Devils recall Quennville, assign Hayes and Santini to Binghamton

The New Jersey Devils have assigned D Steven Santini to Binghamton (AHL), and recalled F John Quenneville from Binghamton, he has been assigned number 47.

Santini last played nearly a month ago, Jan. 7 against the Islanders. Has skated in 36 of the Devils 50 games this season.

Quenneville has 10 goals and 11 assists in 31 games for Binghamton this season.

In addition, the club has assigned F Jimmy Hayes to Binghamton on a conditioning stint.

Hayes has played in just 3 of the Devils' last 18 games.

Blue Jackets Recall Left Wing Markus Hannikainen From Monsters

The Columbus Blue Jackets have recalled left wing Markus Hannikainen from the AHL's Cleveland Monsters.

In 27 appearances for Columbus this season, Hannikainen posted 2-2-4 with six penalty minutes and a -1 rating and added 0-3-3 with an even rating in seven appearances for Cleveland. In 41 career NHL appearances for the Blue Jackets spanning three seasons from 2015-18, Hannikainen, 24, supplied 3-3-6 with 12 penalty minutes and a -3 rating.

In 114 career AHL appearances, all for the Monsters, spanning three seasons from 2015-18, Hannikainen, a 6’1”, 200 lb., left-handed native of Helsinki, Finland, logged 26-34-60 with 42 penalty minutes and a +12 rating and notched 3-7-10 with two penalty minutes and a +12 rating in 16 appearances in the 2016 AHL Playoffs, helping the Monsters claim the 2016 Calder Cup Championship. In 117 career Liiga appearances for Jokerit, HPK, and JYP spanning parts of four seasons from 2011-15, Hannikainen tallied 22-31-53 with 67 penalty minutes and a +26 rating and represented Finland in the 2012 and 2013 IIHF U20 World Junior Championships, and the 2017 IIHF World Championships.

Gaunce scores twice, Canucks beat Blackhawks 4-2

Associated Press

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) -- The big smile on Brendan Gaunce's face spoke volumes.

Gaunce scored his second goal of the game late in the third period, and the Vancouver Canucks overcame an early deficit to beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-2 on Thursday night.

His first goal in the second period tied the game 1-1. He scored his second with just 2:58 left in the third period. It came as the Blackhawks were pressing after cutting the Canuck lead to 3-2.

"It's great to score goals," Gaunce said. "You gain confidence offensively."

Gaunce has played 109 games over parts of three seasons for Vancouver, collecting five goals and six assists. The 23-year-old once went 95 games without a goal. His previous two goals this season came on the road, so his last goal Thursday earned a huge cheer from the announced crowd of 18,144.

"I couldn't really hear," he said. "I was pretty zoned out after I scored. It's good to contribute."

Daniel Sedin and Bo Horvat also scored for the Canucks. Troy Stecher added two assists, and Vancouver won for the fifth time in eight games after a 2-11-3 stretch.

The Canucks also won back-to-back games on home ice for the second time this season.

Nick Schmaltz and Alex DeBrincat scored for Chicago, which ended a two-game winning streak. Duncan Keith had two assists.

Chicago has not won three straight games since a five-game streak Dec. 8-17.

Jacob Markstrom stopped 26 shots for Vancouver. Forsberg, making his third straight start, stopped 17 shots.

Daniel Sedin made it 3-1 for Vancouver with 2:55 gone in the third. Jake Virtanen collected a puck in the slot, spun and fired a quick shot that Sedin tipped.

DeBrincat drew Chicago within in a goal when he scored on a slap shot over Markstrom's glove at 10:19.

The Canucks used a pair of second-period goals to take a 2-1 lead.

Stecher also had a hand in Horvat's goal at 9:58. He took a slap shot from the blue line that Horvat tipped for his 12th of the season.

Schmaltz showed some speed in scoring the only goal of the first period. He took a pass from Brandon Saad, cut across the front of the net, then beat Markstrom with a backhand at 15:15 for his 14th goal.

Jonathan Toews said the Blackhawks gave up too many good chances.

"We need to be better defensively," he said. "When pucks are around our net we have to make sure we are a little bit tougher and we're not giving them easy chances around our net."

