NHL Morning Skate – Oct. 31, 2017

MONDAY’S RESULTS

Home Team in Caps

NY ISLANDERS 6, Vegas 3
Arizona 4, PHILADELPHIA 3 (OT)
COLUMBUS 4, Boston 3 (SO)
Montreal 8, OTTAWA 3
Tampa Bay 8, FLORIDA 5
ST. LOUIS 4, Los Angeles 2
Dallas 2, VANCOUVER 1 (OT)
SAN JOSE 3, Toronto 2

LIGHTNING SCORE EIGHT TIMES TO MOVE TO 10-2-1

The Lightning scored eight times in a game for the first time since Feb. 1, 2013 (8-3 W vs. WPG) to improve to 10-2-1 this season. Elias notes that the Lightning required the fewest games to reach the 10-win mark in franchise history.

* Steven Stamkos (2-1—3) has collected at least one point in 12 of 13 games this season and leads the NHL with 6-18—24 overall. Nikita Kucherov (1-1—2) scored his League-leading 13th goal of the season and has also registered at least one point in 12 of 13 games (13-8—21).

* Andrei Vasilevskiy (18 saves) extended his personal win streak to nine games to become the first goaltender in franchise history to earn wins in nine consecutive appearances, eclipsing the mark set by Nikolai Khabibulin from Feb. 23 – March 6, 2004 (8-0-0).

* Vasilevskiy improved to 10-1-0 overall this season (2.46 GAA, .927 SV%, 1 SO). Elias notes that he matched the single-season NHL record for wins in the month of October.

CANADIENS NOTCH EIGHT GOALS IN NHL100 CLASSIC PREVIEW

The Canadiens notched eight goals in a game for the first time since Dec. 10, 2016 (10-1 W vs. COL) to defeat the Senators in their first of four meetings this season, including the 2017 Scotiabank NHL100 Classic on Dec. 16 at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa.

DID YOU KNOW?

There have been six instances of a team scoring at least eight goals in game this season (177 GP). Elias notes that the last October to feature at least six teams scoring eight or more goals in a game was in 2006, when seven teams did so.

SCHWARTZ HELPS BLUES IMPROVE TO 10-2-1

Jaden Schwartz (1-1—2) registered his fifth multi-point game of the season to help the Blues earn their fourth consecutive win and improve to 10-2-1 overall. Elias notes that the Blues hit the 10-win mark in their first 13 games of a season for the first time since 2002-03 (also 10-2-1). Elias adds that the Blues, the only team without a home loss of any kind in 2017-18, have won each of their first five home games of a season for the first since 2010-11 (6-0-0).

THORNTON PASSES KURRI FOR 20TH IN ALL-TIME POINTS

Sbarks forward Joe Thornton collected an assist to pass Jari Kurri for sole possession of 20th on the NHL’s all-time points list.

SNEAK PEEK AT TUESDAY’S ACTION

Hudon helps Canadiens pound Senators 8-3

Associated Press

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) -- The Montreal Canadiens are starting to believe in themselves after a rough start to the season.

Charles Hudon scored his first two career goals and had an assist, helping the Canadiens roll to an 8-3 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Monday night.

"Offensively we've been a team that hasn't scored much, but five the last game and eight tonight so I can see the confidence coming back with the players," coach Claude Julien said.

"You can't keep losing hockey games and feel good about yourself, but you start winning and confidence comes back."

Artturi Lehkonen also scored twice for the Canadiens (4-7-1), and Shea Weber had three assists. Al Montoya stopped 25 shots in his first victory of the season.

Max Pacioretty, Alex Galchenyuk, Brendan Gallagher and Tomas Plekanec also scored as Montreal won back-to-back games for the first time this season.

"We're making bounces happen, we're making plays happen and guys aren't holding their sticks too tight so we're making plays happen," Montoya said. "It was fun to watch and fun to be a part of."

Ottawa (5-2-5) got goals from Tom Pyatt, Ryan Dzingel and Chris DiDomenico. Craig Anderson made just nine saves on 15 shots through two periods before being replaced by Mike Condon, who allowed two goals on 14 shots.

Captain Erik Karlsson, one of the NHL's best defensemen, was on the ice for seven Montreal goals.

"I think I've had way worst games and got away with it, (Monday) was not one of those nights," Karlsson said. "It's something you're going to have to deal with throughout the season, throughout your career. I've done it before, I'm going to do it again and it's not something that's going to affect me moving forward."

Ottawa dropped to 2-2-5 at home this season.

"I don't know what it is to be honest with you," coach Guy Boucher said. "Whether it's over-confidence or unconsciously feeling comfortable at home or whatever I don't know what it is, but it's certainly something we have to change and address."

Hudon got off to a fast start during a wild six-goal first period. The Canadiens entered the game as the lowest scoring team in the Eastern Conference.

Pyatt opened the scoring just 21 seconds in, but Montreal replied at 4:27 when Hudon stepped around Karlsson to beat Anderson short side.

The Canadiens made it 2-1 when Pacioretty stole the puck from Anderson behind the net and scored a short-handed goal into an empty net. After Mike Hoffman's shot went in off Dzingel, tying it at 2, Lehkonen and Hudon scored to make it 4-2 after one.

The second was a more quiet period until the halfway mark when DiDomenico scored his second in as many games with a power-play goal. But Jordie Benn fed a beautiful pass to Galchenyuk for a breakaway goal and Gallagher made it 6-3 with less than a minute remaining in the period with his fourth of the season.

"Our compete level wasn't high enough to win the game against anybody," Boucher said. "When that happens you're basically opening the door for the opponent to take over and that's what they did so they totally deserve the game and we totally don't."

NOTES: The Senators were without D Mark Borowiecki, who was a late scratch because he wasn't feeling well. C Kyle Turris (Viral infection, day-to-day) and Bobby Ryan (broken finger, three weeks) also were held out.

UP NEXT

Canadiens: Visit Minnesota on Thursday night.

Senators: Host Detroit on Thursday night.

Radulov scores OT winner, Stars edge Canucks 2-1

Associated Press

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Despite firing 39 shots on net and generating multiple scoring chances late in the game, the Vancouver Canucks couldn’t quite break through against a Dallas team that’s dominated them lately.

Alexander Radulov scored 2:28 into overtime and the Stars defeated the Canucks 2-1 on Monday night.

Ben Bishop made 38 saves and Tyler Seguin had a second-period goal for Dallas, which improved to 13-0-1 against Vancouver in their last 14 meetings.

The Stars are 3-1 on a five-game road trip that concludes Thursday in Winnipeg. Radulov has three goals and six points in his last three games.

“He’s a wild-card player,” Dallas coach Ken Hitchcock said. “He’s going to do things on the ice that are creative and you are going to have to live with it, but he competes on the puck and that’s a big part of it. He’s a very competitive player and I think he elevates the rest of our competitiveness.”

Sam Gagner scored a power-play goal in the third for the Canucks, who had won four straight.

“I thought we played really well,” Gagner said after netting his first goal for Vancouver. “If we scored on that 2-on-1 in overtime or some of our chances in the third, it’s obviously a different story.

“If we play like that, most nights in this league you win. We have to keep playing that way. We’re going in the right direction and playing good hockey.”

Jacob Markstrom made 27 saves for the Canucks and was especially impressive in the first and third. He spent the previous two games on the bench while Anders Nilsson started in goal.

“It was a really good game, but you want to win hockey games,” Markstrom said. “I hate losing.”

Radulov won it when he carried the puck the length of the ice and fired a shot over Markstrom’s blocker-side shoulder.

Markstrom helped keep the first period scoreless when he made several impressive saves during a Stars power play midway through the period, including off a point-blank shot by Jamie Benn. Markstrom also stopped a short-handed breakaway by Gemel Smith in the waning seconds.

Seguin opened the scoring in the second with Canucks forward Thomas Vanek in the penalty box for the second time in the first three minutes of the period. Seguin one-timed his seventh goal of the season with an Alex Ovechkin-like shot while down on one knee at 3:11. The goal broke Vancouver’s streak of 14 consecutive penalties killed.

“It was a great shot. He put it right in the corner. Only a couple guys can do that and he’s one of them,” Bishop said.

Vancouver’s unlikely leading goal scorer, Derek Dorsett, had a chance all alone in the slot against Bishop in the final minutes of the second, but couldn’t convert.

