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  • Marchenko’s OT goal lifts Blue Jackets over Senators 4-3

    Marchenko’s OT goal lifts Blue Jackets over Senators 4-3

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    COLUMBUS, Ohio — Kirill Marchenko scored 16 seconds into overtime to rally the Columbus Blue Jackets past the Ottawa Senators 4-3 on Sunday night to end a four-game losing streak and move out of the NHL basement.

    Kent Johnson, Eric Robinson and Boone Jenner also scored for Columbus, Johnny Gaudreau had two assists and Marchenko added an assist. Jon Gillies stopped 24 shots in his Blue Jackets debut — and first game this season — for his first win since Feb. 10, 2022.

    “He was solid,” Blue Jackets coach Brad Larsen said of Gillies. “I think we played well in front of him. We got a few breaks there on some breakdowns where they missed the net or we got a stick on our block, which was huge in those moments. But he settled in and he got the job done.”

    Marchenko’s winner was his 21st goal of the season and set a franchise rookie record. He’s tied with Dallas’ Wyatt Johnston and Seattle’s Matty Beniers for the NHL lead among rookies.

    “It’s a first for me, the first goal in overtime,” Marchenko said. “It’s a great feeling. I really like it. I want to score more, of course, but it’s a really good feeling.”

    Columbus tied Anaheim for the second-fewest points in the NHL with 56. Chicago is last with 54.

    Dylan Gambrell, Mark Kastelic and Alex DeBrincat scored for the Senators, who have lost two straight. Cam Talbot stopped 18 shots for Ottawa, whose playoff hopes are slipping away as the Senators sit six points behind Pittsburgh for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

    “I think we had good moments,” Kastelic said. “I think every guy in that room takes a lot of pride in battling. It’s just one of those games where you wish you did a little bit more. An unfortunate ending.”

    Columbus and Ottawa traded goals through the first 10 minutes of the first period, with Johnson scoring on the power play at 2:41 on the Blue Jackets’ first shot, followed by Gambrell’s wrister at the 4-minute mark.

    Robinson put Columbus back in front 5 seconds later on the Blue Jackets second shot of the game before Kastelic tied it again. DeBrincat put Ottawa ahead with five minutes left in the period.

    Neither team scored again until Jenner pulled Columbus even at 14:11 of the third with his team-leading 26th of the season.

    “We had a few too many guys that weren’t ready to play,” Senators coach D.J. Smith said. “In a game like this when your season’s on the line, you have to have them going on a back-to-back.”

    SWEET 16

    Kent Johnson’s goal was his 16th of the season, putting him fourth among NHL rookie scorers. Columbus is first in the NHL in goals among rookies with 51, a franchise record.

    HELPING HAND

    Justin Richards’ assist on Robinson’s goal was his first point with the Blue Jackets and gave him two helpers in his first three NHL games. … Billy Sweezy got his first NHL point with his assist on Jenner’s goal.

    HOME SICK

    The Senators recalled goalie Leevi Merilainen from AHL Belleville after Mads Sogaard did not travel to Columbus because of an illness.

    SPEEDY SHOT

    Marchenko tied Jakub Voracek for the second-fastest tally to begin an overtime period in Blue Jackets history. Seth Jones holds the record at 10 seconds.

    UP NEXT

    Senators: Visit Carolina on Tuesday night.

    Blue Jackets: Visit Toronto on Tuesday night.

    —

    AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://www.twitter.com/AP_Sports

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  • Draisaitl scores 3, Oilers beat Ducks 6-0, get playoff berth

    Draisaitl scores 3, Oilers beat Ducks 6-0, get playoff berth

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    EDMONTON, Alberta — Leon Draisaitl scored three goals to reach 50 for the season, Connor McDavid had a goal and an assist and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Anaheim Ducks 6-0 on Saturday night to clinch their fourth straight playoff berth.

    Zach Hyman also had a goal and an assist, and Darnell Nurse also scored, and Mattias Ekholm had two assists to help Edmonton win its fourth straight and earn at least a point for the 10th straight game (9-0-1).

    “It was a good night. There were lots of great plays by the guys around me, looking for me. I am proud and very fortunate to have done it,” said Draisaitl, who scored his third goal short-handed to become just the 12th player in NHL history to have three seasons with 50 goals and 50 assists.

    “I was probably being a little too selfish in the third, I was shooting it from everywhere. I think that is all right. Usually, I tend to overpass it so for once in my life it is OK. There were some great plays. I didn’t think it was going to happen on the kill, but I will take it.”

    Jack Campbell stopped 36 shots for his 10th career shutout — first since last April 26 against Detroit.

    “I thought that Soup (Campbell) made some really big saves, especially early in the first,” McDavid said. “I thought we were a little bit sloppy at the beginning of the game, but he was solid and gave us a chance to get our feet under us.

    “I am really, really happy for him. Obviously it has been an up-and-down year for him and he has battled so hard, so to be rewarded, the boys love that.”

    The Oilers, who beat Los Angeles 2-0 on Thursday night, got their second straight shutout after not having one for the first 75 games of the season.

    John Gibson was pulled in the third period after giving up five goals on 36 shots for Anaheim, which has lost seven straight and nine of 10 (1-8-1). Lukas Dostal came on and finished with eight saves.

    “Edmonton has a top-notch explosive team,” Ducks coach Dallas Eakins said. “I thought we had a really good first period, maybe one of our best periods of the year. But I think the discrepancy is finish on the two teams, they’re loaded with guys that can finish and we’re challenged with it.

    “I think the differential of shots was four, they had 36 we had 32, we just couldn’t get anything past their goaltender tonight.”

    Ryan Strome had Campbell cleanly beat 3 1/2 minutes in, but hit the post. With eight minutes left Frank Vatrano had a couple of opportunities in tight, but was stoned by the Oilers’ goalie.

    Hyman deflected Mattias Ekholm’s long shot off Gibson and in with 2:04 left in the first to get the Oilers on the scoreboard. It was his 34th of the season.

    Draisaitl got a pass from Evander Kane, skated in and lifted a backhander into the top right corner to double Edmonton’s lead at 2:03 of the second.

    Nurse fired a shot from the slot through Gibson’s five-hole and in for his 11th at 5:05 to make it 3-0.

    After McDavid’s point shot hit Hyman, standing on the left doorstep, the puck landed on the right side and Draisaitl quickly knocked it in for a power-play goal with 8:16 left in the middle period.

    McDavid got his league-leading 62nd to make it 5-0 at 4:25 of the third, and Draisaitl completed his second hat trick of the season and seventh of his career with about five minutes remaining.

    Draisaitl reached the 50-goal mark for the third time in his career.

    “This one is very exciting to me because it was at home and the other two were on the road,” Draisaitl said. “It was great to do it in front of our home fans.”

    SPECIAL TEAMMATES

    Draisaitl also combined with McDavid to be the first teammates to hit 50 goals in the same season since Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr did it for Pittsburgh in 1995-1996.

    UP NEXT

    Ducks: At Calgary on Sunday night to finish a three-game trip.

    Oilers: At Los Angeles on Tuesday night to open a four-game trip.

    ___

    AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://www.twitter.com/AP_Sports

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  • Nashville Predators remember shooting victims, play Bruins

    Nashville Predators remember shooting victims, play Bruins

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    BOSTON — When the Nashville Predators’ team flight took off for Boston, defenseman Ryan McDonagh wasn’t aboard.

    He stayed home Monday, to be with his three young daughters in the shaken community.

    A day after a fatal grade school shooting in Nashville left six dead, including three children, McDonagh caught a commercial flight. Hours after arriving, and with both teams wearing helmet stickers to remember the victims, he helped the Predators beat the Bruins 2-1 Tuesday night.

    “It’s not really the first shooting, unfortunately. When you have kids and it happens close to home it hits definitely different,” McDonagh said. “Like any parent, you do anything you can to help your family and kids out.”

    McDonagh’s daughters — Falan, Murphy and Nola — are all under 9 years old.

    “His daughter was close to the school — their school was in lockdown,” coach John Hynes said.

    Said McDonagh: “Quite frankly there are really no words that you can say after what went on yesterday in Nashville.”