NOTES: D Erik Gudbranson returned to Vancouver's lineup after missing five games with back spasms. ... Blackhawk left wing Patrick Sharp was a healthy scratch for the third straight game. ... Vancouver's Sam Gagner didn't return for the second period after suffering an upper-body injury when hitting Chicago's Tomas Jurco in the opening period.

UP NEXT

Blackhawks: Play at Calgary on Saturday night.

Canucks: Host Tampa Bay on Saturday night.

Shore's "lacrosse" goal helps Stars beat Coyotes 4-1

By JOSE M. ROMERO
Associated Press

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) -- Devin Shore's oddity of a goal was the result of years of playing a different sport.

"Yeah, 15 years of lacrosse paid off, I guess," Shore said with a smile after the Dallas Stars beat the Arizona Coyotes 4-1 on Thursday night.

Shore also had an assist during Dallas' three-goal second period, and the Stars extended their winning streak against the Coyotes to seven. Arizona has lost seven of nine overall, though this was its first game in a week thanks to the All-Star break.

Shore tied it at 1 in an atypical way when he lifted his stick to bat in the puck after Jason Spezza chipped it over the goal from behind the net. That was at the three-minute mark of the second.

"Heck of a play by `Spezz' ... You stick with it, get a bounce and it was good," Shore said.

Shore set up the second goal on a power play for Dallas at 5:21. He collected a rebound and centered to Tyler Seguin, whose shot got by Scott Wedgewood.

Kari Lehtonen stopped 17 shots and improved to 6-2 in his last eight starts, all on the road.

"I felt good going out there," Lehtonen said. "The start was a little rough ... but I was able to recover from that and keep playing."

Seguin got his team-leading 24th goal, and John Klingberg picked up his 43rd assist to lead the Stars.

Dallas had a potential third goal disallowed when the Coyotes challenged for offside, and Jamie Benn's power-play goal was reversed. But Mattias Janmark made it 3-1 at 6:36 of the second when he scored on a side-angle shot.

"We got going and once we started playing on our toes, we were excellent and carried it through the rest of the game," Stars coach Ken Hitchcock said.

All of the goals came against backup Wedgewood, with Antti Raanta removed from the lineup after he was involved in an auto accident on his way to the game. Wedgewood had 21 saves.

Wedgewood kept the Stars from scoring a fourth goal in the second, when he smothered Seguin's breakaway attempt with 21.4 seconds to go.

Esa Lindell's empty-net goal with 1:36 to play completed the scoring.

Kevin Connauton, a defenseman whose first goal of the season came on Oct. 10, scored his second at 4:06 of the first period to give the Coyotes an early lead. His wrist shot beat Lehtonen with help from teammate Christian Fischer limiting Lehtonen's view of the puck on Arizona's second shot on goal of the game.

The Coyotes have 12 first-period goals in their last eight games.

The Stars served six minutes of penalties in the period, four to defenseman Julius Honka for a high stick to the face of Arizona's Brad Richardson. But the Coyotes couldn't capitalize on the power play and went 0 for 6 for the game.

"A lot of inexperience in the sense of one or two passes, shoot the puck, get people in there," Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet said of his team's power-play struggles. "I think a couple times guys got rattled for a reason, got skated into."

NOTES: The Coyotes turned to Wedgewood in net though Raanta was available to play. Raanta remained in the dressing room for the entire game and was held out as a precaution after he was rear-ended on a local freeway late Thursday afternoon. ... D Jason Demers (upper body injury) did not play and is day-to-day. ... Coyotes broadcaster Bob Heethuis called his 1,000th career game. ... Stars F Antoine Roussel missed his second straight game with a nasal infection. C Martin Hanzal, a former longtime Coyote, was also scratched and missed his fourth straight game with a muscle strain.

UP NEXT

Stars: Host Minnesota on Saturday.

Coyotes: At Los Angeles Saturday.

Compher scores overtime winner as Avalanche top Oilers 4-3

Associated Press

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) -- A late comeback bid by the Oilers didn't deflate the Colorado Avalanche.

J.T Compher scored 2:28 into overtime as the Avalanche snapped a three-game losing skid with a 4-3 victory over the Oilers, who had tied the game with just 27 seconds left in the third to send it to extra time.

"I thought we played well most of the game, only to unfortunately lose the lead late in the third," said Compher, who scored his 10th goal of the season. "I thought we played well enough to finish it off, and for us to get that extra point in overtime at the end is huge for us with the playoff race we are in.

