Monday, October 31, 2016

Anderson gets emotional win in net for Senators

Ottawa Senators goalie Craig Anderson made 37 saves, including 18 in the third period, in a 2-0 win against the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place on Sunday, being that it was his first game back since taking a leave of absence Thursday to be with his wife, Nicholle, who was recently diagnosed with cancer.

Anderson rejoined the Senators on Saturday for the last game of a three-game Western Canada road trip after goaltender Andrew Hammond sustained a lower-body injury in a 5-2 loss at the Calgary Flames on Friday.

"I think you couldn't really feel it, the gravity that it was, until the final whistle when the game was over," Senators captain Erik Karlsson said. "We accomplished a great game led by [Anderson]. He came here [Saturday] and we all knew about it, and obviously, he held a strong face, but you could still see the pain in his eyes. He came in and really led by example, he didn't say much, he did the same thing, the same routine and he showed what a true leader was."

Anderson did not speak with the media after the game.

The shutout was Anderson's second of the season and 35th of his career. He made 22 saves in a 3-0 win at the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday. Anderson has five shutouts in 17 games against the Oilers. He has not allowed a goal in 121 minutes and 57 seconds.

Mike Hoffman scored at 12:18 of the second period for his first goal of the season for Ottawa (5-3-0). Bobby Ryan sealed the win with an empty-net goal with 32.2 seconds remaining.

Cam Talbot made 20 saves for Edmonton (7-2-0), which saw its five-game win streak end.


"It's a pretty emotional night with everything that's been going on with this group," Hoffman said. "Coming in here and facing one of the best teams in the League at the moment was a big task for us. Everyone in here was ready to take them on and we played a solid game, and obviously, [Anderson] coming back and helping this team out is a pretty cool story.

NHL Capsules (October 31, 2016)

CHICAGO (AP) Corey Crawford made 32 saves, Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa each had a power-play goal and the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Los Angeles Kings 3-0 on Sunday night.

Artem Anisimov also scored to extend his career-best point streak to seven games. He has six goals and five assists during the run.

Toews got his first goal of the season - the Chicago captain had just three assists in the Blackhawks' first eight games. Hossa scored into an empty net with 1:10 remaining.

Peter Budaj made 26 saves for Los Angeles.

Hossa was honored in a pregame ceremony for becoming the 44th player with 500 goals, a milestone he reached on Oct. 18.

FLYERS 4, HURRICANES 3

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Brandon Manning scored the tiebreaking short-handed goal early in the third period, and Philadelphiaheld on to beat Carolina.

Claude Giroux had a goal and an assist, giving him points in a league-high nine straight games. Shayne Gostisbehere and Radko Gudas also scored for the Flyers. Wayne Simmonds had two assists, and Michal Neuvirth stopped 26 shots.

Jeff Skinner had a goal and an assist for Carolina, and Justin Faulk and Viktor Stalberg also scored. Victor Rask, who has points in all seven games this season, added an assist. Cam Ward finished with 24 saves.

The Flyers snapped a two-game skid and beat the Hurricanes for the second time this season.

FLORIDA 5, DETROIT 2

DETROIT (AP) - Colton Sceviour scored three goals - one at even strength, one on the power play and one short-handed - for his first career hat trick and added an assist to lead Florida.

Vincent Trocheck had a goal and an assist and Jonathan Marchessault also scored for the Panthers. James Reimer made 34 saves.

Dylan Larkin and Brendan Smith scored for Detroit, and Frans Nielsen had two assists. Peter Mrazek stopped six of the 10 shots before being replaced by Jimmy Howard in the second period. Howard finished with 13 saves.

SENATORS 2, OILERS 0

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) - Craig Anderson returned following his wife's cancer diagnosis and made 37 saves for his second shutout in two starts to helping Ottawa beat Edmonton.

Anderson left the team Thursday to be with his wife, Nicholle, but returned to start this game. Teammates took turns hugging Anderson after the final horn, and the 35-year-old goalie was crying on the ice after being named the game's first star.

Mike Hoffman and Bobby Ryan scored for the Senators, who have won two of three.

The Oilers ended a five-game winning streak. Cam Talbot made 20 saves.

SABRES 3, JETS 1

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) - Kyle Okposo scored twice to help the Buffalo Sabres beat the Winnipeg Jets 3-1 on Sunday.

Brian Gionta also scored for Buffalo, and Robin Lehner made 37 saves.

Nickolaj Ehlers scored for Winnipeg early in the third period.

Okposo opened the scoring midway through the first period, regaining control of his own blocked shot and driving it over goalie Michael Hutchinson's shoulder. Brian Gionta made it 2-0 less than 2 minutes later, and Okposo beat Hutchinson again, this time high on his stick side, to make it 3-0 in the second.

ISLANDERS 5, MAPLE LEAFS 1

NEW YORK (AP) - Brock Nelson and Shane Prince each had a goal and an assist, Thomas Greiss stopped 33 shots, and theNew York Islanders snapped a two-game skid.

Travis Hamonic, Casey Cizikas and Josh Bailey also scored, and Nikolay Kulemin, Nick Leddy and Dennis Seidenberg each had two assists for the Islanders.

Jake Gardiner scored for the Maple Leafs and Jhonas Enroth finished with 30 saves. Toronto lost its sixth straight on the road (0-3-3).

After Gardiner scored 50 seconds into the third to pull the Maple Leafs to 2-1, Prince and Bailey scored 2:39 apart to stretch new York's lead to three.

The Islanders honored former fan-favorite Matt Martin with a video tribute during a stoppage in the opening period. It was the first time Martin played against them since signing with Toronto in the offseason.

RANGERS 6, LIGHTNING 1

NEW YORK (AP) - Michael Grabner scored three goals for his third career hat trick to help the New York Rangers win for the fourth time in five games.

Rick Nash, Jimmy Vesey and J.T. Miller also sacored for New York. Antti Raanta stopped 31 shots.

Nash, Grabner and Vesey scored in a span of 2 minutes, 19 seconds midway through the second period to give the Rangers a 3-0 lead. Miller, who also had two assists, scored late in the second and Grabner added two more in the third to make it 6-0. Kevin Hayes had three asissts.

Steven Stamkos spoiled Raanta's shutout bid with about 3 1/2 minutes remaining, and Ben Bishop finished with 31 saves for the Lightning.

CAPITALS 3, FLAMES 1

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) - Marcus Johansson scored twice to lead Washington.

Brett Connolly also scored for the Capitals, Jay beagle had two assists, and Braden Holtby stopped 21 shots.

Mikael Backlund scored his first of the season for Calgary, and Brian Elliott had 26 saves while ending a three-game win streak.

Connolly opened the scoring 2:01 into the game and Johansson redirected Alex Ovechkin's snap pass on the power play at 7:14 to double the lead.

Backlund pulled the Flames within one with 6:16 remaining in the first.

Neither team scored again until Johansson's empty-netter with 25 seconds left gave him five goals and a team-leading nine points.

Saturday, October 29, 2016

NHL Capsules (October 29, 2016)

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Jeff Skinner had two goals and an assist, and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the New York Rangers 3-2 on Friday night.

Skinner originally had his fifth career hat trick before the third goal was awarded to Bryan Bickell on a scoring change. Still, Skinner's 16th career three-point night — in his debut wearing the "A'' as an alternate captain — helped the Hurricanes win their home opener.

Victor Rask had two assists, giving him points in all seven games, and Cam Ward made 28 saves — stopping Mats Zuccarello with about 5 seconds left — to help Carolina snap a two-game losing streak.

Zuccarello scored two power-play goals and Henrik Lundqvist stopped 18 shots for the Rangers, whose three-game winning streak was snapped.

BLACKHAWKS 3, DEVILS 2, OT

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Artem Anisimov scored on a rebound at 1:15 of overtime and Chicago rallied to hand New Jersey its first home loss.

