Perron's OT goal vs. Jets gives Golden Knights 34th win

Associated Press

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) -- The Vegas Golden Knights have already made some NHL history. They're far from finished with what they want to accomplish this season.

David Perron scored 3:57 into overtime to lead Vegas past the Winnipeg Jets 3-2 on Thursday night for the Golden Knights' 34th victory, the most by an NHL expansion team in its debut season. They surpassed the mark set by both Florida and Anaheim in the 1993-94 season.

"It doesn't mean a whole lot right now, to be honest with you," said Gerard Gallant, who has coached his team to a Western Conference-leading 34-12-4 record, one point back of league-best Tampa Bay.

The Jets had the puck rolling in the crease three times in the extra period, but it couldn't get it into the net. Perron then fired a high shot past Connor Hellebuyck to win it.

"We're just trying to battle and get two points again every night and that's what we're trying to do," Gallant said. "But you know, at the end of the season we'll look at it and be happy, I'm sure."

Winnipeg's Kyle Connor had tied it with a high shot to Marc-Andre Fleury's glove side with 2:36 left in the third period. Joel Armia also had a goal and one assist for Winnipeg.

Hellebuyck made 28 saves for the Jets (30-13-9), who were trying to set a franchise record with their eighth straight home win.

Fleury stopped 24 shots for Vegas (34-12-4). It was his 389th win, putting him into a tie for 13th among NHL goaltenders.

"That's (Fleury) for you right there. He loves those kinds of moments," Perron said of the overtime scrambles. "I don't know how the puck stayed out, but he found a way to keep it out."

Reilly Smith had a short-handed goal and Erik Haula scored a controversial goal on the power play for Vegas.

Haula's go-ahead goal came with 1:30 left in the second period. Golden Knights forward James Neal was in front of Winnipeg's net and broke his stick with a swing to Hellebuyck's mask. The puck was under the netminder and Haula reached in his stick from the other side of the crease and knocked it in.

The Bell MTS Place crowd started screaming and Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice challenged for goaltender interference, but a review upheld the goal. The NHL Situation Room released an explanation stating no infraction had occurred.

"What (the official) said is the puck wasn't covered, it was laying in the crease, so the guy was allowed to take a two-hand smack to my face," Hellebuyck said. "I don't understand it. I think it's a terrible call. You would think the video replay is there for that reason."

It had Jets captain Blake Wheeler frustrated, too.

"The explanation was that the puck was behind the goalie, which gives their player the right to break his stick over (Hellebuyck's) head," Wheeler said. "There's been an outcry with the league to get this right. We were told before the game that it was going to be a little bit cleaner, they were going to be looking for goalie interference. It's the first time I've seen a guy break a stick over a goalie's head."

Maurice also questioned the explanation.

"I don't know how there would be an event that would be more egregious with goaltender interference, just beyond the spirit of the rule," Maurice said. "The idea that a guy could clean a goalie out would be goalie interference, but a two-hand to the head wouldn't. What are we going to do with our goalies now? The puck's loose in the crease, so swing away?"

Winnipeg led 1-0 after the first period, thanks to a gaffe by Fleury. The veteran goalie went behind the net to get the puck, but the Jets' Matt Hendricks stole it and passed it out to Armia, who was in front of the empty net to score his 10th of the season.

Winnipeg got its second power play of the game midway through the second, but the visitors' pressuring penalty kill led to Smith's tying goal. Smith stole the puck from Jets captain Blake Wheeler inside Winnipeg's blue line and beat Hellebuyck with a high shot on the breakaway at 12:10.

Haula's goal came during the visitors' first power play of the game. The goal extended Haula's point streak to seven games, with four goals and five assists.

Connor scored his 17th goal with 2:36 on a pass from the boards by Armia.

NOTES: Perron also had an assist for Vegas, giving him a seven-game point streak with four goals and six helpers. ... Vegas outshot the Jets 27-25 going into overtime.