    “Just a tragedy for those families and everybody affected. You don’t really realize it until you have kids of your own and the perspective. It hits you,” he said.

    McDonagh said it wasn’t just another game as the Predators beat the NHL-leading Bruins.

    “We felt like we needed to go out and do our job the best we could and sacrifice and leave it all out there and just try to maybe bring a little bit of inspiration to the city of Nashville,” McDonagh said.

    Hynes spoke to his team about the situation.

    “It’s something we talked with our guys about, that we’re on a platform here as professional athletes and coaches,” he said. “The city of Nashville means a lot to these people. We wanted to put an effort for the first responders, for the people that were involved in the incident — the families, the school. We’re just really proud of the guys.”

    The Predators and Bruins wore helmet stickers to show support for The Covenant School, where three 9-year-old students and three adult staffers were killed.

    The Bruins also held a moment of silence before the national anthem.

    “The Bruins stand alongside the Nashville Predators in solidarity against gun violence and its support of the Nashville community,” the PA announcer said.

    Nashville is trying to make a run at the eighth and final playoff spot and won for just the third time in eight games.

    Hynes talked to his team about the few hours of relief his team could bring to folks back home.

    “We did talk to our guys about that,” he said. “Sometimes when things are tough in life — part of sports, it is for the players and people involved with it, but I think for the fans, that it’s an opportunity to take a few hours and maybe get away from a few things in your life. That was the message that we took into the game.” ___

    AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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  • Roy scores winner in OT, Golden Knights top Oilers 4-3

    Roy scores winner in OT, Golden Knights top Oilers 4-3

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    EDMONTON, Alberta — Nicolas Roy scored the winning goal 2:26 in overtime, Jack Eichel had a goal and two assists and the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 on Saturday night for their fourth straight victory.

    Roy was left alone in front of Edmonton’s net and shot in his own rebound past Stuart Skinner for the win.

    “Gutsy win for us, it’s a divisional game and I thought we played well,” Eichel said. “It’s a really good team over there, they generate a lot of offense and I thought we did a really good job limiting them.”

    Pavel Dorofeyev and Jonathan Marchessault also scored for the Knights, who have won eight of their last nine and are 17-3-2 since the All-Star break.

    “It’s a big win, big road trip,” Knights defenseman Brayden McNabb said. “They were sneaking up on us and we were able to get an extra point out of this game. … It felt a little bit like a playoff game, for sure.”

    Zach Hyman, Leon Draisaitl and Warren Foegele scored for the Oilers, who had their five-game winning streak snapped.

    “It was a tight game. It was what you expect in the playoffs,” Draisaitl said. “It is obviously a team that we could face. I think we know how to handle these types of games. Obviously tonight didn’t go our way, but we will take the point.”

    Vegas scored on the first shot of the game 61 seconds in when Eichel took a feed on a 2-on-1 from Ivan Barbashev and beat the Oilers’ starter stick-side for his 27th goal.

    Not to be outdone, the Oilers also scored on their first shot on Knights goalie Laurent Brossoit 3:28 into the opening frame, as Draisaitl put it right on the tape of Zach Hyman’s stick in front of the net and he redirected in his 31st. Draisaitl set a career high for points on the play with 111 after having 110 the past two seasons.

    The Golden Knights regained the lead on the power play with 3:33 to play in the first period when the puck came to Dorofeyev on a broken play.

    Edmonton tied it on the power play midway through the middle period as Connor McDavid sent the puck to Draisaitl in the slot. Draisaitl took it on the backhand before spinning around and scoring his 45th goal of the season. It was also Draisaitl’s 28th power-play goal, the most by any player in a season since Mario Lemieux in 1995-1996.

    Vegas went ahead 3-2 almost seven minutes into the third period when Marchessault beat Skinner with a one-timer.

    Edmonton tied it again with 8:41 to play in the third when Foegele tied his career high by scoring his 13th on a long wrist shot.

    “It’s disappointing we didn’t get the two points,” Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft said. “Some of the goals we gave up were preventable. We’re going to take the lessons from tonight and learn from it.”

    NOTES: Edmonton won both previous meetings between the teams this season, both by 4-3 scores. … Vegas D Ben Hutton returned to the lineup after being a healthy scratch the past 21 games. … Golden Knights F Keegan Kolesar also returned after missing six games with an upper-body injury. … Brossoit made his first start since Feb. 25. … Oilers D Cody Ceci played in his 700th career NHL game.

    UP NEXT

    Golden Knights: Host Edmonton on Tuesday night.

    Oilers: At Arizona on Monday night before visiting Vegas on Tuesday.

    ___

    AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://www.twitter.com/AP_Sports

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  • Hart, Laughton lead Flyers past Red Wings 3-0

    Hart, Laughton lead Flyers past Red Wings 3-0

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    Carter Hart made 29 saves, Scott Laughton scored and the Philadelphia Flyers won their third straight with an 3-0 shutout of the Detroit Red Wings

    ByAARON BRACY Associated Press

    PHILADELPHIA — Carter Hart made 29 saves, Scott Laughton scored and the Philadelphia Flyers won their third straight with an 3-0 shutout of the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday.

    Kieffer Bellows also scored and Tyson Foerster had an empty-netter for Philadelphia in a matchup of two of the Eastern Conference’s worst teams.

    The Red Wings have lost five of six and were 0 for 7 on the power play.

    Philadelphia began play with the sixth-fewest points in the league while Detroit had the 10th-fewest.

    Laughton netted his third in as many games and seventh straight against Detroit.

    Philadelphia entered 30th of 32 teams in the NHL, averaging 2.68 goals per contest. But the Flyers have 26 goals in the current seven-game homestand, which ends Tuesday against Montreal when they will try to tie their season high for consecutive victories.

    The 21-year-old Foerster’s emergence has boosted Philadelphia’s offense. He has seven points in eight games since his call-up from Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League.

    Hart has been Philadelphia’s best player all season. He recorded his second shutout of the season and fifth of his career. The Philadelphia goalie’s best save came 2:04 into the third period when he robbed Jonatan Berggren with a glove save on a wrist shot from the slot. He denied Berggren again with a sprawling, glove save on the man-advantage with 3 ½ minutes left.

    The Flyers went up 2-0 with a pair of goals in the second period.

    Bellows netted his third of the season on a rebound of Owen Tippett’s shot with 9:50 left in the period.

    Laughton increased the advantage to two by scoring a 4-on-4 goal with 35.7 seconds left before the break. After stealing the puck in the Detroit zone, he elected to shoot on a 2-on-1 with Joel Farabee. Laughton’s wrister sneaked just inside the post, beating Alex Nedeljkovic on the glove side.

    NOTES: Detroit’s Adam Erne went to the locker room in the first period after a high stick from Tony DeAngelo, who received a double-minor penalty. Erne returned later in the contest. … The Flyers improved to 4-2 on the homestand and 16-16-5 overall on home ice this season. … Philadelphia has five winning streaks this season.

    UP NEXT

    Red Wings: Host Pittsburgh on Tuesday night.

    Flyers: Host Montreal on Tuesday night.

    __ AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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  • NHL teams balance progress, draft lottery as Bedard in play

    NHL teams balance progress, draft lottery as Bedard in play

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    LOS ANGELES — Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen knows if the season ended today, his team would have the best odds to land who many consider the next generational talent in the NHL.

    He is also keenly aware that the odds remain higher not to win the NHL’s draft lottery — and the chance to select Connor Bedard on May 8.

    “Look, there’s a 25.5% chance for the team to finish last, but it’s still a 74.5% chance that you don’t get it. That’s much greater than 25.5,” Kekalainen said recently. “But we’ll see where it takes us. Wherever we end up in the standings, we get the odds the league gave, and then we hope for the best of luck.”

    While the race for the league’s top record was done by midseason thanks to the Boston Bruins’ potential record-setting run, the chase for the worst mark remains up for grabs in the final three weeks.

    Columbus is in “first” at 51 points, followed by San Jose (53), Chicago (54) and Anaheim (56).

    Even though half of the league’s 32 teams do not make the playoffs, only 11 are eligible for the lottery. The rules instituted in 2022 state a team can move up a maximum of 10 spots.