Marian Hossa tied the game with a power-play goal with 2:11 left in regulation after the Blackhawks pulled goaltender Corey Crawford for a sixth skater.

Artemi Panarin, who took the shot on Anisimov's game winner, also scored for Chicago. Crawford was outstanding in making 30 saves.

PA Parenteau and John Moore scored for New Jersey, which was 3-0 at home. Keith Kinkaid made 26 saves in his first start of the season.

Chicago had all three shots in the overtime. Panarin took a shot from the right circle. Kinkaid made the save but the puck went right to Anisimov for his fifth goal of the season.

Friday, October 28, 2016

David Pastrnak suspended two games

NEW YORK - Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak has been suspended for two games, without pay, for an illegal check to the head of New York Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi during NHL Game No. 95 in New York on Wednesday, Oct. 26, the National Hockey League's Department of Player Safety announced today.

The incident occurred at 10:55 of the second period. Pastrnak was assessed a minor penalty for illegal check to the head.

Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and, based on his average annual salary, Pastrnak will forfeit $10,277.78. The money goes to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund.

- National Hockey League

NHL Capsules (October 28, 2016)

MONTREAL (AP) — Max Pacioretty scored the tiebreaking goal in Montreal's three-goal third period as the Canadiens beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-1 Thursday night for their sixth straight win.

Alex Galchenyuk and Torrey Mitchell also scored to help Montreal improve to 7-0-1, remaining the only NHL team without a regulation loss. Carey Price made 29 saves to win for the fourth time in four starts this season.

Alex Killorn scored the lone goal for the Lightning, who lost against an Eastern-Conference opponent for the first time this season. Ben Bishop stopped 23 shots.

With the scored tied 1-1, Pacioretty got the go-ahead goal at 10:23 by beating Bishop glove-side. Blown coverage by the Lightning left the Canadiens' captain all alone on the edge of the face-off circle, and Bishop couldn't see the shot with Andrew Shaw posted firmly in front of goal.

PENGUINS 4, ISLANDERS 2

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Sidney Crosby scored the tiebreaking goal late in the third period to lead defending champion Pittsburgh.

Patric Hornqvist, Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel also scored — each getting his third of the season — to help the Penguins win for the third time in four games and improve to 5-0-1 at home.

Crosby, playing for the second straight game after missing the first six with a concussion, scored with 2:25 left as he caught a pass from Scott Wilson at the top of the crease and quickly turned to his forehand to put the puck behind Islanders goalie Jaroslav Halak. Kessel added a power-play goal to cap the scoring 32 seconds later.

Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 35 shots while starting for the eighth straight game.

Travis Hamonic and Shane Prince scored for the Islanders, and Halak finished with 31 saves.

MAPLE LEAFS 3, PANTHERS 2

TORONTO (AP) — Mitch Marner had three assists and goalie Frederik Andersen bounced back from a horrid outing as Toronto won for the second time this season.

Marner set up Tyler Bozak for two goals and also assisted James van Riemsdyk. Andersen, who gave up a career-worst seven goals on Tuesday, stopped 29 of 31 shots for the Maple Leafs (2-2-3).

Jonathan Marchessault had both goals for the Panthers. Roberto Luongo made 25 saves.

Andersen was under the microscope heading into the game after another rough start two nights earlier against the Lightning (seven goals on 24 shots).

COYOTES 5, FLYERS 4

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Martin Hanzal and Brad Richardson scored the decisive goals to help Arizona snap a five-game road losing streak.

Jamie McGinn, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Ryan White also scored for the Coyotes, whose two wins this season are both against the Flyers.

The Coyotes salvaged one victory on a season-high, six-game road trip.

Louis Domingue stopped 28 shots and won his first game of the season. He had been 0-4 with a 5.03 goals against average and had stopped only 85 percent of his shots.

Nick Cousins, Brayden Schenn, Andrew MacDonald and Wayne Simmonds scored for the Flyers.

WILD 4, SABRES  0

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Devan Dubnyk made 38 saves for his second straight shutout to lead Minnesota.

Ryan Suter had a goal and an assist, and Joel Ericsson Ek, Jason Zucker and Mikko Koivu also scored. The Wild went 2-1-1 on a four-game road trip to improve to 5-2-1.

Anders Nillson made 18 saves in his second straight start for the Sabres, losers of four in a row.

Minnesota built a two-goal lead in the first period, but Buffalo controlled the action in the second. Dubnyk made 19 saves, including 15 in the first 6:11 of the period, and the Wild killed two penalties.

Suter scored his third goal of the season 2:58 into the third period, sending a wobbly wrist shot from the right circle over Nillson's glove. Koivu added an empty-net goal with 1:09 left.

Thursday, October 27, 2016

David Pastrnak of Bruins faces Player Safety hearing

Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak will have a hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety on Friday for a hit on New York Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi during a game at Madison Square Garden on Thursday.

The incident occurred at 10:55 of the second period. Pastrnak received a minor penalty for an illegal check to the head. Girardi left the game briefly, but returned.

The Rangers defeated the Bruins 5-2.

The following grounds are being considered for supplemental discipline: illegal check to the head. However, the Department of Player Safety retains the right to make adjustments to the infraction upon review.

via NHL.com.

Ducks Sign Lindholm to Six-Year Contract

The Ducks have signed defenseman Hampus Lindholm to a six-year contract through the 2021-22 NHL season. Per club policy, financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Lindholm, 22 (1/20/94), has collected 23-69=92 points and a +61 rating in 236 career NHL games with the Ducks. Lindholm led Anaheim with a career-high 115 blocked shots last season, while also pacing team defensemen in goals and appearances, and ranking second in scoring. The 6-3, 205-pound defenseman also led Ducks defensemen with a +6 rating during the club's First Round series against Nashville. Since his debut season in 2013-14, Lindholm's +61 rating ranks third amongst all NHL defensemen (he's also the youngest in the top 10).

Selected by Anaheim in the first round (sixth overall) of the 2012 NHL Draft, Lindholm became the first Ducks defenseman to be named to the NHL's All-Rookie Team in 2013-14. He also set a club record for the best plus/minus rating of any rookie defensemen (+29) that season.

A native of Helsingborg, Sweden, Lindholm recently represented Sweden at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. He has also participated in multiple international tournaments at the junior level, earning silver at the 2012 Under-18 World Junior Championship.

via Anaheim Ducks.

NHL Capsules (October 27, 2016)

NEW YORK (AP) — Shea Weber scored a power-play goal with 2:57 remaining to lift the Montreal Canadiens to their fifth straight victory, 3-2 over the New York Islanders on Wednesday night.

With the Islanders' Nick Leddy off for slashing, Weber fired a shot from the point. It was just the second power-play goal in 23 opportunities given up by New York's league-leading penalty-killing unit.

Paul Byron and Phillip Danault also scored to help Montreal improve to 6-0-1 and remain the only team in the NHL without a regulation loss.

Al Montoya, who played for the Islanders from 2010-12, stopped 26 shots in his first start since Oct. 18. The Canadiens beat New York for the seventh straight time.

John Tavares and Dennis Seidenberg scored for New York.

RANGERS 5, BRUINS 2

NEW YORK (AP) — Brandon Pirri scored twice to help New York beat Boston.

Rick Nash, Kevin Hayes and Jimmy Vesey also scored for New York, and Henrik Lundqvist stopped 27 shots. The Rangers won their third straight game, overcoming a 2-0 deficit to improve to 5-2-0.

David Pastrnak and Austin Czarina scored for Boston.

Zane McIntyre made 26 saves in his first NHL start. He was called up prior to Boston's 5-0 home loss to Minnesota on Tuesday night to back up Malcolm Subban due to injuries to Tuukka Risk and Anton Khudobin.

Down 2-0 after the first, the Rangers scored three times in the final 10:44 of the second. Pirri's power-play goal with 36 seconds left made it 3-2. He made it 4-2 2:23 into the third.