At the other end, Markstrom ended the period with another big save, this time off a 2-on-1 with Smith and Radulov. The Canucks outshot Dallas 27-19 through two.

Vancouver tied the game six minutes into the third while on the power play. After Markstrom chased down a puck to diffuse a short-handed breakaway, Vanek took a quick pass from Daniel Sedin in the slot at the other end and fired a hard shot that rebounded to Gagner. The center netted his first goal with the Canucks at 13:51, sending the crowd into a frenzy.

That ended a run of seven straight games without giving up a power-play goal for the Stars.

“We were in a battle,” Canucks coach Travis Green said. “That was a great hockey game. I thought they played a hell of a game on the road; I thought we played a hell of a game at home. I liked the way our team stuck with it.”

NOTES: The Canucks were without rookie wing Brock Boeser, who injured his foot blocking a shot in a 6-2 win over Washington. Vancouver called up forwards Jayson Megna and Anton Rodin from Utica of the AHL. ... Dallas was without Martin Hanzal (lower body) and Stephen Johns (concussion).

UP NEXT

Stars: At the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday night.

Canucks: Host the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night.

Sharks spoil Marleau's return with 3-2 win over Maple Leafs

By JOSH DUBOW
Associated Press

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Rookie defenseman Tim Heed stole the show from Patrick Marleau in his return to San Jose.

Heed scored a tiebreaking goal on the power play early in the third period and assisted on Joe Pavelski’s second-period goal to lead the Sharks to a 3-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday night in Marleau’s first game as a visitor in San Jose.

“I feel comfortable out there,” said Heed, who has six points in nine games. “It feels better and better every game. I play with great players out there who make good plays for me. It’s great playing with them.”

Heed scored on a slap shot from just above the faceoff circle with 15:49 to play to give the Sharks their 10th straight win over Toronto. Joel Ward added an empty-net goal for San Jose.

This time it came with Marleau in a Maple Leafs sweater as he returned to the arena he called home for his first 19 seasons in the NHL. Marleau left as a free agent this summer to sign an $18.75 million, three-year contract with Toronto but was welcomed back warmly by a fan base that still adores him.

“It was extremely special to get an ovation like that and see all the signs and everything, just really humbling,” he said. “They showed me great support through my time here. It was humbling to be honored like that by the Sharks and fans. I’ll never forget it.”

Marleau finished with two shots on goal but didn’t record a point as Martin Jones made 16 saves for San Jose to improve to 7-0 against the Maple Leafs. Jones has allowed just 10 goals in those starts.

Auston Matthews scored in the first period and Nazem Kadri added a goal with 1:10 remaining to cut San Jose’s lead to 3-2. The Maple Leafs have lost four of five and were held to only two shots on goal in a span of more than 31 minutes in the second and third periods.

“We’ve been turning the puck over too much,” Matthews said. “We stop that, we can win. I thought our work ethic and competing were much better tonight. We need to get out of the little funk we’re in.”

Frederik Andersen made 36 saves but had no chance on Heed’s slapper that went into the top corner after Timo Meier had drawn a cross-checking penalty from Dominic Moore early in the period.

The night started with an emotional pregame ceremony for Marleau. The Sharks played a video tribute to Marleau and he received a loud ovation that lasted nearly 90 seconds from the fans, who chanted “Pat-ty! Pat-ty!” Players from both teams tapped their sticks in appreciation as the spotlight shined on Marleau and he waved to the crowd.

“I had a tear in my eye,” said Sharks center Joe Thornton, Marleau’s teammate for 12 seasons. “You spend so much time with him, he’s like a brother. You spend 13 years with the guy, you create such a big bond with him. It was classy.”

The Sharks controlled play for the first two periods but were unable to translate their 25-11 advantage in shots on goal to a lead on the scoreboard.

The Maple Leafs struck first midway through the first period when Matthews beat Logan Couture to the rebound of a point shot from Nikita Zaitsev and knocked it into the open net for his ninth goal.

San Jose tied it midway through the second when Pavelski deflected Heed’s point shot past Andersen for his third goal.

NOTES: Thornton got an assist on San Jose’s first goal, giving him 1,399 points to move past Jari Kurri for sole possession of 20th place on the career list. ... Toronto forwards James Van Riemsdyk (lower body) and Matt Martin (upper body) returned to the lineup after missing one game each.

UP NEXT

Maple Leafs: Visit the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday night.

Sharks: Host the Nashville Predators on Wednesday night.

Tarasenko, Schwartz send Blues to 4-2 win over Kings

By JOE HARRIS
Associated Press

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Five days after his first child was born, St. Louis Blues defenseman Carl Gunnarsson left the rink with a special present for his daughter.

“I’ve got the puck,” Gunnarsson said after scoring the game-winning goal Monday night in a 4-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings.

Vladimir Tarasenko and Jaden Schwartz each had a goal and an assist to lead the Blues in a matchup between two of the NHL’s top squads.

“We’ve got a good team,” Blues coach Mike Yeo said. “We’ve still got a long, difficult road ahead of us. We haven’t accomplished anything except a good start and that can leave us very quickly.”

Vladimir Sobotka added an empty-netter for the Blues, who improved to 10-2-1 to match the franchise’s best start set in 1997. Jake Allen made 26 saves as St. Louis remained the only unbeaten team on home ice this season (5-0).

“We’ve been steady with our game, a confident group right here,” Gunnarsson said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s special teams or 5-on-5, we’re playing our game and we’ve got the confidence that we’re going to break the other team down.”

Tanner Pearson and Dustin Brown scored for the Kings, who had their three-game winning streak snapped and fell to 9-2-1. Jonathan Quick made 26 saves.

Tarasenko and Schwartz continued their strong play against Los Angeles. Tarasenko has 14 points in 15 career games and Schwartz has six points in his last five games against the Kings.

“I think we were better than last game,” Schwartz said. “I thought we were moving a lot better, supporting each other better and just making strong plays with the puck.”

Tarasenko gave the Blues a 1-0 lead and broke a five-game goal drought at 7:25 of the second period. Schwartz picked off Derek Forbort’s pass at center ice and found Tarasenko streaking in on the left side.

“It was kind of a scramble puck and just cut to the inside and I saw (Tarasenko). He had a little speed, a little step on the guy, and a great shot by him,” Schwartz said.

Three minutes later, Schwartz cleaned up the rebound of Brayden Schenn’s shot to make it 2-0.

Allen robbed Pearson with a glove save after Pearson found himself alone in front with 7:52 left in the second.

Pearson made good on his second chance, putting a backhand past Allen with 6:40 left in the second after he got behind Gunnarsson for a breakaway to cut the St. Louis lead to 2-1.

“When you’re chasing a game it doesn’t usually work in your favor and teams are going to capitalize on stuff like that in this league and they did,” Pearson said. “We gave it a good push at the end and weren’t able to get that last one.”

Gunnarsson made up for the defensive lapse with his third goal of the season with 3:41 left in the second. The Kings unsuccessfully challenged the goal, claiming Kyle Brodziak interfered with Quick.

“If you look at the replay, Quickie’s stick gets pulled out but no one knows what the rules are anyway. ... I mean, tonight it was not goaltender interference and two weeks from now it might be. I don’t know,” Brown said. “That’s part of the problem, I think.”

Gunnarsson’s goal, his fourth, was the 14th by a Blues defenseman this season, tops in the NHL.

“We don’t set limits,” Yeo said. “We don’t expect to get a goal from our defense every game.”

Brown deflected Drew Doughty’s shot for a power-play goal 58 seconds later, cutting the St. Louis advantage to 3-2. It was Brown’s 79th power-play goal, tying Charlie Simmer for seventh on the Kings’ career list.

NOTES: Doughty played in his 700th career game. ... Schenn was selected by the Kings with the fifth pick in the 2009 draft. ... The Kings scratched D Oscar Fantenberg and C Nick Shore. ... The Blues scratched RW Chris Thorburn, D Nate Prosser and G Ville Husso.

UP NEXT

Kings: Host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday.

Blues: Host the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday.

Vasilevskiy wins 9th straight, Lightning top Panthers 8-5

By PAUL GEREFFI
Associated Press

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — October has been a good month for Andrei Vasilevskiy.

The goalie won his ninth straight start and Steven Stamkos scored twice to lift the Tampa Bay Lightning over the Florida Panthers 8-5 on Monday night.