    For the last two years, the team with the worst record has won the lottery, but that often isn’t the case. In 2012, the Blue Jackets had the worst record and lost the top pick to Edmonton.

    The last thing any of the coaches at the bottom want to hear, though, is lottery odds — especially if you’re Dallas Eakins, who is in the final year of his contract with the Ducks.

    “We want to have development and progress every night,” said Eakins, who is in his fourth season with Anaheim. “We’re not the Boston Bruins right now. That’s why we have to play a perfect game to be in the game. I don’t understand the lottery, to be honest with you. Finishing at the very bottom guarantees you nothing. I’ve seen teams lose the lottery and end up with the best player in the draft.”

    San Jose coach David Quinn agreed with Eakins’ assessment. And he knows firsthand about the lottery as an NHL and college coach.

    Quinn was with the Rangers when they benefitted in 2020. He also coached Jack Eichel at Boston University when Eichel was the second choice in the 2015 draft by Buffalo — after Edmonton won the lottery and selected Connor McDavid.

    “When you’re in the situation that Edmonton and Buffalo were in back then and we are in right now, people are paying attention for various reasons,” he said. “Back then, it was Eichel and McDavid. It was pretty clear McDavid would be the No. 1 pick, but Jack Eichel was going to get a hell of a consolation prize.”

    No one expected the Blue Jackets to have the league’s worst record after they made one of the biggest splashes in free agency last year by signing Johnny Gaudreau. But having one of the highest injury rates has reduced them to using most of the season to assess their future.

    Columbus, which already has 454 man-games lost to injury, suffered another blow this week when forward Patrik Laine strained a triceps muscle in practice. The Blue Jackets are also missing goaltender Elvis Merzlikins, who is in Latvia to be with his family after his grandmother fell gravely ill.

    “If you have 13 guys on injured reserve as we did at one point, it’s hard to expect to win,” Kekalainen said.

    Besides measuring their performance during games, Kekalainen and his staff have kept a keen eye on practices to ensure everyone follows the right approach.

    “We’ve got some bright young kids here within our group, and they can see a good future in front of them,” he said. “But for the team here, it’s about being professional every day and going on just like you would if you were getting ready for the playoffs. Nobody’s going to take it easy on you.”

    While Columbus made some minor moves near the trade deadline, Chicago and San Jose went into liquidation mode to improve their lottery chances. The Blackhawks sent Patrick Kane to the Rangers, while the Sharks traded Timo Meier to New Jersey.

    “It’s unfortunate, but I understand it,” Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson said after the Meier trade. “I’ve been around the game long enough to understand what needs to be done from an organizational perspective. It just sucks that I happen to be where I’m at at this stage of my career.”

    Chicago coach Luke Richardson also hopes people realize that teams can build a foundation and be in the mix to draft a generational talent.

    “I trust the organization and scouting staff with how they approach things,” he said. “I love the energy of our team. What we’re trying to do is starting to show, but we have a long way to go.”

    Arizona was near the bottom three spots for most of the season, but a 6-1-3 run in the last 10 games has it at 66 points and tied for the sixth-fewest points in the league.

    Coyotes GM Bill Armstrong is OK with his franchise’s chances of landing a top-three pick taking a significant hit.

    “As a GM, you never want to take the fight from your team. And so you’ve got to continue that and enjoy what you’re going through and how hard your team is fighting,” he said. “I’ve been through so many drafts that you can’t control where you draft, but you can’t control who you pick, and that’s what you got to worry about. So at the end of the day, no matter where we lie, we’ve got to be good at picking.”

    ___

    AP Sports Writers Josh Dubow in San Jose, California, Jordan Cohen in Chicago and John Marshall in Phoenix contributed to this report.

    ___

    AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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  • Unwelcome spotlight falls on NHL team Pride night events

    Unwelcome spotlight falls on NHL team Pride night events

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    Pride nights, held annually for several years by National Hockey League teams to show support for the LGBTQ community, are in the spotlight following several high-profile incidents this season.

    A handful of players have objected to participating in pregame warmups that included Pride-themed jerseys, most recently Florida’s Eric and Marc Staal on Thursday night. On Wednesday, the Chicago Blackhawks decided against having players wear Pride-themed warmup jerseys for their upcoming Pride night, citing an anti-gay law in Russia.

    WHAT ARE THE OBJECTIONS?

    The Staal brothers and San Jose’s James Reimer — who are Canadian — and Philadelphia’s Ivan Provorov, who is Russian, all pointed to their religious beliefs for refusing to take part in warmups.

    “We carry no judgement on how people choose to live their lives, and believe that all people should be welcome in all aspects of the game of hockey,” Eric and Marc Staal said in a statement. “Having said that, we feel that by us wearing a Pride jersey, it goes against our Christian beliefs.”

    The Blackhawks said they acted out of concern that the safety of their Russian player and two others with connections to Russia could be jeopardized by the law when they return home because it expands restrictions on supporting LGBTQ rights.

    Chicago coach Luke Richardson said he and his players were disappointed.

    “It’s an unfortunate situation,” Richardson said. “I don’t think we can control the world issues, so that takes it out of our hands.”

    The New York Rangers and Minnesota Wild decided not wear Pride-themed jerseys during warmups after advertising that they would. While each team has at least one star Russian player on its roster, neither specified the reason for the change.

    IS THIS RELATED TO RUSSIA’S WAR IN UKRAINE?

    Somewhat. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the anti-gay law signed by President Vladimir Putin in December have combined to pose some problems for the NHL and its 32 teams.

    No North American professional sports league has as many Russian players as the NHL. The Russian contingent includes some of the league’s best athletes.

    There are currently 45 Russia-born players spread across 28 teams, or about 6.4% of all players. They include No. 2 career goal-scorer Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals, Tampa Bay’s two-time Stanley Cup-winning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, Lightning teammate and 2019 MVP Nikita Kucherov and reigning Vezina Trophy winner Igor Shesterkin of the New York Rangers.

    The top five highest-earning Russian players receive an average annual salary of $11.1 million this season.

    Russian players almost never discuss the war, in part out of concern for the safety of their loved ones at home. It was not clear if there was any credible threat behind the Blackhawks’ decision.

    WHAT’S THE NHL’S HISTORY WITH PRIDE?

    The Stanley Cup first appeared at a Pride parade in 2010 when then-Blackhawks defenseman Brent Sopel brought it to the celebration in Chicago. A few years later, in 2013, the league partnered with the You Can Play Project, which advocates for LGBTQ participation in sports. The NHL added team Pride ambassadors in 2016-17.

    Rainbow Pride stick tape debuted with the Edmonton Oilers in 2016. Now all 32 teams hold a Pride night, though many do so without themed jerseys. The Boston Bruins and Columbus Blue Jackets call theirs “Hockey Is For Everyone” night.

    Pride nights, like other themed events, are planned and staged by individual teams, not the NHL.

    WHAT HAS BEEN THE REACTION?

    The You Can Play Project responded to Reimer’s decision by saying it was disappointed.

    “Religion and respect are not in conflict with each other, and we are certainly disappointed when religion is used as a reason to not support our community,” the organization said.

    Nashville Predators prospect Luke Prokop, who in 2021 made history as the first player signed to an NHL contract to come out as gay, called the Pride night incidents a “step back” for hockey.

    WHAT DID LEAGUE OFFICIALS SAY?

    NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said the boycotts were not about accepting bigotry.

    “Whether or not you choose to embrace and make a statement on behalf of a cause affirmatively, if you choose not to do that, it doesn’t necessarily make you a bigot,” Bettman said last month. “I’m sure you don’t endorse every single charity that solicits you, and you don’t participate in every social cause. You pick and choose the ones that are important to you.”

    The league declined to comment on the Blackhawks’ decision.

    WHAT’S NEXT?

    Teams with Pride nights coming up have some decisions to make. The Buffalo Sabres are set to host their event on Monday, and the Vancouver Canucks on March 31. Each team has at least one Russian player.

    It was not clear if players would wear Pride jerseys in warmups, as the teams have done in the past.

    ___

    AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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  • Unwelcome spotlight falls on NHL team Pride night events

    Unwelcome spotlight falls on NHL team Pride night events

    [ad_1]

    Pride nights, held annually for several years by National Hockey League teams to show support for the LGBTQ community, are in the spotlight following several high-profile incidents this season.

