N.J. fans see Isles top Devils
Varlamov just misses his 4th shutout, has 28 saves; N.Y. now 9-2-2 in past 13
Semyon Varlamov made 28 saves and came within 14 seconds of his fourth shutout, and the red-hot New York Islanders beat the slumping Devils 2-1 on Tuesday night in New Jersey’s first home game with fans in almost a year.
Rookie Oliver Wahlstrom broke a scoreless tie with a wicked wrist shot early in the third period. Anders Lee knocked in his own rebound just under seven minutes later for New York, which is 9-2-2 in its last 13.
Varlamov lost his shutout bid with 13.2 seconds to play when Miles Wood scored with the Devils’ net empty. The Islanders were trying for their second straight shutout after Ilya Sorokin blanked Pittsburgh 2-0 on Sunday.
Aaron Dell made 18 saves in his second start for New Jersey, which has lost six of seven. Pavel Zacha had his current Nhl-leading 10game point streak snapped.
Rangers 3, Sabres 2: Pavel Buchnevich had a goal and an assist, Igor Shesterkin stopped 22 shots and New York beat Buffalo. Chris Kreider and Alexis Lafreniere also scored, and Adam Fox had two assists. New York won for the fourth time in six games. Sam Reinhart and Tobias Rieder scored for Buffalo, which has lost four straight (0-3-1) and nine of 11 (2-8-1). Carter Hutton finished with 16 saves and fell to 1-6-1 this year.
Penguins 5, Flyers 2: Kasperi Kapanen scored two goals and Pittsburgh defeated Philadelphia. The Penguins won in front of their fans for the first time in almost a year, as state coronavirus restrictions were eased at the beginning of the month and spectators were allowed into the building. Bryan Rust scored his seventh, and Cody Ceci and Mike Matheson added goals for Pittsburgh, which has won five of its last seven. Ceci’s goal came just 1:08 after Philadelphia’s Joel Farabee’s second goal made it a 3-2 game. Tristan Jarry stopped 40 shots. Farabee scored twice for the Flyers, who had a three-game winning streak halted. Carter Hart made 22 saves for the Flyers. Penguins’ captain Sidney Crosby missed Tuesday’s game after he was placed on the COVID-19 protocol list.
Blue Jackets 4, Red Wings 1: Joonas Korpisalo made 19 saves, Columbus scored three second-period goals, and the Blue Jackets won their first game played in front of home fans in more than a year. Cam Atkinson had a short-handed goal and an assist, and Riley Nash, Jack Roslovic and Boone Jenner also scored for the Blue Jackets, who snapped a five-game losing streak with their most complete game in weeks. Anthony Mantha got his sixth goal of the season for the Red Wings.
Canadiens 3, Senators 1: Carey Price made 26 saves and Montreal beat Ottawa to give rookie coach Dominique Ducharme his first NHL victory. Jeff Petry and Brendan Gallagher each had a goal and an assist. Tyler Toffoli scored into an empty net for Montreal (10-6-5), which snapped a fivegame losing streak. Artem Zub scored for last-place Ottawa.
Jets 5, Canucks 2: Kyle Connor and Blake Wheeler each had a goal and two assists, leading Winnipeg to a win over Vancouver.
Hurricanes 4, Predators 2: Sebastian Aho scored twice to lead Carolina to a victory over Nashville. Vincent Trocheck and Steven Lorentz also scored for the Hurricanes, winners of three straight. James Reimer made 35 saves.
Lightning 2, Stars 0: Andrei Vasilevskiy made 28 saves in the shutout and Yanni Gourde and Ondrej Palat scored for Tampa.
Notes: The Predators placed defenseman Ryan Ellis and forward Luke Kunin on injured reserve with center Ryan Johansen placed on the NHL’S COVID-19 protocol list. ... Oilers forward Alex Chiasson has been suspended for one game by the NHL for cross-checking Maple Leafs forward Jimmy Vesey. The incident occurred at the end of Toronto’s 3-0 win at Edmonton on Monday.