Vasilevskiy made 18 saves and shares the longest win streak for a goaltender in franchise history with John Grahame, who won nine straight from Nov. 14 to Dec. 10, 2005.

Vasilevskiy also tied Manny Legace (2005) and Craig Anderson (2009) for the most wins in October with 10. His only loss was 5-4 to the Panthers on Oct. 7.

“He’s really good. This is when you have to win games,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “He’s going to say he probably didn’t have his best night, but more often than not he’s our best player every single night. It was nice for us to pick Vasi up tonight. Normally he’s not giving up five, but the biggest stat you can have is winning games and he’s doing that.”

Ondrej Palat scored the go-ahead goal and had an assist. Nikita Kucherov added his NHL-leading 13th goal and an assist, while Brayden Point and Yanni Gourde each had a goal and an assist for Tampa Bay. Vladislav Namestnikov and Anton Stralman also scored.

“It was a good bounce-back game for us after a loss at home (4-1 to Anaheim),” Stamkos said. “Glad to get back in the win column.”

Aleksander Barkov had a goal and three assists to lead the Panthers. Evgeni Dadanov, Jamie McGinn, Jonathan Huberdeau and Aaron Ekblad also scored for Florida.

James Reimer allowed five goals on 19 shots before being replaced by Antti Niemi at 10:22 of the second. Niemi stopped 16 shots.

“You’ve got to play a real honest game against them, and if not, then they’ll make you pay,” Reimer said. “Tonight was a lesson in that.”

The eight goals were the most given up by the Panthers this season.

“They were a (heck) of a lot better than us. We didn’t do the right things to win,” Ekblad said. “You have to have your defenders, all of us, with a chip on our shoulder.”

Tampa Bay took a 4-3 lead on Palat’s shot from the left of the crease at 7:17 of the second period, then stretched it to 5-3 when Gourde tipped in the puck during a power play at 9:38. Namestnikov made it 6-3 with 4:19 left in the second.

McGinn’s goal cut it to 6-4 at 5:32 of the third, but Stamkos’ second goal at 9:02 gave the Lightning a 7-4 lead.

Dadanov made it 7-5 with 8:31 left in the third, and Stralman added an empty-net goal with 19 seconds left.

Huberdeau tied the score 3-all at 5:32 of the second.

The Panthers closed to 2-1 on Ekblad’s goal at 10:31 of the first period.

Stamkos’ first goal gave the Lightning a 3-1 advantage on a power play when he one-timed a shot past Reimer with 5:20 left in the first.

Florida trimmed it to 3-2 on Barkov’s backhand from in front with 53 seconds left in the first.

The Lightning took a 2-0 lead within the first five minutes. Point put them in front 2:48 in when he redirected the puck past Reimer. Kucherov picked off a pass and put the puck over Reimer’s shoulder at 4:55.

NOTES: Panthers LW Connor Brickley missed the game with an upper-body injury sustained Saturday against Detroit. ... Dadanov has eight points (four goals, four assists) in the past five games. ... Lightning C Cedric Paquette missed his sixth consecutive game with a lower-body injury. ... Point has six points in three games against the Panthers.

UP NEXT

Lightning: Host the New York Rangers on Thursday.

Panthers: Host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday.

Panarin, Bjorkstrand lift Blue Jackets over Bruins 4-3 in SO

By NICOLE KRAFT
Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Artemi Panarin gave himself a nice 26th birthday present.

Panarin and Oliver Bjorkstrand scored in a shootout, and the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Boston Bruins 4-3 on Monday night after squandering a two-goal lead in the third period.

Columbus has won eight of its first 12 games, a franchise record for October.

Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky made 27 saves for his sixth win. He also had an assist — the eighth of his career and first this season.

Tuukka Rask stopped 29 shots for the Bruins, who lost their second in a row and dropped to 4-4-2.

The Blue Jackets had been plagued by slow starts but got on the board 1:59 into the game when David Savard threw the puck toward the net and it wiggled past Rask off a deflection. Alexander Wennberg and Matt Calvert assisted on Savard’s second goal of the season.

“With the starts we’ve had lately, it’s always nice to go up in a game early like that,” Savard said.

After a pair of unsuccessful power plays, Columbus found the back of the net again with less than three minutes left in the first period. Boone Jenner, playing in his fifth game after returning from injury, scratched and clawed at Markus Nutivaara’s rebound until he put it past Rask at 17:08. Josh Anderson was also credited with an assist on Jenner’s first goal of the season.

The Blue Jackets’ third goal of the night came at 8:27 of the second period when Nutivaara took a handoff from Bobrovsky and sent it nearly the length of the ice to a driving Tyler Motte, who put the puck in the net.

“It was a great pass,” Motte said. “I’d like to see how far that traveled before it got to my stick. It found a way, and it was right there.”

The goal was Motte’s first with the Blue Jackets and came just hours after he was recalled from the minors to take the place of injured Cam Atkinson.

“From his first shift on I thought he gave us energy and did a lot of good things,” coach John Tortorella said. “I had to move him into a spot where he was getting more ice time.”

Patrice Bergeron got the Bruins on the board with his second goal of the season, a power-play score at 15:37 of the second with a shot from the point off around-the-horn passes from Danton Heinen and David Pastrnak.

It was the first power-play goal given up by Columbus at home this season, and the first the Bruins scored against the Blue Jackets with a man advantage since Nov. 30, 2013.

With both teams skating 4-on-4 in the third period thanks to penalties on Calvert and Brad Marchand, Torey Krug caught Bobrovsky moving side to side and made it 3-2 at 10:26. Assists went to Kevan Miller and Pastrnak.

Marchand came out of the box and tied the game 40 seconds later, scoring the Bruins’ second power-play goal of the night with assists by Bergeron and Pastrnak. It was Marchand’s eighth goal of the season and the 200th of his career.

“We put ourselves in a bad spot and we fought our way out of it, so that’s the positive,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. “I don’t like to see us start like that. I take a lot of pride in being ready to go. I thought we weren’t as a group. We corrected it and gave ourselves a chance to get two points. It just didn’t work out in the shootout.”

Although Columbus dominated much of the game, its power play continued to flounder as the team failed to score all four times it had a man advantage.

NOTES: The game was a homecoming for Sean Kuraly, a Dublin, Ohio, native, whose younger brother, Nick, is senior captain of the Bishop Watterson High School hockey team in Columbus. ... Boston backup goalie Anton Khudobin was hurt during Sunday’s optional practice and did not travel to Columbus.

UP NEXT

Bruins: Host the Las Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday.

Blue Jackets: At the Florida Panthers on Thursday.

Coyotes get 1st win, beat Flyers in OT after blowing lead

By AARON BRACY
Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The struggling Arizona Coyotes finally got their first win of the season — but it sure didn’t come easy.

Alex Goligoski scored late in overtime after the Coyotes blew a two-goal lead in the final minute of regulation during a 4-3 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday night.

Goligoski scored with 14.4 seconds left on the clock in OT and Arizona (1-10-1) avoided setting an NHL record for most consecutive losses to start a season.

“Yeah, it felt like it wasn’t going to be easy when it didn’t come,” Goligoski said. “And it wasn’t, but we stuck with it. It’s really nice. We don’t have to worry about that anymore. We can kind of go about our business.”

Jordan Martinook, Christian Dvorak and Brandon Perlini also scored for the Coyotes, who matched the 1943-44 Rangers (0-11) by losing their first 11 games.

“Relief, excitement, happiness; you can go on and on with all the adjectives you want,” Martinook said. “Everybody is happy. It’s nice to finish a game with a smile on your face, even though we probably want to win games a little easier than that.”

Sean Couturier scored twice and Ivan Provorov had three assists for the Flyers.

Arizona was in position to close it out earlier, but Jordan Weal scored on a rebound with 53 seconds left in the third period and Couturier tipped a shot past goalie Scott Wedgewood with 16 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 3.

Goligoski scored the winner from a sharp angle in the 3-on-3 overtime period after a pass from Clayton Keller. The Coyotes leaped off the bench and swarmed Goligoski to celebrate their first win.

“Now we got that monkey off our back,” Martinook said. “Hopefully we can keep going.”

Wedgewood made 28 saves in his Arizona debut, and Niklas Hjalmarsson added a pair of assists for the Coyotes. Wedgewood was acquired Saturday from the Devils for a 2018 fifth-round draft pick. Arizona is awaiting the return of starter Antti Raanta, who has been out since Oct. 12 with an upper-body injury.

