Kings clobber Coyoyes Rask, bruins overcome Maple Leafs
Jake Muzzin had a goal and two assists, and Anze Kopitar, Adrian Kempe, Dustin Brown and Alex Iafallo added a goal and an assist apiece in the Los Angeles Kings’ 6-0 victory over the visiting Arizona Coyotes at the Staples Center on Saturday night.
Trevor Lewis’s second short-handed goal of the season three minutes into a three-goal second period gave the Kings a 2-0 lead. That was plenty of cushion for goaltender Darcy Kuemper, who made 27 saves for his third shutout of the season, his second this week.
The Kings have won three of four and four of six after a season-worst, sixgame losing streak. They tied a season high with six goals.
The Coyotes have lost three in a row and eight of 10. Their 33 points are the fewest in the league.
Kopitar has team highs with 20 goals and 55 points. Brown has 16 goals, Kempe 15, Lewis 13, Muzzin six and Iafallo five.
Bruins 4, Maple Leafs 1
Boston’s points streak may be over, but Tuukka Rask’s is alive and well.
The former Vezina Trophy-winning goalie stopped 23-of-24 shots to extend his personal points streak to 20 games and power the host Bruins past the Atlantic Division-rival Toronto.
Rask improved to 18-0-2 during his streak, which is the fourth-longest in Bruins’ history and the longest since Pete Peeters’ 31-game stretch in the 1982-83 season.
Patrice Bergeron, David Pastrnak, Torey Krug and Tim Schaller each scored a goal for Boston, which won its second straight after a 3-1 loss to Anaheim on Tuesday snapped the team’s league-best 18-game points streak at 14-0-4.
Islanders 4, Blue Jackets 3
Brock Nelson scored the tie-breaking goal 5:14 into the third period as host New York edged Columbus.
Nelson netted his 11th goal by being in the right place at the right time.
Columbus goaltender Joonas Korpisalo stopped Ryan Pulock’s drive from the right circle but did not smother the rebound. Andrew Ladd gained possession of the loose puck and dished it Nelson, who tapped it into the vacated side of the net from the left doorstep.
Blues 1, Sabres 0
Carl Gunnarsson scored the lone goal late in the third period and Carter Hutton stopped 27 shots for his third shutout of the season as visiting St. Louis topped Buffalo.
The Blues have won four of five outings to remain four points behind the first-place Winnipeg Jets in the ultra-competitive Central Division.
Gunnarsson finally broke the deadlock with 5:41 remaining at the Key Bank Center. He ripped a shot off the crossbar and into the net after Paul Stastny won an offensive zone faceoff. It’s Gunnarsson’s fifth goal of the season, which is a career high.
Panthers 3, Red Wings 2
Jonathan Huberdeau scored on a rebound from the top of the crease with 7.7 seconds left as host Florida edged Detroit.
Huberdeau was shoved into Detroit goalie Petr Mrazek by Red Wings defenseman Mike Green, and the goal was reviewed for interference. However, the goal was allowed -- Huberdeau’s 18th score of the season.
Rookie goalie Harri Sateri made 26 saves to win his third consecutive start. He has three career wins, all this week.
Devils 3, Penguins 1
Travis Zajac had two goals and an assist for his first three-point game of the season as host New Jersey beat Pittsburgh.
Blake Coleman finished with a goal and an assist as the Devils won their third game in a row. New Jersey outshot Pittsburgh 38-16.
Evgeni Malkin scored in a losing effort for the Penguins. The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for Pittsburgh, which had tallied 21 goals in its previous four games before running into the Devils.
Senators 4, Flyers 3 (SO)
Mike Hoffman scored the decisive shootout goal to send visiting Ottawa past Philadelphia.
Hoffman’s winner beat Flyers goalie Michal Neuvirth in the sixth round of the shootout after Philadelphia’s Shayne Gostisbehere was stopped by Craig Anderson. Derick Brassard came close to ending it in the fifth round, but his shot clanged off the post.
Brassard, Matt Duchene and Christopher Di Domenico each scored goals for the Senators, who have won backto-back games to open the month of February after dropping six straight to close out January and eight of their 11 games (3-7-1) last month.
Canadiens 5, Ducks 2
Logan Shaw, Joe Morrow and David Schlemko all scored in the first 11 minutes of the opening period and Jeff Petry tallied twice to lead host Montreal over Anaheim.
Montreal backup goalie Antti Niemi, who has played for three NHL teams this season, made 43 saves for the Canadiens to claim just his second victory of the season and help his team snap a three-game losing skid. The win was tempered by a possible injury to Jonathan Drouin, who was hit by a puck early in the second period and sent for X-rays.
Predators 5, Rangers 2
Kevin Fiala scored twice, and P.K. Subban and Viktor Arvidsson each recorded a goal and an assist as Nashville beat visiting New York.
Nashville improved to 8-1-1 in its past 10 games. Predators goalie Pekka Rinne saw a lengthy shutout streak end, but got the win with 20 saves.
Already playing without Pavel Buchnevich (concussion), the Rangers also lost defenseman Marc Staal and forward Jimmy Vesey to apparent head injuries in the second period.
Stars 6, Wild 1
Tyler Seguin had one goal and two assists and Jamie Benn and Alexander Radulov both collected one goal and two points as Dallas blasted Minnesota.
The clubs went into the night’s action holding the Western Conference’s two wild-card spots, and early indications were it would be a close, tight-checking affair, but the Stars blew the game wide open with a four-goal outburst in the second period to the delight of the home crowd.
Mattias Janmark, Stephen Johns and Dan Hamhuis also scored for the Stars, who are on an 8-3-1 run and keeping the third spot in the Central Division within reach.
Flames 4, Blackhawks 3 (OT)
Sean Monahan scored the winner 59 seconds into overtime, and Calgary twice erased deficits to beat the visiting Chicago, snapping a season-worst sixgame losing streak.
Monahan scored the 10th overtime goal of his career – which ties Washington’s Alex Ovechkin for the most in the NHL since the start of the 2013-14 season, Monahan’s rookie campaign. It also was his eighth game-winning goal of the season, which is tops in the league.
Lightning 4, Canucks 2
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 31 saves for his league-leading 31st victory of the season, and visiting Tampa Bay held on for a win over Vancouver.
Chris Kunitz, Victor Hedman, Yanni Gourde and Cory Conacher scored for the Lightning, who have won five of their past six games.
Thomas Vanek and Brock Boeser both scored in the third period as part of a late flurry for the Canucks, who nearly erased a three-goal deficit. (Reuters)