Lightning prevails in showdown with St. Louis
Devils end Kings’ win streak at eight
ST. LOUIS — Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point scored, and Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 32 shots as the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the St. Louis Blues 3-0 on Tuesday night in a matchup of the NHL’s top two teams.
Tyler Johnson added an empty-netter as Tampa Bay (22-6-2) earned its fifth straight win. It was Vasilevskiy’s third shutout this season and the seventh of his career.
Jake Allen made 22 saves for St. Louis, which had won four in a row. The Blues (21-9-2) were shut out for the third time at home this season.
DEVILS 5, KINGS 1: In Newark, N.J., Taylor Hall scored twice and New Jersey ended Los Angeles’ eight-game winning streak.
Travis Zajac, Brian Boyle and Brian Gibbons also scored for the Devils, who snapped a twogame skid. Cory Schneider made 16 saves.
The Kings were beaten for the first time since losing 3-2 in overtime to Arizona on Nov. 24. Their winning streak was the longest in the NHL this season.
It was Los Angeles’ first defeat in regulation since a 2-1 loss to Winnipeg on Nov. 22. CAPITALS 5, AVALANCHE 2: In Washington, John Carlson scored a tie-breaking goal in the second period as Washington defeated Colorado for its eighth win in 10 games.
Brett Connolly, Matt Niskanen and Devante Smith-Pelly added third-period goals for the Capitals, and Braden Holtby made 22 saves. Jakub Vrana scored early and Evgeny Kuznetsov had three assists.
Colin Wilson and Tyler Jost
scored for the Avalanche, which had won two in a row. Semyon Varlamov stopped 22 shots in the finale of a four-game trip. BLACKHAWKS 3, PANTHERS
2 (OT): In Chicago, Patrick Kane scored 2:24 into overtime as Chicago topped Florida for its third straight win.
Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews tied it at 2 with 6:02 left in the third period after a terrific pass from Brandon Saad. Toews and Saad each had a goal and an assist. Chicago rookie Alex DeBrincat added two assists.
Nick Bjugstad scored in the second and Jamie McGinn put the Panthers in front 3:53 into the third. James Reimer made 25 saves. OILERS 7, BLUE JACKETS
2: In Columbus, Ohio, Connor McDavid had a goal and three assists, and Laurent Brossoit stopped 28 shots as Edmonton routed Columbus.
Mark Letestu, Matt Benning and Jesse Puljujarvi each had a goal and an assist for the Oilers, who chased Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky at the end of the second period.
Brassoit started his seventh game since the injury to No. 1 goalie Cam Talbot last month.
Zack Kassian, Ryan NugentHopkins and Milan Lucic also scored for Edmonton. McDavid’s four points pushed his teamleading total to 39.
SABRES 3, SENATORS 2: In Buffalo, N.Y., Evander Kane, Kyle Okposo and Benoit Pouliot scored in the second period to lead Buffalo past sinking Ottawa.
Rasmus Ristolainen had two assists as the Sabres extended their season-best point streak to four games at 2-0-2. Robin Lehner made 24 saves against his former team.
Cody Ceci and Derick Brassard scored for the Senators, who have lost six in a row. Mike Condon stopped 22 shots.
Ottawa dropped to 1-10-2 in its last 13 games. FLYERS 4, MAPLE LEAFS 2: In Philadelphia, Sean Couturier scored the tie-breaking goal with 2:55 left as Philadelphia beat Toronto for its fourth straight victory.
Couturier and Claude Giroux each had a goal and an assist, and Travis Konecny also scored as the Flyers halted a six-game home losing streak. Scott Laughton added an empty-netter, and Brian Elliott made 20 saves.
Patrick Marleau and James van Riemsdyk scored for the Maple Leafs, whose three-game winning streak was snapped in the opener of a three-game road trip. WILD 2, FLAMES 1 (SO): In St. Paul, Minn., Mikael Granlund scored the winning goal in a shootout as Minnesota edged Calgary.
The shootout reached the fifth round before Granlund beat Mike Smith. Alex Stalock stopped Michael Ferland to give Minnesota its third straight victory, the first two coming in overtime. HURRICANES 3, GOLDEN KNIGHTS 2 (SO): In Las Vegas, Nev., Carolina’s Phil De Giuseppe scored in the fifth round of a shootout to lead Carolina.