Arizona coach Rick Tocchet downplayed the team’s record in his pregame talk.

“I said, ‘You guys are playing hard. Keep doing the right things and good things will happen,’” Tocchet said. “And it did. We just have to keep that mentality.”

Weal pulled Philadelphia within a goal by scoring on a rebound before Couturier’s equalizer. Provorov batted down the puck just inside the blue line to keep the play in the offensive zone and passed to Claude Giroux, who sent a cross-ice pass to Couturier.

The Coyotes struck first for the ninth time in 12 games when Martinook finished from close range just 2:20 in after a deft pass from Hjalmarsson from the slot. Hjalmarsson faked a slap shot and passed to the weak side, where Martinook went to his knees and lifted the puck over diving Flyers goalie Brian Elliott.

Arizona made it 2-0 just more than 5½ minutes later on Dvorak’s first goal of the season. Oliver Ekman-Larsson took the initial shot from the point. The attempt deflected to Dvorak, who shot past Elliott’s right pad from a sharp angle.

It was an ugly first period for Philadelphia, which managed just three shots — none by a forward — in the opening 20 minutes.

“We made a great push to tie the game up, but you have to rewind to the start of the game,” Flyers coach Dave Hakstol said. “As a group, we were too far below the bar. We weren’t quick and hard defending. We didn’t start the hockey game where we wanted to be and needed to be.”

The Coyotes extended their lead to 3-0 on Perlini’s power-play goal 1:24 into the third. Perlini’s quick wrist shot from the right circle beat Elliott on the glove side.

Philadelphia got a goal back 40 seconds later on Couturier’s power-play tally from the slot.

NOTES: Philadelphia D Shayne Gostisbehere was out of the lineup after sustaining an upper-body injury in the Flyers’ 4-2 win over Toronto on Saturday night. Gostisbehere entered Monday leading defensemen with 13 points. The team originally planned to replace him with rookie Sam Morin, but nagging injuries to Morin prompted the Flyers to instead recall Mark Alt from Lehigh Valley of the AHL for his second NHL game. ... The Flyers play at Arizona on Feb. 10 to complete the season series. . Hjalmarsson sustained an upper-body injury in the third period and didn’t return. He is day to day, Tocchet said.

UP NEXT

Coyotes: Complete a five-game road trip with the second game of a back-to-back on Tuesday night at Detroit.

Flyers: Play the second of 10 straight games against Western Conference teams Wednesday night at Chicago.

Tavares helps Islanders cool off Golden Knights, 6-3

By VIN A. CHERWOO
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — John Tavares and the New York Islanders are on quite a roll.

Tavares kept up his scoring surge with two more goals and the Islanders beat Vegas 6-3 on Monday night, handing the expansion Golden Knights their second loss of the season.

Andrew Ladd, Mathew Barzal, Cal Clutterbuck and Nikolay Kulemin also scored, and Jaroslav Halak stopped 31 shots to help New York win for the fifth time in six games. Tavares has eight goals in the last four games.

“Guys did a great job of creating chances, playing hard, winning battles and playing with pace again,” Tavares said. “We had contributions up and down the lineup. Obviously, that’s key to score six goals. ... The execution is there and we’re just competing really hard.”

William Karlsson, Alex Tuch and Colin Miller scored for Vegas (8-2-0), which snapped a five-game winning streak and lost another goalie to injury. With starter Marc-Andre Fleury and backup Malcolm Subban already sidelined, Oscar Dansk left with an apparent leg injury after Tavares scored the tying goal late in the second period.

Dansk, who came in 3-0 with an NHL-best 1.34 goals-against average, made 17 saves. Maxime Lagace, the fourth goalie Vegas has used in its inaugural season, came on for his NHL debut and gave up four goals on 11 shots.

“We didn’t help Max out,” Miller said. “He’s getting thrown in the fire a little bit. I’m sure he’ll do fine. He’s played hockey for a long time. I’m sure he’ll be all right.”

Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant didn’t have an update on Dansk after the game. He said Lagace would start Tuesday at the New York Rangers, and another goalie would be called up to be the backup.

Vegas led 2-1 after one period before Tavares tied the score with his 10th goal with 5:10 left, deflecting a shot by Nick Leddy past Dansk, who was injured on the play. The Golden Knights challenged for goalie interference, but the goal stood after a review.

With Reilly Smith off for high-sticking, Barzal gave the Islanders their first lead as he knocked in the rebound of a backhand by Anders Lee that went off the right post for his third.

Smith’s penalty was the Golden Knights’ third of the second period and fifth of the game.

“If we’re going to win on the road, you can’t take five penalties in the first two periods and get behind the 8-ball there,” Gallant said. “When the game was real close we made a couple of big mistakes there and opened the door for them to get six goals.”

Clutterbuck extended New York’s lead to 4-2 at 4:44 of the third as he skated up the right side and fired the puck past Lagace’s glove for his second.

Kulemin made it a three-goal lead with his first of the season at 8:26 of the third.

Tavares scored on a breakaway with 7:22 left for his 11th of the season, giving New York six goals for the second straight game.

“We built some good momentum,” Tavares said. “Now it’s just to keep it going. It’s a long season.”

Miller beat Halak from the right circle with 5:19 to go to pull Vegas to 6-3.

Vegas got on the scoreboard first with the first short-handed goal in franchise history as Karlsson got a pass from Cody Eakin and beat Halak, who was out of position trying to disrupt the pass, at 9:31. It was the sixth short-handed goal allowed by the Islanders, tying Buffalo for most in the NHL.

“Yet another short-handed goal against — it just can’t happen,” Islanders coach Doug Weight said. “I’m glad they battled back, put pucks to the net and scored on a couple of power plays.”

Ladd tied it with 6:10 remaining in the period as he fired a shot from the top of the right circle past Dansk’s blocker side for his third.

The Golden Knights went back ahead 2-1 nearly two minutes later with a power-play goal when Miller’s shot deflected off Tuch’s skate in front and past Halak. It was Tuch’s third of the season.

NOTES: Tavares has nine goals and 12 points in the last five games. ... Josh Bailey had three assists to give him points in seven straight games (two goals, 10 assists). ... The Islanders improved to 4-0-1 at home this season. ... The teams conclude the season series Jan. 25 at Las Vegas. ... Gallant was back at Barclays Center for the first time since coaching Florida against the Islanders in the first round of the 2016 playoffs. New York won the series at home in two overtimes in Game 6. Gallant was fired by the Panthers last Nov. 27. ... Each team went 2 for 5 on the power play. ... Vegas gave up two power-play goals after going 10 for 10 on the penalty-kill the previous three games. ... Miller had an assist for the fifth straight game.

UP NEXT

Golden Knights: At the New York Rangers on Tuesday night.

Islanders: At the Washington Capitals on Thursday night.

Penguins recall Tristan Jarry

The Pittsburgh Penguins have recalled goaltender Tristan Jarry from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League, it was announced today by executive vice president and general manager Jim Rutherford.

Goalie Casey DeSmith has been re-assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Jarry, 22, has won three-straight games for WBS prior to his recall, including 18 saves on 20 shots in a 5-2 win at Bridgeport last Saturday night. Overall, Jarry has started five games this year, going 3-2 with a 3.18 goals-against average and an .897 save percentage.

Last season, the 6-foot-2, 194-pound Jarry backstopped WBS to the top regular-season record in the AHL, compiling a 28-15-2 record, three shutouts, a 2.15 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage in 45 appearances. He and DeSmith combined to win the Harry “Hap” Holmes Award after allowing the fewest goals in the AHL.

Jarry, who hails from Surrey, British Columbia, made his NHL debut for Pittsburgh in last year’s season-finale at Madison Square Garden against the New York Rangers. He has dressed as the backup goalie in the opening round of the NHL playoffs for the Penguins each of the last two seasons, and was also a member of the “Black Aces” practice squad both years as well.

Pittsburgh’s second-round (44th overall) draft pick in 2013, Jarry has played in 83 career AHL regular-season games with WBS, going 48-30-5 with a 2.42 goals-against average, a .916 save percentage and eight shutouts.

Strome named CCM/AHL Player of the Week

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The American Hockey League announced today that Tucson Roadrunners forward Dylan Strome has been selected as the CCM/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending Oct. 29, 2017.

Strome notched seven points and a plus-8 rating in three games last week, helping Tucson to three consecutive victories.

