Oilers smash Stars to stop losing skid
Edmonton beats Dallas 7-1 for 2nd win of lengthy homestand
EDMONTON — Patrick Maroon had a goal and an assist as the Edmonton Oilers snapped a three-game losing skid with a 7-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Tuesday.
Benoit Pouliot, Oscar Klefbom, Darnell Nurse, David Desharnais, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Connor McDavid also scored for the Oilers (36-24-9), who are 2-2-1 through five games of a lengthy eight-game homestand.
Brett Ritchie scored in response for the Stars (27-32-10), who have lost three straight.
Cam Talbot finished the game with 22 saves.
Anti Niemi started in the Dallas net, but was chased after allowing five goals on 20 shots. Kari Lehtonen came on and stopped 7-of-9 shots.
The Oilers continue their homestand Thursday against the Boston Bruins, while the Stars head to Vancouver to face the Canucks.
A highlight of Tuesday’s game was an appearance by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.
Bettman was in Edmonton to tour the new Rogers Place arena ahead of the Oilers game against the Stars.
It was the first time Bettman was seeing Rogers Place in person after facilitating a deal between the City of Edmonton and Oilers owner Daryl Katz that led to the construction of the $480 million arena, which opened in time for this season.
He was quick to answer when asked if he would be working towards assisting Calgary in building a replacement for the Flames’ Scotiabank Saddledome.
“I hope it will be the case,” he said. “Calgary obviously needs a new arena, and hopefully this arena and this complex is inspirational.”
Bettman himself was clearly impressed with Rogers Place and the Ice District, the surrounding entertainment district that is still under construction. He spoke in glowing terms about the facilities and what they’re doing for the City of Edmonton. Edmonton Oilers goalie Cam Talbot looks for the puck with a crowd of players around him during an NHL gameagainsttheDallasStarsonTuesdaynightinEdmonton.TheOilerswon7-1.
“This arena is nothing short of phenomenal,” said Bettman.
“I was intimately involved with Daryl Katz and the mayor of Edmonton as this was on the drawing board and I knew there was a great vision for what this arena would be and the Ice District, but seeing the arena finished is nothing short of phenomenal.”
Bettman said it has also been pleasant to see the Oilers blossom in their new home.
“It’s a bit of fun to see the team perform better than it has in the last few years in the first year in its new home,” he said.
“Maybe some people would say there is a connection between the two.”
The Oilers’ push for a playoff spot this season after 10 years without post-season play has been just one of several improved performances from across the league that have caught Bettman’s eye.
“If the playoffs opened today, seven teams that weren’t in the playoffs last year would be in this year,” he said.
“Everybody was suggesting that there was nothing but doom and gloom for the Canadian teams in the NHL last year, lo and behold, if the playoffs started now, five of the seven teams would be in. That is what you get year-to-year when you have the incredible competitive balance that we do.”
HAWKS 4, CANADIENS 2
MONTREAL (AP) — Patrick Kane had a goal and two assists, and Corey Crawford made 40 saves to lead Chicago past Montreal.
Johnny Oduya, Artemi Panarin and Jonathan Toews, into an empty net, scored for the Blackhawks, who jumped over Minnesota and lead the Central Division with 93 points.
Paul Byron and Shea Weber scored for Montreal.
Carey Price made 20 saves and became the third Canadiens goaltender to play 500 games, joining Patrick Roy (551) and Jacques Plante (556).
Crawford, a Montreal native coming off a season-best 42 saves against the Wild on Sunday, is 7-0-2 versus the Canadiens.
LIGHTNING 2, SENS 1 (OT)
OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Victor Hedman scored with 55 seconds on the clock in overtime and Tampa Bay defeated Ottawa for its fourth straight victory.
Ottawa goalie Mike Condon made 35 saves and was nothing short of spectacular at times. Still, the Senators had their six-game winning streak snapped.
Brayden Point also scored for the Lightning, and Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 31 shots.
Tommy Wingels scored for the Senators.
PANTHERS 7, LEAFS 2
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Jonathan Marchessault scored two goals, Thomas Vanek had a career-high four assists and Florida topped Toronto to stop a five-game slide. Aleksander Barkov had a goal and an assist for the Panthers, who won for only the second time in 10 games. Keith Yandle, Jussi Jokinen, Reilly Smith and Colton Sceviour also scored.
James Reimer stopped 28 shots to win for the first time in eight starts.
Nikita Soshnikov and Leo Komarov scored for Toronto. Frederik Andersen allowed three goals on eight shots before being replaced by Curtis McElhinney to start the second period. McElhinney made 20 saves.
The Maple Leafs had won three straight.