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Rangers, Bruins face off at MSG

NEW YORK -- The Boston Bruins look to end the New York Rangers' three-game winning streak when the two teams face at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night.

Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, who started both games for the Rangers this past weekend, is expected to start tonight against Boston, a team he's had much success against, going 23-12-2 with a .935 SV% and a 1.95 goals against with six shutouts in 37 career games. 

The Bruins (3-3-0) come into Tuesday night's game off a 5-0 loss to the Minnesota Wild Tuesday night in Boston. Goaltender Malcolm Subban - brother of P.K. - allowed three goals on 16 shots before giving way to Zane McIntyre, who surrendered two goals on 17 shots.

Bruins goaltenders Tuukka Rask and Anton Khudobin are both currently sidelined with injuries.

NHL Capsules (October 26, 2016)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Sidney Crosby scored in his season debut as the Pittsburgh Penguins rallied to beat the Florida Panthers 3-2 on Tuesday night.

Crosby, who scored on a power play, missed the team's first six games with a concussion. Carl Hagelin and Eric Fehr also scored for the Penguins, who extended a seven-game unbeaten streak against the Panthers.

Marc-Andre Fleury, who has started the first seven games of the season for Pittsburgh, stopped 20 shots. Matt Murray, who backstopped the Penguins to a Stanley Cup in June, served as the backup to Fleury after missing the first six games with a broken hand.

Reilly Smith scored a power-play goal and Mark Pysyk also scored for the Panthers, who have lost 11 of 12 against the Penguins in Pittsburgh.

James Reimer made 19 saves in his second start of the season.

WILD 5, BRUINS 0

BOSTON (AP) — Devan Dubnyk made 27 saves, Charlie Coyle and Chris Stewart scored 12 seconds apart and the Wild used four second-period goals to beat the Bruins.

Ryan Suter and Jason Zucker each had a goal and an assist for Minnesota, and rookie Joel Eriksson Ek got his first three NHL assists.

Jason Pominville scored in the third period, and Dubnyk got his 20th career shutout and the first for Minnesota this season.

Boston was missing its top two goalies and the Wild capitalized after a lackluster first period.

Malcolm Subban started in net but was pulled after allowing three goals on 16 shots in the first 30:36. Zane McIntyre then made his NHL debut and stopped 15 of 17 shots.

DEVILS 5, COYOTES 3

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Travis Zajac scored twice in the final 2:01 to lead the Devils over the Coyotes.

Taylor Hall scored twice and Adam Henrique also had a goal for New Jersey, which is 3-0-0 at home and 0-2-1 on the road.

Hall, acquired by the Devils in a trade with Edmonton in June, has scored all five of his goals this season at Prudential Center.

Cory Schneider made 28 saves to help New Jersey win its third straight against Arizona dating to last season, and its fifth in seven games against the Coyotes overall.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored twice in the third period for Arizona to tie it before Zajac's two goals. Jordan Martinook also scored for the Coyotes, and Justin Peters stopped 30 shots.

LIGHTNING 7, MAPLE LEAFS 3

TORONTO (AP) — Steven Stamkos matched a career-high with four points — two goals and two assists — and the Lightning beat the Maple Leafs.

Frederik Andersen gave up seven goals on only 24 shots, the third time in five starts he has allowed at least five goals and fourth time he's allowed four or more. The 27-year-old has an .851 save percentage so far this season.

Alex Killorn, Victor Hedman, Nikita Kucherov, Vladislav Namestnikov and Jonathan Drouin added goals for Tampa Bay, while Ben Bishop made 40 saves.

William Nylander, James van Riemsdyk and Auston Matthews scored for the Maple Leafs, who outshot the Lightning 43-24.

RED WINGS 4, HURRICANES 2

DETROIT (AP) — Dylan Larkin scored two goals to lead the Red Wings to their fifth consecutive win, a decision over the Hurricanes.

Andreas Athanasiou had a goal and an assist and Thomas Vanek scored for Detroit (5-2-0). Petr Mrazek made 28 saves for the Red Wings, whose last five-game winning streak was Jan. 13-27, 2015.

Jordan Staal and Victor Rask scored for Carolina while Cam Ward stopped 21 shots.

An apparent goal by the Hurricanes' Teuvo Teravainen with 3:03 left was waved off because he deflected a shot in with a high stick.

Athanasiou gave Detroit a 4-2 lead with 2:56 left in the second period on a wrist shot from the right circle. It was Athanasiou's second goal of the season.

That was after Carolina scored twice in the second to pull within a goal.

FLAMES 4, BLUES 1

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Brian Elliott stopped 23 shots in his return to St. Louis, Johnny Gaudreau and Sam Bennett each had a goal and an assist and the Flames beat the Blues.

Elliott was traded from St. Louis to Calgary in June, and the 17,337 in attendance serenaded Elliott with chants of "Moose," his nickname, on his first couple of saves. Elliott's best save came late in the second when he slid his right pad across the crease to rob Nail Yakupov on a rebound attempt.

Dennis Wideman and Deryk Engelland also scored to help the Flames snap a seven-game losing streak at St. Louis.

Kevin Shattenkirk scored for the Blues on a two-man advantage in the third, and Carter Hutton made 26 saves. After winning their first three games, the Blues are 1-2-1 in their last four.

FLYERS 4, SABRES 3, SO

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Claude Giroux and Jake Voracek scored shootout goals to cap a fantastic Flyers rally in a win over the Sabres.

Trailing 3-1, Brayden Schenn and Mark Streit scored the tying power-play goals with 3:05 left in regulation.

Buffalo's Dmitry Kulikov was whistled for charging when he wiped out Jake Voracek late in the game to start a scrum between the two teams. Schenn quickly followed with a power-play goal with 3:05 left to make it 3-2. Streit scored with 1:51 left in regulation when he knocked in the puck on the fourth rebound past a stunned Anders Nilsson.

Travis Konecny also scored for the Flyers. Matt Moulson scored two goals for the Sabres.

STARS 3, JETS 2

DALLAS (AP) — Antti Niemi made 28 saves and the Stars beat the Jets.

The win salvaged the last game of Dallas' 1-1-1 home stand. Winnipeg lost its second straight and fourth in five games.

Brett Ritchie, Patrick Eaves and Tyler Seguin scored for the Stars.

The goals against Niemi came in the closing seconds of the second and third periods. Joel Armia beat him to the puck to score with 5 seconds left in the second, and Mark Scheifele put in a rebound on the power play with 9 seconds to play in the third.

Niemi made two big saves while the game was scoreless in the first period. He stopped a breakaway by Alexander Burmistrov and a shot by Scheifele on a 2-on-1.

Seconds later, the Stars had a 2-on-1. Curtis McKenzie passed back into the slot to Ritchie, who sent a wrist shot past Michael Hutchinson at 14:37 and Dallas never trailed again.

SENATORS 3, CANUCKS 0

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Ryan Dzingel scored two goals and Craig Anderson made 22 saves for his first shutout of the season and the 34th of his career as the Senators beat the Canucks.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored into an empty net for the Senators.

Anderson entered play with a 3.66 goals-against average and an .866 save percentage, but was flawless as Ottawa (4-2-0) opened a three-game road trip through western Canada with a solid defensive effort.

Ryan Miller made 25 stops for Vancouver (4-2-1), which has dropped three straight and lost at home for the first time in 2016-17.

After opening the scoring in the first period, Dzingel added his fourth of the season at 2:12 at of the third, taking a slick no-look feed from Bobby Ryan in front and beating Miller for the first two-goal game of his career.

SHARKS 2, DUCKS 1, OT

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Marc-Edouard Vlasic scored less than 90 seconds into overtime to give the Sharks a victory over the Ducks.

Joe Pavelski also scored for the Sharks, who snapped a two-game losing streak.

Chris Wagner scored for the Ducks, who had a two-game winning streak snapped.