On Wednesday night in Grand Rapids, Strome figured on all of the Roadrunners’ scoring, netting his first career professional goal and adding two assists in a 3-1 victory over the Griffins. Back home on Friday, Strome picked up an assist as Tucson defeated Iowa, 4-1. And on Saturday, his three-assist game sparked the Roadrunners to a come-from-behind 5-4 overtime win over the Wild.

The third overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, Strome has totaled 10 points in six games with Tucson in 2017-18, one off the league lead in assists (9) and ranking tied for second in plus/minus (+10). The 20-year-old rookie from Mississauga, Ont., has also appeared in two NHL games with the parent Arizona Coyotes this season. Strome played four seasons of junior hockey with Erie (OHL), winning a league scoring title in 2014-15 and earning MVP honors at the 2017 Memorial Cup tournament.

In recognition of his achievement, Strome will be presented with an etched crystal award prior to an upcoming Roadrunners home game.

Tavares leads 3 Stars of the Week

NEW YORK -- New York Islanders centerJohn Tavares, Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Oscar Dansk and Ottawa Senators center Jean-Gabriel Pageau have been named the NHL's "Three Stars" for the week ending Oct. 29.

FIRST STAR - JOHN TAVARES, C, NEW YORK ISLANDERS

Tavares led the NHL with 6-1-7, including a pair of hat tricks, to power the Islanders (6-4-1, 13 points) to two wins in three starts. He posted 3-1-4, including the decisive goal and his 10th career four-point performance, in a 5-3 triumph over the Arizona Coyotes Oct. 24. After being held off the scoresheet in a 6-4 loss to the Minnesota Wild Oct. 26, Tavares added his eighth career hat trick in a 6-2 victory against the Nashville Predators Oct. 28. In doing so, he became the third player in Islanders history to record two hat tricks within a span of three team games - and the first to accomplish the feat since March 3-5, 1996 (Ziggy Palffy). The 27-year-old Mississauga, Ont., native ranks third in the NHL with nine goals in 11 outings this season, pacing the Islanders with 13 points overall.

SECOND STAR - OSCAR DANSK, G, VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS

Dansk went 2-0-0 with a 1.00 goals-against average, .968 save percentage and one shutout to lead the Golden Knights (8-1-0, 16 points) to a perfect week, continuing the best start by an expansion team in NHL history. He made 29 saves in a 4-2 victory against the Chicago Blackhawks Oct. 24. Dansk then stopped all 32 shots he faced to earn the first shutout in Golden Knights history in a 7-0 triumph over the Colorado Avalanche Oct. 27. The 23-year-old Stockholm, Sweden, native - who made his NHL debut Oct. 21 - is 3-0-0 with a 1.34 goals-against average, .959 save percentage and one shutout through his first three career appearances.

THIRD STAR - JEAN-GABRIEL PAGEAU, C, OTTAWA SENATORS

Pageau collected 1-5-6 as the Senators (5-1-5, 15 points) went 1-0-2 to extend their point streak to five games (2-0-3). He registered one assist in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Los Angeles Kings Oct. 24, followed by 1-2-3 (his fifth career three-point outing) in a 5-4 win over the Philadelphia Flyers Oct. 26. Pageau capped the week with two more helpers in a 5-4 shootout loss to the New Jersey Devils Oct. 27. The 24-year-old Ottawa native ranks fifth on the Senators with 1-7-8 in 11 contests this season.

Perry scores in shootout to lift Ducks past Hurricanes

Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Anaheim Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said goalie Ryan Miller was brought in to be a veteran presence and not just a backup to starter John Gibson.

But Miller didn’t get the opportunity to show what he could do over the first 10 games of the season.

On Sunday he got that chance and rose to the occasion, stopping 34 shots as the Ducks beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 in a shootout.

“In tonight’s appearance he saved our butt on numerous occasions,” Carlyle said. “We told him not to accept being here as a backup. We want him to compete. That’s where the competition between the two goaltenders is unique. But it’s a benefit to us if we can have a 1-A and 1-B.”

Anaheim captain Ryan Getzlaf left the game in the second period with what Carlyle described as an upper-body injury and will be evaluated on Monday.

“I thought (Carolina) had great jump in the second period and that was a hard one to grind out,” said Miller, who had three point-blank saves in the overtime. “We were able to hold onto it and that was nice.”

Corey Perry scored the only goal in the shootout.

Jakob Silfverberg tied it with just under five minutes remaining in the third period for Anaheim. Ondrej Kase and Derek Grant scored in the first period.

“Obviously coming in were playing a team with a lot of speed up front,” Silfverberg said. “We got off to a good start, but we had a rough second period. We kept pushing and came back in the third. To see (Miller) come back and push as hard as he did was a big bonus for this group.”

Jeff Skinner, Jordan Staal and Justin Faulk scored to rally the Hurricanes from a 2-0 deficit in the opening period. Scott Darling stopped 22 shots.

“The execution just wasn’t there,” Hurricanes coach Bill Peters said. “We were just sloppy with the puck. Our ‘D’ got the puck off the stick a lot better in the second and allowed us to play fast.”

Skinner pulled Carolina to 2-1 with a power-play goal with 7 seconds remaining in the first for his seventh of the season. Staal tied it with 6:27 to go in the second as he got Sebastian Aho’s pass from behind the net and beat Miller stick side.

The Hurricanes went ahead exactly five minutes later when Faulk beat Darling with a bullet from the high slot.

Kase gave the Ducks an early lead when he lifted the puck over Darling’s right shoulder from the right circle with 9:12 remaining in the first.

Grant made it 2-0 with 2:46 left as he beat Darling five-hole from the slot.

NOTES: Carolina D Klas Dahlbeck and RW Josh Jooris were healthy scratches. ... RW Jared Boll and D Sami Vataden sat out for Anaheim. ... The teams conclude their season series Dec. 11 at Anaheim.

UP NEXT

Ducks: Host Toronto on Wednesday night to open a two-game homestand.

Hurricanes: At Colorado on Thursday night to start a two-game road trip.

Wheeler scores 3 of Jets' 5 goals in 1st to rout Pens 7-1

Associated Press

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — A blowout win over the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions was more important to Blake Wheeler than his own outstanding performance.

Wheeler scored three of Winnipeg’s five first-period goals and added an assist in the third as the Jets routed the Pittsburgh Penguins 7-1 on Sunday night.

“It’s all about getting two points. I think we’ve got every guy pushing in that direction,” he said.

Brendan Lemieux scored his first career goal for Winnipeg on a slap shot from the point at 12:20 of the third. The son of Claude Lemieux made his NHL debut Oct. 20 after being called up from the Manitoba Moose of the AHL.

“It feels great,” he said. “Obviously, really fortunate to have been able to get one and really excited. Every day I’m up here has been a blessing and I’m just trying to run with it.”

Andrew Copp, Joel Armia and Mark Scheifele also scored for the Jets, who chased Matt Murray early. Connor Hellebuyck made 31 saves.

Winnipeg (5-3-2) scored three times in a span of 34 seconds late in the first to break it open.

The Penguins (7-5-1), playing back-to-back road games after losing 2-1 in Minnesota on Saturday, were on their heels from the start and didn’t score until Evgeni Malkin’s fifth of the season late in the second period.

“We were fortunate to get the day off yesterday,” Wheeler said. “It’s tough when you’re playing a back-to-back and the back end of a three (games) in four (days). It takes a little bit of time to get going and luckily we had our legs early.”

The Jets have played their best hockey in the first period this season, outscoring opponents 16-8.

Pittsburgh has been outscored 21-10 in the opening 20 minutes.

“If I had an answer, we’d probably cure it,” coach Mike Sullivan said.

Copp opened the scoring with his first of the season on a short pass in the slot from linemate Sean Matthias at 1:20.

The Jets remained on the attack but Murray stymied them until 13:58, when Scheifele fed Wheeler at the side of the net for his second goal of the season.

He added another at 17:44 and Murray barely had time to take his stance again before Armia made it 4-0 at 18:07. Murray was pulled and lost in regulation for the second time this season.

“It’s disappointing,” Sullivan said. “We talk about doing the right things. We talk about managing the puck the right way. We talk about staying on the right side of people and then we go out and our actions are just the opposite.”

The hats rained down 11 seconds after that when Wheeler made it 5-0 at 18:18 with a goal against Murray’s replacement, Casey DeSmith.