    A handful of players have objected to participating in pregame warmups that included Pride-themed jerseys, most recently Florida’s Eric and Marc Staal on Thursday night. On Wednesday, the Chicago Blackhawks decided against having players wear Pride-themed warmup jerseys for their upcoming Pride night, citing an anti-gay law in Russia.

    WHAT ARE THE OBJECTIONS?

    The Staal brothers and San Jose’s James Reimer — who are Canadian — and Philadelphia’s Ivan Provorov, who is Russian, all pointed to their religious beliefs for refusing to take part in warmups.

    “We carry no judgement on how people choose to live their lives, and believe that all people should be welcome in all aspects of the game of hockey,” Eric and Marc Staal said in a statement. “Having said that, we feel that by us wearing a Pride jersey, it goes against our Christian beliefs.”

    The Blackhawks said they acted out of concern that the safety of their Russian player and two others with connections to Russia could be jeopardized by the law when they return home because it expands restrictions on supporting LGBTQ rights.

    Chicago coach Luke Richardson said he and his players were disappointed.

    “It’s an unfortunate situation,” Richardson said. “I don’t think we can control the world issues, so that takes it out of our hands.”

    The New York Rangers and Minnesota Wild decided not wear Pride-themed jerseys during warmups after advertising that they would. While each team has at least one star Russian player on its roster, neither specified the reason for the change.

    IS THIS RELATED TO RUSSIA’S WAR IN UKRAINE?

    Somewhat. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the anti-gay law signed by President Vladimir Putin in December have combined to pose some problems for the NHL and its 32 teams.

    No North American professional sports league has as many Russian players as the NHL. The Russian contingent includes some of the league’s best athletes.

    There are currently 45 Russia-born players spread across 28 teams, or about 6.4% of all players. They include No. 2 career goal-scorer Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals, Tampa Bay’s two-time Stanley Cup-winning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, Lightning teammate and 2019 MVP Nikita Kucherov and reigning Vezina Trophy winner Igor Shesterkin of the New York Rangers.

    The top five highest-earning Russian players receive an average annual salary of $11.1 million this season.

    Russian players almost never discuss the war, in part out of concern for the safety of their loved ones at home. It was not clear if there was any credible threat behind the Blackhawks’ decision.

    WHAT’S THE NHL’S HISTORY WITH PRIDE?

    The Stanley Cup first appeared at a Pride parade in 2010 when then-Blackhawks defenseman Brent Sopel brought it to the celebration in Chicago. A few years later, in 2013, the league partnered with the You Can Play Project, which advocates for LGBTQ participation in sports. The NHL added team Pride ambassadors in 2016-17.

    Rainbow Pride stick tape debuted with the Edmonton Oilers in 2016. Now all 32 teams hold a Pride night, though many do so without themed jerseys. The Boston Bruins and Columbus Blue Jackets call theirs “Hockey Is For Everyone” night.

    Pride nights, like other themed events, are planned and staged by individual teams, not the NHL.

    WHAT HAS BEEN THE REACTION?

    The You Can Play Project responded to Reimer’s decision by saying it was disappointed.

    “Religion and respect are not in conflict with each other, and we are certainly disappointed when religion is used as a reason to not support our community,” the organization said.

    Nashville Predators prospect Luke Prokop, who in 2021 made history as the first player signed to an NHL contract to come out as gay, called the Pride night incidents a “step back” for hockey.

    WHAT DID LEAGUE OFFICIALS SAY?

    NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said the boycotts were not about accepting bigotry.

    “Whether or not you choose to embrace and make a statement on behalf of a cause affirmatively, if you choose not to do that, it doesn’t necessarily make you a bigot,” Bettman said last month. “I’m sure you don’t endorse every single charity that solicits you, and you don’t participate in every social cause. You pick and choose the ones that are important to you.”

    The league declined to comment on the Blackhawks’ decision.

    WHAT’S NEXT?

    Teams with Pride nights coming up have some decisions to make. The Buffalo Sabres are set to host their event on Monday, and the Vancouver Canucks on March 31. Each team has at least one Russian player.

    It was not clear if players would wear Pride jerseys in warmups, as the teams have done in the past.

    ___

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  • Kuzmenko sets Canucks mark in 7-2 win over Sharks

    Kuzmenko sets Canucks mark in 7-2 win over Sharks

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    VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Andrei Kuzmenko scored his 35th goal, a Canucks franchise record for a first-year player, to lead Vancouver to a 7-2 rout of the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night.

    The Russian forward, who also had an assist, topped the 34 goals scored by Pavel Bure in 1991-92.

    “Yes, it’s good. But I need to be better,” the 27-year-old Kuzmenko said of the milestone. “I need to score a lot of goals. Maybe 40, 45, I need.”

    J.T. Miller, Dakota Joshua, Conor Garland and Phillip Di Giuseppe also each had a goal and an assist, and Vasily Podkolzin and Sheldon Dries scored for Vancouver. Tyler Myers had a pair of assists and Thatcher Demko made 17 saves.

    “It was nice to see a couple of guys finish because they’ve had some chances in the past, but it’s nice to finish,” Vancouver coach Rick Tocchet said. “It gets your confidence (up), loosens you up a little bit.”

    Tomas Hertl and Andrew Agozzino scored for the struggling Sharks, who are winless in their last eight games (0-5-3). San Jose has not won in regulation since beating Seattle 4-0 on Feb. 20.

    San Jose’s lineup included six players who weren’t with the team before the league’s trade deadline on March 3.

    “When you make so many changes, some of the things that are happening out there are not really the fault of the new players,” Sharks coach David Quinn said. “They just haven’t been accustomed to playing the way you want to play and that can happen.

    “But it’s the guys that have been here that have to keep this thing together and understand that we’ve got a season to finish and we’ve got to do a better job finishing on a strong note.”

    Vancouver opened the scoring 6:15 into the first after Miller picked off Hertl’s pass at the Sharks’ blue line and snapped a shot past Reimer for his 29th goal.

    Kuzmenko made it 2-0 when he deftly moved the puck from his forehand to his backhand, then shoveled a shot in. Elias Pettersson earned an assist on the play, extending his point streak to a career-high 10 games.

    Hertl cut the Sharks’ deficit to 2-1, but Joshua restored the Canucks’ two-goal lead with a shot past an outstretched Reimer with 0.4 seconds left in the opening period.

    “It’s happening for us all year long,” Hertl said. “We give up so many last-second goals. I can’t even count it, like first, second, third, just so many times it’s like 2 seconds left and they score and it’s not a good feeling when you give up again.

    “We just shoot ourselves in the foot.”

    Vancouver made it 4-1 in the second on Garland’s goal, and then the Canucks sealed it with another three-goal period in the third.

    The Canucks won their ninth straight game against the Sharks, including all four matchups between the teams this season.

    NOTES: D Filip Hronek played his first game in a Canucks jersey. Vancouver acquired the 25-year-old from Detroit on March 1 for first- and second-round picks in this year’s draft, but an upper-body injury kept Hronek out of the lineup until Thursday. … Vancouver’s Christian Wolanin left with a lower-body injury midway through the first period and did not return.

    UP NEXT

    Sharks: Travel to Calgary to face the Flames on Saturday.

    Canucks: At Dallas to take on the Stars on Saturday night.

    —

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  • NHL team won’t wear Pride jerseys, citing new Russian law

    NHL team won’t wear Pride jerseys, citing new Russian law

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    A National Hockey League team with a Russian player has decided against wearing special warmup jerseys to commemorate Pride night, citing an anti-gay Kremlin law that could imperil Russian athletes when they return home.

    The Chicago Blackhawks, who have at least two more players with connections to Russia, will not wear Pride-themed warmup jerseys before Sunday’s game against Vancouver, a person with knowledge of the matter told The Associated Press, because of security concerns involving the law, which expands restrictions on supporting LGBTQ rights. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed it in December.

    The decision was made by the Blackhawks following discussions with security officials within and outside the franchise, according to a person familiar with the situation who spoke Wednesday to the AP on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the move.

    Chicago coach Luke Richardson said Thursday that he and his players were disappointed and called it “an unfortunate situation.”

