Greiss, Isles prevail in Weight’s debut
John Tavares scored two goals and Thomas Greiss stopped 23 shots for his second straight shutout as the host New York Islanders beat the Dallas Stars 3-0 on Thursday night in their first game under head coach Doug Weight.
Weight replaced Jack Capuano, who was fired Tuesday.
“We had guys battle,” Weight said. “Top-to-bottom effort led by our captain (Tavares) and goalie.”
“Our goaltending was a 10: cool, calm and collected,” defenseman Thomas Hickey added. “It rubs off on everybody.”
Tavares, who scored three times last Friday, nearly had another hat trick but his shot at an empty net in the closing moments deflected wide.
“A good response from the guys after a pretty emotional day and a half,” Tavares said. “Came out and played some good hockey. A good effort all around.”
Senators 2, Blue Jackets 0: Mike Condon stopped 42 shots for his third shutout of the season as Ottawa won for the fourth time in five games by handing host Columbus its fifth loss in eight games. “They’re a team that loves to throw the puck at the net, and I love those types of games,” Condon said. “You don’t have time to think; you’re just reacting the whole game. You shut your brain off and just play, and that’s when I’m at my best.”
Capitals 7, Blues 3: Andre Burakovsky, T.J. Oshie and Evgeny Kuznetsov each had a goal and an assist for Washington, which improved to 10-0-2 in its past 12 games. Alexander Steen scored twice for St. Louis, which has lost five of its past seven at
home. Ducks 2, Avalanche 1: Nick Ritchie scored the tie-breaking goal with 2:02 to play for host Anaheim in a game that featured a 45-minute delay and an early second intermission because of broken glass. John Gibson made 21 saves and Hampus Lindholm scored the tying power-play goal early in the third period of the Pacific Divisionleading Ducks’ eighth victory in 10 games.
Rangers 5, Maple Leafs 2: Michael Grabner scored two goals as visiting New York snapped a three-game losing streak. Grabner, who had nine goals in 80 games last season with Toronto, has 21 goals this season — his first 20-goal season since 2011-12 while with the Islanders.
Wild 4, Coyotes 3: Nino Niederreiter had two goals, including the go-ahead score with 7:06 remaining, as host Minnesota improved to 18-2-2 in its past 22 games. Arizona has lost four in a row and is 2-12-1 in its past 15 games.
Predators 4, Flames 3: Ryan Ellis scored two second-period goals for visiting Nashville, which won for the fourth time in five games. Sean Monahan had a goal and assist for Calgary, which scored its goals in the final 3:43 of the game.
Briefly: Florida forwards Jonathan Huberdeau (Achilles tendon) and Aleksander Barkov (upper-body injury) could miss the rest of the season, head coach Tom Rowe told NHL.com. Barkov, who led the team with 28 goals last season, last played Dec. 28. Huberdeau, third on the team with 59 points last season, has not played this year . ... A bus carrying the Columbus (Ga.) Cottonmouths of the Southern Professional Hockey League overturned on an exit ramp near Peoria, Ill. Goalie Brandon Jaeger was among the most seriously injured, as he had surgery to repair a dislocated leg. Friday’s game in Peoria was postponed; the status of Saturday’s game is undetermined.