Pittsburgh ends three-game losing skid
PITTSBURGH — The goals kept coming. One after another. A dizzying three periods of shots followed by baffled goaltenders fishing pucks out of the net wondering how things got out of hand so quickly.
When Pittsburgh’s Conor Sheary ended it 34 seconds into overtime to give the Penguins a chaotic 8-7 victory over the Washington Capitals, Sheary’s teammates darted for the tunnel while Washington stood on the bench a little dumbstruck after their nine-game winning streak came to an abrupt — if highly entertaining — halt.
“I actually heard the crowd started yelling because I was just digging at it and I was kind of face down on the ice,” Sheary said after getting his 13th goal of the season . “Luckily it went in.”
Sheary had two goals and an assist for the Penguins, who snapped a three-game losing streak. Evgeni Malkin picked up his 11th career hat trick during a frenetic second period, and Sidney Crosby collected his NHL-leading 27th goal to go with three assists.
The Penguins trailed 3-0 before scoring six goals in less than 11 minutes in the second period, more goals than the Capitals had allowed in a game all season. Pittsburgh led 6-5 after two periods, and its eight goals overall were the most Washington has given up since the Penguins rolled 8-1 on Jan. 25, 2006.
■ Sabres 4, Stars 1 — At Buffalo, N.Y., Jack Eichel scored two goals NHL and Buffalo snapped a two-game losing streak and beat Dallas for the first time in four matchups. Tyler Ennis scored 19 seconds into the first period after returning from groin surgery.
■ Red Wings 1, Canadiens 0 — At Detroit, Thomas Vanek scored late in the second period and Jared Coreau earned his second shutout, leading Detroit to consecutive wins at home for the first time since starting the season 4-0 at Joe Louis Arena.
■ Lightning 2,Kings 1 — At Los Angeles, Brian Boyle scored the go-ahead goal late in the second period, and Tampa Bay opened a six-game road trip with a victory. Ben Bishop made 31 saves for the Lightning, who won for the second time in seven games.
■ Islanders 4, Bruins 0 — At Boston, Nikolay Kulemin scored two of New York’s three second-period goals, Thomas Greiss made 32 saves for his first shutout this season and the Islanders beat Boston for the second time at TD Garden.
■ Sharks 5, Jets 2 — At San Jose, Calif., Joel Ward scored a short-handed goal and took a hard hit to assist on Timo Meier’s goal, helping San Jose win for the third time in eight games. Martin Jones made 26 saves for the Sharks.
■ Oilers 3, Coyotes 1 — At Edmonton, Alberta, Jujhar Khaira gave the Oilers the lead with his first career goal and Edmonton earned its third straight victory. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Leon Draisaitl also scored for the Oilers.