    “I don’t think we can control the world issues, so that takes it out of our hands,” Richardson said. “We’re just making decisions as best we can as an organization and for everybody.”

    The league declined to comment through a spokesperson.

    The decision comes amid increasing threats to freedom of expression in the U.S. and abroad. Conservative political forces have sought to ban LGBTQ-themed books from American school libraries and to forbid classroom lessons that mention sexuality and some aspects of race relations.

    Similar pressures have forced Russian players to walk a careful line since the invasion of Ukraine, with some cautiously speaking out against the war even with family members still living in Russia. Last year, Minnesota Wild star Kirill Kaprizov ran into several roadblocks as he traveled back to the U.S., raising concerns about his safety.

    “There’s such a sensitivity to the topic, and you have concerns for the Russians, especially,” Buffalo Sabres captain Kyle Okposo said, emphasizing that he does not “understand what it’s like to be in Russia and to grow up there. And I don’t think we’re able to speak about the psychology of those players because we don’t understand.”

    Chicago defenseman Nikita Zaitsev is a Moscow native, and there are other players with family in Russia or other connections to the country.

    The Florida Panthers — whose star goaltender, Sergei Bobrovsky, is Russian — went forward with plans to wear Pride-themed jerseys Thursday night before their home game against Toronto. Bobrovsky took part, while brothers Eric and Marc Staal did not, and cited religion as the reason.

    “We carry no judgement on how people choose to live their lives, and believe that all people should be welcome in all aspects of the game of hockey,” the Staal brothers said in a statement. “Having said that, we feel that by us wearing a Pride jersey it goes against our Christian beliefs.”

    The jerseys are just one part of many initiatives the Panthers built into the annual event, including auctioning off the jerseys, matching the money raised and donating it to nonprofits that work with the LGBTQ community.

    Speaking after Florida’s 6-2 loss, Panthers coach Paul Maurice described the Staal brothers as men of faith, and then noted how the rest of the team wore the warmup jerseys.

    “I love both of those men and they have the right to their opinion. I stand by that right,” he said. “But everyone else in the room has the right to put that sweater on proudly and wear it and be welcoming to all people in our community.”

    The Sabres and Vancouver Canucks have Pride nights upcoming. The Canucks have not announced specific plans for the event. Sabres management was scheduled to hold discussions Thursday with its player leadership group on the matter, amid concern over whether defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin will participate because he is from Moscow, where he still has family and returns in the offseason to visit.

    Lyubushkin and his family members could face a backlash in Russia, according to a Sabres employee with knowledge of the issue. The person spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the discussions.

    In other sports, members of Major League Baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays decided last season not to wear rainbow-colored logos on their uniforms as part of their Pride night. Women’s basketball star Brittney Griner, an American citizen who is gay, was arrested at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport last year after Russian authorities said she was carrying vape canisters with cannabis oil. She was imprisoned for eight months until a high-profile prisoner swap with the U.S.

    Kurt Weaver, chief operating officer of the You Can Play Project, which advocates for LGBTQ participation in sports, said he was upset when he learned of the Blackhawks’ decision, but he called the conversation an indicator of progress.

    “We are certainly disappointed that the jerseys aren’t worn, because that’s the No. 1 visual representation from the athletes themselves, and I know a lot of the athletes do support this effort and support their community that comes to watch them,” Weaver said, adding praise for the Blackhawks’ commitment to Pride causes dating back more than a decade.

    Ivan Provorov of the Philadelphia Flyers declined to take part in pregame warmups during the team’s Pride night in January, citing his Russian Orthodox religion. Russians Nikolai Knyzhov and Alexander Barabanov wore the Pride-themed jerseys for the San Jose Sharks Sharks on Saturday, when Canadian goaltender James Reimer refused to take part because, like the Staals, he said it conflicted with his religious beliefs.

    The New York Rangers and Minnesota Wild opted not to wear Pride jerseys or use Pride stick tape as part of their events despite previously advertising they would.

    The Blackhawks planned a variety of LGBT-related activities in conjunction with Sunday’s game. DJs from the LGBTQ community will play before the game and during an intermission, and the Chicago Gay Men’s Chorus is slated to perform. There also are plans to highlight a couple of area businesses with ties to the gay community.

    “We don’t want the jerseys to represent the entirety of the night,” Blackhawks defenseman Seth Jones said. “We’re still doing a lot for the LGBTQ community, and us as players respect that. We just thought that this was best for our team.”

    ___

    AP Sports Writers John Wawrow, Josh Dubow and Tim Reynolds, and AP freelance reporter George Richards contributed to this report.

    ___

    Follow Jay Cohen at https://twitter.com/jcohenap

    ___

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  • McDavid scores 60th, leads Oilers past Coyotes 4-3 in OT

    McDavid scores 60th, leads Oilers past Coyotes 4-3 in OT

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    EDMONTON, Alberta — Connor McDavid scored his 60th goal of the season with his second of the game 1:31 into overtime to lift the Edmonton Oilers to a 4-3 victory over the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday night.

    Moments after hitting the post, McDavid went high on Connor Ingram, giving him 60 goals in 72 games and making him the fastest player to reach the mark since Mario Lemieux accomplished the feat in 62 games in the 1995-96 season.

    “I kind of felt like I was pressing for the 60th all night,” said McDavid, who became the first player in NHL history to score his 60th in overtime. “I was disappointed not to bury (the first one). You are not going to get many better looks than that. It is not every day you get two breakaways back to back like that.

    “Getting 60, a lot of great players in the past have done it and it feels good to join that list.”

    Ryan Nugent-Hopkins also had a pair of goals, and Leon Draisaitl assisted on all four of the Oilers’ scores.

    “He obviously missed the first one and he was telling me he slammed his stick against the boards after,” Draisaitl said of McDavid’s overtime goal. “I just saw their guy bobble it, so I tried to strip him and I saw Connor again. It is crazy to try that same move again and score on it the second time. But that is just what he does, I guess.

    Stuart Skinner made 14 saves for Edmonton, which has won five straight games and nine of its last 11.

    Clayton Keller scored twice and J.J. Moser also scored for the Coyotes, who have lost two in a row following a four-game winning streak. Ingram stopped 27 shots.

    “I think we had some good urgency,” Keller said. “It was a tough back-to-back for us, but I think we did a good job. We were a little sloppy at the start and we didn’t want to put them on the power play and it was good for us to kind of just stick with it and play a mucky game and get a point out of it.”

    McDavid extended his points streak at home to 16 games with his first goal of the game on the power play 5:47 into the opening period. McDavid took it behind the goal line and banked it in off Ingram’s head.

    Moser tied it with a power-play goal with 4:13 left in the first.

    Keller gave the Coyotes the lead 3:37 into the second period after a giveaway behind the Oilers’ net allowed Nick Schmaltz to send it in front, and Keller extended his points streak to 10 games with his 33rd goal.

    With just 10 seconds to play in the second, Nugent-Hopkins tied it on the power play.

    Arizona regained the lead 8:54 into the third when Barrett Hayton made a nice pass through traffic to get Keller a wide-open net and his second of the game.

    Just over three minutes later, Draisaitl made a long stretch pass to send Nugent-Hopkins in on a breakaway and he beat Ingram stick-side for his second of the game.

    NOTES: Out with injuries for the Coyotes were Josh Brown (lower body) and Zack Kassian (upper body). … Out for the Oilers were Ryan Murray (back), Ryan McLeod (upper body) and Devin Shore (undisclosed). Edmonton played the game with 11 forwards and seven defensemen.

    UP NEXT

    Coyotes: At Colorado on Friday in the finale of a three-game trip.

    Oilers: Host Vegas on Friday in the final game of a three-game homestand.

    ___

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  • Adam Larsson’s overtime goal helps Kraken beat Stars 5-4

    Adam Larsson’s overtime goal helps Kraken beat Stars 5-4

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    Adam Larsson scored on a breakaway backhander 1:52 into overtime and emergency callup goaltender Joey Daccord made 25 saves in his first NHL appearance since Nov. 1 as the Seattle Kraken beat the Dallas Stars 5-4 on Tuesday night

    DALLAS — Adam Larsson scored on a breakaway backhander 1:52 into overtime and emergency callup goaltender Joey Daccord made 25 saves in his first NHL appearance since Nov. 1 as the Seattle Kraken beat the Dallas Stars 5-4 on Tuesday night.