UP NEXT

Golden Knights: play their third game of a six-game road trip Friday in Minnesota

Jets: continue their 10-game homestand with the third game Saturday against Colorado.

Karlsson scores in OT to end Senators' skid at 6 games

Associated Press

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) -- Erik Karlsson scored in overtime in his 600th NHL game, and still the Ottawa Senators had to contend with bad news at the end of Thursday night.

Karlsson scored 32 seconds into overtime to lift Ottawa over the Anaheim Ducks 2-1 and snap a six-game skid, but the Senators may be without Bobby Ryan for a stretch after he re-aggravated a hand injury.

Ryan scored early in the third period for Ottawa but left the game shortly after as he once again took a puck to the hand, re-aggravating an ongoing injury to his fingers.

"It's not broken, it's the same thing and it flares up again," Senators coach Guy Boucher said. "That might be a reflection of what's happened all year is that we get something positive and then we have to live with something that's not necessarily what we want."

Karlsson one-timed a pass from Matt Duchene on a power play, beating Ryan Miller with a shot inside the near post.

"I'm very fortunate to play as many games as I have and I'm very lucky in that aspect and hopefully I have 600 more," Karlsson said. "First and foremost the win was the best thing. That's what we were after and it's nice to see that we got it."

Mike Condon stopped 30 shots in his best game this season.

Ryan Kesler tied it with 54 seconds left in regulation after Anaheim pulled Miller for an extra attacker. Miller made 30 saves, but Anaheim ended a three-game winning streak.

The Ducks are vying a wild card spot in the competitive Western Conference and can't afford to lose any ground, making the overtime point that much more important.

"It was a weird game," Kesler said. "It was tough to get some calls there and not get calls on the other side to flip things. We're going to learn from our mistakes, but it was key we got a point and every point is huge right now. Our conference is so tight so we've got to fight for points on this road trip."

Each team already had a player in the penalty box when Anaheim's Jakob Silfverberg took a tripping penalty early in the third period. Ottawa scored on the 4-on-3 when Ryan tipped Mike Hoffman's shot.

Miller was pulled with just over two minutes left in regulation time. Condon made a spectacular save on Kesler, but the forward got a second chance shortly after that and redirected shot by Rickard Rackell.

NOTES: Ottawa C Colin White and D Fredrik Claesson were healthy scratches. D Johnny Oduya (lower body) returned to the lineup after missing the last four games, while Nate Thompson also made his return from a lower-body injury that kept him out of the last five games. ... Magnus Paajarvi, acquired off waivers, made his home debut for the Senators.

UP NEXT

Ducks: Plat at Montreal on Saturday.

Senators: Play at Philadelphia on Saturday.

Ward, Hurricanes beat Canadiens 2-0 for 3rd straight win

By JOEDY McCREARY
AP Sports Writer

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- Cam Ward has beaten the Montreal Canadiens plenty of times during his long career - but until now, never in a shutout.

Ward stopped 27 shots in his second shutout of the season, and the Carolina Hurricanes beat Montreal 2-0 on Thursday night.

Brett Pesce and Brock McGinn scored to help the Hurricanes win their third straight, sweep the season series from Montreal and keep themselves in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race. Carolina entered two points out of a playoff spot and has opened an eight-game homestand with consecutive victories.

"It's crunch time. All you've got to do is look at the standings, and we've kind of preached that this is our playoffs," Ward said. "We've got a lot of games here at home, you want to kind of build some momentum, get some fans into the building and reward them with some wins."

Carey Price made 28 saves for the Canadiens, who have lost three in a row and fell to 2-5-2 in their last nine games.

"You don't like losing, and it is frustrating, but I think there was an effort there tonight," coach Claude Julien said. "But I'd like to see desperation add to that effort, because that's what we need to turn things around."

McGinn made it a two-goal game with 5:09 remaining, taking a smooth pass from Justin Williams and slipping the puck past Price.

