Golden Knights respond, top Avalanche in overtime

Max Pacioretty scored at 1:56 of overtime to give the Vegas Golden Knights a 3-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday.

Vegas rebounded from a 5-1 loss in the series opener Thursday night to move a point ahead of Colorado atop the West Division.

“We had a lot to prove after getting spanked in the last game,” Pacioretty said.

Vegas had a 34-24 shots advantage, the first time Colorado has been outshot in 20 games. The last time an opponent outshot the Avalanche was Vegas on Feb. 16.

The Avalanche had won eight straight at home.

PENGUINS6,ISLANDERS3>> Bryan Rust had his fourth career hat trick, Sidney Crosby added a goal and an assist and short-handed Pittsburgh pulled within two points of New York and Washington for the East Division lead.

BRUINS 3, SABRES 2 >> Buffalo lost its 17th consecutive game, twice blowing one-goal leads before Craig Smith scored with 3:50 left to give Boston the victory. The Sabres have not won since Feb. 23, tying the 18th longest NHL losing streak.

HURRICANES 4, LIGHTNING 3 >> Martin Necas scored his second goal of the game to break a tie with 3:53 remaining and Carolina beat Tampa Bay in a Central Division showdown. Dougie

Hamilton picked up an assist to extend his franchiserecord points streak for a defenseman to 14 games. That’s the longest active streak in the NHL for any player.

FLYERS 2, RANGERS 1 >> Sam Morin scored his first NHL goal with 4:27 left to help Philadelphia beat New York.

MAPLE LEAFS 4, OILERS 3, OT >> Auston Matthews scored 54 seconds into overtime to give lift Toronto past Edmonton for its third straight victory. Matthews broke a tie with Oilers star Connor Mcdavid for the NHL goals lead with his 22nd.

RED WINGS 3, BLUE JACKETS 1>> Adam Erne and Robby Fabbri scored 29 seconds apart in the first period and goalie Calvin Pickard made 21 saves in his first start of the season, helping Detroit beat Columbus Blue.

NOTES >> The Los Angeles Kings add some grit to their lineup, acquiring Brendan Lemieux from the New York Rangers in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2021 NHL draft, according to GM Rob Blake. Lemieux, 25, has posted seven points and 59 penalty minutes in 31 games this season for the Rangers. Since making his NHL debut during the 2017-18 season, the 6-foot-1, 213-pound forward has appeared in 162 games with the Rangers and the Winnipeg Jets, posting 43 points (21 goals, 22 assists) and 299 penalty minutes. Lemieux was selected 31st overall in the 2014 draft by the Buffalo Sabres.