Novak, Josi power Predators to a 7-3 win over Panthers
PREDATORS 7, PANTHERS 3 >>
Tommy Novak scored twice and Roman Josi had a goal and two assists to lead Nashville over Florida.
Ryan Johansen had a goal and an assist and Matt Duchene, Colton Sissons and Yakov Trenin also scored for Nashville, which had lost three of its previous four.
Kevin Lankinen made 30 saves for the Predators, and Ryan McDonagh matched a career high with three assists.
Nick Cousins, Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Reinhart scored for Florida. Sergei Bobrovsky and Spencer Knight combined for 19 saves. Brandon Montour had two assists.
MAPLE LEAFS 5, CANADIENS
1>> Michael Bunting scored twice, and Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari made their debut as Maple Leafs.
The forwards were acquired from the St. Louis Blues in a blockbuster three-team trade late Friday — and were in the action just over 20 hours later.
Pierre Engvall, William Nylander and David Kampf scored for Toronto. Joseph Woll made 29 saves. Auston Matthews and Rasmus Sandin each picked up two assists.
Josh Anderson scored 42 seconds into the second period for Montreal, which got 37 stops from Jake Allen.
BLUE JACKETS 4, STARS 1 >>
Adam Boqvist broke a tie early in the third period and the last-place Columbus Blue Jackets put together consecutive victories for first time in more than two months.
Boqvist’s goal was his second of the season, and Liam Foudy had the first regular-season goal of his career for the Blue Jackets, who successfully challenged two Dallas goals in the second period.
Mathieu Olivier gave Columbus a two-goal lead late in the third, and Joonas Korpisalo made 29 saves. Eric
Robinson was awarded an empty-net goal when he was brought down on a breakaway.
Ty Dellandrea scored the only Dallas goal unassisted, but the overturned goals were the story for the frustrated Stars, lost for the seventh time in nine games.
AVALANCHE 4, BLUES 1 >> Bowen Byram scored twice and Mikko Rantanen scored his 200th NHL goal to help Colorado beat St. Louis.
Valeri Nichuskin also scored and Justus Annunen stopped 19 shots in his season debut to give Colorado its third win in its four games.
Sammy Blais scored for St. Louis, and Jordan Binnington made 29 saves as the Blues had a three-game win streak halted less than 24 hours after trading centers Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
DEVILS 5, PENGUINS 2 >> Nico Hischier had two goals and two assists, Vitek Vanecek made 29 saves and the New Jersey Devils breezed past the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-2 on Saturday.
Dawson Mercer had a goal and an assist for New Jersey. Jesper Bratt
and Dougie Hamilton also scored for the Devils, while All-Star center Jack Hughes had two assists in his return from a lower-body injury as New Jersey improved to an NHL-best 214-3 on the road.
Evgeni Malkin scored twice for Pittsburgh to reach the 20-goal plateau. Dustin Tokarski stopped 38 shots but it wasn’t nearly enough as the Penguins lost for the third time in four games.
Less than 24 hours after squandering a pair of two-goal leads in a loss to the New York Islanders, the Penguins looked a step behind the younger, fresher Devils.
Malkin gave Pittsburgh an early jolt when the Russian star tapped in a pass from Rickard Rakell 3:33 into the first to give him 20 goals for the 14th time in his 17-year career, third most among active players behind Washington’s Alex Ovechkin (18) and longtime teammate Sidney Crosby (15).
Yet as has been the case most of an erratic season, the Penguins let the Devils back into the game almost immediately.