That gave Ward some breathing room, and he finished with the 27th shutout of his 13-year career - but his first in 36 games against the Canadiens while improving his lifetime record against them to 20-12-4. He previously blanked defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh 4-0 on Jan. 4.

"The best player on the ice, by far," Pesce said.

Ward outdueled Price for the third time this season. The teams' final meeting of the season bore little resemblance to their last one a week earlier - a wild 6-5 win by Carolina in Montreal.

"It needed to be a reverse" of that one, Ward said. "Carey Price is a world-class goaltender. You knew he was going to bounce back and be tough to beat."

Both teams entered as two of the league's leaders in shots: The Hurricanes rank fourth in the NHL with an average of 34.3 shots, while the Canadiens are two spots behind at 33.8 shots per game.

"They came with a push," Pesce said, "and I thought we weathered it as best as we could."

Pesce came through with all the offense the Hurricanes needed at 2:43 of the second, when he blasted a slap shot from the point that got past Price. It came seconds after he whiffed on a shot attempt from just inside the blue line.

"You make a little mistake," Julien said, "and it's in the back of our net right now."

NOTES: Montreal LW Paul Byron was back in the lineup two nights after leaving the Canadiens' loss to St. Louis following a fall into the boards. ... Pesce's goal was his first since Jan. 14, 2017 - a span of 81 games. ... Montreal assistant Kirk Muller spent three seasons as Carolina's head coach.

UP NEXT

Canadiens: Return home to take on Anaheim on Saturday.

Hurricanes: Play host to Detroit on Friday night.

McElhinney stops 25 shots, Maple Leafs beat Rangers 4-0

By VIN A. CHERWOO
AP Sports Writer

NEW YORK (AP) -- Curtis McElhinney is getting more comfortable as his career progresses, and it's been showing on the ice.

The veteran backup stopped 25 shots for his second shutout of the season and seventh of his career as the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the New York Rangers 4-0 on Thursday night.

"I just feel like I'm getting better and better," said the 34-year-old McElhinney, who is in his second season with Toronto after spending the previous four with Columbus. "I feel certainly more comfortable about my game than where I did five years ago."

McElhinney is now 5-4-0 in nine starts this season and lowered his goals-against average to 2.25 - the lowest of his career in a season while making more than one start.

James van Riemsdyk, Patrick Marleau, Zach Hyman and Justin Holl scored for the Maple Leafs in their second straight shutout and fourth straight win. Toronto also completed a sweep of the three-game season series with the Rangers.

It came one night after Frederik Andersen had 25 saves in a 5-0 win at home against the Islanders, giving Toronto back-to-back shutouts for the second time this season. The Maple Leafs extended their shutout streak to 142 minutes, 17 seconds since Dallas' Tyler Seguin scored late in the second period of Toronto's 4-1 win last Thursday.

"We did a great job in front of the net," McElhinney said. "The biggest takeaway from the game tonight and even the last one was smart decisions with the puck at the blue line."

Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock likes how his team has played lately, improving to 7-2-3 in their last 12 and sitting three points behind second-place Boston in the Atlantic Division.

"We think we're getting better," he said. "We think we have a chance to be quite a bit better so we're just a work in progress. ... We're deeper than we've been, we have four lines."

Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist was pulled early in the second period after giving up four goals on 13 shots. Ondrej Pavelec came on and stopped all 19 shots he faced. New York, shut out for just the second time this season, has lost eight of its last 12.

The Rangers were playing for the first time since winning at San Jose last Thursday in their last game before the All-Star break, but coach Alain Vigneault didn't want to use the layoff as an excuse.

"We had two really good practices prior to this, so we should have been better than this," he said.

McElhinney had two nice saves on Rick Nash about six minutes into the third, first on a shot from the right circle and then a tip attempt in close six seconds later. McElhinney also denied Jimmy Vesey in front midway through the period.