The Jets lost 2-1 in overtime Thursday at Pittsburgh, one of two overtime losses for them this week following a win at Minnesota.

Winnipeg returned to Hellebuyck’s hot hand in goal. He has all five Jets wins this season.

Pittsburgh tried to regroup in the second period and outshot the Jets 15-4, thanks partly to a string of minor penalties on Winnipeg. But the Penguins not get one past Hellebuyck until Malkin scored his power-play goal at 17:02.

Scheifele scored in the third when he one-timed a pass from Wheeler during a 4-on-3 power play at 10:28 to make it 6-1. Lemieux’s goal about two minutes later completed the scoring.

Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice is happy with the way his team has played defense recently, but acknowledged Sunday night was an anomaly.

“Our gap was really good defensively so we could knock some pucks down and see the passes develop in front of you because you’re in the right place to start,” he said. “(But) the game at 5-0 becomes a different animal.”

UP NEXT

Penguins: At the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday night.

Jets: At the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night.

Monahan scores winner in 3rd period, Flames edge Caps 2-1

Associated Press

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Sean Monahan knows exactly where to go when Johnny Gaudreau has the puck.

Monahan converted Gaudreau’s pass for the go-ahead goal 9:09 into the third period Sunday night and the Calgary Flames broke a four-game home losing streak with a 2-1 win over the Washington Capitals.

After not finding anyone open as he carried the puck toward the net, Gaudreau curled back at the faceoff dot and tried again, this time spotting Monahan alone at the far post. All the Flames’ leading goal scorer had to do was slide in his sixth of the season.

“That’s Johnny. We see it day-in, day-out. He’s got great hands and he’s got quick feet. He reads the game better than anyone I know,” Monahan said. “If you get open in a quiet area you’re usually going to find the puck.”

It was the 11th assist for Gaudreau, who leads the team with 14 points.

Micheal Ferland, the third member of Calgary’s top line, scored the other goal for the Flames.

“I felt like we had the puck a lot tonight,” Ferland said. “As the game went on, I felt more comfortable out there. The game felt like it was getting slower.”

In his best effort of the season, Ferland also had a game-high five shots and a game-high seven hits.

“Outstanding,” Flames coach Glen Gulutzan said, describing his power forward. “He was physical when he could be physical. Sometimes it’s hard to be physical when you have the puck all night and you’re making plays and you’re in on the forecheck and playing with the puck. He did a little bit of everything for us.”

Calgary improved to 1-1-0 on a seven-game homestand that continues Thursday night when the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins visit.

Jakub Vrana scored for the Capitals, who finished 1-2-0 on a road trip through Western Canada.

The win came Saturday in Edmonton, but playing on back-to-back nights was not something Vrana would use as an excuse.

“We can’t complain about that. Every team has to play back-to-backs,” he said. “It’s just that we made some mistakes out there.”

Still trying to find their Presidents’ Trophy form from a season ago, the Capitals are back in action Thursday when they host the New York Islanders.

“That’s a huge loss for us. At least we have to take one point today, but we didn’t,” Evgeny Kuznetsov said.

Calgary took a 1-0 lead into the third before Washington tied it at 4:19 after TJ Brodie’s outlet pass hit a linesman. Moments later, Vrana fired a shot that slipped under the glove of Mike Smith.

But that was the only puck to elude Smith, who made his NHL-leading 11th start. Acquired in an offseason trade with Arizona, Smith has been the Flames’ best player all season and was excellent again against the Capitals.

Smith stopped 30 shots and improved his season save percentage to .931.

Calgary opened the scoring 2:08 into the second. Flames defenseman Brett Kulak, who had just stepped onto the ice, kept the puck in at the blue line and fired a quick shot toward the net that Ferland neatly deflected past Philipp Grubauer.

With top goalie Braden Holtby getting the night off after beating Edmonton 5-2 on Saturday, Grubauer made his fourth start and finished with 36 saves.

Grubauer’s best save kept the score 1-all in the third. He jabbed out his glove to rob Mark Giordano after he was set up by Gaudreau on a rare 4-on-1 rush.

“We gave up a lot of chances, but also we created a lot of chances. I think overall it was a decent game for us,” Grubauer said. “Things are coming together and the groove is coming together a little bit closer and closer each game and I think you see it on the ice.”

NOTES: Jaromir Jagr (lower body) is eligible to come off injured reserve and he’s back skating with the Flames, but he missed his fourth straight game. ... Sam Bennett has yet to pick up a point in Calgary’s 12 games. ... The Flames made two changes, putting Kulak and RW Curtis Lazar in the lineup. It was just the third game for Kulak. ... Washington made one personnel change from Saturday, inserting Aaron Ness on defense in place of Taylor Chorney.

UP NEXT

Capitals: Host the New York Islanders on Thursday night.

Flames: Host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night.

Tavares nets natural hat trick, Islanders top Predators 6-2

By JIM DIAMOND
Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — John Tavares had another hat trick and the Islanders finally found some power-play success.

New York’s captain scored a natural hat trick in the third period, leading the Islanders to a 6-2 victory over the Nashville Predators on Saturday night.

It was Tavares’ second hat trick in three games and the eighth of his NHL career.

“The execution was good,” Tavares said. “We played with pace. We were hard, hard on pucks and just played an up-tempo game.”

Jordan Eberle scored twice and Ryan Pulock had a goal for New York. Anders Lee, Brock Nelson and Anthony Beauvillier each had two assists to help the Islanders win for the fourth time in five games. Jaroslav Halak made 28 saves.

Filip Forsberg and Craig Smith scored for the Predators, who have lost three of four.

With the Islanders on a power play in the first period, Eberle’s shot from the left faceoff circle beat goalie Juuse Saros between the pads for his first goal of the season.

“That definitely reinforces the fact that you’ve got to get the puck to the net,” New York coach Doug Weight said. “I thought they entered well — the thing we focused on the last 24 hours.”

New York began the day with the NHL’s worst power play at 6.1 percent, scoring only two man-advantage goals in the first 10 games. The Islanders connected on three of five opportunities against the Predators.

“We worked a lot on it yesterday, some different units,” Eberle said. “It’s good that both of us got it going.”

Forsberg tied it at 3:55 of the second. Kevin Fiala drove the right side and his shot from in tight was stopped by Halak. Skating through the slot, Forsberg grabbed the rebound and drifted to the right before lifting a wrist shot under the crossbar for his eighth of the season.

“It was a roller coaster,” Forsberg said. “First period was not good enough, and then second period, we dominate. Then they score early in the third and we just shut down, it feels like. That’s not acceptable.”

The Islanders regained the lead at 9:55 of the second on a power-play goal from Pulock.

From above the right circle, Beauvillier sent a pass to Pulock in the center of the blue line, where he beat Saros with a one-timer low to the stick side.

Eberle struck again at 19:30 of the second with a wrist shot from the low slot.

“Anytime you get a two-goal cushion, it’s nice,” Eberle said.

Tavares scored his seventh of the season just 12 seconds into the third. Behind the Nashville net, Tavares disrupted a clearing attempt by Saros, with the puck going to Lee in the low slot. Lee threw the puck toward the net, where Tavares tipped it by Saros.

Tavares scored 2:40 later when he redirected Lee’s shot from the left circle. He completed the hat trick and scored New York’s third power-play goal of the night at 7:26.

Smith concluded the scoring with a power-play goal at 13:57.

Making his third start this season, Saros finished with 17 saves.

“There’s definitely things that we could have done better in front of him,” Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said. “There were some redirect goals. There were some funny bounces there in the third period that came out right on somebody’s stick and ended up knocking it home. There’s not much that he could do on those.”

NOTES: Forsberg’s eighth goal set a franchise record for the season’s first month. ... All three of Saros’ starts this season have come against Eastern Conference opponents. ... Lee has points in four straight games. ... New York RW Josh Bailey had an assist to extend his point streak to six games.

UP NEXT

Islanders: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday.

Predators: At the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday.

MacKinnon, Rantanen lead Avalanche past Blackhawks, 6-3

Associated Press

DENVER (AP) — The Colorado Avalanche limped off the ice after a rough loss in Las Vegas the previous night. Instead of sulking, they delivered a dominant performance 24 hours later.

Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen each had two goals and an assist as the Avalanche bounced back to beat the Chicago Blackhawks 6-3 on Saturday night.

