Roster Update Notebook: Blues release forward Scott Gomez; Oilers activate Klinkhammer, Davidson

"The Neutral Zone" Roster Report

Scott Gomez

Blues release Scott Gomez: The St. Louis Blues have released veteran forward Scott Gomez.

The 36-year-old Gomez was not picked up by any team after being placed on waivers r this week.

The 15-year veteran attended training camp on a tryout and signed a one-year contract in October when the Blues were hampered by injuries at forward. He had one goal and eight points in 21 games.

Gomez played 58 games for New Jersey last season and had seven goals and 27 assists. He has 181 goals and 574 assists in 1,066 regular-season games in 16 seasons with New Jersey, the New York Rangers, Montreal, San Jose, Florida and St. Louis.

Rob Klinkhammer

Oilers activate forward Klinkhammer, defenceman Davidson from injured reserve: The Edmonton Oilers activated winger Rob Klinkhammer and defenceman Brandon Davidson from injured reserve on Thursday.

Klinkhammer, 29, has one goal in eight games with the Oilers this season.

Davidson, 24, has two goals and three assists through 23 appearances this year.

The Oilers also assigned defenceman Nikita Nikitin to the American Hockey League's Bakersfield Condors.

Blue Jackets' Calvert out four weeks with knee injury

"The Neutral Zone" Injury Report

Matt Calvert

Columbus Blue Jackets forward Matt Calvert sustained a knee sprain Tuesday against the Dallas Stars and will miss four weeks, the Blue Jackets announced Thursday.

Calvert was placed on injured reserve Wednesday, which was when goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky was activated off Injured Reserve.

Calvert scored his sixth goal of the season in the 6-3 win against the Stars. 

Calvert had an NHL career-high 13 goals last season.

Rangers sign forward Ryan Gropp to entry-level contract

"The Neutral Zone" Staff Report

Ryan Gropp

NEW YORK — The New York Rangers have signed forward Ryan Gropp to an entry-level contract.

General manager Jeff Gorton announced the signing of the 2015 second-round draft pick on Thursday.

Gropp has skated in 32 games with the Seattle Thunderbirds of the Western Hockey League (WHL) this season, collecting 18 goals and 14 assists. The 19-year-old leads the Thunderbirds in goals, ranks fourth on the team in points, and ranks fifth in assists.

The 6-foot-2, 190-pounder has 66 goals and 66 assists in 158 career WHL games over three seasons.

Gropp was the 41st pick overall in the draft.

Gallagher officially back for Winter Classic

"The Neutral Zone" Roster Report

Brendan Gallagher

Montreal will indeed have the services of forward Brendan Gallagher for the Winter Classic.

Gallagher pronounced himself fit after taking part in practice at Gillette Stadium on Thursday afternoon.

"I'm proud to announce Brendan Gallagher will be playing in the Winter Classic," Montreal captain Max Pacioretty said at the start of his press conference.

Gallagher says he has received 100 percent clearance for the game and did not want to return for selfish reasons.

Gallagher has missed 17 games due to a hand injury suffered when blocking a shot. He had 19 points in 22 games prior to the injury.

Recaps of last night's NHL games

CAPITALS 5, SABRES 2

WASHINGTON - Alex Ovechkin scored twice during a four-goal rally in the third period and the Washington Capitals beat the Buffalo Sabres 5-2 on Wednesday night to extend their winning streak to nine games and overtake the Dallas Stars for the NHL points lead.

Marcus Johansson put Washington ahead 8:32 into the final period, and Andre Burakovsky scored 1:24 later. Evgeny Kuznetsov had two assists during the third period. Justin Williams had the Capitals' other goal, in the second.

The Capitals improved to 28-6-2 and moved ahead of Dallas with 58 points.

Kuznetsov set up Ovechkin's tying goal 1:24 into the third with a perfect pass, then set up Johansson for a re-direct during a power play.

Ovechkin's last goal was an empty-netter.

Braden Holtby finished with 25 saves and improved to 16-0-1 in his last 17 games. He has not lost in regulation since Nov. 10.

Brian Gionta and Zemgus Girgensons scored for Buffalo.

SHARKS 4, FLYERS 2

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Joe Pavelski scored twice in the third period to help San Jose snap a four-game home losing streak by beating Philadelphia.

Pavelski scored the tiebreaker just after a power play with 6:15 left and added a power-play goal in the final minute. Brent Burns and Joe Thornton added power-play goals for the Sharks, who entered with the worst home record in the league at 4-10.

Martin Jones made 17 saves.

Sean Couturier and Claude Giroux scored for the Flyers. Philadelphia has one win in its past 19 meetings against San Jose.

Steve Mason got the late nod to start in goal in place of the sick Michal Neuvirth. He made 29 saves.

RANGERS 5, LIGHTNING 2

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Dominic Moore put New York ahead early in the third period, Dan Boyle had a goal and an assist and the Rangers ended an eight-game road losing streak.

Henrik Lundqvist made 20 saves and moved past Rogie Vachon for 17th place on the NHL's career wins list with 356.

New York was 0-6-2 during the skid. Dan Boyle scored in the first period and Mats Zuccarello in the second. Viktor Stalberg and Rick Nash added empty-netters.

Jonathan Marchessault and Anton Stralman scored for the Lightning. Ben Bishop lost for the first time to the Rangers after winning his first nine games against them. Tampa Bay is 2-2-1 during a six-game homestand.