Toronto built a 2-0 lead in the first period and then quickly adding to it in the second.

Marleau scored 52 seconds into the middle period off a rebound of a shot by Nazem Kadri for his 17th.

Hyman took a pass from William Nylander, skated in on Lundqvist and went forehand to backhand before putting it in from the left side for his 10th at 3:05 to make it 4-0 and chase Lundqvist.

Holl got Toronto on the board 8:42 into the game as his shot from the right side beyond the faceoff circle beat Lundqvist, who was being screened by Hyman, and rang off the left post and in. It was the defenseman's second career goal - and second in two nights after being called up from Toronto of the AHL for his NHL debut Wednesday.

The Maple Leafs made it 2-0 when van Riemsdyk put a backhand past Lundqvist for his 20th with 4:37 left.

NOTES: Toronto also had consecutive shutouts at New Jersey on Nov. 18 and against Montreal on Nov. 18. ... The Maple Leafs were without D Ron Hainsey (illness) for the second straight game. LW Matt Martin was a healthy scratch for the fourth straight game. ... Rangers F Chris Kreider missed his 14th straight game due to a blood clot in his right arm and ensuing rib surgery to alleviate it. D Kevin Shattenkirk is also out while recovering from knee surgery. ... New York F Pavel Buchnevich left the game after a collision with Toronto's Jake Gardiner about halfway through the second period and did not return.

UP NEXT

Maple Leafs: At Boston on Saturday night to close a two-game trip before a five-game homestand.

Rangers: At Nashville on Saturday night to open a two-game trip.

Hischier's late goal lifts Devils over Flyers 4-3

By TOM CANAVAN
AP Sports Writer

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -- The All-Star break has done wonders for the New Jersey Devils. They are winning again, and they have gotten the Philadelphia Flyers off their back in the playoff hunt, for now.

No. 1 overall draft pick Nico Hischier scored on a deflection with 1:27 to play, capping the Devils' rally to beat the Flyers 4-3 on Thursday night.

"We know it's a really important game, a four-point game," Hischier said after the Devils won their second straight after the break. "We knew they were right behind us. We had a really good start but it was up and down. At the end we won, and it feels good, but we've got to keep going."

The win was New Jersey's fourth in 14 games (4-7-3) since Dec. 29, and this was big. Had the Flyers held on, they would have tied the Devils with 58 points.

New Jersey, which is now four points ahead with a game in hand, came into the period down 3-2.

Damon Severson tied the hard-fought contest with 9:00 left, and Hischier's first goal in 11 games spoiled goaltender Alex Lyon's first NHL start.

"We had a little bit of a tough second period and it was a little bit dicey at times but we were able to find a way to stay in the game the whole night," Severson said.

Kyle Palmieri and Drew Stafford also scored for the Devils, while Keith Kinkaid made 22 saves.

Claude Giroux, Wayne Simmonds and Shayne Gostisbehere scored for the Flyers, who were looking for their third win over the Devils in less than a month. Lyon made 18 saves a night after making his NHL debut in relief of Michal Neuvirth, and Philadelphia lost its second in two nights. It also marked the first time the Flyers have lost three straight in regulation.

Blake Coleman set up the winner on a rush. His pass toward the net was re-directed by Hischier between Lyon's pads, just barely getting through and crossing the goal line.

"The guy put it to the net and I thought I was in really good position, but I just opened up a little bit and things happened fast enough in this league where you are going to pay for that," Lyon said. "I learned the hard way. I am just going to try to learn from my mistakes and be sharper next time."

Pavel Zacha set up Severson's tying goal after the Devils won a battle for the puck behind the net.

Gostisbehere gave the Flyers a 3-2 lead 7:01 into the second period with a shot from the left circle that hit off Kinkaid's side and the goalpost before trickling into the net. The puck got to the Flyers defenseman after a cross-ice pass hit off Severson's skate.