Goaltender Jonathan Bernier, in just his second game with the Ducks, left the game following the first period with an upper body injury. He stopped 10 of the 11 shots he faced.

John Gibson, who led rookies in goal against average and shutouts last season, came on and stopped the first 25 shots he faced before allowing Vlasic's goal in a 1-on-1 situation.

Sharks goalie Martin Jones stopped 19 of 20 shots and improved to 3-5 all-time against the Ducks.

KINGS 3, BLUE JACKETS 2

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Alec Martinez scored 1:14 into overtime, and the Kings rallied to beat the Blue Jackets for their third straight victory.

Drew Doughty scored the tying goal with 5:57 left in regulation for the Kings, who won their third straight overtime game after an 0-3-0 start to the season. Captain Anze Kopitar also scored, and third-string goalie Peter Budaj stopped 19 shots in his third consecutive win.

Cam Atkinson scored a tiebreaking power-play goal late in the second period, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 27 saves for Columbus. Brandon Saad also scored for the Jackets, who had won two straight after an 0-2-0 start.

Martinez ended it by putting a rebound into an open net for the defenseman's second goal of the season.

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Bruins Announce Roster Transactions

BOSTON - Boston Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney announced today, October 25, that goaltender Anton Khudobin has suffered an upper body injury and is expected to miss approximately three weeks. Sweeney also announced that the team has recalled goaltender Zane McIntyre from the Providence Bruins on an emergency basis and assigned defenseman Rob O'Gara to Providence. 

Khudobin has started two games with Boston this season and in his 8-year NHL career, the 5-foot-11, 203-pound netminder has recorded a 44-41-8 record with a 2.45 goals against average and .917 save percentage.

The UST-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan native was originally selected by Minnesota in the seventh round (206 overall) of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. He signed with Boston as a free agent on July 1, 2016. 

McIntyre joined the team for Tuesday's morning skate at Warrior Ice Arena and be available for their game vs. Minnesota at TD Garden at 7 p.m. This is the second NHL recall of his career after being recalled on an emergency basis on Saturday, October 22, when he dressed as a backup for the team's game vs. Montreal.

McIntyre, 24, has appeared in three games for Providence in 2016-17, compiling a 1-0-0 record and currently leads the AHL in goals against average (0.44) and save percentage (.977). The 6-foot-2, 206-pound netminder played his first professional season with Providence in 2015-16, recording a 14-8-7 record with a 2.68 goals against average and .898 save percentage in 31 games. He had a six-game point streak (4-0-2) and allowed two goals or fewer in 13 of his 28 complete games. 

The Thief River Falls, Minnesota native was originally selected by Boston in the sixth round (165 overall) of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

O'Gara is in the midst of his first full professional season with the Bruins organization in 2016-17. He has appeared in three games with Boston, recording a plus-one rating. The 6-foot-4, 205-pound defenseman also skated in five games with Providence in 2015-16, posting one goal and four penalty minutes with a plus-two rating. 

The Massapequa, New York native was originally selected by Boston in the fifth round (151 overall) of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

- Boston Bruins

NHL Capsules (October 25, 2016)

CHICAGO (AP) -- Kris Versteeg scored the lone goal of the shootout in the seventh round of the tiebreaker to give Calgary a 3-2 win over Chicago on Monday night and just their second victory this season.
Versteeg, a former Blackhawk, faked Corey Crawford and connected on a wrist shot.
Sam Bennett and Sean Monahan scored in regulation for Calgary, which snapped a two-game losing streak.
Patrick Kane and Brian Campbell connected in regulation for Chicago.
Campbell's goal, his first with the Blackhawks since rejoining them as a free agent in the offseason, tied it 2-all at 4:12 of the third.
Brian Elliott made 31 saves through overtime and blocked all seven in the shootout to earn his first win with Calgary after three losses. Acquired from St. Louis in June, Elliott had allowed 14 goals in his first three starts for the Flames.
Crawford blocked 29 shots through overtime.
CANADIENS 3, FLYERS 1
MONTREAL (AP) - Brendan Gallagher scored midway through the third period as Montreal extended its winning streak to four games.
First-place Montreal (5-0-1) remains the only team unbeaten in regulation time.
Shea Weber and Alexander Radulov, into the empty net, also scored for Montreal. Carey Price made 31 saves for his third consecutive win to start the season.
Jakub Voracek scored the lone goal for the Flyers (2-3-1). Steve Mason stopped 30 of 32 shots.
Gallagher scored on the power play at 13:08 of the third period, just four seconds into Montreal's man advantage. It was his team-leading fourth goal of the season.

Monday, October 24, 2016

NHL Capsules (October 24, 2016)

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Cam Talbot made 31 saves and Mark Letestu scored the first of three second-period goals, lifting the Edmonton Oilers over the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday in an outdoor game delayed almost two hours by sunlight melting the ice.

The Heritage Classic victory extended Edmonton's winning streak to three in front of 33,240 at Investors Group Field. Fans wore both Jets and Oilers jerseys to the league's 19th outdoor game.

Zack Kassian had a goal and an assist and Darnell Nurse also scored for Edmonton.

Connor Hellebuyck, who had a tuque attached to his helmet, stopped 29 shots for Winnipeg.

The NHL said the start of the Heritage Classic game was delayed "due to intermittent sunlight on the playing surface" and "in the interest of player safety."

ISLANDERS 6, WILD 3

NEW YORK (AP) — John Tavares had two goals and an assist, Johnny Boychuk scored for the second straight game and New York beat Minnesota.

Calvin de Haan, Alan Quine and Thomas Hickey also scored to help New York get its highest scoring total of the year and win for the third time in four home games after opening with two road losses. Thomas Greiss stopped 26 shots for his first win in two starts this season.

Islanders rookie Anthony Beauvillier had two assists, giving the 19-year-old at least a point in three straight games.

Zach Parise scored twice for Minnesota to top 300 goals for his career, and Nino Niederreiter also scored. Second-string goalie Darcy Kuemper made 27 saves.

RANGERS 3, COYOTES 2

NEW YORK (AP) — Dan Girardi scored 1:55 into the third period and New York beat Arizona.

Josh Jooris and J.T. Miller also scored for New York, which has won consecutive games to improve to 4-2-0. Henrik Lundqvist made 27 stops.

Radim Vrbata had both of Arizona's goals, and Louis Domingue made 23 saves. The Coyotes have lost their first four games on a six-game trip since beating Philadelphia in overtime at home to start the season.

Girardi put the Rangers ahead with a slap shot from the right point. The veteran was paired with rookie Brady Skjei in his first game after missing New York's previous three with a strained groin, and Skjei assisted on the goal.

DUCKS 4, CANUCKS 2

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Nick Ritchie scored the tiebreaking goal on a rebound with 8:36 to play, captain Ryan Getzlaf had three assists and Anaheim finally opened its home schedule with a victory over Vancouver.

Andrew Cogliano, Cam Fowler and Corey Perry also scored for the Ducks, who have won two straight after a four-game winless start. John Gibson made 17 saves in the Western Conference's final home opener, thanks to a schedule that forced Anaheim to play in five teams' home debuts this month.

Henrik Sedin scored the tying goal early in the third period for the Canucks, who lost in regulation for the first time this season. Bo Horvat scored a short-handed goal, and Loui Eriksson had two assists.

Ryan Miller made 33 saves in his first outing since opening night for the Canucks.

Sunday, October 23, 2016

NHL Capsules (October 23, 2016)

DETROIT (AP) — Jimmy Howard made 30 saves and Gustav Nyquist scored twice, helping the Detroit Red Wings beat the San Jose Sharks 3-0 on Saturday night.

Andreas Athanasiou also scored for Detroit, which won its fourth straight after losing its first two games of the season.

San Jose goalie Martin Jones stopped 29 shots. The Sharks have lost three of four.

Howard got his 23rd career shutout and his first this season.

