Preds stand-in stands tall
Goalie Juuse Saros, called up from the minors because starter Pekke Rinne was among several Predators recovering from food poisoning, stopped 34 shots Saturday for his first NHL victory as host Nashville snapped a three-game skid by beating the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-1.
“It is part of Juuse’s growing process and how he is evolving through this organization,” Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said. “He has been off to a terrific start in (the minors with) Milwaukee with three onegoal games and he has a one-goal game here. He really bailed us out.”
Kevin Fiala and Viktor Arvidsson had two goals apiece and Calle Jarnkrok also scored for Nashville.
Scott Wilson scored in the opening minute for Pittsburgh, but Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury gave up the five goals on 23 shots in two periods before being replaced by Mike Condon.
Kings 4, Canucks 3: Tanner Pearson scored for the fourth time this season and got the lone shootout goal as host Los Angeles beat previously unbeaten Vancouver. Alexander Edler tied it on a power play with 34.4 seconds left in the third period as Vancouver overcame a three-goal deficit. Blackhawks 5, Maple Leafs
4: Jonathan Toews and Artemi Panarin scored in the shootout as host Chicago beat Toronto after forcing overtime with two late third-period goals. Artem Anisimov scored his second goal of the game on a rebound with 2:28 left to cut it to 4-3, then Richard Panik knocked in a loose puck in front of the goal 60 seconds later. Toronto blew a third-period lead for the third consecutive game.
Canadiens 4, Bruins 2: Brian Gallagher and Phillip Danault each had second-period goals as visiting Montreal improved to 4-0-1. Boston was without starting goalie Tuukka Rask because of an undisclosed injury. Coach Claude Julien said before the game, “We’re going to shut him off and give him another day’s rest at least.” Panthers 5, Avalanche 2: Shane Harper scored his first two NHL goals and Vincent Trocheck and Jonathan Marchessault each had a goal and an assist for host Florida. Lightning 4, Senators 1: Andrei Vasilevskiy made 27 saves and Vladislav Namestnikov and Steven Stamkos scored early in the first period for Tampa Bay, which won in its first road game.
Devils 2, Wild 1: Taylor Hall scored 29 seconds into overtime for host New Jersey, which tied the score when P.A. Parenteau scored with 8:04 left in regulation. Minnesota’s three-game win streak ended.
Flyers 6, Hurricanes 3: Jakub Voracek scored twice and Wayne Simmonds and Shayne Gostisbehere each had a goal and an assist as host Philadelphia ended a three-game skid.
Rangers 4, Capitals 2: Rookie Jimmy Vesey scored the tying and go-ahead goals 3 minutes apart in the second period and Rick Nash scored a late emptynet goal and had an assist as New York won its sixth game in eight visits to Washington. Blue Jackets 3, Stars 0: Sergei Bobrovsky made 32 saves in his 13th career shutout as visiting Columbus won its second in a row. Blues 6, Flames 4: David Perron had a hat trick as visiting St. Louis held off Calgary.
Briefly: Blackhawks defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk is expected to be sidelined for at least a month after suffering a lower-body injury Friday when he crashed into the net in a game against Columbus . ... New York Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock is expected to be out a month with a lower-body injury suffered Friday in a game against Arizona, NHL.com reported . ... Nashville placed center Cody Bass on injured reserve with an upper-body injury.