"I feel bad for Alex, we kind of let him down there," Gostisbehere said. "It's about getting back on the horse. There is a lot of hockey left. We have to get some wins here."

With both teams right on the playoff bubble in the Eastern Conference heading into the final two-plus months of the regular season, this game was intense. There were two fights in the first period and several scrums, resulting in power plays that led to all four first-period goals.

Palmieri put the Devils ahead 1-0, beating Lyon from the right circle with a shot over the goaltender's shoulder.

Giroux tied it a little more than three minutes later with a shot into an open net with the Flyers enjoying a two-man advantage.

Stafford gave New Jersey 2-1 lead at 13:49, deflecting a shot by John Moore past Lyon. Simmonds scored on a rebound at 15:46 to tie the score at 2-all.

NOTES: Seven of Palmieri's 10 goals have been on the power play. ... Giroux's goal was the Flyers' second this season with a two-man advantage. ... Flyers F Travis Konecny had his five-game goal-scoring streak snapped. .... Philadelphia D Radko Gudas angered the Devils by jumping into Palmieri after a rush into the offensive zone. Travis Zajac got into a fight with Gudas minutes later, but all it did was give Philadelphia the power play on which Simmonds got his 17th goal.

UP NEXT

Flyers: Host Ottawa on Saturday night.

Devils: Host Pittsburgh on Saturday night.

Yandle has goal, 2 assists in Panthers' 4-2 win over Sabres

By JOHN WAWROW
AP Hockey Writer

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) -- Keith Yandle and the Florida Panthers took advantage of the undisciplined Buffalo Sabres in the first period. And then the Panthers stood their ground once things got chippy in the final two minutes.

Yandle scored a goal and had two assists, and Harri Sateri stopped the final 19 shots he faced - and 30 overall - in a 4-2 victory in a game that finished with officials issuing four major penalties - three to Sabres players - on Thursday night.

"Yeah, that was one of those games that got out of hand a little bit with some cheap stuff," Yandle said. "But the big thing is finding a way to win, and we did a good job of that."

The Panthers scored three times - including two power-play goals - in a span of 7 minutes, 5 seconds to build a 3-1 lead in the first period. Then emotions began flaring once Colton Sceviour sealed the win by sneaking in a backhand shot with 2:24 remaining in the third.

The most serious scuffle involved Buffalo forward Johann Larsson, who was issued a 10-minute match penalty and 5-minute major for cross-checking Vincent Trocheck across the face with 35 seconds left. Larsson's hit came after Trocheck slashed Buffalo defenseman Jake McCabe at the Florida blue line.

Some 90 seconds earlier, Sabres forward Evander Kane was issued a major penalty for interference for his blindside hit on Aleksander Barkov just inside Buffalo's blue line. Barkov had just released a pass and was pushed back by a hit from Buffalo's Marco Scandella, before being immediately bowled over by Kane, who was following the play.

Kane was then confronted by Florida's Nick Bjugstad with the two exchanging punches in the corner.

Yandle took exception to Kane's hit, accusing the forward of "kind of running around and being stupid."

Kane defended himself by saying he couldn't have avoided Barkov, who was already falling backward.

"I didn't really see them," Kane said.

Larsson said he doesn't believe he did anything to justify the match penalty, even though replays showed him striking Trocheck in the face.

"The guy came right at me and I pushed him a little bit," Larsson said, who faces a one-game misconduct pending an NHL review on Friday.

Trocheck was not penalized for his slash on McCabe. McCabe was issued a 5-minute fighting major, as was Panthers defenseman Alexander Petrovic. Florida forward Micheal Haley then picked up a 10-minute misconduct for sparking a scuffle in front of the Buffalo net with 3 seconds left.

Mike Matheson and Denis Malgin also scored for the Panthers, who won consecutive games for the first time since winning five in a row from Dec. 19-30. Sateri, a 28-year-old NHL rookie, won his second career game with starter Roberto Luongo and backup James Reimer both sidelined with lower-body injuries.