Nyquist scored twice in the second period to give Detroit a 2-0 lead.

FLYERS 6, HURRICANES 3

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jakub Voracek scored twice and the Flyers pulled away from the road-weary Hurricanes.

Wayne Simmonds and Shayne Gostisbehere each had a goal and an assist, and the Flyers won for the first time at home this season and snapped a three-game winless streak.

Brandon Manning and Matt Read also scored for the Flyers. Steve Mason made 27 saves for his first win of the season.

Justin Faulk, Jordan Staal and Lee Stempniak scored for the Hurricanes, who fell to 1-2-2 on the fifth stop of their season-opening six-game road trip. Eddie Lack made 21 saves.

CANADIENS 4, BRUINS 2

BOSTON (AP) — Carey Price stopped 19 shots in his second start, and Brendan Gallagher and Phillip Danault each had second-period goals to lift the Canadiens to a win over the Bruins.

Price, playing just his second game after a bout with the flu at the start of the season, missed most of last season with a right knee injury. He won his season debut, stopping 27 shots against Arizona on Thursday.

Torrey Mitchell and Paul Byron also scored for Montreal, which has not lost in regulation through its first five games (4-0-1). Byron's goal was short-handed.

Dominic Moore and Ryan Spooner scored for Boston, which is winless in its last nine games at home against its longtime rivals. Backup goalie Anton Khudobin made 25 saves.

PREDATORS 5, PENGUINS 1

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Kevin Fiala and Viktor Arvidsson scored two goals each to lead the injiury-riddled Predators to a victory over the defending champion Penguins.

Calle Jarnkrok also scored and P.K. Subban and Filip Forsberg each added two assists for Nashville. Juuse Saros had 34 shots for his first NHL victory as the Predators snapped a three-game skid.

Scott Wilson scored early in the first period for Pittsburgh. Marc-Andre Fleury gave up the five goals on 23 shots through the first two periods before being replaced by Mike Condon, who stopped all seven shots he faced in the third.

Arvidsson tied the score on the power play at 3:08 of the first period, and Fiola started a four-goal second with his first of the season at 2:26.

BLUE JACKETS 3, STARS 0

DALLAS (AP) — Sergei Bobrovsky made 32 saves in his 13th career shutout and the Blue Jackets beat the Stars.

The Blue Jackets won their second game in two nights after losing their first two games of the season. Dallas is 0-1-1 in the last two games, both at home.

Josh Anderson, Scott Hartnell and Matt Calvert scored for Columbus.

Anderson's goal came at 16:04 of the second period. Boone Jenner passed across the goal mouth and Anderson tapped in the puck from the left side before Dallas goalie Kari Lehtonen could slide back into position.

Hartnell scored at 9:02 of the third period. Calvert added an empty-net goal with 1:12 to play.

Columbus has won seven of the last 10 games between the teams. Bobrovsky is 8-1-1 in his career vs. Dallas

Lehtonen had 23 saves.

RANGERS 4, CAPITALS 2

WASHINGTON (AP) — Rookie Jimmy Vesey scored the tying and go-ahead goals 3 minutes apart in the second period to lead the Rangers to a victory over the Capitals.

Rick Nash scored a late empty-net goal and had an assist as New York won its sixth game in eight visits to Washington. Brandon Pirri also scored in a three-goal second period that began the Rangers' comeback from two goals down en route to their first road win.

Alex Ovechkin scored his third goal of the season to give Washington a 2-0 lead in the first. Lars Eller added his first goal as a member of the Capitals, who had a three-game win streak snapped and failed to earn at least a point for the first time this season.

New York's Henrik Lundqvist made 26 saves. Braden Holtby stopped 22 shots for Washington.

BLACHAWKS 5, MAPLE LEAFS 4, SO

CHICAGO (AP) — Jonathan Toews and Artemi Panarin scored in the shootout to give the Blackhawks a win over the Maple Leafs after Chicago came back with two late goals to force overtime.

Artem Anisimov scored his second goal of the game on a rebound with 2:28 left to cut it to 4-3, then Richard Panik knocked in a loose puck in front of the goal 60 seconds later.

Anisimov connected as Blackhawks goalie Scott Darling was heading to the bench for an extra attacker. Darling was on the bench when Panik tied it.

Toronto rookie William Nylander scored twice for his first multi-goal game, with his second goal putting the Maple Leafs ahead 4-2 early in the third. But Toronto blew a lead in the final period for the third straight game and failed again to win at Chicago for the first time since February 2003.

PANTHERS 5, AVALANCHE 2

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Shane Harper scored his first two NHL goals to lift the Panthers over the Avalanche.

Vincent Trocheck and Jonathan Marchessault each had a goal and an assist and Aaron Ekblad also scored a goal for the Panthers while Roberto Luongo made 26 saves.

Matt Duchene and Blake Comeau scored goals for the Avalanche. Semyon Varlamov made 33 stops.

The Panthers blew the game open in the third period as they scored three of four goals in a span of 2:26.

Ahead 2-1, Marchessault skated in on a breakaway and fired the puck between the pads of Varlamov at 4:30 to make the score 3-1. Harper followed with his second goal of the game on a one-timer from in front to stretch the lead to 4-1.

Duchene poked in a rebound past Luongo 16 seconds later to close the gap to 4-2.

Trocheck slid a loose puck into the net at 6:56 to make the score 5-2.

LIGHTNING 4, SENATORS 1

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Andrei Vasilevskiy made 27 saves, Vladislav Namestnikov and Steven Stamkos scored early in the second period, and the Lightning beat the Senators.

Alex Killorn and Valtteri Filppula also scored for the Lightning, who were playing their first road game of the season.

Chris Neil scored the lone goal for the Senators, and Craig Anderson stopped 31 shots.

Anderson was solid for much of the game for the Senators, but Killorn was able to sneak one through his right arm to give the Lightning a 3-1 lead midway through the third. It was Killorn's fourth goal of the season.

Filppula made it 4-1 late in the third.

DEVILS 2, WILD 1, OT

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Taylor Hall scored 29 seconds into overtime and the Devils rallied to beat the Wild.

PA Parenteau tied it late in the third period and Cory Schneider made 28 saves for the Devils. They won at home for the second time in two games and ended the Wild's three-game winning streak.

Joel Eriksson Ek scored for Minnesota in his NHL debut and Devan Dubnyk made 30 saves.

It marked the second straight home game in which Hall has provided the winner. He carried the puck into the Wild zone, left it for Adam Henrique and then went to the net and took the return pass and beat Dubnyk between the pads.

After being stoned by Dubnyk on their first 26 shots, Parenteau tied it with 8:04 left in regulation. The right wing took a cross-ice pass from Mike Cammalleri and beat Dubnyk with a shot from above the right circle for his second goal of the season.

BLUES 6, FLAMES 4

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — David Perron scored his first three goals of the season and added an assist to lead St. Louis.

Paul Stastny, Patrik Berglund and Alexander Steen also scored for the Blues, while defenseman Alex Pietrangelo had two assists. Jake Allen made 23 saves to improve to 3-1-1.

Kris Versteeg scored his first two goals of the season for the Flames, who lost their second straight at home. Micheal Ferland and Mark Giordano also scored, while Chad Johnson stopped 34 shots.

Calgary took a 2-1 just 3 minutes into the second thanks to two quick goals by Versteeg and Ferland.

The Blues then scored the next four goals, including two by Perron, to take control.

KINGS 4, CANUCKS 3, SO

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tanner Pearson scored for the fourth time this season and got the lone shootout goal as Los Angeles handed Vancouver its first loss.

Alexander Edler tied it for the Canucks on a power play with 34.4 seconds left in the third period.

The Kings had a power play for the final 1:16 of overtime but Jacob Markstrom made two keys saves to send it into a shootout. Markstrom made 28 saves.

Pressed into service after Jeff Zatkoff injured his groin in the morning skate, Peter Budaj stopped 22 shots for his second straight win.