Jonathan Bernier had 39 saves and Sven Andrighetto and Rocco Grimaldi had a goal and assist each for Colorado. The Avalanche didn’t let Friday’s 7-0 loss to the expansion Golden Knights linger like losses did last season, which contributed to having more defeats (56) than points (48).

“It’s big for us,” MacKinnon said. “Friday was a bit embarrassing but at the same time we have to get over last year.”

The Blackhawks have lost three in a row and are 1-4-1 in their last six games. They got goals from Ryan Hartman, Nick Schmaltz and Artem Anisimov, and Corey Crawford had seven saves in relief of Anton Forsberg.

Forsberg had 16 saves before being pulled after Colorado took a 5-0 lead on Andrighetto’s goal at 6:44 of the second.

“Obviously we didn’t get off to a great start,” Schmaltz said. “We dug ourselves a big hole and couldn’t find our way back.”

MacKinnon came into the game with one goal in the first 10 games but broke out against the reeling Blackhawks. With some prodding from his coaches, he focused on scoring goals more than trying to set up teammates.

“Ray (Bennett), our assistant coach, challenged me to be more aggressive and shoot more pucks,” he said. “I got seven shots tonight. I haven’t been passive but I need to stop looking for everybody and be a little selfish with my shooting. Being selfish is unselfish sometimes.”

His first goal of the night came on the power play and gave Colorado a 2-0 lead. His second one, 2:57 into the second period, was on an odd-man rush and a great pass from Gabriel Landeskog to make it 4-0.

He also played a big part in Rantanen’s two goals. Rantanen’s first one came on a pass by MacKinnon from behind the Chicago net that gave Colorado a 1-0 lead. His second one, with time running out in the first, came off a shot by MacKinnon that nearly went in.

“I think we had good chemistry with our line,” said Rantanen, who had three points on the eve of his 21st birthday. “We were working their (defense) down low and it was our best game 5-on-5.”

Chicago woke up after Andrighetto’s goal. Schmaltz and Anisimov scored later in the second as the Blackhawks swarmed the Avalanche. They outshot Colorado 13-7 in the second and had several chances to make it a two-goal game.

Bernier made a glove save on Hartman’s breakaway at 6:51 of the third, and Grimaldi, recalled from the AHL on Friday, tipped in Erik Johnson’s shot from the point at 8:45 for his first goal of the season.

“It certainly would have been what we were looking for,” Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said of Hartman’s chance. “We hit the post and it’s 2-0. It could of have 1-1 and they score in the dying seconds of the first. As bad as the first period was it wasn’t horrendous. Chances were 4-3.”

Hartman made it 6-3 with his fourth goal at 15:05. Chicago pulled Crawford with 3:22 left.

NOTES: Chicago D Gustav Forsling didn’t play the final two periods due to an upper-body injury. ... Johnson briefly left the game after he took a stick in the mouth from Hartman. Hartman received a four-minute minor. ... Forsberg played for Avalanche coach Jared Bednar with Springfield of the AHL in 2014-15 and won the Calder Cup with Bednar with Lake Erie in 2015-16. ... Avalanche D Nikita Zadorov was a healthy scratch for the second straight game.

UP NEXT

Blackhawks: Host the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday night.

Avalanche: Host the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night.

Allen, Upshall lead Blues to 4-1 win over Blue Jackets

By NATE LATSCH
Associated Press

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Off to a strong start this season, the St. Louis Blues are getting contributions from everyone on the roster.

The Blues received another fine effort from goalie Jake Allen and a good performance from their fourth line Saturday night in a 4-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets.

“I think we’ve been winning in different ways,” coach Mike Yeo said. “I think good teams do that. Some nights it might be defense. Some nights it might be goaltending. We’ve had special teams do it for us. We’ve had our defense score, our bottom two lines score, our top two lines obviously have gotten lots done for us. I think that’s what good teams do. You have to find different ways to win hockey games.”

Allen made 36 saves to earn his sixth win in nine starts. Scottie Upshall had a goal and two assists — his first three-point game since November 2014 — and Vladimir Sobotka, Joel Edmundson and Kyle Brodziak also scored. Dmitrij Jaskin had two assists as well.

“It was nice to chip in offensively,” Upshall said. “I like the way our line’s been used and just been relied on lately for added minutes and good offensive zone minutes. It helps our group when we can play hard like that.”

The Blues (9-2-1) earned at least one point for the sixth straight game and improved to 4-0 at home. They are the only NHL team that hasn’t lost at home this season.

“It’s not a perfect 60 minutes all the time but we’re doing the right things at the right time and making the most of it,” Allen said.

Matt Calvert scored for the Blue Jackets, and Joonas Korpisalo stopped 38 shots. The Blue Jackets (7-4) fell to 3-2 on the road.

“I felt we put in some good minutes,” coach John Tortorella said. “I thought we didn’t have a lot of puck luck, where I thought we were getting closer. Allen made some key saves — some of them I don’t even think he saw the puck. But the team that won tonight deserved to win.”

Columbus went with Korpisalo in goal over Sergei Bobrovsky, who started Friday night. Korpisalo made his third start of the season.

Sobotka scored off a rebound of Colton Parayko’s shot with 33.2 seconds remaining in the first period. The goal was Sobotka’s first of the season and second in 13 games since returning to the Blues from the KHL at the end of last season.

Upshall scored his first of the season when a shot from Joel Edmundson ricocheted off his skate at 6:31 of the second period.

Edmundson added an insurance goal, his third, 1:29 into the third period. The goal was the 13th by a Blues defenseman this season, most in franchise history through the first 12 games.

Calvert scored his third from the edge of the right circle with 13:39 left in the third after a nice crossing pass from Oliver Bjorkstrand.

Brodziak poked home a rebound with 6:37 left for his second of the season.

NOTES: The Blues recalled Ville Husso from San Antonio of the AHL to serve as the backup goaltender in Carter Hutton’s place. Hutton and his wife are expecting a child. ... The Blue Jackets’ 2-1 overtime win Friday against Winnipeg gave them a franchise-record 14 points in their first 10 games. ... The Blues were without forward Robby Fabbri (left knee, out for season), D Jay Bouwmeester (left ankle), forward Zach Sanford (left shoulder) and forward Patrik Berglund (left shoulder).

UP NEXT

Blue Jackets: Host the Boston Bruins on Monday.

Blues: Host the Los Angeles Kings on Monday.

Danault has 2 goals, 2 assists as Canadiens beat Rangers 5-4

Associated Press

MONTREAL (AP) — After giving up a three-goal lead, the last-place Montreal Canadiens showed enough composure to recover and get their third win of the season.

Philip Danault scored his second goal of the game midway through the third period to lead the Canadiens to 5-4 victory over the struggling New York Rangers 5-4 on Saturday night.

Paul Byron, Alex Galchenyuk and Max Pacioretty also scored for the Canadiens, and Danault also had two assists for his first career four-point game. Carey Price made 22 saves in the final game of Montreal’s three-game homestand.

Montreal led 3-0 in the first period and 4-2 in the second before the Rangers tied it with two goals in the first seven minutes of the third.

“Losing was not an option,” Canadiens coach Claude Julien said. “We have to change our approach. We started well but we let them get back in the game. We need to take responsibility for that. But at the end of the day we found a way to win.”

Price improved to 16-6-1 all-time against the Rangers in the regular season, winning 12 of his last 14 games against them.

Pavel Buchnevich, Rick Nash, Mika Zibanejad and Brady Skjei scored for the Rangers in just their third road game in 12 games this season. Ondrej Pavelec stopped 38 shots.

Zibanejad made it 4-3 to start the third period as he capitalized on poor defensive coverage from Tomas Plekanec.

Skjei completed the comeback for New York when his shot from the point went off Plekanec’s backside and in at 7:00 of the third.

Danault regained Montreal’s lead at 9:37 when he went five-hole on Pavelec.

“Obviously a good game from everybody,” said Danault. “A lot of emotion in the building. We responded well from last game. It was one of our best games. We were hungry. We worked for our bounces. We worked hard, more than them.”

The Rangers beat the defending Atlantic Division champion Canadiens in six games in the first round of the playoffs in April. This season each team has just three wins.

Pavelec, backup to Henrik Lundqvist, made his second start for New York after leading his team to a win Thursday against Arizona. Pavelec is now winless in Montreal in his last eight appearances.

Montreal outshot New York 43-26.