"A huge part of our team is character. You are going to let in goals late like that every now and then, but for us to bounce back and get the two points was huge going forward."

Nikita Zadorov, Blake Comeau and Samuel Girard also scored for the Avalanche, who had a 10-game winning streak before going on their recent skid.

"It is nice to get a win after losing three in a row," Zadorov said. "We have gotten three of the four points on this road trip so far, so it has been a good trip for us."

Connor McDavid had a pair of goals, and Drake Caggiula scored once for the Oilers, who have lost two of their last three.

Edmonton had tied it with just 27 seconds remaining in regulation and the goalie pulled as McDavid rifled in a puck after it caromed off the boards.

"Both teams really needed that extra point," Oilers forward Milan Lucic said. "For most of that overtime, we had possession - we just weren't able to get the shot off to get the goal. They were able to get the bounce and get the point. It's a big one to give up and a big point for them with both teams being where they are in the standings."

There was no scoring and few good chances in the first period, with Colorado getting 10 shots on Oilers backup Al Montoya and Edmonton putting eight shots on the Avalanche's Jonathan Bernier.

Colorado broke the deadlock three minutes into the second period when Zadorov picked off a poor Edmonton clearing attempt and proceeded to beat Montoya up high for his fourth goal of the season.

The Avalanche went up 2-0 five minutes later on a power-play blast by Girard, his first goal in 36 games with Colorado since coming over in a trade with Nashville earlier this season.

McDavid knocked in his own rebound out of the air and into the net for his 16th of the season just over a minute later.

Caggiula pushed a puck across the goal line while Bernier attempted to smother it with his glove with less than a minute to go in the second period, but a review nullified the goal.

Shortly afterward, the Avalanche got a short-handed goal on a backhand shot by Comeau.

Edmonton pulled back within one seven minutes into the third as Caggiula tipped a shot out of midair for his seventh.

NOTES: It was the first of three meetings this season between the teams. ... Due to some quirks in the schedule, the Oilers had only played three games in the previous 18 days, but play 33 games in the next 66 days.

UP NEXT:

Avalanche: at Winnipeg on Saturday.

Oilers: host Tampa Bay on Monday.

Lightning strike with 5 unanswered goals, zap Flames 7-4

Associated Press

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) -- Led by a big night by Alex Killorn, Tampa Bay took advantage of a rare off-night by Mike Smith.

Killorn had two goals and two assists to tie a career high for points as the Lightning struck for five unanswered goals, including four in the third period, in a 7-4 win over the Calgary Flames on Thursday night.

Down 4-3 after two periods, Tampa Bay tied it 12 seconds into the third when Killorn pounced on a loose puck near the Flames face-off dot, spun and sent a backhander on net that slipped past Smith.

"The puck hasn't really been falling my way for a lot of the season, so to have a game like this, it's great and gets my confidence back," said Killorn, who had just three points over his previous 16 games.

Killorn's line with rookies Matthew Peca (one goal, two assists) and Yanni Gourde (two assists) combined for nine points.

"Early in the game, that line was really engaged," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "And you know how it is, they get one and all of a sudden, it's like the balloon pops and now they've got the vibes going."

Cory Conacher scored on a sharp angle at 5:16 to give the Lightning the lead for good at 5-4.

Just over a minute later, Steven Stamkos scored his 19th of the season and that was it for Smith. As he got the hook from coach Glen Gulutzan for David Rittich, Smith smashed his stick across the goalpost.

"It was disappointing to let your teammates down like that and lay an egg," Smith said. "Just too many bad goals. It's plain and simple."

Smith entered the night sixth in the NHL with a .925 save percentage.

"What are we in, game 51? It's the first time our goaltending couldn't be considered a star in the game," Gulutzan said.

Conacher's second of the night at 8:26, on a shot from below the goal line, capped the third-period surge. Braydon Coburn and Matthew Peca also scored for Tampa Bay, which maintained its one-point lead over Vegas atop the overall standings.

Micheal Ferland, Mikael Backlund, Sean Monahan and Matt Stajan scored for Calgary. After a seven-game winning streak, the Flames are winless in their last six (0-4-2).

"We're going through a tough patch right now. There's no doubt about it," Stajan said. "Adversity has hit. We have to stick together in these walls and get through this."

The Lightning improved to 4-2-0 on this stretch of eight straight games on the road. They play in Vancouver on Saturday.

