Ekblad lifts Panthers to record-tying win
Aaron Ekblad scored 2:39 into overtime and the Florida Panthers won their recordtying 11th straight home game to start the season by topping the Philadelphia Flyers 2-1 on Wednesday night.
After a faceoff win in the 3-on-3 session, Ekblad worked a give-and-go with Jonathan Huberdeau, zipping in the winner from the low slot for his sixth of the season.
Sam Bennett had a goal and an assist, and Anthony Duclair and Ekblad dished out assists for Florida, which won its fourth straight and is 8-2-1 against the Metropolitan Division. The Flyers dropped their fourth straight.
Sergei Bobrovsky made 32 saves and became the first Florida goalie to record points in 11 straight starts (9-0-2). Capitals 6, Canadiens 3: Evgeny Kuznetsov scored his seventh goal and added an assist, and Alex Ovechkin had three assists in a game for the first time in nearly four years for host Washington. Dmitry Orlov, John Carlson and Nic Dowd also had a goal and an assist each as Washington won its seventh out of nine in its return from a four-game West Coast trip. Ilya Samsonov made 25 saves while winning his seventh game in eight starts, despite seeing his shutout streak snapped at 170 minutes, 13 seconds. Artturi Lehkonen and Jake Evans each had a goal and an assist for Montreal, which lost its fifth game out of six.
Penguins 4, Canucks 1: Tristan Jarry stopped 36 shots to win his fourth straight start and host Pittsburgh cruised past Vancouver. Evan Rodrigues, Bryan Rust, Zach Aston-Reese and Brock McGinn scored for Pittsburgh, which has outscored opponents
15-2 during its winning streak. The surge has coincided with the team’s emergence from a COVID-19 outbreak and Jarry’s spectacular play. Jarry has turned away 116 of the 118 shots he’s faced during the winning streak, which has helped the Penguins climb out of last place in the Metropolitan Division. Thatcher Demko made 33 saves for the Canucks, who fell to 1-6-1 in their past eight games.
Rangers 4, Islanders 1: Chris Kreider and Kevin Rooney each scored twice for the visiting Rangers in a battle of New York. Igor Shesterkin made 20 saves as the Rangers won for the sixth time in seven games. Ryan Reaves added two assists. Andy Andreoff scored and Semyon Varlamov stopped 17 of 21 shots, but the shorthanded Islanders fell for the seventh straight game as seven players remain in COVID-19 protocol.
Bruins 5, Sabres 1: Patrice Bergeron, David Pastrnak and Charlie Coyle each had a goal and an assist to lead visiting Boston. Mike Reilly and Taylor Hall also scored, Nick Foligno had two assists and rookie Jeremy Swayman made 24 saves as Boston won its fourth in five games and third straight on the road. The Bruins chased Sabres goalie Aaron Dell with four first-period goals in a 5:41 span.
Blue Jackets 3, Jets 0: Elvis Merzlikins made 36 saves for his seventh career shutout and host Columbus handed Winnipeg its fourth consecutive defeat. Gregory Hofmann, Zach Werenski and Andrew Peeke scored for Columbus, which won its fourth in five games.
Wild 3, Devils 2: Kevin Fiala delivered the decisive goal in the shootout after New Jersey’s Yegor Sharangovich tied it with 1:07 left in the third period, and visiting Minnesota finished its road trip at 1-1-1. Goaltender Cam Talbot made 40 saves.
Red Wings 4, Blues 2: Adam Erne broke a 2-2 tie with his third goal and host Detroit won its traditional Thanksgiving eve game. Robby Fabbri clinched it with an empty-net goal against his former team, and goalie Alex Nedeljkovic (35 saves) preserved the lead with some timely saves. Lucas Raymond and Dylan Larkin also scored for the Red Wings, who moved back to .500 (9-9-3).