Carolina rookie Nedeljkovic gets first shutout

Nedeljkovic gets plenty of help in first shutout

RALEIGH, N.C. — Rookie Alex Nedeljkovic made 24 saves in his first NHL shutout as the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-0 on Saturday.

Vincent Trocheck, Sebastian Aho, ex-Tampa Bay player Cedric Paquette and Andrei Svechnikov scored for the Hurricanes (123-1), who have won five of six and own a six-game points streak.

Tampa Bay (10-4-1) has yet to score in two meetings, including an overtime loss, against Carolina this season. Nedeljkovic stopped 13 shots in the second period.

Andrei Vasilevskiy made 24 saves for the Lightning, who lost for the third time in four games.

Tampa Bay, which hadn’t played since Monday, had sloppy puck handling that led to Trocheck’s goal, his 300th, which gave him a six-game points streak.

Another Lightning breakdown led to Aho’s goal as he took a pass from Svechnikov and skated in on Vasilevskiy without resistance. Paquette’s third-period goal was his second of the season and first with the Hurricanes. Aho assisted on Svechnikov’s empty-net goal.

Penguins 3, Islanders 2: At Pittsburgh, Kris Letang scored twice, including the tiebreaking goal with 6:26 left, for Pittsburgh, which was outshot 35-18. Sidney Crosby had two assists for the Penguins in his 1,000th NHL game.

Oilers 7, Flames 1: At Edmonton, Alberta, Connor McDavid notched his second career natural hat trick — both against Calgary — and had two assists to back Mikko

Koskinen, who had 43 saves. Edmonton was outshot 44-24.

Maple Leafs 5, Canadiens 3: At Montreal, Auston Matthews scored twice to increase his NHL-best goals total to 18 and added two assists, and Mitch Marner added a goal and two assists for Toronto (14-3-2).

Sharks 5, Blues 4: At St. Louis, Rudolfs Balcers scored his first two goals of the season, including the tiebreaker with 8:09 left, for San Jose, which was 0-7-1 in its previous eight against St. Louis.

Sabres 3, Devils 2: At Newark, N.J., Sam Reinhart scored twice for Buffalo, which halted a four-game skid and dealt Mackenzie Blackwood (4-1-1) his first loss in regulation this season.

Rangers 4, Capitals 1: At Washington, Ryan Strome had a goal and an assist, and Artemi Panarin’s two assists included one on rookie top draft pick Alexis Lafreniere’s second NHL goal.

Red Wings 2, Panthers 1: At Detroit, rookie Mathias Brome scored his first NHL goal and Patrik Nemeth his first of the season to back Jonathan Bernier, who stopped 38 shots.

Predators 4, Blue Jackets 2:

At Columbus, Ohio, Calle Jarnkrok scored twice against Elvis Merzlikins, who had 35 saves for Columbus before exiting with a third-period injury.

Wild 5, Ducks 1: At Anaheim, Calif., Kevin Fiala had two goals and an assist to back Kaapo Kahkonen, who stopped 26 shots to hand Anaheim its third straight loss.

Kings 4, Coyotes 2: At Glendale, Ariz., Alex Iafallo scored twice for Los Angeles to back Cal Peterson, who had 22 saves in the Kings’ fourth straight win.

Karl B. DeBlaker The Associated Press Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh cross checks Hurricanes right wing Martin Necas in front of goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy in the second period of Carolina’s 4-0 win Saturday at PNC Arena. The Hurricanes have won five of their past six.