Moore gave the Rangers a 3-2 lead on a backhander 3:16 into the third after a defensive zone turnover by Tampa Bay. Two of his four goals this season have come against the Lightning.

MAPLE LEAFS 3, PENGUINS 2 (SO)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — P.A. Parenteau and Peter Holland scored in the shootout to help Toronto beat Pittsburgh.

Parenteau won it by beating Matt Murray to the glove side with a wrist shot.

David Perron scored for Pittsburgh in the shootout, but Jonathan Bernier stopped Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang. Bernier finished with 39 saves while playing for the second consecutive night.

Dion Phaneuf and Jake Gardiner both scored, and the Maple Leafs rebounded from a 6-3 home loss to the New York Islanders on Tuesday night. Toronto was 0-6-2 in the second game of back-to-backs prior to this win.

Crosby scored his eighth and Chris Kunitz his fifth, and Murray made 34 saves for Pittsburgh.

DEVILS 3, SENATORS 0

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Mike Cammalleri scored twice, Cory Schneider made 36 saves and New Jersey beat Ottawa.

Andrew Hammond made 18 saves. The Senators lost for the seventh time in 10 games despite outshooting New Jersey 28-11 over the final two periods.

The Devils jumped one point ahead of the Senators and into the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with 45 points.

Lee Stempniak had a short-handed empty-net goal with 16 seconds left. Cammalleri scored both his goals in the first period.

Canucks' Hansen fined for diving/embellishment

"The Neutral Zone" Staff Report

Jannik Hansen

NEW YORK -- Vancouver Canucks forward Jannik Hansen has been fined $2,000 as supplementary discipline under NHL Rule 64 (Diving/Embellishment), the National Hockey League announced today.

Hansen was issued a Warning following an incident flagged by NHL Hockey Operations during NHL Game No. 183 against Pittsburgh on Nov. 4. His second Citation, which triggered the $2,000 fine, was issued for an incident at 10:15 of the third period during NHL Game No. 510 at Tampa Bay on December 22.

Hansen was assessed a minor penalty for embellishment while Tampa Bay defenseman Nikita Nesterov received an interference minor on the play.

The money goes to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund.

Recaps of today's WJC games

United States 10, Switzerland 1: Auston Matthews, the likely top pick of the 2016 NHL Draft, had two goals and two assists to lead the United States to a 10-1 victory against Switzerland in a Group A preliminary-round game at the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship in Helsinki Ice Hall in Helsinki, Finland.

Fellow top draft prospect Matthew Tkachuk and Christian Dvorak (Arizona Coyotes), Zachary Werenski (Columbus Blue Jackets) and Colin White (Ottawa Senators) had three-point games. The win moved the U.S. into second place in Group A with six points, three behind first-place Sweden.

Nick Schmaltz (Chicago Blackhawks), Ryan Donato (Boston Bruins) and Brandon Carlo (Boston Bruins) also scored for the U.S.

Timo Meier (San Jose Sharks) scored for Switzerland, which finished fifth in Group A with one point. Switzerland will play Belarus in the relegation round.
The U.S. finishes preliminary-round play Thursday against Denmark (9 a.m. ET; NHLN).

Finland 8, Slovakia 3: Tournament scoring leader Jesse Puljujarvi, an A-rated skater by NHL Central Scouting in its November players to watch list for the 2016 draft, had a four-point game to lead Finland in a Group B game at Hartwall Arena in Helsinki.

Puljujarvi, who has 10 points in three games, had one goal and three assists.

Finland took a 3-2 lead into the third period before breaking out with five goals to put the game away.

The host country is third in Group B with six points. Finland plays Czech Republic on Thursday to finish the preliminary round.

Sweden 5, Denmark 0: Oskar Lindblom (Philadelphia Flyers) had one goal and one assist and goaltender Felix Sandstrom (Philadelphia Flyers) made nine saves for the shutout for Sweden in a Group A game.

Sweden won its third straight game and clinched first place in Group A with nine points.

Adrian Kempe (Los Angeles Kings) opened the scoring 13 seconds into the game at Helsinki Ice Hall. Gustav Forsling (Chicago Blackhawks) gave Sweden a 2-0 lead with a power-play goal midway through the first period.

William Lagesson (Edmonton Oilers) and top 2016 NHL Draft prospect Alexander Nylander also scored for Sweden.

Sweden finishes preliminary-round play Thursday against Canada (3:30 p.m. ET; NHLN); Denmark finishes group play Thursday against the U.S. (9 a.m. ET; NHLN).

Czech Republic 5, Belarus 3: Simon Stransky, a top prospect for the 2016 draft, was one of five scorers in the victory for the Czech Republic in Group B play.

Vladislav Goncharov's power-play goal gave Belarus a 3-2 lead after two periods. But 2:06 into the third period Jiri Smejkal scored to tie the game, and 2:14 later a goal by Radek Vesely put the Czech Republic ahead for good. Defenseman Dominik Masin (Tampa Bay Lightning) closed the scoring with an empty-net goal in the final minute of the third.

Defenseman Stepan Falkovski, a C-rated player to watch for the 2016 draft, and Yegor Sharangovich also scored for Belarus.

The Czechs, with two wins and an overtime loss, are second in Group B with seven points. They play Finland to finish group play. Belarus will play Switzerland in the best-of-3 relegation round.