Brayden McNabb and Dustin Brown also scored for Los Angeles. Markus Granlund and Henrik Sedin scored to help Vancouver overcome a three-goal deficit.

Saturday, October 22, 2016

NHL Capsules (October 22, 2016)

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) Rookie defenseman Zach Werenski had a goal and an assist, and teammates Nick Foligno and William Karlsson picked up their first goals of the season as Columbus beat Chicago 3-2 on Friday night.
Columbus' Sergei Bobrovsky blocked 32 shots as the Blue Jackets picked up their first win of the season, avoiding a repeat of last season's disastrous 0-8 start.
Tyler Motte and Richard Panik scored for Chicago (2-3-0), and Corey Crawford had 25 saves.
The Blue Jackets (1-2-0) took the lead when the 19-year-old Werenski netted a wrist shot from the point during a power play at 9:10 in the first period. It was his team-leading second goal of the season.
ISLANDERS 3, COYOTES 2
NEW YORK (AP) - Johnny Boychuk's short-handed goal early in the third period liftedNew York to the victory.
Dennis Seidenberg and Ryan Strome also scored for New York, and Jaroslav Halak stopped 23 shots in the Islanders' second win in three home games after opening with two road losses.
Brad Richardson and Radim Vrbata scored 13 seconds apart in the first period to tie the score for the Coyotes. Louis Domingue had 28 saves as Phoenix lost its third straight on the road after one home win.
The game marked the first NHL meeting between the Strome brothers. Dylan Strome, 19, was the third overall pick by the Coyotes in the 2015 draft and made his debut earlier this week. Ryan Strome, 23, was the fifth overall pick in the Islanders in the 2011 draft.
RED WINGS 5, PREDATORS 3
DETROIT (AP) - Gustav Nyquist had a goal and an assist for Detroit.
Justin Abdelkader, Drew Miller, Tomas Tatar and Darren Helm also scored as Detroit won its third straight. Petr Mrazek stopped 30 shots.
P.K. Subban, Mike Ribeiro and Mike Fisher scored for Nashville, which has lost three straight. Pekka Rinne finished with 38 saves.
Fisher's power-play goal with 4:46 left pulled the Predators within 4-3. It was Fisher's third goal, all on the power play.
Helm had an empty-net power-play score with 22 seconds left, his fourth goal of the season, to seal the win.

Friday, October 21, 2016

Jaromir Jagr scores 750th NHL goal

Florida Panthers forward Jaromir Jagr scored his 750th NHL goal Thursday, becoming the third player in history to do so.

Jagr, who scored his first goal of the season 14:10 into the second period of a 4-2 the Washington Capitals at BB&T Center, trails Wayne Gretzky (894) and Gordie Howe (801) on the all-time list.

"That's nice, but I'd rather win," Jagr said. "So it's kind of tough."

In 1,633 games, with the Panthers, New Jersey Devils, Boston Bruins, Dallas Stars, Philadelphia Flyers, New York Rangers, Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins, Jagr has 1,870 points.

Jagr, 44, who is playing his 23rd NHL season, is 17 points behind Mark Messier (1,887) for second all-time. Gretzky is first with 2,857. Jagr is sixth in assists (1,120), 15 behind Paul Coffey for fifth.

"It's always good to get the first one," Jagr said. "A good play, a good pass, I was wide open in the slot. ... I had a lot of chances in the games before but I couldn't put the puck in. I'm glad I did tonight."

NHL Capsules (October 21, 2016)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Evgeni Malkin, Scott Wilson and Patric Hornqvist scored during a furious third-period rally to lead the Pittsburgh Penguins to 3-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night.

The Penguins trailed by two goals after two largely lifeless periods in a rematch of last June's Stanley Cup Final before catching fire late. Hornqvist and Malkin both finished with a goal and an assist. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 32 shots and bought the Penguins time until the offense finally got going.

Tomas Hertl and Patrick Marleau scored for the Sharks, who controlled the first 40 minutes and appeared well on their way to a one-sided victory before falling apart late. Martin Jones made 17 saves but saw the play in front of him break down in the third.

DUCKS 3, FLYERS 2


PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Ryan Garbutt's goal broke a tie in the third period and sent the Ducks to their first win of the season, over the Flyers.

The Ducks opened 0-3-1 and had failed to score more than two goals in any of those games. Chris Wagner and Corey Perry also scored to help the Ducks spoil Philadelphia's home opener.

Korbinian Holzer's angled pass from behind the net led to Garbutt's one-timer that stunned Steve Mason for the winner.

Wayne Simmonds and Matt Read scored for the Flyers. The Flyers have lost all three games since winning on opening night and dropped to 27-16-6 lifetime in home openers.

John Gibson stopped 20 shots for the Ducks.

BRUINS 2, DEVILS 1

BOSTON (AP) — Patrice Bergeron scored the tiebreaking goal with 75 seconds left in his season debut to give the Bruins a victory over the Devils.

After missing the first three games with an unspecified injury, Bergeron returned to practice on Wednesday and took regular shifts in the home opener against New Jersey. He was on the ice when linemate Brad Marchand tied it 1-all with just under 10 minutes left in regulation, and he was there again to slide in the game-winner at the end.

Tuukka Rask had 28 saves for the Bruins, who fought off a power play for the last 50 seconds without allowing a shot.

Kyle Palmieri scored for the Devils, and Cory Schneider stopped 34 shots.

CAPITALS 4, PANTHERS 2

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Alex Ovechkin scored the game-winning goal midway through the third period to lift the Capitals over the Panthers.

Marcus Johansson, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Justin Williams scored goals for the Capitals. Matt Niskanen recorded two assists and Braden Holtby made 26 saves.

Jaromir Jagr became the third player to score 750 goals. He is in third place all-time in the NHL, behind only Wayne Gretzky (894) and Gordie Howe (801). Michael Matheson also scored for the Panthers.

Roberto Luongo made 25 stops.

Ovechkin put the Capitals ahead 3-2 with 12:27 left in the third. His one-timer from the point got past Luongo, who was screened on the play.

Johannson stretched the lead to 4-2 with an unassisted goal with 1:20 left.

CANADIENS 5, COYOTES 2

MONTREAL (AP) — Carey Price made 27 saves in his season debut to help the Canadiens beat the Coyotes.

Price made his first NHL start since injuring his right knee on Nov. 25, 2015. He also missed the first three games of this season because of the flu. Alexei Emelin, Torrey Mitchell, Shea Weber, Alex Galchenyuk and Artturi Lehkonen scored for Montreal (3-0-1).

Jakob Chychrun and Laurent Dauphin scored for the Coyotes.

Playing for the injured Coyotes starter Mike Smith, backup Louis Domingue allowed four goals on 19 shots before being pulled in the second period. Justin Peters stopped 23 of 24 shots in relief. Arizona dropped to 1-2-0.

AVALANCHE 4, LIGHTNING 0

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Matt Duchene had two goals and an assist, Semyon Varlamov made 27 saves for his 21st career shutout and the Avalanche beat the Lightning.

Andreas Martinsen and Carl Soderberg scored for the Avalanche, who are 2-1 on a four-game trip. Colorado beat Pittsburgh in overtime and lost to Washington earlier on the trip.

Duchene scored in the final minute of both the first and second periods. Varlamov made a strong save on Nikita Kucherov's low right circle shot in the second.

Tampa Bay went 3-1 on a season-opening four-game homestand.

WILD 3, MAPLE LEAFS 2

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Eric Staal scored twice and the Wild recovered from another deficit to beat the Maple Leafs.

Staal has three goals in his first four games with his new team, and his game-winner with 8 minutes left kept Minnesota unbeaten in its three-game homestand despite allowing the first goal in each game.

Zac Dalpe scored his first for the Wild, and Devan Dubnyk stopped 31 shots.