Ryan O'Reilly and Zemgus Girgensons scored, and Chad Johnson stopped 28 shots for a Sabres team that continues to struggle at home. Buffalo ranks last in the Eastern Conference standings and dropped to 6-14-3 at home after entering the day tied with Arizona with the NHL's fewest home wins.

The Sabres blamed themselves for four penalties that led to two of Florida's three first-period goals. That included Yandle tying the game by scoring during a two-man advantage at the 11:06 mark by one-timing in Barkov's feed into the right circle.

Missed scoring chances didn't help Buffalo either.

Kane, O'Reilly and Kyle Okposo all had shots that missed the net from in close.

"We've got to hit the net. We've got to bear down on our chances," Okposo said. "It's frustrating when you don't win at home."

Panthers coach Bob Boughner was relieved to escape with a victory and come out of the NHL All-Star break with two wins following a 4-1 victory at the New York Islanders on Tuesday,

"Our ice was slanted in the second half of the game, and I think our brains turned off a little bit," Boughner said. "It probably wasn't one of our prettier wins of the year, but I guess I can't be picky."

NOTES: Reimer took part in the team's morning skate, but missed his third consecutive game with a lower-body injury. ... Sabres C Jacob Josefson returned after missing seven games with a lower body injury. ... Barkov played in his 300th career game.

UP NEXT

Panthers: open three-game homestand against Detroit on Saturday.

Sabres: continue five-game homestand against St. Louis on Saturday.

Rask makes 32 saves, leads Bruins over Blues 3-1

By MARK ALTMAN
Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) -- Tuukka Rask was again up to the task for the Bruins.

Rask made 32 saves and extended his personal point streak to 19 games lifting Boston to a 3-1 win over the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night.

"Any team will play better when you know the goaltender has your back," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. "We got sick of losing."

Rask is 17-0-2 in his last 19 starts and the Bruins improved to 15-1-4 in their last 20 games overall. David Krejci, Patrice Bergeron and David Backes scored for Boston.

In a game featuring two of the top three teams in goals against average, the goalies were the story as Jake Allen made 22 of his 43 saves in the second period - including a spectacular glove stop of Krejci. Rask matched Allen by robbing Jaden Schwartz 1:45 into the third period with a glove save of his own.

"When I came off the ice, I started to feel bad for Jake, but then I was happy for him," Blues coach Mike Yeo said. "He rose to the occasion and if he continues to play like that, the game will reward him."

With the goalie pulled, Schwartz gave the Bruins a scare when he extended his scoring streak to five games and cut the lead to 2-1 with 1:32 remaining.

Backes scored an empty-netter against his old team with 1 second left to end it.

"Felt like I was on the cusp a few times tonight and my eyes were getting larger as I tried to beat the clock," Backes said. "Most complete game I feel we have played."

Krejci's goal was a controversial one at 12:32 of the first. He slipped the puck past a distracted Allen, who had collided with two Bruins players after making the initial save on Ryan Spooner. The Blues challenged by claiming goaltender interference, but the goal was upheld.

"You never know the way those challenges are going to go," Bruins defenseman Torey Krug said.

Bergeron added an insurance goal on the power play when he one-timed David Pastrnak's pass to beat Allen over the shoulder for a 2-0 Bruins lead at 9:05 of the third.

The Blues had previously won three straight and five of six.

NOTES: Kevan Miller left in the second period with an upper-body injury. ... Spooner had two assists for the Bruins. ... Boston scored first for the first time in nine games. ... Allen was undefeated in four career starts against Boston and started for the first time in seven games. ... Brad Marchand served the third game of his five-game suspension. ... St. Louis is 3-5-1 in its last nine road games.

UP NEXT

Blues: at Buffalo on Saturday.

Bruins: host Tampa Bay on Saturday.