Bruins' Marchand suspended 3 games, to miss Winter Classic

"The Neutral Zone" Suspension Report

Brad Marchand

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand was suspended three games without pay, including the Winter Classic, by the NHL on Wednesday for clipping Ottawa defenceman Mark Borowiecki.

Marchand upended Borowiecki away from the puck during the first period in Boston's 7-3 home victory Tuesday night. The 5-foot-9 Bruins forward swooped down and took out the 6-foot-2 Borowiecki at his knees. Borowiecki wasn't injured on the play

Marchand was punished as a repeat offender. He has previously been suspended three times and fined another during his career, including three lower-body infractions. One of those suspensions came after a similar hip check on Sami Salo in 2012.

The suspension will cost Marchand $164,634. He has 15 goals and 11 assists in 34 games this season.

The Bruins will face the Montreal Canadiens in the Winter Classic on Friday at Gillette Stadium.

Devils sign G Blackwood to multi-year contract

"The Neutral Zone" Roster Report

Mackenzie Blackwood

The New Jersey Devils today signed goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood to a three-year entry-level contract. The announcement was made by Devils' Executive Vice President/General Manager Ray Shero.

Blackwood, 19, was selected by New Jersey in the second round, 42nd overall, of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. The native of Thunder Bay, Ontario was one of three goaltenders named to Team Canada's roster for the World Junior Championships, which are currently underway in Helsinki, Finland.

Recaps of last night's NHL games

PANTHERS 3, CANADIENS 1

SUNRISE, Fla. - Aleksander Barkov had two goals and Jaromir Jagr scored the 733rd of his career to lead the Florida Panthers past the Montreal Canadiens 3-1 on Tuesday night for their seventh straight victory.

Roberto Luongo stopped 27 shots and the Panthers leapfrogged Montreal for first place in the Atlantic Division. The winning streak is their longest since March 2008 and it matches the franchise record.

Max Pacioretty scored for Montreal, but the slumping Canadiens have lost seven of their past eight games and 11 of 13.

Ben Scrivens made 27 saves in his first NHL action since April 11 last season. Montreal acquired him from Edmonton on Monday.

Jagr gave the Panthers a 2-1 lead 1:16 into the second period. Barkov had an assist.

Barkov has 10 points in his last seven games and two goals in back-to-back games.

BLACKHAWKS 7, COYOTES 5

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Patrick Kane scored a goal, assisted on two others and raised his NHL-leading point total to 53 in helping Chicago beat Arizona.

Andrew Desjardins scored twice for the Blackhawks, who overcame Shane Doan's hat trick and set a season high for goals in a game.

Artem Anisimov scored his 13th of the season, Brent Seabrook had two assists and Duncan Keith added a goal and an assist for Chicago.

Doan scored three times for the Coyotes, tying Dale Hawerchuk for the franchise record with 379 career goals. Doan's third of the night came on a power play with 27.1 seconds left.

Corey Crawford stopped 32 shots for Chicago.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Tobias Rieder had three assists apiece for the Coyotes.

BLUE JACKETS 6, STARS 3

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Nick Foligno and Brandon Dubinsky each had three assists, and last-place Columbus beat the NHL-best Dallas Stars.

Boone Jenner, Kevin Connauton, Matt Calvert, Brandon Saad, Scott Hartnell and Rene Bourque scored for Columbus, which had lost three straight and eight of 10 — prompting coach John Tortorella to call out his team over the past several days.

Curtis McElhinney made 39 saves, and 11 players had at least one point for the Blue Jackets.

Colton Sceviour, Tyler Seguin and Patrick Sharp scored for Dallas. The Stars had their five-game point streak snapped (4-0-1).

Kari Lehtonen allowed three goals on 14 shots in the first period and was replaced by Antti Niemi to start the second.

BRUINS 7, SENATORS 3

BOSTON (AP) — Jimmy Hayes scored three goals, Patrice Bergeron and Matt Beleskey had two apiece, and Boston beat Ottawa to end a three-game losing streak.

Torey Krug and Loui Eriksson each had two assists for the Bruins.

Tuukka Rask made 29 saves, including 12 in the third period as the Bruins held off the Senators. Boston scored three power-play goals and split the home-and-home series with the Senators, who beat the Bruins 3-1 on Sunday in Ottawa.

Ottawa trimmed Boston's lead to one early in the third period, but the Bruins closed it out with three goals in the final 4:11. There were several late fights, including multiple scrums during a stoppage with 27 seconds remaining that featured all five skaters paired off with an opponent.

Chris Neil had a goal and an assist for Ottawa. Mika Zibanejad and Mike Hoffman also scored.

ISLANDERS 6, MAPLE LEAFS 3

TORONTO (AP) — John Tavares was one of six New York players to score in a victory over Toronto for a split in the home-and-home set.

Brock Nelson, Frans Nielsen, Nikolay Kulemin, Matt Martin and Anders Lee also scored for the Islanders (20-12-5). Thomas Greiss turned aside 30 shots.

Jonathan Bernier again had trouble, getting beaten by the second shot of the game and giving up six goals on just 15 shots through two periods before James Reimer took over to start the third.

Brad Boyes, Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau and Shawn Matthias had goals for the Maple Leafs (13-15-7), who beat New York 3-1 on Sunday in Brooklyn.

DEVILS 3, HURRICANES 2

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — David Schlemko's tiebreaking goal with 3:05 left in the third period gave New Jersey a victory over Carolina.

