Jenner’s hat trick powers Blue Jackets over Bruins
COLUMBUS, OHIO >> Boone Jenner got his first career hat trick, Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 27 shots and the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Boston Bruins 7-4 on Tuesday night.
The Blue Jackets scored five unanswered goals to go up 5-1 before the Bruins came roaring back with three straight in a wild second period to make it a one-goal game. Zach Werenski’s first goal in 30 games provided Columbus some breathing room late, and Jenner’s empty-netter completed his hat trick with 47 seconds left.
Josh Anderson had a careerhigh four points, and Werenski’s four were also a career high for the Blue Jackets, who had lost four of their last six games and are scrapping to stay above the Eastern Division wild-card line.
PENGUINS 5, CAPITALS 3 >> Sidney Crosby scored twice during a furious second-period rally and Evgeni Malkin picked up two assists to reach 1,000 career points as Pittsburgh edged Washington.
Crosby picked up his 32nd and
L33rd goals during a three-goal outburst over a span of 1:48 as Pittsburgh erased a two-goal deficit to take the lead on its way to snapping Washington’s seven-game winning streak. Jake Guentzel started Pittsburgh’s comeback with his teamleading 35th of the season. Phil Kessel and Jared McCann both added a goal and an assist for the Penguins, who have won six of eight.
Matt Murray stopped 38 shots as Pittsburgh topped the rival Capitals for the third time in four meetings this season.
STARS 2, SABRES 0 >> Ben Bishop made 35 saves for his third straight shutout, leading Dallas to the victory.
Bishop extended his career-best shutout streak to 204 minutes, 20 seconds. It’s the second-longest run for a Stars goaltender behind Ed Belfour’s streak of 219 minutes, 26 seconds that ran from Nov. 17-24, 2000. He is the third goaltender in franchise history with three consecutive shutouts.
Rookie Roope Hintz scored twice for Dallas in the opener of a two-game trip. The Stars have won five of six and remain on top of the Western Conference wild-card standings with 77 points.
Buffalo played without captain Jack Eichel, who began serving a two-game suspension for an illegal check to the head of Colorado’s Carl Soderberg.
CANADIENS 3, RED WINGS 1 >> Carey Price made 20 saves and became the winningest goaltender in Montreal’s storied history and the Canadiens beat Detroit.
It was win No. 315 for Price, snapping a tie with Hall of Famer Jacques Plante atop the team leaderboard. Plante played for Montreal from 1952 to 1963. Max Domi had two goals and Brett Kulak also scored as the Canadiens (37-26-7) stopped a twogame slide.
NHL: Leafs’ Reilly didn’t utter gay slur at official
TORONTO >> Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly didn’t direct a gay slur at referee Brad Meier during the game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, the NHL said Tuesday after an investigation.
Television cameras picked up what sounded like a slur with 1:51 left in the second period when Rielly and Tampa Bay’s Yanni Gourde skated into Toronto’s defensive zone.
The NHL launched an investigation shortly after the Lightning’s 6-2 win on Monday when clips began appearing on social media.
“League officials interviewed several of the participants in the game — including Rielly and Meier — and reviewed video of the alleged incident. All of those interviewed adamantly denied that Rielly uttered a slur and the audio supported their statements,” Colin Campbell, the NHL’s executive vice president and director of hockey operations, said in a statement.