Flames’ emergency starter shuts out Leafs
Arizona overcomes three-goal deficit to defeat Anaheim
TORONTO — David Rittich made 34 saves for his first shutout of the season and fourth of his career as the Calgary Flames beat NHL-leading Toronto 3-0 on Monday night.
Matthew Tkachuk and Sean Monahan each had a goal and an assist, and Sam Bennett added a goal for Calgary.
Rasmus Andersson added two assists for the Flames, who had lost four of five in regulation and had been outscored 14-3 in three straight losses, including a 7-1 decision to Edmonton on Saturday.
Michael Hutchinson stopped 30 shots in a surprise start for Toronto (14-4-2).
Both teams announced just before the game that they would be without their No. 1 goalies. Frederik Andersen sat out for the Leafs with a lower-body injury. Jacob Markstrom, who was pulled in his last two starts, didn’t dress for the Flames because of an upper-body ailment.
COYOTES 4, DUCKS 3: In Glendale, Ariz., Christian Dvorak scored two goals and Arizona rallied from a threegoal deficit to beat Anaheim in a testy game.
The buzz heading into the game was the much-anticipated debut of Anaheim top prospect Trevor Zegras.
Big hits, flying fists and bunches of goals became the focus once the puck dropped.
Arizona goalie Darcy Kuemper was among five players penalized during a lengthy melee that set the physical tone early. The first period ended with two fights and the teams combined for 46 penalty minutes overall.
GOLDEN KNIGHTS 3, AVALANCHE 0: In Denver, Alex Tuch scored twice as part of Vegas’ three-goal spree in the second period, Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 34 shots and the Golden Knights cruised to a win over Colorado.
Fleury earned his 64th career shutout in the finale of the four-game series, with the Knights and Avs each recording two wins. Jonathan Marchessault also scored for Vegas in the pivotal middle period.
ISLANDERS 3, SABRES 2: In Uniondale, N.Y., Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored a tie-breaking power-play goal in the third period and Semyon Varlamov made 33 saves, leading New York to a win over the last-place Buffalo.
Pageau got his seventh goal at 15:08 when he banged in a rebound on the backhand after Oliver Wahlstrom’s initial shot was stopped by Buffalo goaltender Linus Ullmark.
LIGHTNING 4, HURRICANES 2: In Raleigh, N.C., Ondrej Palat snapped a tie 8:04 into the third period as Tampa Bay beat Carolina.
Palat, Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman each had a goal and an assist for the Lightning, which was shut out in its first two matchups with the Hurricanes this season.
PANTHERS 3, STARS 1: In Sunrise, Fla., Aaron Ekblad and Keith Yandle scored, and Chris Driedger made 24 saves as Florida beat Dallas.
Aleksander Barkov scored an empty-net goal to seal the Panthers’ sixth win in eight games.
KINGS 3, BLUES 0: In St. Louis, Dustin Brown scored two goals and veteran Jonathan Quick stopped 30 shots for his 54th career shutout, lifting Los Angeles past St. Louis.
It was the second shutout this season for the 35-year-old Quick.
Note
New York Rangers star Artemi Panarin is taking a leave of absence from the team after a Russian tabloid printed allegations from a former coach that he attacked a woman in Latvia almost a decade ago, which he denies.
Andrei Nazarov, who coached Panarin in the Kontinental Hockey League, told Russian tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda in a story published Saturday that Panarin attacked an 18-year-old Latvian woman in a hotel bar in the Latvian capital of Riga following a game in December 2011.
Nazarov told the tabloid that Panarin knocked the woman to the floor with “several powerful blows.” Nazarov added that he later heard that the Latvian authorities looked into the incident but that no action was taken after “authoritative” locals negotiated with the police not to pursue the case, allegedly after money changed hands.
Nazarov said he was motivated to speak about the alleged incident because he disagreed with Panarin’s repeated criticism of the Russian government.