Bobby Farnham and Kyle Palmieri also scored for the Devils, and Keith Kinkaid stopped 26 shots.

Eric Staal scored twice and Kris Versteeg had two assists for the Hurricanes. Cam Ward made 21 saves.

BLUES 4, PREDATORS 3, OT

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Alexander Steen scored 4:01 into overtime to give St. Louis a win over Nashville.

Steen got the puck from Paul Stastny and scored on a wrist shot in the slot, beating backup goalie Carter Hutton. It was his 13th goal of the season.

The Blues improved to 3-3 in overtime, while the Predators dropped to 0-6.

Two goals late in the third period lifted Nashville back into the game. Predators defenceman Shea Weber pulled his team within one when he scored at 16:08. Colin Wilson tied it at 18:28.

St. Louis (23-12-4) earned its third win in three games this season over Nashville (18-13-6). The Blues have won six of their last eight overall.

Rookie centre Robby Fabbri, Kevin Shattenkirk and Dmitrij Jaskin also scored for the Blues. Jaskin snapped his 19-game drought.

Nashville got a short-handed goal from defenceman Mattias Ekholm.

JETS 4, RED WINGS 1

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Jacob Trouba scored twice and Bryan Little had three assists as Winnipeg beat Detroit.

Trouba's short-handed goal in the first period opened the scoring for the Jets, who also got goals from Andrew Ladd and Alexander Burmistrov.

Pavel Datsyuk scored on a power play for the Red Wings.

Connor Hellebuyck stopped 33 shots to improve to 7-3-0 in his rookie season.

Jimmy Howard started in net for the Red Wings but was chased in the second period after allowing four goals on 14 shots.

KINGS 5, OILERS 2

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Dustin Brown and Trevor Lewis each had a goal and two assists as Los Angeles scored three times in 96 seconds during a victory over Edmonton.

Dwight King, Michael Mersch and Tyler Toffoli also scored for the Kings, who have won three straight.

Benoit Pouliot and Mark Letestu had goals for the Oilers, who had won seven consecutive home games. Edmonton dropped its third in a row overall.

King was playing his first game of the season.

DUCKS 1, FLAMES 0

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Shawn Horcoff scored in the second period and John Gibson made 14 saves for his third shutout this season as Anaheim ended Calgary's home winning streak at a franchise-record 11 games.

Tested only seven times over the first 40 minutes, Gibson was busiest in the third as the Flames finally were able to generate some pressure. However, Calgary could not solve the 22-year-old goalie and Sam Bennett, the Flames' best player on the night, put a shot off the crossbar.

The loss was the first on home ice since Oct. 30 for Calgary (17-17-2).

Bruins put center Krejci on injured reserve with upper-body injury; Griffith recalled

"The Neutral Zone" Roster Report

David Krejci

BOSTON - The Boston Bruins have placed center David Krejci on injured reserve with an upper-body injury.

The team announced the move Tuesday.

Krejci was hurt Sunday in Boston's 3-1 loss at Ottawa.

Krejci must sit out for at least seven days from the time he was injured, which means that he will miss the Winter Classic on New Year's Day against Montreal.

Krejci has 11 goals and 22 assists in 35 games for the Bruins this season.

Boston recalled defenseman Seth Griffith from Providence of the AHL.

Hayes to be scratched by Rangers against Lightning

"The Neutral Zone" Roster Report

Kevin Hayes

New York Rangers right wing Kevin Hayes will be a healthy scratch when the Rangers play the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN).

Hayes has six goals and 17 points in 37 games this season, after scoring 17 goals and 45 points in his first full NHL season.

"I think we all have our tipping points, and I think Kevin has had an extra-long leash, especially considering [Derek Stepan] was out for quite some time," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault told the New York Post on Tuesday after practice in Nashville, where New York lost 5-3 to the Nashville Predators on Monday. "But there's just nothing going on. At the end of the day, we're at the point now where we have to make some decisions in the best interests of the team.

"When you go through a season, there are phases when you're trying to develop, you're trying to work, as you're trying to win; winning is obviously the final component to everything. But in those early on there, you're trying to figure out and find out about people. In Kevin's case, I think we made it clear our expectations about him and what we felt he could do were very high. Obviously, he hasn't lived up to that."

"My game isn't nearly where I want it to be," Hayes told the New York Post. "Goals and aspirations coming into a season ... and I haven't even come close to mine. I'm struggling right now, so take it day by day, see how it goes."

The Rangers started 16-3-2 but are 4-10-2 in their past 16 games and are 12 points behind the first-place Washington Capitals in the Metropolitan Division.

Recaps of today's WJC Games

CANADA 3, SWITZERLAND 2 (SO)

Brayden Point (Tampa Bay Lightning) and Matt Barzal (New York Islanders) scored in the shootout as Canada defeated Switzerland 3-2 on Tuesday at the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship.

It was a nail-biter for Canada fans after the team fell behind 2-0 in the first period.

Canada moves to 1-1-0-1 (1 win, 1 overtime win, 1 loss) in Group A preliminary play.

Swiss players Damien Riat and Dario Meyer scored to put the Canadians in an early hole. But Canada cut the deficit in half in the final minute of the first on a goal by Dylan Strome (Arizona Coyotes).

Defenseman Joe Hicketts (Detroit Red Wings) tied it 12:17 into the second on a wrist shot. It was tied 2-2 after a five-minute overtime.

RUSSIA 4, BELARUS 1

Alexander Polunin scored two goals as Russia extended its lead atop Group B.

