Misplay allows Toronto to beat New Jersey in OT
New Jersey defenseman Damon Severson backhanded the puck into his own net in overtime, gifting the Maple Leafs a 54 win over the host Devils on Friday.
“It’s nice to get some puck luck and have bounces go your way,” Toronto goaltender Michael Hutchinson said. “Start of the season, felt I was playing well and making other teams have to make good plays to score goals but just as a team, we weren’t getting those fortunate bounces to go our way.”
Severson got the puck after Toronto’s William Nylander lost control of it while driving toward New Jersey’s net. Severson inadvertently beat goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood while trying to clear the puck out of danger. Nylander was credited with the goal.
“I was just trying to protect the puck,” Severson said. “I was not trying to do anything with it. Protect the puck and then get it out of harm’s way. I just hit it by accident into our own net.”
Toronto’s Ilya Mikheyev left the ice in the third period after being cut on his wrist by Jack Hughes’ skate. Mikheyev was taken to a hospital for evaluation.
“It was obviously scary there, seeing that much blood,” Toronto’s John Tavares said. Mikheyev “was having a great night and playing tremendous for us, so thoughts are with him.”
Penguins 5, Predators 2:
Tristan Jarry made 30 saves as visiting Pittsburgh won for the fifth time in six games. Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne was pulled after allowing three goals on six shots. Nashville defenseman Dan Hamhuis left after Alex Galchenyuk’s wrist shot hit him in the face and Nashville center Colton Sissons exited after a player fell on his right leg.
Blues 5, Jets 4:
David Perron scored 3:14 into overtime to give visiting St. Louis a victory. Tyler Bozak added two goals for the Blues, who have won seven in a row. Kyle Connor scored twice for Winnipeg, which has lost four of its past five.
Capitals 2, Blue Jackets 1:
T.J. Oshie scored in overtime as host Washington snapped Columbus’ five-game winning streak. Oshie’s goal ended an 0-for-19 power-play drought for the Capitals, who are 3-for-33 with the man advantage in December.
Bruins 3, Sabres 0:
Patrice Bergeron scored two goals for the third consecutive game and Jaroslav Halak made 26 saves for his third shutout of the season for visiting Boston. Buffalo wing Jeff Skinner left with an injury after attempting to check David Pastrnak in the third period.
Rangers 5, Hurricanes 3:
Mika Zibanejad had two goals and an assist and Henrik Lundqvist stopped 39 shots to help host New York deal Carolina its third straight loss.
Wild 6, Avalanche 4:
Mats Zuccarello and Victor Rask scored in a 1:17 span in the third period and Devan Dubnyk made 40 saves as visiting Minnesota rallied to win. Matt Calvert had two goals for Colorado.
Blackhawks 5, Islanders 2:
Robin Lehner made 38 saves as host Chicago beat New York.
Flames 5, Oilers 1:
Andrew Mangiapane had a goal and two assists for visiting Calgary. Edmonton has lost three in a row.
Ducks 4, Golden Knights 3:
Adam Henrique, Cam Fowler and Max Comtois scored in a 1:37 span of the second period for host Anaheim. Nate Schmidt scored twice for Vegas.
Briefly:
Detroit wing Anthony Mantha, the team’s second-leading scorer, is expected to be sidelined for at least a month because of an upper-body injury, NHL.com reported . ... Boston placed defenseman Torey Krug on injured reserve because of an upperbody injury . ... Toronto forward Trevor Moore is out indefinitely with a concussion, the team announced . ... Washington wing Alex Ovechkin said he will skip the All-Star Game next month, as he did last year. He had been chosen as the Metropolitan Division captain in fan voting.