Mcdavid keeps rolling by scoring twice more
Connor Mcdavid scored twice, boosting his Nhl-best goal total to 54, as the visiting Edmonton Oilers beat the Buffalo Sabres, 3-2, on Monday night.
Mcdavid continued to make a case to win his third Hart trophy as the NHL MVP with his 12th multigoal game of the year. His 124 points in 65 games are one more than the career best he set in 80 games last year, and he extended his point streak to 11 games in which the Oilers’ captain has 12 goals and 15 assists.
“Who’s more likely to make a big play than him?” teammate Zach Hyman asked in wonder. “He’s the best player in the world, and he’s pushing his own boundaries. He’s been driving the bus for a long time and continues to get better.”
Derek Ryan also scored and Stuart Skinner stopped 36 shots for the Oilers, who improved to 5-4-3 in their past 12 games and bounced back from a 7-5 loss at Winnipeg on Saturday.
Skinner’s best stop came with 4:13 remaining when he reached out to stab Ilya Lyubushkin’s shot from the high slot.
Jeff Skinner and Dylan Cozens scored for the Sabres, and Craig Anderson stopped 34 shots.
Buffalo continued its struggles at home, where it has lost five of its past seven.
The Sabres, in the midst of an Nhl-worst 11-season playoff drought, failed to gain ground in the tight Eastern Conference race. Four points separated the seventh-place New York Islanders and ninth-place Buffalo, which was locked in a four-way tie with teams at 68 points.
The Oilers moved into a tie with Seattle for third in the Pacific Division.
FLAMES 5, STARS 4: Nick Ritchie scored a goal in his debut for visiting Calgary after being part of the NHL’S first brother-forbrother trade, and Tyler Toffoli scored on a breakaway in the final seconds as the Flames beat Central Division-leading Dallas for its first win in six games.
The Stars had overcome a twogoal deficit and gotten even on Jamie Benn’s 26th goal with just under six minutes left.
SHARKS 3, JETS 2 (OT): Tomas Hertl scored the tying goal with 10.2 seconds left in regulation and Logan Couture got the winner 1:21 into overtime as San Jose rallied in Winnipeg to snap a five-game losing streak.
Steven Lorentz also scored and Erik Karlsson had two assists for San Jose, which was 0-4-1 during its skid. James Reimer had 36 saves.
Nate Schmidt and Nino Niederreiter scored for Winnipeg. David Rittich made 21 saves but lost his third straight start.
BLACKHAWKS 5, SENATORS 0: Seth Jones scored two of Chicago’s three second-period goals, and the Blackhawks stopped visiting Ottawa’s fivegame winning streak.
Anders Bjork had three primary assists, and Alex Stalock made 35 saves in his 11th career shutout. Lukas Reichel, Philipp Kurashev and Jason Dickinson also scored as last-place Chicago snapped its four-game losing streak.
Maple Leafs lose O’reilly
Toronto Maple Leafs center Ryan O’reilly will be out of action for an extended period because of a broken finger.
O’reilly is going on long-term injured reserve, Coach Sheldon Keefe said. That means the 32-year-old must miss at least 10 games.
He won’t be eligible to return until Toronto’s game March 29 against Florida.
The Maple Leafs acquired O’reilly in a trade with St. Louis last month. He put up five points in eight games before taking a puck off his left hand in the second period of a 4-1 loss Saturday at Vancouver.
Captain John Tavares will be held out of the lineup with an undisclosed ailment when Toronto visits New Jersey on Tuesday.