Maxim Lazarev opened the scoring for Russia at the midway point of the first period at Hartwell Arena. Polunin added a power-play goal a few minutes later and Vladislav Kamenev (Nashville Predators) made it a three-goal game later in the period.

After a scoreless second period, Alexei Patsenkin got Belarus on the board early in the third period before Polunin added an insurance goal to put the game out of reach.

Russia (2-1-0-0) leads Group B with eight points while winless Belarus (0-0-0-3) remained in last place.

Russia outshot Belarus 32-18.

AHL Announces Suspensions

"The Neutral Zone" Suspension Report

The American Hockey League today announced the following suspensions: 

Ontario Reign defenseman Kurtis MacDermid has been suspended for twelve games as a consequence of his match penalty for an illegal check to the head of an opponent in a game at San Diego on December 26.

MacDermid will miss Ontario’s next 12 scheduled games. He will be eligible to return to the lineup on January 23, 2016. 

San Diego Gulls center Joseph Cramarossa has been suspended for one game as a consequence of his actions in a game at Bakersfield on December 27. 

Cramarossa was assessed an instigator penalty within the final five minutes of the third period, resulting in an automatic one-game suspension under the provisions of AHL Rule 46.22. He will miss San Diego’s game Thursday, December 31, at Texas.

Penguins goalie Fleury, defenseman Letang, practice on Tuesday

"The 100 Yards" Roster Report

Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury and defenseman Kris Letang practiced with the team on Tuesday.

Fleury has not played since December 14th due to a concussion.

Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said that there is no timetable for Fleury's return  to game action.

"I felt pretty good out there today," Fleury said in comments tweeted by the team. "I'm not sure when I'm going to be back. It's going to be gradual."

Letang sustained an upper body injury on Devcember 9th against the Colorado Avalanche. He returned to game action on Saturday against the Minnesota Wild but sustained a hit from Wild forward Jarrett Stoll that caused Letang to leave the game and sit out on Sunday against the Winnipeg Jets. Letang has only played three games since the beginning of December.

It is unclear at this time if Letang will play on Wednesday when the Penguins will host the Tornoro Maple Leafs.

"Letang had a pretty good practice today," Sullivan said. "We'll see how he is tomorrow morning. We will make decisions from there."

Marc-Andre Fleury at the Penguins practice on Tuesday,
December 29th, 2015

NHL to host first-ever Women's Classic

"The Neutral Zone" Staff Report

The NHL will be hosting it's first-ever Women's Classic.

The two teams playing in the event are the Boston Pride (NWHL) and the Les Canadiennes (CWHL) at Gillette Stadium on December 31st, 2015.

Gillette Stadium will open it's gates for the event at 1:30 p.m. ET.

Immediately after the Women's Classic will be the Winter Classic Alumni Game between Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens alumni.

The next day, on January 1st, 2015 will be the 2016 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic between the Montreal Canadiens and the Boston Bruins

"Two days with three Boston-Montreal rival match-ups is a great way to celebrate hockey," said Bill Daly, NHL Deputy Commissioner. "A new year signifies a new chapter and we look forward to sharing the ice for the first time with two professional women's teams on the League's biggest stage."

Recaps of last night's NHL games

CAPITALS 2, SABRES 0

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Braden Holtby made 31 saves and Alex Ovechkin scored to lead the Washington Capitals over the Buffalo Sabres 2-0 on Monday night for their eight straight win.

Ovechkin scored 19 seconds into the second period and Jay Beagle scored about 12 minutes later to help the Eastern Conference-leading Capitals improve to 27-6-2, the best start in franchise history.

Washington has earned a point in 15 of its last 16 games and trails the Dallas Stars by one point for the NHL lead.

Holtby got his 22nd career shutout and second this season. He leads the NHL with 23 victories and is 15-0-1 in his last 17 games.

Linus Ullmark made 24 saves for the Sabres.

Sabres forward Evander Kane played for the first time since The Buffalo News reported that Buffalo police were investigating a sex crime allegation against him.

AVALANCHE 6, SHARKS 3

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Nathan MacKinnon scored twice on power plays and added an empty-net goal, Carl Soderberg and Blake Comeau also scored on power plays and Colorado ended a 13-game losing streak in San Jose.

Matt Duchene also scored, and the Avalanche won their fourth straight on the road to improve to 6-1-1 over their last eight games.

Patrick Marleau, Melker Karlsson and Tomas Hertl scored for the Sharks. San Jose owns the worst home record in the league at 4-10 and has lost four straight at home and seven of eight.

Colorado's Calvin Pickard stopped 35 shots for his first decision of the season and his first win in over a year. Martin Jones saved 20 of 25 for the Sharks.

CANADIENS 4, LIGHTNING 3, SO

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Max Pacioretty won it in the third round of a shootout and Montreal beat Tampa Bay to end a six-game losing streak.

Brian Flynn also scored in the shootout for Montreal. Valtteri Filppula had a shootout score for Tamp Bay.

The Canadiens got goals from Tomas Plekanec, Alex Galchenyuk and Dale Weise.

Nikita Kucherov, Jason Garrison and Ryan Callahan scored for the Lightning, who are 2-1-1 on a six-game homestand. Tampa Bay centers Tyler Johnson and Brian Boyle both returned after being out with upper-body injuries.

Mike Condon made 36 saves through overtime for Montreal, while Tampa Bay's Ben Bishop stopped 31 shots.

