal for Nashville, which extended its winning streak to three and its point streak to five. Brett Connolly scored the Capitals’ regulation goal, and Braden Holtby stopped 22 of the 24 shots he faced. Washington fell to 7-3 in overtime this season.
BLACKHAWKS 2, SENATORS 1
Richard Panik scored the tiebreaking goal late in the third period, lifting Chicago over Ottawa. Panik scored on the power play off a pass from Patrick Kane with 3:01 remaining. Duncan Keith also scored and Scott Darling made 33 saves to help the Blackhawks get their second straight win. Kyle Turris scored for Ottawa, and Mike Condon finished with 26 saves as the Senators squandered a chance to move in to first place in the Atlantic Division. The Blackhawks took a 1-0 lead at 8:04 of the third as Keith’s shot eventually found its way across the goal line.
BLUE JACKETS 2, PANTHERS 1
Zach Werenski and Josh Anderson scored 3:26 apart in the second period to lead Columbus over Florida. Sergei Bobrovsky finished with 33 saves for his NHL-leading 38th win to help Columbus pull two points behind Washington in the Presidents’ Trophy race for the best record in the league. The Blue Jackets have won six of their last eight games.
Jonathan Marchessault scored with 1:45 left in the first period for Florida, which lost for the ninth time in 11 games. Columbus tied it with 4:05 left in the second when Werenski’s shot from the far left side of the ice caught goalie James Reimer looking for his 11th. Anderson, who had an assist on Werenski’s goal, then put the Blue Jackets ahead with 39 seconds remaining in the second when he knocked Jack Johnson’s blue-line shot down and into the net for his 15th.
MAPLE LEAFS 5, LIGHTNING 0
Morgan Rielly and Matt Martin scored 15 seconds apart during Toronto’s four-goal second period and Frederik Andersen made 33 saves as the Maple Leafs moved into the lead for the second Eastern Conference wild-card spot. Roman Polak, Connor Brown and James van Riemsdyk also scored for Toronto, which was coming off a 7-2 loss Tuesday night at Florida. With 13 games left of their regular season, the Maple Leafs hold a one-point advantage over their closest wild card rivals Tampa Bay and the New York Islanders. Tampa Bay, 12-3-3 over its last 18 games, pulled Andrei Vasilevskiy six minutes into the second after he allowed four goals on 15 shots. The goalie had gone 6-0-1 over his previous seven games. After Rielly scored 2:24 into the second, Martin made it 3-0 on the next shift. Brown, on the power play, and van Riemsdyk added goals later in the period.
KINGS 2, SABRES 0
Jarome Iginla and rookie Adrian Kempe scored in the third period and Jonathan Quick earned his first shutout of the season in Los Angeles’ victory. Dustin Brown had two assists for the Kings, who haven’t given up on their playoff hopes despite sitting four points behind St. Louis for the final wild card spot in the Western Conference.
Los Angeles wrapped up its sevengame homestand with four victories, but back-to-back losses earlier in the week allowed the Blues to surge ahead with just 11 games to play. Robin Lehner stopped 34 shots for the Sabres, who have lost six of seven and 10 of 12. Buffalo was shut out for the first time since Nov. 7 at Boston. — AP