    Brandon Tanev had two goals and an assist, fellow fourth-line forward Daniel Sprong had a goal and an assist and Jared McCann added his team-best 34th goal plus an assist for the Kraken, who bolstered their hold on the first wild-card playoff position in the Western Conference.

    Jamie Benn sent the game into overtime with the tying goal with 0.7 seconds left and had two assists. Miro Heiskanen and Joe Pavelski each had a goal and an assist and Wyatt Johnston also scored for the Stars, who rallied from a two-goal deficit in the final four minutes. Jake Oettinger stopped 22 shots.

    Daccord was called up from Coachella Valley of the AHL on Monday with No. 1 goalie Philipp Grubauer unavailable with non-COVID illness. It was the 13th career NHL start for the 26-year-old Daccord, who improved to 3-8-1 in his NHL career. Tanev had his first two-goal game since Oct. 26, 2021, and his first three-point game since Nov. 29, 2021. His second goal put Seattle ahead 4-2 at 14:03 of the third period.

    Johnston’s goal was his 21st, the most among league rookies.

    Dallas appeared to pull within 4-3 seconds later, but Ty Dellandrea’s goal was successfully challenged for goaltender interference on Max Domi.

    Pavelski, scoring at 16:34 of the third, and Benn each scored with an extra attacker on the ice.

    Heiskanen has an 11-game points streak, tying the Minnesota-Dallas franchise record for defensemen set by Craig Hartsburg in 1986-87.

    BLUELINE HISTORY

    Heiskanen’s points streak combined with a 12-game streak brought in by Kraken D Vince Dunn made for the first NHL game ever featuring multiple defensemen with double-digit scoring streaks. Dunn’s streak, which was the longest current streak in the NHL, ended.

    NOTES

    Kraken F John Hayden is out for at least 12 weeks following surgery Monday on his right leg after being injured in a fight during Saturday afternoon’s loss to Edmonton. … Pavelski played in his 1,239th career NHL game, moving him into 14th place among all-time American-born players.

    UP NEXT

    Kraken: The middle games of a four-game road trip will be played Thursday and Saturday against the Nashville Predators.

    Stars: Host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday.

    ___

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  • Coyotes beat Blackhawks 4-2, push points streak to 8

    Coyotes beat Blackhawks 4-2, push points streak to 8

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    TEMPE, Ariz. — Juuso Valimaki broke a tie with 3:12 left and the Arizona Coyotes beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-2 on Saturday night.

    Valimaki also assisted on Arizona’s first two goals to help the Coyotes extend their points streak to eight games.

    Clayton Keller scored his 32nd goal of the season to tie it six minutes into the third period. Keller also had two assists, giving him 43 for the season. He has scored in eight straight games.

    Barrett Hayton — who has points in each of his last seven games — connected for Arizona in the second period, and Matias Maccelli scored into an empty net with 38.3 seconds to go.

    “It’s not always pretty but when you’re confident like we are right now we found a way,” Coyotes coach Andre Tourigny said.

    Ivan Prosvetov, making his third start of the season, stopped 32 shots for Arizona to improve to 3-0. The Coyotes have won four straight, all at home, and are 20-11-3 at Mullett Arena.

    “There’s no secret, the whole team is playing very well,” Prosvetov said about his record. “I definitely put some work in during the summer and I still do now.”

    “My first couple games were good, but I couldn’t control some of the rebounds. I saw the puck better and killed some chaos in front of the net.”

    Valimaki’s goal was just his third of the season. He has 28 assists, behind only Keller and Maccelli on Arizona.

    “I saw a penalty coming, and just made a pass and broke through,” the defenseman said of the go-ahead goal. “Some of those plays those guys are making right now, it’s unbelievable. All of a sudden the puck was on my stick and it went in.

    “We’re a really tight group. It’s just really fun right now. Everyone’s playing really well and we’re pretty confident in our game.”

    The Blackhawks, though last in the Central Division, were coming off wins at home against league-leading Boston on Tuesday night and at Nashville on Thursday night.

    “I thought we skated pretty well, similar to the way we’ve played lately,” Chicago coach Luke Richardson said. “We didn’t make many (turnovers), but we made them at the wrong time.”

    Chicago took a 2-1 lead at 4:14 of the third on Caleb Jones’ power-play goal.

    Chicago’s efforts to defuse the home-ice edge paid off quickly, as the Blackhawks scored 35 seconds into the game. Jujhar Khaira tipped in a shot by Jarred Tinordi for his fourth goal of the season. The Coyotes tied it with 2:12 left in the second period on Hayton’s 14th goal.

    Alex Stalock made 17 saves for Chicago.

    WELCOME TO THE CLUB

    Chicago defenseman Wyatt Kaiser made his NHL debut Saturday night.

    The 20-year-old signed a three-year entry-level contract earlier this week. A third-round pick in 2020, Kaiser played as a junior this season at Minnesota-Duluth.

    Kaiser played 15:40 and blocked one shot.

    “Tough way to (lose), but I had a blast,” Kaiser said. ”After the first shift, I’m just playing hockey. I made a few iffy plays, but I’m still learning.”

    ICE CHIPS

    Blackhawks: LW Andreas Englund (hamstring) missed his sixth straight game. … RW Cole Guttman had right shoulder surgery earlier this week.

    Coyotes: RW Nick Schmaltz returned after missing three games with an upper-body injury. … D Josh Brown missed his second straight game with an undisclosed injury. … G Karel Vejmelka didn’t dress for the game as Arizona wanted to get ice time for Prosvetov.

    NEXT

    Blackhawks: At Colorado Monday.

    Coyotes: At Winnipeg Tuesday. ___

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  • Capitals’ playoff hopes take another hit with loss to Blues

    Capitals’ playoff hopes take another hit with loss to Blues

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    WASHINGTON — Sammy Blais scored twice, Joel Hofer made 33 saves in his season debut and the St. Louis Blues dealt the Washington Capitals a significant blow in their long-shot bid for a playoff spot with a 5-2 victory Friday night.

    The Capitals missed an opportunity to make up ground in the race for an Eastern Conference wild-card spot against an opponent long out of it in the West. They trail the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islanders by five points with 12 games left to play.

    “We have no wiggle room,” winger Conor Sheary said. “The fact that we weren’t able to come out and be ready for this one and try to move up the standings is unfortunate. So, at this point, we got to get rolling, and if we don’t it’s going to end quickly for us.”

    Their odds of making it would have been even slimmer if not for a comeback victory in a shootout against Buffalo on Wednesday, but each regulation loss makes the climb more difficult. Coming up empty in a listless, mistake-heavy loss to St. Louis does just that.

    “Sometimes you get a nice comeback like last game, but it’s too hard,” center Nicklas Backstrom said. “It’s too hard in this league to just chase every game. It’s not doable.”

    There was plenty of blame to go around for Washington.

    Trade deadline pickup Rasmus Sandin — one of two additions amid a selloff — was on the ice for four goals against, and some poor puck management all around gave the Blues quality chances. Darcy Kuemper allowed at least one soft goal among the four he gave up on 21 shots behind a defense missing Nick Jensen because of injury.

    At the other end, the Capitals got third period goals from Martin Fehervary and Nicklas Backstrom against Hofer, a rookie playing just his third NHL game after starter Jordan Binnington was suspended for throwing a punch in the Blues’ last game.

    “It was fun. I had a blast out there,” Hofer said. “There’s obviously a lot of uncertainties with being in the (American Hockey League) all year and the first game in a long time, but I thought the guys played really well in front of me and kind of kept them to the outside. It’s super nice to get the win.”

    St. Louis again got contributions from all three reclamation projects acquired in deals prior to the deadline: the goals from Blais and one from Kasperi Kapanen and an assist from Jakub Vrana on Jordan Kyrou’s team-leading 31st of the season. Brayden Schenn sealed it with a long-distance empty netter with 1:39 left.