KINGS 5, CANUCKS 0

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Tyler Toffoli scored three goals, Jonathan Quick got the 40th shutout of his NHL career and Los Angeles beat Vancouver.

The Kings won their second straight and snapped Vancouver's two-game win streak. The Canucks have yet to win three games in a row this season.

Quick made 27 saves in his second shutout this season and was rarely tested. The Kings outshot the Canucks 38-27, leading 1-0 after one period and 3-0 after two.

Toffoli finished his hat trick on a power play with 7:04 left. Derek Forbort got his first NHL goal and Brayden McNabb also scored. Anze Kopitar had four assists.

Vancouver was shut out for the fourth time in its past 11 games.

WILD 3, RED WINGS 1

3T. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Mikko Koivu scored twice, Devan Dubnyk made 28 saves in a surprise appearance and Minnesota beat Detroit.

Dubnyk suffered a cut on his arm in practice Sunday and had to have stitches. He was expected to sit, but Darcy Kuemper was announced out with an upper-body injury about an hour before the game.

Charlie Coyle scored for the third time in four games for Minnesota. Koivu scored a power-play goal in the third and added an empty-net tally for Minnesota, which had lost three of four.

Pavel Datsyuk scored his fourth goal of the season for Detroit. Petr Mrazek made 32 saves for the Red Wings.

PREDATORS 5, RANGERS 3

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — James Neal scored twice, Mike Ribeiro had three assists and Nashville held off New York.

Filip Forsberg, Craig Smith and Ryan Ellis also scored for the Predators. Roman Josi added two assists, Pekka Rinne had 26 saves and Nashville won for the third time in four games.

Jesper Fast, Rick Nash and J.T. Miller had goals but New York lost its fourth in five games.

Ducks D Fowler sprained knee; prospect Theodore recalled

Cam Fowler

"The Neutral Zone" Roster Report

Shea Theodore

ANAHEIM, CA - Anaheim Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler has a sprained knee, and the club has recalled top prospect Shea Theodore from the San Diego Gulls, the Ducks announced Monday.

Fowler was injured in the first period of Anaheim's 4-2 victory over Philadelphia on Sunday. The Ducks will determine his recovery time later in the week, but he isn't expected to be on their three-game road trip beginning Tuesday in Calgary.

The 20-year-old Theodore has 16 points in 27 games with the Ducks' AHL affiliate in San Diego. He was recalled earlier this season, but has yet to make his NHL debut.

Recap of today's WJC games

SWEDEN 1, UNITED STATES 0

HELSINKI -- New York Islanders goaltending prospect Linus Soderstrom made 46 saves and Alexander Nylander scored as Sweden shut out the United States 1-0 on Monday in the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship.

Nylander, a top prospect for the 2016 NHL Draft, scored on a second-period breakaway. He has one goal and four assists in the tournament to lead Sweden, which is 2-0 in Group A

The United States, which fell to 1-1 after beating Canada in its opener, couldn't score despite having eight power-play chances in the game. They had 20 power-play shots and 14:48 of total power-play time.

It was the first time the U.S. lost to Sweden in the WJC since 1996, ending a 12-game winning streak.

The U.S. will face Switzerland on Wednesday and Denmark on Thursday.

RUSSIA 6, FINLAND 4:

Kirill Kaprizov (Minnesota Wild) had a goal and an assist and Yegor Korshkov chipped in with three assists for Russia.

Sebastian Aho (Carolina Hurricanes) gave the host side the lead when he beat Russian goalie Alexander Georgiev early in the first period at Hartwall Arena. Kaprizov tied it on the power play but Patrik Laine restored Finland's one-goal cushion with 67 seconds left in the opening frame.

Aleksi Saarela (New York Rangers) scored 53 seconds into the second period to make it 3-1 before the Russians scored four times on Finnish netminder Veini Vehvilainen in a span of seven minutes 17 seconds.

Andrei Svetlakov started the rally with a shorthanded goal and Pavel Kraskovski tied the game on the power play. Vladislav Kamenev (Nashville Predators) scored another goal with the man advantage and Alexander Polunin capped the outburst with an even-strength goal.

Saarela halved the Russian lead early in the third period but Radel Fazleyev tacked on an insurance goal for the Russians, who lead Group B with five points. Finland, which opened the tournament with a victory, has three points.

CZECH REPUBLIC 2, SLOVAKIA 0

Dominik Lakatos and David Pastrnak (Boston Bruins) scored and Vitek Vanecek (Washington Capitals) made 18 saves for the shutout.

Pastrnak opened the scoring with a power-play goal late in the second period at Hartwall Arena. Lakatos added an insurance goal midway through the third period.

Slovakia has split its first two games while the Czechs have one win and an overtime loss.

Sunday's World Juniors Scores: Denmark 2, Switzerland 1 | Slovakia 4, Belarus 2

Canadiens acquire Scrivens from Oilers for Kassian

"The Neutral Zone" Roster Report

Ben Scrivens

The Montreal Canadiens acquired goaltender Ben Scrivens from the Edmonton Oilers on Monday in exchange for forward Zack Kassian.

Montreal has been in need of veteran goaltending depth in the absence of Carey Price, the reigning Vezina Trophy winner. Price has been out since Nov. 25 after he sustained his second lower-body injury of the season. The team has used rookie Mike Condon and backup Dustin Tokarski in his absence. There is no timeline on when Price will return to the Canadiens.

