▶Matt Martin scores a pair of goals and the Islanders defeat the Sabres, 5-2.
Rookie Sorokin stops 16 shots for N.Y.; Buffalo drops fifth straight
Matt Martin scored twice and the New York Islanders beat the Buffalo Sabres 5-2 on Thursday night in the opener of a threegame series.
Noah Dobson, Anthony Beauvillier and Jordan Eberle also scored for New York, and rookie Ilya Sorokin stopped 16 shots. The Islanders improved to 5-0-1 in their last six overall and 8-0-2 at the Nassau Coliseum to remain the only team without a regulation loss at home.
Taylor Hall and Rasmus Ristolainen scored for Buffalo, which has lost five straight (05-1). The Sabres are 2-8-1 since taking a two-week break for a
COVID -19 outbreak.
Jonas Johansson, making his second start of the season with starter Linus Ullmark injured, finished with a career-high 40 saves.
Rangers 6, Devils 1: Red hot Chris Kreider recorded his second hat trick in five games and the Rangers beat slumping New Jersey in a game marred by a late injury to New York goaltender Igor Shesterkin. Kreider, who scored three in a loss to Philadelphia on Feb. 24, has nine goals in his last six games and 13 overall. He completed his natural hat trick 23 seconds into the final period after scoring twice in the second. His fourth career hat trick came on five shots. Shesterkin seemed to hurt his right leg with just under six minutes to play when he stretched to stop a 2-on-1 break and shot by Damon Severson.
He went down without contact and had to be helped off the ice, dragging the leg. Shesterkin kept the Rangers in the game in the first period by stopping 13 of 14 shots. He finished with 32 saves in helping the Rangers win their second straight and their fifth in seven. Pavel Buchnevich, Brendan Smith and Alexis Lafreniere also scored for New York.
Hurricanes 5, Red Wings 2: Jordan Staal and Jesper Fast scored a pair of goals early in the third period to help Carolina take over and beat Detroit.
Flyers 4, Penguins 3: Claude Giroux scored his second goal of the night on a tap-in with 2:08 remaining and Philadelphia recovered from an early Pittsburgh deluge to slip by the Penguins.
Jets 4, Canadiens 3 (OT): Pierreluc Dubois scored at 4:29 of overtime to give Winnipeg a victory over Montreal in the opener of a two-game series.
Lightning 3, Blackhawks 2 (OT): Victor Hedman scored 4:59 into overtime, with the puck barely over the line at the horn, and Tampa Bay beat Chicago for their sixth straight victory.
Blue Jackets 3, Stars 2: Boone Jenner had a goal and an assist, Oliver Bjorkstrand and Eric Robinson added third-period goals, and Columbus held off a late rally attempt to beat struggling Dallas.
Panthers 5, Predators 4: Aaron Ekblad had two goals and two assists to lead Florida to a victory over Nashville. Notes: Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin was fined $5,000 by the NHL for spearing Bruins rookie Trent Frederic, an amount that is the maximum allowable under the collective bargaining agreement . ... Devils captain Nico Hischier broke his nose and sustained a concussion when he was hit in the shield of his helmet by a shot last weekend. The Devils said Thursday they placed the 22-year-old Swiss center on injured reserve retroactive to Feb. 27 . ... Sharks forward Joachim Blichfeld was suspended for two games without pay by the NHL on Thursday for an illegal check to the head of Colorado’s Nathan Mackinnon . ... Walter Gretzky, the father of hockey great Wayne Gretzky, has died. He was 82. Wayne Gretzky said in a statement that his father battled Parkinson’s disease and other health issues the past few years.