Ward, Carolina blank Pittsburgh
Sebastian Aho scored twice, Cam Ward stopped 21 shots and the Carolina Hurricanes blanked the Penguins, 4-0, last night in Pittsburgh.
The Hurricanes also beat Pittsburgh 2-1 last Friday night in Carolina. Aho got the winning goal in the first matchup, and this time he iced the Penguins after Jeff Skinner and Teuvo Teravainen scored. Aho assisted on Teravainen’s goal and has 10 points during a sixgame point streak.
Ward got his first shutout of the season and 26th of his career. He has wins in 10 of his last 13 games and has gotten Carolina a point in eight straight.
The defending Stanley Cup champion Penguins have dropped eight of their past 12 and haven’t won back-to-back games since Dec. 1-2. Matt Murray had 29 saves.
Teravainen scored his 11th and added an assist, and Skinner scored his 13th to help Carolina snap a two-game skid. The Hurricanes have won eight of their last 11 and have points in 30 of 38 games against Eastern Conference teams dating to Feb. 24, 2017.
Maple Leafs 3, Sharks 2 — Auston Matthews and Tyler Bozak scored in a shootout to give host Toronto the victory over San Jose Sharks in a game that opened with a fight that saw the Maple Leafs’ Nazem Kadri rip out part of Joe Thornton’s mountainman beard.
Toronto killed off Mitch Marner high-sticking penalty that gave the Sharks a 4-on-3 skating advantage for the final 1:50 of overtime.
Kevin Labanc was the lone successful San Jose shooter in six tries against Frederik Andersen in the tiebreaker. Former Shark Patrick Marleau hit the post on his shootout attempt.
Matthews and Kadri scored in regulation for Toronto, and Brenden Dillon and Chris Tierney countered for San Jose.
Toronto snapped a threegame losing streak and a 10game slide (0-8-2) against the Sharks.
Flyers 6, Islanders 4 — Ivan Provorov had two goals and an assist, and Sean Couturier had a goal, an assist and participated in one of several fights for host Philadelphia in a feisty victory over slumping New York.
In other Isles news, they signed defenseman Scott Mayfield to a five-year contract extension through the 2023-24 season.
Canadiens 2, Lightning 1— Paul Byron scored in a shootout and host Montreal ended a five-game losing streak by beating Tampa Bay.
After the game, the Montreal traded goalie Al Montoya to the Edmonton Oilers for a conditional fourth-round pick this year.
Blues 2, Golden Knights 1 — Paul Stastny broke a third-period tie with his eighth goal of the season, Carter Hutton continued his hot play in goal and host St. Louis stopped Vegas’ eight-game win streak.
Wild 6, Sabres 2 — In St. Paul, Minn. Nino Niederreiter had a hat trick in his return from injury, Mikko Koivu contributed a goal and two assists, and finally fully healthy Minnesota beat Buffalo.
Stars 4, Devils 3 — Tyler Seguin scored his team- leading 20th goal shorthanded, Alexander Radulov had a goal and two assists and host Dallas beat New Jersey.
Avalanche 2, Blue Jackets 0 — In Denver, Jonathan Bernier had 18 of his 34 saves in the third period for his second shutout of the season, and Colorado beat Columbus.
Coyotes 3, Predators 2 — In Glendale, Ariz., Christian Fischer scored off Jakob Chychrun’s rebound at 2:41 of overtime to give Arizona a comeback victory against Nashville.
Oilers 2, Ducks 1 — Michael Cammalleri and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored in the shootout, Kris Russell had a regulation goal and host Edmonton topped Anaheim.
Flames 4, Kings 3 — Michael Ferland, Troy Brouwer, Mark Jankowski and Sean Monahan all scored in a four-goal second period, Mike Smith made 28 saves and host Calgary held off Los Angeles.