Scrivens, 29, was with the Bakersfield Condors of the American Hockey League, but does have 129 games of NHL experience and was the No. 1 goalie for the Oilers in 2014-15, posting a 15-26-11 record with a 3.16 goals-against average and .890 save percentage. He also played for the Los Angeles Kings and the Toronto Maple Leafs. In 129 NHL games, Scrivens has a 42-56-17 record with seven shutouts, a 2.90 GAA and a .905 save percentage.

"I'm definitely happy with how things played out," Scrivens said of the trade. "Definitely happy to get a new chance and a chance to play in the NHL again."

Sabres' Kane suspect of sex offense investigation

"The Neutral Zone" Staff Report

Evander Kane

Buffalo Sabres forward Evander Kane is the suspect in a sex offense investigation by Buffalo Police, according to a team statement.

The incident supposedly happened Sunday morning in a downtown hotel room.

Recaps of last night's NHL games

PANTHERS 3, BLUE JACKETS 2

SUNRISE, Fla. - Aleksander Barkov had a pair of goals as the Florida Panthers took over the top spot in the Atlantic Division with a 3-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday night.

Aaron Ekblad also scored a goal for the Panthers. Jonathan Huberdeau had two assists.

Brandon Saad and Cam Atkinson scored for Columbus.

Roberto Luongo made 15 saves for Florida. Columbus's Curtis McElhinney had 29 saves.

MAPLE LEAFS 3, ISLANDERS 1

NEW YORK (AP) — Tyler Bozak and Michael Grabner scored 1:40 apart in the second period to lead the Maple Leafs to a victory over the Islanders.

After going 1-7-2 in October, the Leafs are 12-7-5 in November and December. Toronto has recorded at least one point in seven of its last eight games (5-1-2). Overall, the Leafs are 13-14-7.

Jonathan Bernier stopped 25 shots and James van Riemsdyk added an empty net goal.

Thomas Greiss made 35 saves for New York, which has lost four of five.

Nikolay Kulemin scored New York's goal.

SENATORS 3, BRUINS 1

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Mark Stone scored twice, Craig Anderson stopped 38 shots and the Senators beat the Bruins.

Mika Zibanejad had the other goal and the Senators snapped a two-game losing streak.

Boston dropped its third straight. David Krejci had the Bruins' goal, and Tuukka Rask made 19 saves.

STARS 3, BLUES 0

DALLAS (AP) — Kari Lehtonen made 22 saves in his 33rd career shutout, Jamie Benn scored his NHL-leading 23rd goal and the Stars beat the Blues.

Benn and Patrick Sharp each had a power-play goal and an assist. Cody Eakin scored into an empty net with 1:32 remaining.

Lehtonen improved his season record to 12-2-0. He is 13-6-2 in his career against the Blues.

FLAMES 5, OILERS 3

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Red-hot Johnny Gaudreau scored twice and Calgary beat Edmonton for its franchise-record 11th straight home win.

Since last losing at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Oct. 30, the Flames have dominated at home with Gaudreau leading the way. The 22-year-old has scored in eight of the 11 wins with 15 goals and 22 points over that span, including a hat trick in a 4-1 win over Winnipeg last Tuesday night.

Mark Giordano also scored twice and Matt Stajan had a goal for the Flames. Karri Ramo stopped 28 shots.

Benoit Pouliot scored twice and Teddy Purcell added the other for Edmonton. The Oilers are 1-4-1 since a six-game winning streak ended.

HURRICANES 2, BLACKHAWKS 1

CHICAGO (AP) — Justin Faulk and Victor Rask scored, backup Eddie Lack stopped 35 shots and the Hurricanes beat the Blackhawks.

Chicago's Brent Seabrook spoiled Lack's shutout bid with 3 seconds left and Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford on the bench for an extra attacker.

Lack wasn't consistently tested until the Blackhawks outshot Carolina 19-9 in the third period.

The Hurricanes' Jeff Skinner had two assists.

DUCKS 4, FLYERS 2

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Corey Perry had the tying and go-ahead goals, Shawn Horcoff scored a short-handed goal and Ryan Getzlaf connected on a power play, leading the Ducks to their fitfh straight win over the Flyers.

Defenceman Sami Vatanen had two assists and John Gibson made 24 saves in his first career game against the Flyers.

Jakub Voracek and Michael Raffl scored for the Flyers. Steve Mason stopped 33 shots in his fourth straight start.

COYOTES 2, AVALANCHE 1, OT

DENVER (AP) — Mikkel Boedker scored at 4:17 of overtime and Anders Lindback stopped 38 shots, helping the Coyotes beat the Avalanche.

Boedker corralled a loose puck at his own blue line and skated in all alone on Semyon Varlamov, lifting a shot over the stick of the Colorado goalie.

Jarome Iginla scored his 599th career goal on a power play in the first period. He's one away from becoming the 19th NHL player to reach the 600-goal mark.

JETS 1, PENGUINS 0

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Connor Hellebuyck made 30 saves in his first career NHL shutout to help the Jets beat the Penguins.

The rookie goalie blanked Pittsburgh in his ninth NHL game.

Bryan Little scored on a penalty shot in the first period.

Penguins goalie Jeff Zatkoff made 27 saves.

Recaps of last night's NHL games

CAPITALS 3, CANADIENS 1

WASHINGTON – Braden Holtby stopped 29 shots, Jason Chimera had a goal and an assist and the Washington Capitals beat the struggling Montreal Canadiens 3-1 Saturday night for their seventh straight victory.