"We needed to have a look in the mirror," Stamkos said, "and come out with a lot more urgency and compete after the Winnipeg game (3-1 loss) and I thought we did that."

Tied at 1, the Lightning took their first lead 2:04 into the second period when Killorn scored on the power play.

The lead was short-lived with Calgary roaring back with three straight goals to open up a 4-2 advantage.

After sitting in the penalty box on Killorn's goal, Backlund made up for it on his next shift with a beautiful solo effort to tie it at 2 at 3:38. After crossing the Lightning blue line, he deked around Mikhail Sergachev with a nifty toe-drag, then promptly ripped a wrist shot into the top corner.

Less than two minutes later, Monahan gave Calgary the 3-2 lead, and Stajan added his second of the season at 14:27.

Smith stopped just 21 of 27 shots to fall to 20-15-6. Rittich made three saves.

Andrei Vasilevskiy, who improved to 30-9-2, had 42 saves.

NOTES: Calgary was 50-0-3 when leading after two dating to last season, but has lost two games in a row in regulation in which it led after 40 minutes. ... Calgary has had the lead in each game in its skid. ... Ferland has scored the first goal in a game five times, which leads the team.

UP NEXT

Lightning: at Vancouver on Saturday night.

Flames: vs. Chicago on Saturday night

Rinne, Forsberg lead Predators over Kings 5-0

By JIM DIAMOND
Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- After welcoming Filip Forsberg back to the lineup, the Predators looked like the team that made it to the Stanley Cup Final last season.

Pekka Rinne made 19 saves, Forsberg had a goal and an assist, and Nashville beat the Los Angeles Kings 5-0 on Thursday night.

Craig Smith, Calle Jarnkrok, Colton Sissons and Viktor Arvidsson also scored. Ryan Johansen had three assists.

"I think it was maybe one of our best 60-minute efforts in a while," Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said.

Making his first start since representing the Predators in last weekend's All-Star Game, Rinne earned his fifth shutout of the season and 48th of his career. With play stayed largely in the other end, Rinne had a chance to enjoy the show put on by his teammates.

"I didn't have a lot of work tonight and that was just fun to watch our guys," Rinne said. "Especially our forwards, they played a really strong game. I thought that we were on-point on the forecheck, we turned a lot of pucks over and created chances off them."

Jonathan Quick returned after missing the Kings' previous two games with an undisclosed injury. He made 31 saves.

"They had the momentum for 60 minutes," Kings coach John Stevens said. "They checked hard tonight. They had a simple game plan and we got checked off the puck all night."

Nashville peppered Quick with 15 shots on goal in the first, beating him three times.

Smith scored first at 10:02 of the opening period on a power play, about a minute after Johansen had a goal disallowed. Los Angeles challenged Johansen's score, and after video review, officials determined that Arvidsson pushed Kings defenseman Drew Doughty into Quick prior to Johansen's shot.

Forsberg made it 2-0 at 16:02 of the first. With Nashville on a prolonged two-man advantage, Forsberg beat Quick with a wrist shot that deflected in off of the diving goaltender.

The Predators activated Forsberg off injured reserve earlier Thursday. He missed Nashville's previous 11 games with an upper-body injury.

Laviolette reunited Johansen, Forsberg and Arvidsson on the team's top line. The trio combined for six points in the game.

"We're a lot more deadly with him on our side," Johansen said of Forsberg. "We had a lot of fun out there tonight supporting each other and outworking our opponents and getting some results too finding the back of the net."

Jarnkrok took advantage of Doughty's turnover and made it 3-0 at 17:21 of the first, finally swatting a backhand past Quick on the short side after two attempts.

"They are really good checkers," Kings forward Tanner Pearson said. "You are transitioning up ice, they are closing it pretty quickly from behind and try to create turnovers that way. They beat us tonight."

Sissons ended a 29-game goalless stretch when he beat Quick at 11:01 of the second, and Arvidsson scored at 9:44 of the third.

NOTES: Quick is 5-10-2 in his career against Nashville. ... Jake Muzzin and Anze Kopitar ended their six-game point streaks for LA. ... The Predators have not allowed a power-play goal in their last four games. ... Nashville is 25-2-3 when scoring first this season.

UP NEXT:

Kings: Host Arizona on Saturday.

Predators: Host New York Rangers on Saturday.