Ice hockey
Canadiens improve to 4-0-2
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Jan 24, (AP): Hours after trading disgruntled center Pierre-Luc Dubois, the Columbus Blue Jackets got three first-period goals and beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-2 Saturday.
Nick Foligno, Mikhail Grigorenko, Vladislav Gavrikov, Zach Werenski and Eric Robinson scored, and Elvis Merzlikins had 30 saves as the Blue Jackets played their most explosive game of the season. Fifteen different Columbus players recorded points.
The Blue Jackets’ second victory in six games came shortly after Dubois, one of the team’s leading scorers, was sent to Winnipeg in exchange for Patrik Laine and Jack Roslovic in a deal announced early Saturday.
Victor Hedman and Ondrej Palat scored for the Lightning, who lost for the first time in their first four games. Andrei Vasilevsky made 22 saves.
Canadiens 5, Canucks 2
In Vancouver, British Columbia, Corey Perry scored in his first game with Montreal in a win over Vancouver that concluded a stellar season-opening trip.
Montreal improved to 4-0-2, joining the 1968-69 Canadiens as the only teams in NHL history to open a season with six road games and get at least a point in each of them.
Perry was promoted off the taxi squad to replace Joel Armia, who was concussed by a hit from Vancouver’s Tyler Myers as the Canadiens trounced the Canucks 7-3 on Thursday. Montreal also got goals Saturday from Nick Suzuki, Brendan Gallagher, Jonathan Drouin and Joel Edmundson. Elias Pettersson and Nils Hoglander scored for Vancouver.
Carey Price made 23 saves to collect his 350th NHL win. Vancouver’s Braden Holtby stopped 28 shots.
Bruins 6, Flyers 1
In Boston, Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron had two goals apiece and Boston, which hadn’t led by two goals in any of its first four games this season, scored five times in a row to pull away and beat Philadelphia.
Charlie Coyle and Craig Smith each had a goal and an assist in the second period to break open a 1-1 tie. Marchand scored twice in the third, and Bergeron finished it off with his second goal of the night to help
Boston earn its second straight victory over Philadelphia.
Jaroslav Halak stopped 16 shots for his first win of the season.
Kevin Hayes scored and Carter Hart made 20 saves for Philadelphia.
Blues 4, Kings 2
In St Louis, Torey Krug scored his first goal with St. Louis and David Perron added a goal and an assist.
Adrian Kempe and Dustin Brown scored for the Kings, who were playing in their first road game of the season. Vince Dunn and Jaden Schwartz scored the other goals for St. Louis.
Jordan Binnington has started all five games for the Blues and is 3-1-1. He stopped 21 shots.
Kings backup goalie Calvin Petersen made his second start of the season and stopped 25 shots.