NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE ROUNDUP
Lightning 3, Bruins 2
Mathieu Joseph and Anthony Cirelli scored early in the third period and Tampa Bay won its fifth consecutive game by beating Boston on Thursday night. After Joseph scored at 2:40, Cirelli put home a short-handed backhand 1:23 later to make it 3-1. Boston pulled to 3-2 on David Krejci's goal with 1:45 remaining. Brayden Point also scored and Louis Domingue made 33 saves for the Lightning, who have the NHL's best record at 22-7-1. David Pastrnak had a goal for Boston, and Tuukka Rask stopped 27 shots. The Bruins have lost three in a row and four of five. Point got his 21st goal, including seven over his last eight games, to tie it 1-all with 5:01 left in the first. Nikita Kucherov set up the goal with a backhand pass and has 20 assists and 25 points in his last 12 games. Pastrnak got his 20th goal in his 28th game this season on a rebound 2:04 into the game. Jaromir Jagr — on four different occasions — is the only Czech-born player to reach the 20-goal mark in fewer games. Domingue made a pad save on a late first-period breakaway by Pastrnak, who went to his backhand. Boston activated defenseman Charlie McAvoy, who had been sidelined since Oct. 20 due to a concussion. The injury-depleted Bruins are still without center Patrice Bergeron (ribs), and defensemen Zdeno Chara (lower body), Kevan Miller (throat) and Urho Vaakanainen (concussion).
Penguins 6, Islanders 2
Kris Letang and Phil Kessel each scored twice, and Pittsburgh beat New York. Kessel also had two assists, Sidney Crosby scored his 15th goal and had two assists, and Riley Sheahan scored his fourth goal. The Penguins have won two straight and five of eight following a slump in which they won once in 10 games. Jake Guentzel had three assists and established a career-best six-game point streak for Pittsburgh.
Casey DeSmith made 19 saves to win for the fifth time in six starts.
New York's Anders Lee scored for the fourth straight game, his 11th of the season. Brock Nelson's 10th was a short-handed goal for the Islanders, who have one win in their last five games.
Thomas Greiss stopped 16 shots through two periods before he was replaced by Christopher Gibson, who made six saves.
After Letang scored on a give-and-go with Derick Brassard, Nelson tied it late in the first period. It was the fourth short-handed goal allowed by Pittsburgh in five games and its league-worst eighth this season.
Letang scored again with 29 seconds left in the period on a slap shot from center point.
Sheahan batted the rebound from Evgeni Malkin's shot to make it 3-1, and Kessel scored twice in a six-minute span later in the period. Crosby and Guentzel assisted on both goals, and Crosby added his own goal in the third period.
Red Wings 5, Maple Leafs 4
Dylan Larkin scored on a breakaway at 2:48 of overtime and Detroit beat Toronto after blowing a three-goal lead in the third period. Larkin beat Garret Sparks between the pads to snap Toronto's five-game winning streak. Gustav Nyquist set up the winner, and finished a goal and two assists. Mike Green had a goal and an assist, Jonathan Ericsson and Luke Glendening also scored, Larkin had an assist and former Maple Leafs goalie Jonathan Bernier stopped 27 shots.
Blue Jackets 4, Flyers 3
Seth Jones scored his second goal of the game 10 seconds into overtime to lift Columbus past Philadelphia. Cam Atkinson fed a wide-open Jones in the slot moments into overtime, and Jones beat goalie Anthony Stolarz over his left shoulder. Brandon Dubinsky and Boone Jenner also scored for the Blue Jackets.