Off to the best start in franchise history, Washington leads the Eastern Conference with a 26-6-2 record and has won eight in a row at home. Evgeny Kuznetsov and Jay Beagle also scored for the Capitals.

Holtby allowed only a second-period goal to Daniel Carr in earning his NHL-leading 22nd victory. He's 8-0-2 lifetime against Montreal with a goals-against average well under 2.00.

Montreal has been outscored 22-6 while losing its last six games and has dropped 10 of 11 since Dec. 1.

BLUES 3, STARS 2, SO

ST. LOUIS (AP) — David Backes scored in the ninth round of a long shootout to lift St. Louis over Dallas.

Alexander Steen and Robby Fabbri scored in regulation and Jake Allen made 22 saves for the Blues, who earned their second win over the Stars this season.

Tyler Seguin and Colton Sceviour scored in regulation and Antti Niemi stopped 35 shots for the Central Division-leading Stars, who had won three straight overall.

The teams meet again in Dallas on Sunday.

SABRES 6, BRUINS 3

BOSTON (AP) — Jack Eichel scored twice in his return to Boston, Jamie McGinn had the go-ahead goal with 5:36 left and Buffalo rallied from a two-goal deficit in the third period.

Ryan O'Reilly also scored twice for the Sabres, who broke loose for five goals in the third to win for the fourth time in six games. Chad Johnson stopped 30 shots, and Evander Kane had the other Buffalo goal.

Matt Beleskey, Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci scored for Boston, which lost its second straight in regulation after going 11-1-3 in its previous 15 games. Backup goalie Jonas Gustavsson made 23 saves.

Eichel, the No. 2 pick in the NHL draft last summer, also had two assists. He grew up about 35 miles north of Boston and starred for one season at Boston University. Eichel last played in TD Garden when BU lost the NCAA championship game to Providence last season.

RED WINGS 3, PREDATORS 2

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Brendan Smith had a goal and an assist to lead Detroit past Nashville.

Riley Sheahan and Luke Glendening also scored for the Red Wings, who moved into a tie with Montreal atop the Atlantic Division. Petr Mrazek made 24 saves in the victory.

Filip Forsberg scored twice and Mike Ribeiro had a pair of assists for the Predators.

LIGHTNING 5, BLUE JACKETS 2

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Steven Stamkos had two power-play goals and an assist during the second period and Tampa Bay beat Columbus.

Mike Blunden, Nikita Nesterov and Jason Garrison also scored for the Lightning, and Jonathan Marchessault extended his point streak to six games with two assists. Tampa Bay is 2-1 halfway through a six-game homestand.

Tampa Bay was 3 for 8 on the power play after going 1 for 10 in a 2-1 loss Tuesday night to Vancouver.

Columbus got goals from Rene Bourque and Scott Hartnell.

Ben Bishop made 30 saves for Tampa Bay. Stamkos had a pair of 5-on-3 goals to help the Lightning take a 3-2 lead.

KINGS 4, COYOTES 3, OT

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Anze Kopitar scored 36 seconds into overtime to give Los Angeles a victory over Arizona.

Kopitar saved the Kings on a night when they rallied from a one-goal deficit only to squander a two-goal lead. Drew Doughty, Tanner Pearson and Dustin Brown also scored for Los Angeles, which won for the second time in six games.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored twice and Antoine Vermette added a goal for the Coyotes. Arizona lost for just the second time in its past 10 home games.

Jonathan Quick made 23 saves for the Kings.

PENGUINS 3, WILD 1

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Sidney Crosby had a goal and an assist in his return from a one-game injury absence, and Pittsburgh defeated Minnesota.

Eric Fehr and Patric Hornqvist also scored for the Penguins, who won consecutive games for the first time since Nov. 17-19. Pittsburgh beat Columbus 5-2 Monday night without Crosby.

Matt Murray made 25 saves and Pittsburgh won for just the third time in 10 games. Kris Letang had a pair of assists after missing the past six games with an upper-body injury.

Minnesota has lost six of its last seven against Pittsburgh. Jason Zucker had the Wild's goal, and Devan Dubnyk made 29 saves.

HURRICANES 3, DEVILS 1

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Justin Faulk scored the go-ahead goal 8:17 into the third period to lift Carolina over New Jersey.

Faulk also had an assist, Joakim Nordstrom had a goal and an assist, Brett Pesce scored and Cam Ward made 19 saves for the Hurricanes.

Kyle Palmieri scored his team-leading 15th goal early in the third period and Cory Schneider stopped 22 shots, but the Devils haven't won consecutive games since mid-November.

CANUCKS 2, OILERS 1, OT

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Jannik Hansen scored his second goal of the game at 4:01 and Vancouver edged Edmonton for its first overtime victory this season.

Hansen, who tied the score in the second period, skated down right wing and beat Cam Talbot for the game-winner. Matt Bartkowski and goalie Jacob Markstrom had the assists.

Vancouver (14-14-9) had been 0-7 when playing 3-on-3.

Mark Letestu opened the scoring in the first period for the Oilers (15-18-3).

It was the third straight home win for the Canucks, who were back at Rogers Arena for the first time since Dec. 9.

Markstrom made 32 saves for his third victory this season. Top goalie Ryan Miller was sidelined with muscle cramps, the team said.