Pettersson’s shootout goal leads Canucks past Flames
Atkinson’s two goals tie it, win it for Blue Jackets
VANCOUVER: Jacob Markstrom stopped 44 shots through overtime and all three attempts in the shootout as the host Vancouver Canucks claimed a 4-3 shootout win over the Calgary Flames on Saturday night. Rookie Elias Pettersson scored the lone goal in the shootout as the Canucks snapped a three-game losing skid. Pettersson also collected two assists, giving him eight points in four games against the Flames this season and 50 overall on the season. The last three first-year players to collect 50 points or more through the first 45 games of their career are Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby. Vancouver’s Bo Horvat opened the scoring just 44 seconds into what turned into a see-saw affair. Shortly after the face-off, Chris Tanev sent the puck to Horvat alone at the side of the net, and Horvat quickly tallied his 19th goal of the season.
FLYERS 6, DUCKS 2
Sean Couturier collected one goal and two assists to lead the attack as surging Philadelphia rode a four-goal first period en route to a thrashing of visiting Anaheim. Carter Hart made 30 saves for the Flyers, who are on a 90-1 run. Couturier has netted four goals and nine points in a six-game point streak. Phil Varone started the party by opening the scoring 2:44 into the affair. With the Flyers up 3-0, the Ducks made a game of it with a pair of powerplay goals, the first by Adam Henrique 51 seconds into the second period and the second by Nick Ritchie 4:57 into the third period, but Nolan Patrick’s goal with 7:45 left quashed any comeback hopes.
MAPLE LEAFS 4, CANADIENS 3 (OT)
John Tavares scored at 2:17 of overtime as visiting Toronto defeated Montreal. Tavares scored his 33rd goal of the season on a backhand shot from the slot after a pass from Mitch Marner. It was the 12th career overtime goal for Tavares, who also had an assist in the game. Andreas Johnsson, Nikita Zaitsev and William Nylander also scored goals for the Maple Leafs. Morgan Rielly added two assists. Andrew Shaw had a goal and assist, Tomas Tatar and Brendan Gallagher each scored a goal, and Max Domi added two assists for the Canadiens.
BRUINS 5, KINGS 4 (OT)
Patrice Bergeron scored a power-play goal 2:34 into overtime as host Boston skated to victory over Los Angeles, as Boston made Los Angeles pay for Ilya Kovalchuk’s tripping penalty in overtime. Bergeron wired a shot from the right circle that sailed inside the far post. The goal was the 20th of the season for the four-time Selke Trophy recipient, marking the 10th time he’s reached that scoring plateau. Brad Marchand, Danton Heinen and defenseman Charlie McAvoy each collected a goal and an assist for the Bruins. Kings captain Anze Kopitar scored his team-leading 17th goal, and Alex Iafallo added a power-play tally for the Kings.
PANTHERS 5, CAPITALS 4 (OT)
Mike Hoffman scored a power-play goal 1:31 into overtime and gave goalie Roberto Luongo a victory in his 1,000th career start as Florida defeated host Washington. Keith Yandle (one goal, one assist) made a cross-ice pass to Hoffman on the right side, and he had an open net for the extra-man goal. Luongo finished with 26 saves and reached two milestones. He also tied Patrick Roy for second place on the all-time list for games played by a goalie (1,029). Luongo needs one more win to tie Ed Belfour (484) for third place all-time in that category.
LIGHTNING 5, PENGUINS 4
Third-period goals by Tyler Johnson and J.T. Miller lifted Tampa Bay over visiting Pittsburgh as the Lightning picked up their 40th win-the sixth straight season with 40-plus victories for the franchise. Johnson scored at 4:54 and Miller at 14:03, each from the left circle. Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 28 Penguins shots. Anthony Cirelli had a goal and an assist, Yanni Gourde and Erik Cernak also scored, and Alex Killorn had two assists for Tampa Bay, which avoided its first three-game losing streak of the season.
BLUE JACKETS 4, GOLDEN KNIGHTS 3
Cam Atkinson scored two goals in the third period, including the game-winner with 2:39 remaining, and Artemi Panarin had a goal and two assists to lead Columbus over Vegas in Las Vegas. They were the 30th and 31st goals of the season for Atkinson, who hit the 30-goal mark for the second time in the last three seasons. Josh Anderson tied his career-high with his 19th goal for the Blue Jackets, who extended their winning streak to three games by sweeping their western road trip, which also included victories at Colorado (6-3) and Arizona (4-2).
ISLANDERS 4, AVALANCHE 3 (OT)
Ryan Pulock scored 2:23 into overtime, and New York rallied to beat Colorado in Brooklyn, N.Y. Pulock finished with two goals, Jordan Eberle had a goal and an assist, and Josh Bailey also scored. Robin Lehner had 25 saves for New York, and Pulock got the winner when Casey Cizikas fed him at the right circle and he beat Semyon Varlamov for his fifth goal of the season. Carl Soderberg had a goal and two assists, Erik Johnson and J.T. Compher also scored and Varlamov stopped 37 shots for Colorado. The Avalanche have lost six straight, the last two in overtime, and are 1-10 in games decided after regulation.
SHARKS 5, OILERS 2
Kevin Labanc recorded his first career hat trick to lift visiting San Jose over Edmonton as Joe Thornton set up Labanc’s first and third goals to tie Hall of Famer Gordie Howe for ninth place on the NHL’s all-time assists list with 1,049. The 39-year-old Thornton was playing in his 1,540th game, tying Shane Doan and Hall of Famer Johnny Bucyk for 15th place in NHL history. Evander Kane scored his eighth goal in eight contests to reach the 400-point plateau for his career, before adding an assist on Labanc’s power-play tally in the second period.
SENATORS 5, JETS 2
Mark Stone scored twice and Anders Nilsson made 44 saves as Ottawa earned a win over visiting Winnipeg as Stone’s 25th goal of the season put him just one behind his single-season career high. After allowing 53 shots in a 5-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday, the Jets came out flat for the second consecutive game. Multiple turnovers in the opening minutes gave the Senators the early advantage, including a Rudolfs Balcers takeaway that set up Stone’s first goal. Matt Duchene marked his 700th NHL game with both an assist and a goal, getting the final touch on a scramble in front of Winnipeg’s net 12:39 into the second period.
SABRES 3, RED WINGS 1
Buffalo’s Casey Mittelstadt and Kyle Okposo scored on power plays in a decisive three-goal second period as the Sabres downed visiting Detroit. Conor Sheary also scored a goal for the Sabres, who improved to 5-1-0 in afternoon games this season. Buffalo is 7-2-1 against Detroit since the start of the 2016-17 campaign. Dylan Larkin scored for the Red Wings, who dropped their second straight and have lost both meetings against Buffalo this season. Thomas Vanek and Andreas Athanasiou each registered assists. — Reuters