Toronto let another third-period advantage slip away as No. 1 overall draft pick Auston Matthews continued his scorching rookie season with his fifth goal in four games. The Maple Leafs surrendered a four-goal lead in a 5-4 overtime loss a night earlier at Winnipeg.

Roman Polak also scored for Toronto. Making his first debut for the Leafs, goaltender Jhonas Enroth made 24 saves.

KINGS 4, STARS 3, OT

DALLAS (AP) — Alec Martinez scored 1:20 into overtime and the Kings beat the Stars.

Martinez's wrist shot from the slot went past a screen by Tanner Pearson to beat Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen.

The Kings had lost their first three games. Dallas fell to 2-1-1.

Dallas' Jason Spezza tied the game at 3 with 2:07 left in regulation with a shot from the left faceoff circle that beat Kings goalie Peter Budaj.

Los Angeles' Nic Dowd scored the game's first goal, the first of his eight-game NHL career, on the power play in the first period.

OILERS 3, BLUES 1

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Connor McDavid had a goal and an assist as the Oilers won their second straight game in a strong start to the season, defeating the Blues.

Tyler Pitlick and Milan Lucic also scored for the Oilers, who improved to 4-1-0 on the season.

Nail Yakupov replied for the Blues (3-1-1) in his return to Edmonton since he was traded to St. Louis earlier this month.

There was no scoring in the first period, with the Blues getting 10 shots on Oilers goalie Cam Talbot and Edmonton directing eight shots on Jake Allen in the St. Louis net.

The Blues got on the board 3:37 into the second as a scramble allowed Joel Edmundson to feed it in front to Yakupov. It was the second goal of the season for the former Oiler.

HURRICANES 4, FLAMES 2

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Victor Rask scored his third goal of the season to lead the Hurricanes to a win over the Flames.

Rask's power-play goal with 3:48 left in the first period made it 2-0 as the Hurricanes built up a lead and never gave it up to pick up their first win of the season. Rask, who played two years of junior hockey with the WHL's Calgary Hitmen, leads the team with five points.

Teuvo Teravainen, Viktor Stalberg and Jeff Skinner also scored for Carolina, playing its fourth straight road game to start the season. Noah Hanifin had a career-high three assists.

It was the Hurricanes' first win at the Saddledome in eight tries, dating back to Dec. 12, 2002.

Troy Brouwer and Johnny Gaudreau scored for Calgary.

CANUCKS 2, SABRES 1

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Jacob Markstrom made 26 saves and Daniel Sedin scored the game-winner in the third period as the Canucks downed the Sabres.

With the victory, the Canucks (4-0-0) are the NHL's only undefeated team after Colorado blanked Tampa Bay 4-0 on Thursday.

Jannik Hansen had the other goal for Vancouver, which won its fourth straight game to open the season, tying a franchise mark set in 1992-93. Brandon Sutter had two assists.

Nicholas Baptiste scored his first NHL goal for Buffalo (1-2-1) while Robin Lehner stopped 18 shots.

Thursday, October 20, 2016

Penguins sign Matt Murray to three-year contract extension

The Pittsburgh Penguins announced on Thursday that they have re-signed goalie Matt Murray to a three-year contract extension. The deal was announced today by executive vice president and general manager Jim Rutherford.

"It's not something we felt we had to get done within a week," Rutherford said. "We knew it would have to go through the process. I think it's good for Matt and good for the Penguins to get it done. It's not something that's on his mind in a contract year and we're very happy to have him in the fold for three years.

"We have a young goalie who has had a very good career. He won a Stanley Cup and played extremely well, and we feel he has a bright future ahead and a long future ahead of him."

The deal begins with the 2017-18 season and runs through the 2019-20 campaign, and it carries an average annual value of $3.75 million.

"I'm thrilled, obviously," Murray said. "Pittsburgh is a great place to play. You hear that a lot. [Penguins captain Sidney Crosby] was talking about how guys from Canada were kind of jealous of our facilities and our city. So, it's a great place to play and anybody in their right mind would want to be here."

Murray, 22, backstopped the Penguins to the franchise's fourth Stanley Cup championship in June, becoming just the fourth rookie goalie in NHL history to lead his team to a championship. Murray racked up 15 postseason wins along the way, equaling the NHL record for wins by a rookie netminder.

The 6-foot-4, 178-pound netminder broke into the NHL last December, making his NHL debut against Carolina on Dec. 19, 2015, then earning his first win two days later against Columbus.

A native of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Murray split last year between Pittsburgh and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League. He joined Pittsburgh for good on Feb. 27, and ended the regular season by winning seven-consecutive games before going on his historic postseason run.

Murray, who still qualifies as an NHL rookie in 2016-17, finished his first NHL season with a 15-6 postseason record, along with a 2.08 goals-against average and .923 save percentage in 21 appearances. He went 9-2-1 with a 2.00 goals-against average and a .930 save percentage in 13 regular-season contests.

This year, Murray has yet to play as he continues to recover from a broken hand he suffered at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey in September, when he was serving as the No. 1 netminder for Team North America.

During Murray's one-plus year in the AHL with WBS, he compiled one of the greatest runs any goalie has had in the history of that league.

As a rookie in 2014-15, Murray took the league by storm, winning AHL Goaltender of the Year and Rookie of the Year honors, while also earning spots on the AHL All-Rookie and First-Team All-Star squads. Murray played in 40 games that year, amassing a 25-10-3 record, a 1.58 goals-against average, a .941 save percentage and 12 shutouts. His shutout total and goals-against average led the league.

Before his permanent promotion to Pittsburgh last season, Murray proved his success wasn't a fluke, going 20-9-1 with a 2.10 goals-against average and .931 save percentage in 31 games. Those totals earned him a berth on the AHL Second-Team All-Star squad.

The Penguins originally chose Murray in the third round (83rd overall) of the 2012 NHL Draft. He played four seasons of junior hockey with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League before turning pro.

NHL Capsules (October 20, 2016)

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) -- Rookie Patrik Laine completed a hat trick 2:40 into overtime, helping Winnipeg overcome a four-goal deficit and beat Toronto 5-4 on Wednesday night.

Laine tied the game with 55 seconds left in the third before winning it in overtime. Laine has four goals on the season, tying fellow rookie Auston Matthews and three others for the NHL lead.

Toronto led 4-0 early in the second period on two goals from Nazem Kadri and one each from Connor Carrick and William Nylander.

Tyler Myers and Mark Scheifele also scored for the Jets.

Michael Hutchinson made 36 saves for Winnipeg, and Frederik Andersen had 29 saves for Toronto.

RED WINGS 2, RANGERS 1

NEW YORK (AP) - Jimmy Howard made 32 saves to lead Detroit.

Thomas Vanek and Drew Miller scored for Detroit, which improved to 2-2-0.

After beginning the season with two straight losses, the Red Wings have won consecutive games.

The Rangers outshot Detroit 33-18 for the game and Howard was forced into making highlight reel stops to keep the Red Wings in the game.

New York led 1-0 as Mika Zibanejad redirected Ryan McDonagh's slap shot from the right point past Howard 1:09 into the game.

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

NHL Capsules (October 19, 2016)

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Taylor Hall made his new fans in New Jersey very happy with two power-play goals in a 4:11 span in the second period and the Devils posted their first win, a 2-1 decision over the road-weary and penalty-plagued Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday night.

Cory Schneider had 23 saves and forced the Ducks' Chris Wagner to lose control of the puck on a second-period penalty shot as New Jersey snapped a five-game losing streak against Anaheim in its home opener.

Sami Vatanen scored on a power play for Anaheim, which is 0-3-1 in its five-game trip to start the season. John Gibson made 26 saves for Ducks, who played shorthanded seven times.

Hall, the former No. 1 overall draft pick who was acquired in a major trade with Edmonton in late June, tied the game at 1-all, putting the rebound of a shot by Mike Cammalleri into an open net at 12:35.

