Connor scores again to lead Winnipeg past Los Angeles

WINNIPEG, MANITOBA >> Kyle Connor scored for a third straight game, and Winnipeg overcame Ilya Kovalchuk’s first NHL goal in five years to beat Los Angeles.

Mark Scheifele also scored and Connor Hellebuyck made 16 saves for the Jets, who outshot the Kings 39-17.

Kovalchuk got his first goal since returning from Russia with the Kings this season on a three-year deal. It was the 418th of his career. Jack Campbell, replacing injured starter Jonathan Quick, stopped 37 shots in his ninth career game. FLAMES 3, PREDATORS 0 >> Mike Smith made 43 saves, and Sean Monahan scored twice as Calgary blanked Nashville.

Elias Lindholm scored and Johnny Gaudreau had three assists for Calgary, winners of two of three.

Smith was stellar, especially in the second period when he turned aside 21 shots. Nashville had a twoman advantage for a full 2 minutes in the period. HURRICANES 5, CANUCKS 3 >> Sebastian Aho had a goal and an assist for Carolina’s third straight win.

Warren Foegele scored an insurance goal in the third period, Andrei Svechnikov, Jordan Staal and Brett Pesce also scored and Teuvo Teravainen had two assists.

They helped the Eastern Conference-leading Hurricanes improve to 3-0-1 — their best start since the move from Hartford in 1997 — under new coach and former team captain Rod Brind’Amour.

Sven Baertschi had two goals and an assist, and Bo Horvat scored on the power play for rebuilding Vancouver, which has lost the first two games of its six-game trip.

Curtis McElhinney made

22 saves for the Hurricanes. BLUE JACKETS 5, AVALANCHE

2>> Nick Foligno had two goals and an assist and Sergei Bobrovsky made 25 saves to get his first win of the season.

Pierre-Luc Dubois, Artemi Panarin and Josh Anderson also scored for the Blue Jackets, who dealt the Avs their first loss.

Philipp Grubauer, making his Colorado debut after being acquired from Washington in June, had 30 saves. Nathan MacKinnon and Carl Soderberg scored in the second period, but Colorado was shut out in the third as Columbus broke a 2-2 tie and added a couple more. MAPLE LEAFS 7, STARS 4 >> Auston Matthews and John Tavares each had two goals for high-scoring Toronto.

Defenseman Morgan Rielly had a career-high four assists after he scored the winning goal in Sunday night’s 7-6 overtime win at Chicago. Mitchell Marner had a goal and three assists.

as the Maple Leafs improved to 2-0 on a four-game trip.

Led by Matthews and Tavares, Toronto has won three of its first four games.