Penguins stay hot, top Rangers
Kasperi Kapanen got his fourth goal in his last five games and the surging Pittsburgh Penguins beat the New York Rangers 4-2 on Tuesday night.
Teddy Blueger and Jake Guentzel also scored for the Penguins, who went 4-1 on their homestand to gain ground in the hyper-competitive East Division. Sidney Crosby’s empty-net goal with 32 seconds to go helped Pittsburgh escape.
Tristan Jarry finished with 33 saves — including a couple of scrambling stops on his belly in the final minutes to preserve a one-goal lead. He improved to 8-3 in his last 11 starts.
New York defenseman Jack Johnson — making his first appearance in Pittsburgh since the Penguins released him during the offseason — scored his first goal in more than a year. Ryan Strome picked up his ninth with a power-play score early in the third period.
Jets 4, Maple Leafs 3 — Connor Hellebuyck made 36 saves, leading Winnipeg to a win over Toronto in the opener of a three-game series.
Andrew Copp had a goal and an assist and Josh Morrissey, Kyle Connor and Mason Appleton also scored for Winnipeg. Neal Pionk finished with three assists and Nikolaj Ehlers had two for the Jets, who trail the Maple Leafs by five points in the standings with two games in hand.
Auston Matthews scored twice, raising his NHL-leading goal total to 20, and Zach Hyman added a goal for Toronto. Frederik Andersen stopped 19 shots as the Leafs dropped their third straight in regulation.
Panthers 4, Blue Jackets 2 — Patric Hornqvist and Owen Tippett scored power-play goals in the second period, Sergei Bobrovsky made 40 saves and Florida beat Columbus.
Juho Lammikko and Carter Verhaeghe also scored for the Panthers, who have won three of their last four games.
Michael Del Zotto and Oliver Bjorkstrand had goals for the Blue Jackets, and Joonas Korpisalo stopped 29 shots. Columbus has lost five of the last seven.
Flyers 5, Sabres 4 — Shaye Gostisbehere tied the game late in regulation, Sean Couturier and Nolan Patrick scored shootout goals, and Philadelphia beat Buffalo.
The NHL-worst Sabres lost their eighth straight game (0-7-1).
The Flyers rallied from a 3-1 hole to avoid their first three-game losing streak of the season. Gostisbehere ripped one from the point on one knee past Jonas Johansson with 5:46 left in the third to make it 4-all.
Hurricanes 3, Predators 2 — Jordan Staal scored his second goal of the game with 34.9 seconds left in overtime to give Carolina a win over Nashville and extend the Hurricanes’ winning streak to six games.
Staal scored unassisted in the extra period, carrying the puck into the zone and beating Nashville’s Pekka Rinne to give the Hurricanes their first six-game streak in 10 years.
Capitals 5, Devils 4 — Jakub Vrana scored his second goal of the game in overtime to help Washington beat New Jersey after squandering a three-goal lead.
Lightning 4, Red Wings 3 — Blake Coleman scored 2:17 into overtime, giving Tampa Bay a win over Detroit.
Coleman’s goal was set up by Tyler Johnson, who also scored, on a 2-on-1 rush to extend the defending Stanley Cup champions’ season-high point streak to nine games.