“Look at that shot margin,” Montreal’s Brendan Gallagher said. “When we compete and win battles and when we hound teams like that, we know we’re a tough team to play against. We did a good job of that. Obviously we’re not happy we let them back in it but we were able to stick with it.”

The Canadiens blew a 3-0 lead after the first period but still earned two points when Danault broke a 4-4 deadlock at 9:37 of the third went he went five-hole on Pavelec.

With a delayed penalty coming to the Rangers, Montreal went up 1-0 in the first when Jonathan Drouin found Byron alone in the slot at 7:51 for his third of the season.

Galchenyuk doubled the lead at 11:09. Gallagher fed Galchenyuk with a cross-crease pass for his third power-play marker of the year.

Danault scored two minutes later as the Canadiens went up 3-0. Danault cashed in a rebound after Andrew Shaw fired the puck on Pavelec on a 2-on-1. Montreal outshot New York 19-2 in the period.

“You can’t win in the NHL by playing 40 minutes,” Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. “Our first period, there was no compete. Montreal came out hard and we put ourselves behind the hole. You can’t win that way.”

The Rangers came out with more energy in the second period as Buchnevich got a goal back at 2:21 from the point on the power play. Price never saw the puck with the big-bodied Nash in the way.

Midway through the period, Nash scored on a wraparound with Price out of position.

Pacioretty’s goal with 5:22 remaining in the middle period restored Montreal’s two-goal lead. The Canadiens’ captain put the puck between Pavelec’s pads after the goalie made the initial stop on Shea Weber.

NOTES: The Canadiens have had at least 30 shots on net in every game this year. ... Montreal lost 2-0 to New York earlier this season.

UP NEXT

Rangers: Host Vegas on Tuesday night.

Canadiens: At Ottawa on Monday night.

Kuznetsov scores twice, Capitals come back to top Oilers 5-2

Associated Press

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals didn’t let an early deficit rattle them Saturday night.

Evgeny Kuznetsov scored twice and Ovechkin added three assists as the Capitals roared back from two goals down to earn a 5-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers.

“We knew we could bounce back,” Ovechkin said.

Devante Smith-Pelly, Lars Eller and Jay Beagle also scored for the Capitals, who had lost four of five. Braden Holtby made 38 saves.

“If we play like we did those last two periods, we’re going to win a lot more games than we lose,” Smith-Pelly said.

Patrick Maroon and Adam Larsson had the goals for the Oilers, who have lost three of four.

“There’s a lot of points that have gone by,” frustrated coach Todd McLellan said.

“You never get them back. They have the same value now as they do at the end of the year. It’s tough not only falling behind in the game, but it’s tough falling behind in the season, so we have a lot, a lot of work ahead of us and we’re going to have to play better than we have. It’s as simple as that,” he added.

The Oilers took the lead 12 minutes into the first period when Maroon followed up on Connor McDavid’s shot for his fourth goal of the season.

Edmonton made it 2-0 with two minutes left in the period as some sustained pressure led to Larsson getting some open ice and sending a shot into the top corner past Holtby.

The Capitals got one back with 18 seconds to go in the first when an Edmonton breakdown led to an odd-man rush. Smith-Pelly finished the play by firing the puck past goalie Cam Talbot, who stopped 26 shots.

Midway through the second, with a delayed penalty coming to Edmonton, Washington tied it on a bullet of a one-timer from Eller.

The Capitals took a 3-2 lead 30 seconds into the third as Ovechkin picked up his third assist of the game by feathering a pass toward the net that was deftly tipped in by Kuznetsov.

Washington got some insurance with four minutes left when Kuznetsov put on a one-man show, fighting off a defender and then hooking back to tuck the puck past Talbot at the side of the net for his second of the game.

“It’s nice to see guys smiling after games,” Kuznetsov said. “We feel like we played well starting from the first period, (but) we just gave up some goals. But then we scored that goal late in the first and that was huge for us. After that, you could see we had a lot of energy, a lot of power and it’s just so nice to get those two points.”

Beagle sealed it with an empty-netter.

“We don’t have enough players playing at their capabilities, or at least what we believe their capabilities are, to consistently win,” McLellan said.

NOTES: It was the first of two meetings between the teams this season. ... Oilers forward Jussi Jokinen played his 900th regular-season game. ... Anthony Peluso played his first game this season for Washington after being recalled from Hershey of the AHL on Friday.

UP NEXT

Capitals: Back at it Sunday in Calgary.

Oilers: Off until Wednesday, when they host the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins.

Dansk wins again, Vegas 8-1-0 after thumping Avs 7-0

By W.G. RAMIREZ
Associated Press

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Golden Knights hoped to give Las Vegas a reason to cheer when they opened their first ever homestand days after a mass shooting jarred the city.

Consider this a jackpot for Las Vegas’ first major professional sports franchise.

Oscar Dansk got his third win in his third career game, and Vegas beat the Colorado Avalanche 7-0 Friday night to extend the best start ever by an NHL expansion team.

The Golden Knights won six of seven during their first string of home games. Their Oct. 10 home opener came nine days after 58 people were killed and nearly 550 were injured when authorities say Stephen Paddock rained gunfire from the windows of a 32nd-floor hotel suite into a crowd of country music concertgoers.

Vegas coach Gerard Gallant said the team talked a lot about doing its part to keep “Vegas Strong” — the mantra adopted by the city in the aftermath of the shooting.

“It definitely had a big impact,” Gallant said. “It was a tragic night and our players really responded to it. They went out and they supported the city of Las Vegas and they did the best they can. When you come to the rink at that time, that first game, that meant a lot to see that ceremony. It meant a lot to them. It just carried over to our team.”

The Golden Knights improved to 8-1-0. They’ve won five straight, matching the longest winning streak ever by a team in its inaugural season, joining the New York Rangers (1926-27) and Edmonton Oilers (1979-80), according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Dansk stopped 32 shots in his second career start. The 23-year-old has been thrust into action after injuries to starter Marc-Andre Fleury and backup Malcolm Subban and has allowed three goals on 74 shots — a .960 save percentage.

“I’ve just been trying to work in practice and keep up with the pace with the guys,” Dansk said. “Goalie coach Dave (Prior) has been on me quite a bit, keeping me strict with everything, all the details. It’s been unexpected, but a lot of fun.”

James Neal got his seventh goal, and David Perron, Oscar Lindberg, Cody Eakin, Jonathan Marchessault, Erik Haula and William carrier also scored. Nate Schmidt had two assists.

Semyon Varlamov allowed all seven goals on 21 shots.

“We’ve been through tough losses,” Avs captain Gabriel Landeskog said. “We’re a different team this year. We’re going to bounce back tomorrow.”

As the Golden Knights tacked on each goal, Dansk said his confidence grew.

“It gives you breathing room, because hockey is such a tight game,” Dansk said. “I just try not to worry about it too much. I just try to stay focused in my own thoughts and keep focusing on my next save.”

After a scoreless first period, Colorado outshot Vegas 10-1 during the first eight minutes of the second. The Golden Knights then scored four goals over the final 11:10 of the period.

Perron began the barrage after intercepting Nail Yakupov’s pass and using a nifty deke to backhand the puck over Varlamov’s stick.

Three minutes after Perron scored, Lindberg made it 2-0 when he stole the puck in the neutral zone, beat three Avalanche defenders and then bested Varlamov.

Eakin notched his first goal of the season after Neal drilled a pass off the end boards. Neal later tipped in Collin Miller’s wrist shot from the right point, extending Vegas’ lead to 4-0.

In just his second game off the injured reserve list, Marchessault poked home a loose puck five minutes into the third to make it 5-0. In his first game off IR, Haula smacked a one-timer from Marchessault for a power-play goal to make it 6-0.

Carrier took a pass from Brad Hunt and went stick side past Varlamov to finish the scoring.

NOTES: The Golden Knights will play eight of their next nine games — and 14 of their next 20 — on the road. ... After a 4-1-0 start, the Avalanche are in a 1-4-0 skid. ... Colorado played 11 back-to-back games last year, finishing 4-7 on the back end. It is now 0-2-0 in the second game of the first two of the 11 it will play this season. ... Colorado defenseman Tyson Barrie had a six-game point streak snapped.

UP NEXT

Colorado: Hosts the Blackhawks on Saturday night.

Vegas: Plays the Islanders in Brooklyn on Monday night.