SHARKS 3, ISLANDERS 2

NEW YORK (AP) — Joe Pavelski scored with 2:11 left to lift the Sharks to a victory over the Islanders.

Melker Karlsson and Tomas Hertl also scored to help the Sharks win for the third time in four games. Joe Thornton and Brent Burns had two assists each, giving both five on the season. Aaron Dell stopped 21 shots to win his NHL debut.

On the tiebreaking goal, Thornton sent a pass into the slot and Pavelski deflected it in. It gave Pavelski his fifth point in two games after he had a goal and three assists in the Sharks' 7-4 loss to the New York Rangers on Monday.

The Islanders trailed 1-0 after getting outplayed in the first period, but picked it up in the second and took the lead with two goals 2:10 apart in the middle of the period.

CAPITALS 3, AVALANCHE 0

WASHINGTON (AP) — T.J. Oshie scored twice and Alex Ovechkin picked up his first goal of the season, helping the Capitals beat the Avalanche.

Ovechkin and Oshie each scored on the power play to end Washington's man-advantage scoring drought, and the Avalanche lost for the first time under new coach Jared Bednar. Goaltender Semyon Varlamov was sharp in stopping 37 of 40 shots behind Colorado teammates who were noticeably tired playing the second half of a back-to-back and their third game in four days.

Washington backup Philipp Grubauer only needed 18 saves for his first career shutout because Washington had the puck for most of the game.

The Capitals entered the game 0 for 8 on the power play and lacking production from the first line, but those problems went away in quick succession.

STARS 2, PREDATORS 1

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Jason Spezza scored midway through the third period to give the Stars a win over the Predators.

Adam Cracknell added his second goal of the season for Dallas, and Kari Lehtonen made 27 saves.

Mike Fisher scored for Nashville early in the second period to tie it 1-1. The Predators have lost two straight.

Spezza's tiebreaking goal came 9:15 into the third. Antoine Roussel had the puck in the right corner and sent it out front, where Spezza was able get his stick on it and tip it past goaltender Pekka Rinne.

Rinne made 35 saves.

SENATORS 7, COYOTES 4

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Tom Pyatt, Mark Stone and Chris Kelly had a goal and an assist each as the Senators defeated the Coyotes in front of a sparse crowd of 11,061 at Canadian Tire Centre.

Bobby Ryan, Zack Smith, Kyle Turris and Erik Karlsson, into an empty net, also scored for the Senators, who have won three of four. Mike Hoffman had three assists and Craig Anderson made 31 saves.

Jordan Martincook scored twice, including his second at 18:43 just 30 seconds after Turris gave the Senators a 6-3 lead.

Tobias Rieder and Oliver Eckman-Larson had the other goals for the Coyotes

Arizona lost the services of starting goalie Mike Smith seven minutes into the third period when he suffered an injury to his left leg during a scramble in front of the net.

LIGHTNING 4, PANTHERS 3, SO

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Brayden Point scored the game-winning goal in the sixth round of a shootout, and the Lightning beat the Panthers.

Point's goal came three rounds after it seemed Tampa Bay had won the shootout 1-0.

After Jonathan Drouin scored for the Lightning in the third round, Vincent Trocheck appeared to fan on his initial shot before sending the puck into the net. It was called no goal on the ice but the ruling was overturned after a video review, tying the shootout at 1.

Lightning star Steven Stamkos forced overtime when he lifted a shot from along the goal line over James Reimer with 5.5 seconds left in the third period.

Michael Matheson scored his first NHL goal at 15:52 of the third to give Florida a 3-2 advantage.

WILD 6, KINGS 3

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Erik Haula and Jason Pominville scored for Minnesota and assisted on the other's first-period goal, fueling the Wild for a victory over Los Angeles that triggered an early exit for Kings goalie Jeff Zatkoff.

After Charlie Coyle, Mikko Koivu and Teemu Pulkkinen tacked on scores for the Wild, Kings coach Darryl Sutter pulled Zatkoff for Peter Budaj during the second intermission. Zatkoff stopped 11 shots, taking his third straight loss since replacing star Jonathan Quick just 20 minutes into the season opener last week.

Tanner Pearson had two goals, both assisted by Jeff Carter, and Anze Kopitar also scored in the third period for the Kings, but Jared Spurgeon's end-to-end empty-net fling from the far corner put the bow on a banner night for the Wild.

CANADIENS 4, PENGUINS 0

MONTREAL (AP) — David Desharnais scored twice and Al Montoya made 36 saves as the Canadiens won their home opener, over the Penguins.

Off-season signing Alexander Radulov got his first goal as a Canadien — with Montoya picking up an assist — while Max Pacioretty also scored for Montreal, which has started the season 2-0-1. Montoya, signed from the Florida Panthers this summer, picked up his sixth career shutout.

The Penguins, coming off an overtime loss at home Monday night, played their first road game of the season.

While the ailing Carey Price got a huge ovation from the Bell Centre crowd in pre-game introductions, his replacement Montoya was spectacular in goal as Pittsburgh outshot the Canadiens 36-32.

BLACKHAWKS 7, FLYERS 4

CHICAGO (AP) — Marian Hossa scored his 500th career goal, Artem Anisimov snapped a third-period tie with his first score of the season and the Blackhawks beat the Flyers.

Hossa's power-play goal chased Michal Neuvirth and gave Chicago a 4-0 lead, but Philadelphia responded with four goals in a 5 1/2-minute span overlapping the second and third periods. Wayne Simmonds, who hit the left post on two different shots, tied it at 4 on the power play at 3:49 of the third.

The Flyers had all the momentum before Artemi Panarin stepped up for the Blackhawks in his best game so far this season. The Calder Trophy winner found a wide-open Anisimov for the tiebreaking goal at 10:24, and then finished off a 2-on-1 with Patrick Kane, beating Steve Mason for a 6-4 lead with 3:57 to go.

Panarin also scored on the power play during Chicago's three-goal first. The Russian winger was kept off the scoresheet during the Blackhawks' first three games.

OILERS 3, HURRICANES 2

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Tyler Pitlick scored the game-winner as the Oilers came away with a victory over the winless Hurricanes.

Anton Slepyshev and Jordan Eberle scored for the Oilers, who improved to 3-1-0.

Lee Stempniak had two goals for the Hurricanes, who are 0-1-2.

Slepyshev unleashed a wicked wrist shot that beat Carolina goalie Cam Ward glove-side for his first career NHL goal 1:51 into the game.

Edmonton made it 2-0 midway through the first as Eberle's backhanded pass attempt bounced off Hurricanes defender Ron Hainsey and into the net for his third of the season.

Pitlick added to the Oilers' lead, picking the corner off a faceoff win in the Canes' zone.

FLAMES 4, SABRES 3

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Sean Monahan scored 2:26 into overtime, giving the Flames their first win of the season, over the Sabres.

Monahan made a move and beat Robin Lehner over his shoulder for his first of the season after being set up alone in front by Johnny Gaudreau.

Matthew Tkachuk got his first NHL goal, and Michael Frolik and Micheal Ferland also scored for Calgary. It's the first win also for new coach Glen Gulutzan.

Zemgus Girgensons, Ryan O'Reilly and Marcus Foligno scored for Buffalo.

Lehner stopped 30 shots, and Chad Johnson had 18 saves for Calgary.

CANUCKS 2, BLUES 1, OT

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Henrik Sedin scored 1:40 into overtime after Bo Horvat tied it late in the third period, lifting the Canucks over the Blues.

Horvat scored with 2:55 left in regulation, setting up Vancouver to move to 3-0-0. Jacob Markstrom made 23 saves.

Vladimir Tarasenko scored in the second period for St. Louis, and Jake Allen had 24 stops.

The winner came after Markstrom made a nice glove save and played the puck to keep the action moving. Sedin worked a nice give-and-go with Daniel Sedin, then shot off the post and in for his first of the season.