    Vrana, who was drafted by the Capitals and helped them win the Stanley Cup in 2018 and was traded to Detroit in 2021, has five points in six games since joining the Blues from the Red Wings earlier this month.

    Now with six goals since going back to the Blues from the New York Rangers, Blais has outscored longtime Blues winger Vladimir Tarasenko since the trade.

    “It’s been feeling good being back here and finding my confidence back a little bit,” Blais said. “Just happy it’s been working out well.”

    UP NEXT

    Blues: Host the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday night.

    Capitals: Visit the Minnesota Wild on Sunday afternoon.

    ___

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    ___

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  • McDavid scores NHL-leading 57th goal, Oilers beat Stars 4-1

    McDavid scores NHL-leading 57th goal, Oilers beat Stars 4-1

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    Connor McDavid scored his NHL-leading 57th goal and added an assist in the Edmonton Oilers’ 4-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Thursday night

    EDMONTON, Alberta — Connor McDavid scored his NHL-leading 57th goal and added an assist in the Edmonton Oilers’ 4-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Thursday night.

    McDavid pushed his NHL-best points total to 131 — 30 more than second-place linemate Leon Draisaitl. Draisaitl assisted on McDavid’s goal.

    Edmonton improved to 38-23-8 with its second straight victory and sixth in eight games. West-leading Dallas fell to 37-19-13 with its second loss in a row.

    Warren Foegele and Mattias Janmark scored for Edmonton in the first period, with Janmark connecting short-handed for the first of his two goals.

    Wyatt Johnston cut it to 2-1 midway through the third. McDavid quickly restored the two-goal advantage, and Janmark capped the scoring with an empty-netter.

    Stuart Skinner made 25 saves for the Oilers. Jake Oettinger stopped 26 shots for the Stars.

    UP NEXT

    Stars: At Calgary on Saturday night.

    Oilers: At Seattle on Saturday.

    ___

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  • Capitals tie it late, come back to beat Sabres in shootout

    Capitals tie it late, come back to beat Sabres in shootout

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    WASHINGTON — A little more than a minute away from their already slim playoff hopes fading a whole lot further, Tom Wilson scored arguably the biggest goal of the Washington Capitals’ season.

    After making it through overtime, Evgeny Kuznetsov and T.J. Oshie scored in the shootout to give Washington a 5-4 comeback victory against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night that may have saved the Capitals’ season.

    “There was some desperation out there that you typically see in the postseason, some big goals out of our big guys,” said Oshie, who also scored in regulation. “Every game has to kind of be a playoff mentality for us, and there’s no time like playoffs when you’re down goals and able to fuel comebacks.”

    It’s still a major uphill climb for Washington to make the playoffs after selling at the trade deadline and dealing with a growing list of injuries. But this win pushed the Capitals three points back of the second and final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with 12 games to play.

    “When you look back at the game, you can see the urgency in our game and just the compete level and just the will — the will to win,” said goaltender Charlie Lindgren, who stopped Alex Tuch and Tage Thompson in the shootout after making 23 saves in regulation and overtime. “For us to come back and win the way we did, this might be the best-feeling win all year.”

    It was only possible after Kuznetsov scored early in the third period and Alex Ovechkin cut the deficit to one with under 10 minutes left in regulation. Then Wilson’s scored a 6-on-4 goal with Lindgren pulled for an extra skater with 1:08 left on the clock.

    It was Washington’s first tying or go-ahead goal in the final two minutes this season.

    After getting Ovechkin back from missing the game Tuesday at the New York Rangers because of a lower-body injury, the Capitals lost defenseman Nick Jensen in the third period. Coach Peter Laviolette said there was no update on Jensen’s status.

    The team got a scare late in the second when trade pickup Rasmus Sandin took a slap shot off his left knee and departed the game, before returning in the third.

    “When he goes down and comes back it’s a good feeling for our team,” said Dylan Strome, who had two assists.

    The feelings were mostly bad in the visiting locker room for the Sabres, who have lost seven of nine to hurt the chances of ending the franchise’s 11-season postseason drought, which is by far the longest in the NHL. But Buffalo’s playoff hopes are still alive after picking up a point, and it has extra games left to play compared to other teams in the race, including the Capitals.

    “Down the stretch, every point matters, so it’s huge and everyone realizes this in the locker room,” Buffalo’s Tyson Jost said. “We care so much and want it and that’s good to see and we’ve just got to keep pushing and focus on the next game and keep putting together wins here.”

    Still, the OT loss represented a missed opportunity after goals in regulation by Ilya Lyubushkin, JJ Peterka, Jost and Zemgus Girgensons and 35 saves in net by Ukko-Pekka Lukkonen, who lost his stick in the corner before Wilson tied it on a goal Tuch blamed himself for allowing.

    “We had the lead for the whole game and then a couple bad mistakes — mine in particular,” Tuch said. “It’s unacceptable. I’m not a rookie. I’ve been in this league a couple years now and I know time management. I felt like I let the team down.”

    UP NEXT

    Sabres: Visit Philadelphia on Friday night.

    Capitals: Host St. Louis on Friday night.

    ___

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    ___

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  • Gaudreau has 5 points as Blue Jackets beat Sharks 6-5 in OT

    Gaudreau has 5 points as Blue Jackets beat Sharks 6-5 in OT

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    SAN JOSE, Calif. — Johnny Gaudreau scored his second goal of the game with 43 seconds left in overtime, giving him five points on the night as the Columbus Blue Jackets topped the San Jose Sharks 6-5 Tuesday.

    “I felt good tonight,” Gaudreau said. “Just a fun game to be a part of there.”

    Gaudreau beat Kaapo Kahkonen after the Sharks’ goaltender stopped Patrick Laine on a 2-on-0 break.

    “Great save by the goalie,” Gaudreau said. “Patty kind of stuck with it and found me in front. … It was nice to find the net a couple times tonight.”

    Added Columbus coach Brad Larsen: “Five points, that’s a big night for anybody. You could see early that he was skating, he had his legs tonight.”

    Boone Jenner scored twice, and Liam Foudy and Kent Johnson added goals to help the Blue Jackets end a four-game losing streak.

    Daniil Tarasov made 27 saves and recorded an assist for his first NHL point.

    William Eklund scored his first NHL goal for the Sharks. Logan Couture, Nikolai Knyzhov, Kevin Labanc and Alexander Barabanov also scored for San Jose, which lost its fourth in a row and seventh straight at home.

    “It’s something all kids dream of, scoring your first goal in the NHL,” Eklund said. “I’ve been waiting a long (time) for this and had a lot of chances. So it was nice to finally get this one and keep on going from here.”

    Kahkonen stopped 41 shots but lost his seventh consecutive start.

    “You’re not going to win hockey games when you give up six goals and be that loose and give up the chances we gave up,” Sharks coach David Quinn said.

    Barabanov opened the scoring in the first period with a power-play goal.

    Gaudreau tied it later in the first, and Johnson and Jenner scored second-period goals to put Columbus ahead 3-1.

    Eklund and Jenner traded second-period goals before Couture scored with 0.7 seconds left in the period.

    Foudy scored early in the third to give the Blue Jackets a two-goal lead before Labanc and Knyzhov answered with consecutive goals to tie the game at 5.

    Both teams went 1 for 3 on the power play.

    NOTES: Laine had two assists to extend his point streak to six games. His four-game goal streak came to an end. … Columbus scored a power-play goal for the sixth straight game, tied for the third-longest streak in franchise history. … The Blue Jackets improved to 18-1-1 when scoring at least four goals. They are 3-37-6 when scoring three or fewer. … San Jose is an NHL-worst 6-19-9 at home.

    UP NEXT

    Blue Jackets: Continue a five-game road trip at Los Angeles on Thursday night.

    Sharks: Host Seattle on Thursday night.

    ___

    More AP NHL coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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  • Zibanejad, Kane lead Rangers to 5-3 win over Capitals

    Zibanejad, Kane lead Rangers to 5-3 win over Capitals

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    NEW YORK — Mika Zibanejad scored twice in the first period and the New York Rangers beat the short-handed Washington Capitals 5-3 on Tuesday night.

    Patrick Kane had a goal and an assist, Jacob Trouba and Jimmy Vesey also scored and Vincent Trocheck had two assists for the Rangers, who are 3-0-1 in their last four games and 5-2-1 in their past eight. Igor Shesterkin made 28 saves to help New York win the opener of a five-game homestand, its longest of the season.

    Matt Irwin had a goal and an assist, and Nicolas Aube-Kubel and Nic Dowd also scored for a Capitals team minus star left wing Alex Ovechkin (lower-body injury). Darcy Kuemper finished with 31 saves as Washington lost for the third time in four games.

    The teams were skating 4-on-4 early in the third period after Washington’s Tom Wilson and New York’s Barclay Goodrow were called for roughing penalties. About 38 seconds later, the Rangers’ Artemi Panarin was whistled for holding, putting the Capitals on their third power play of the game. Shortly after the first two penalties expired, Shesterkin snatched a high shot from Washington’s Dylan Strome to preserve New York’s two-goal lead.

    Just six seconds after another Capitals power play expired, Dowd knocked in the rebound of his own shot in front to pull Washington to 4-3 with 8:12 left.

    The Capitals pulled Kuemper for an extra skater with about 2 1/2 minutes to go, and Vesey scored an empty-netter to give the Rangers a two-goal lead with 2:11 remaining.

    Zibanejad got the Rangers on the scoreboard first as he converted a give-and-go with Vladimir Tarasenko and fired his return pass past Kuemper from between the circles at 4:09 of the first period.

    Aube-Kubel tied it with 5:31 left in the first as he beat Shesterkin from the right circle for his fourth of the season.

    Zibanejad put the Rangers right back ahead 16 seconds later with his second of the night and team-leading 34th. Shesterkin made a long pass to Panarin, who brought the puck up the left side, skated around defenseman Alexander Alexeyev, cut toward the net and passed to Zibanejad, who was driving toward the front and put a backhand past Kuemper. Shesterkin was credited with an assist, his first of the season.

    Kane pushed the Rangers’ lead to 3-1 with 1:14 left in the first as he got the puck from Adam Fox on a power play and fired a shot through traffic for his 19th of the season and third in six games since coming to New York from Chicago before the trade deadline.

    Trouba made it a three-goal lead as he took a cross-ice pass from Trocheck in the left circle and fired a shot past Kuemper at 4:09 of the second. It was his seventh.

    Irwin pulled the Capitals to 4-2 with 7:52 left in the middle period as he scored from the left circle for his second.

    NO OVECHKIN, NO WIN

    It was the sixth time the Capitals played without Ovechkin this season, including four games last month following the death of his father. Washington has lost all six without him and the last nine dating to last season. The Russian left wing has 36 goals and 26 assists in 62 games this season.

    50 ASSISTS

    Fox’s assist on Kane’s goal gave him 50 for the season, joining Panarin (54) as the only Rangers with at least that many this season. It also made the Rangers the third team with multiple players in the 50-assist club. Edmonton (Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins) and Vancouver (Quinn Hughes, Elias Pettersson) are the other two.

    UP NEXT

    Capitals: Host Buffalo on Wednesday night in the first of two straight at home.

    Rangers: Host Pittsburgh on Thursday night in the first of two straight against the Penguins at Madison Square Garden.

    ___

    Follow Vin Cherwoo at http://www.twitter.com/VinCherwooAP

    ___

    AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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  • Dorofeyev’s 1st NHL goal helps Golden Knights top Blues 5-3

    Dorofeyev’s 1st NHL goal helps Golden Knights top Blues 5-3

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    Pavel Dorofeyev scored his first NHL goal and Jiri Patera made 30 saves in his debut to help the Vegas Golden Knights beat the St. Louis Blues 5-3

    ByDAVID SOLOMON Associated Press

    ST. LOUIS — Pavel Dorofeyev scored his first NHL goal and Jiri Patera made 30 saves in his debut to help the Vegas Golden Knights beat the St. Louis Blues 5-3 on Sunday night.

    Michael Amadio, Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson and Alex Pietrangelo also scored to help Vegas win for the sixth time in seven games to expand its lead over Los Angeles atop the Pacific Division to three points.

    Jordan Kyrou, Jakub Vrana and Tyler Pitlick scored for St. Louis, and Jordan Binnington stopped 26 of 30 shots as the Blues dropped to 3-7-2 since Feb. 18.

    Pietrangelo sealed the victory when he scored an empty-net goal with 7 seconds remaining.

    Dorofeyev, playing in his fourth game this season, used his helmet to deflect Karlsson’s rebound past Binnington in the third period just 1:42 after Pitlick tied the game at 3 at the 3:41 mark.

    Kyrou scored his team-leading and career-best 30th goal to cut Vegas’ lead to 3-2 with 4:41 remaining in the second period.

    Marchessault scored his 21st of the season, and Amadio netted his 13th in the third period to give Vegas a 3-1 lead.

    Vrana scored his third goal of the season and second with the Blues on a power play 13:26 into the first period to tie it at 1.

    Karlsson, playing in his 600th career NHL game, scored his 13th goal to give Vegas a 1-0 lead 8:05 into the game.

    HOMECOMING

    Vegas center Ivan Barbashev was honored with a tribute video in the first period in his first game back in St. Louis since being traded to the Golden Knights for 2021 first-round draft pick Zach Dean on Feb. 26.

    ON POINT

    Blues C Pavel Buchnevich assisted on Kyrou’s goal to register a point in his ninth consecutive game. Buchnevich has four goals and 11 assists during that span.

    UP NEXT

    Knights: At Philadelphia on Tuesday night to close a five-game road trip.

    Blues: Host Minnesota on Wednesday night.

    ___

    AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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  • Red Wings beat Bruins 5-3, a day after losing to NHL’s best

    Red Wings beat Bruins 5-3, a day after losing to NHL’s best

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    DETROIT — Dylan Larkin scored to help his team take a four-goal lead, then the Detroit Red Wings held on to beat the Boston Bruins 5-3 on Sunday.

    The Red Wings were ahead 4-0 late in the second period, but the NHL-best Bruins pulled within a goal midway through the third.

    Boston pulled backup goaltender Jeremy Swayman with 2:23 left to add an extra skater. Detroit’s Andrew Copp put the puck into the empty net with 23.1 seconds left to seal the win.

    Detroit’s Alex Chiasson broke a scoreless tie midway through the first period on a power play. Moritz Seider had a short-handed goal and Larkin scored with an extra skater midway through the second period, putting the Red Wings ahead 3-0.

    Adam Erne gave Detroit its four-goal lead late in the second. Ville Husso finished with 31 saves for the Red Wings, who won for just the second time in nine games — and a day after losing to the Bruins 3-2.

    Swayman stopped 21 shots for the Bruins, who had won 11 of their last 12 games.

    Matt Grzelcyk scored with 3:08 left in the second period, and the Bruins pulled within two goals early in the third when Jake DeBrusk’s wrist shot beat Husso on a breakaway.

    Larkin had a chance to restore a three-goal lead on a breakaway, putting the puck between Swayman’s pads only to see it bounce off the left post. Soon after, David Pastrnak scored to cut the deficit to a goal.

    Boston beat Detroit 3-2 on Saturday to take over the record for quickest number of games to reach 50 wins. The Bruins reached the milestone in their 64th game, beating the previous mark by two games set by the 1995-96 Red Wings and 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning.

    FAMILIAR FACE

    Boston winger Tyler Bertuzzi faced his former team for the first time at Little Caesars Arena, and was warmly welcomed when his return was recognized on the videoboards. Bertuzzi, drafted by Detroit a decade ago and traded earlier this month, responded by tapping his stick on the ice and waving to the fans.

    ONE-TIMERS

    Boston scratched D Hampus Lindhom with a swollen foot, but expects him to miss only one game. … Chiasson signed a contract with the Red Wings to bolster their depth up front after trading Bertuzzi, Jakub Vrana, Oskar Sundqvist and the 32-year-old winger scored his second goal in five games. … The Bruins assigned Jakub Lauko to the AHL’s Providence Bruins after the 22-year-old forward had three goals and five points in 12 games.

    UP NEXT

    Bruins: Play at Chicago on Tuesday.

    Red Wings: Play at Nashville on Tuesday.

    ___

    AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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