Tag: NHL hockey

RALEIGH, N.C. — Brady Skjei scored two goals, Frederik Andersen made 24 saves after a four-month absence and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-1 on Thursday night.

Stefan Noesen and Andrei Svechnikov also had goals for Carolina in the team’s first game since squandering a three-goal, third-period lead against Winnipeg on Saturday.

“It was very exciting to be out there with the guys again and feel the energy of the crowd,” Andersen said. “Be happy about being back and take it a day at a time.”

The Hurricanes were on the verge of making a high-profile deal. Carolina forward Michael Bunting was scratched because of what the team called “trade-related reasons.”

“It’s hard. It’s not normal,” Skjei said. “You go through it every year, but it’s definitely a little different feel in the locker room going into a game like that when you see one of your teammates leave out of nowhere.”

Montreal’s Joshua Roy scored the game’s first goal. Sam Montembeault stopped 35 shots, but the Canadiens four-game points streak came to an end.

Andersen, who improved to 5-1 this season, was in his first action since Nov. 2 because he missed time with a blood clotting issue. He had been doing on-ice work for about a month in preparation to return to games.

Andersen, who played in only his seventh game this season, was inactive for 50 games. He came onto the ice to cheers of “Fred-die! Fred-die!”

“I know he had a lot of doubts about just ever even lacing them up again,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “Whether we won or lost, just getting back out there doing something that obviously he loves to do.”

By the time Andersen stopped all 11 second-period shots, he had settled in.

“He made countless good ones when we needed it,” Brind’Amour said.

Skjei helped clinch the outcome with his second goal of the night and 10th of the season with 4:29 remaining. It came with the teams skating four-on-four. It was his first two-goal game this season and the third of his career.

Roy’s blast from near the blue line appeared to deflect off a Carolina stick on just Montreal’s second shot on goal. It was his third of the season and second in as many games.

Skjei made an individual move from the left side for a tying goal at 13:02 of the opening period.

Noesen put the Hurricanes ahead with 25 seconds left in the second period with his 14th goal this season. Svechnikov scored into an empty net.

Montreal’s power play went 0 for 5.

“We just didn’t execute it,” Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki said. “We had a lot of opportunities to get a goal.”

Earlier in the day, Carolina put goalie Antti Raanta, defenseman Tony DeAngelo and forward Brendan Lemieux on waivers. Lemieux, though, was in Thursday night’s lineup.

UP NEXT

Canadiens: Host Toronto on Saturday night.

Hurricanes: At New Jersey on Saturday.

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Brock Boeser scored his second goal of the game on a power play at 1:34 of overtime to rally the Vancouver Canucks to a 3-2 win over the Boston Bruins on Saturday in a matchup of division leaders.

Filip Hronek also scored for the Canucks, who came back from two goals down to snap a four-game losing streak. Thatcher Demko finished with 20 saves as Vancouver maintained the top overall spot in the NHL standings with 82 points..

“Maybe the last three, four games, the bench would have been a little different, slamming sticks and stuff,” Canucks coach Rick Tocchet said. “I didn’t see that tonight. There wasn’t frustration, even though we were down 2-0.”

J.T. Miller had three assists to stretch his point streak to four games (five goals and four assists).

“Millsy willed the game,” Tocchet said. “His third period was incredible.”

On the winning goal during 4-on-3 play in the extra period, Boeser scored on a tip in front on Miller’s shot 25 seconds after after Boston was whistled for too many men on the ice.

Jesper Boqvist and Danton Heinen scored for Boston, which lost its second straight in overtime and is 2-1-4 in its last seven games. Jeremy Swayman had 36 saves. The Bruins are tied with the Rangers for tops in the Eastern Conference with 81 points, though New York has a game in hand.

“My D-men did a great job and unfortunately it just comes down to one shot, right?” Swayman said. “A lot of great positives came from it, and the d-men boxing guys out and letting me have let a clear look at it was a really big thing for us.”

The Bruins went 0 for 4 on the power play, while the Canucks were 0 for 1 until Boeser’s overtime tally snapped a 1-for-29 stretch.

Both goalies stood tall in a scoreless first period, where the Bruins outshot the Canucks 10-9. David Pastrnak led the way with three shots for Boston, including a point-blank power-play chance from the left faceoff circle late in the period.

In the second period, the Bruins built a 2-0 lead. Boqvist opened the scoring at 5:27 as he broke in alone and laid a sweet deke on Demko for his third of the season. Just under six minutes later, Heinen drove to the net and backhanded a loose puck out of the crease and over the goal line to double the lead.

The Canucks spoiled Swayman’s shutout bid with 7:11 remaining in the third as Boeser fired a wrister to the short side.

Then, with Demko on the bench for the extra attacker, Hronek fired a shot from the blue line to tie it with 1:11 remaining.

Miller felt his team delivered a good effort that would have stood up, regardless of the outcome.

“I feel like we outplayed one of the best teams in the league today for 60 straight minutes, even though we were losing,” Miller said. “Let’s not make it more than it is, it’s just a hockey game in February. But timing-wise, it feels good, just for the way that it’s been going a little bit lately.”

Defenseman Matt Grzelcyk returned to the Boston lineup after missing one game with a lower-body injury.

Vancouver forward Dakota Joshua missed his sixth game with a broken hand.

UP NEXT

Bruins: At Seattle on Monday night to finish a four-game trip.

Canucks: Host Pittsburgh on Tuesday night in the second of a three-game homestand.

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SEATTLE — Jared McCann had a goal and three assists, Jordan Eberle added two goals and an assist and the Seattle Kraken beat NHL-leading Vancouver 5-2 on Thursday night, handing the Canucks their fourth straight loss.

Vince Dunn and Justin Schultz also scored for the Kraken, who took the season series against their Pacific Northwest rival and are 3-0-1 since a 2-7-1 skid. Philipp Grubauer made 19 saves in his first home start and second overall since suffering a lower-body injury on Dec. 9.

“It was a solid performance all the way through,” Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. “We got good contributions from everybody. Our play with the puck drove a lot of our success tonight. Moving the puck, taking care of it, making good, hard plays and getting through the neutral zone. We played fast.”

McCann had the first four-point game of his nine-year career. He has 11 goals and 11 assists in his past 15 games.

“He’s playing with a lot of confidence,” Hakstol said. “He’s feeling a lot of confidence with the puck coming off his stick.”

J.T. Miller and Sam Lafferty scored for Vancouver, which is 3-5-1 since a 12-game point streak. Thatcher Demko made 26 saves.

The Canucks fell into a tie with Boston — which lost to Calgary 3-2 in overtime on Thursday — atop the NHL standings at 80 points. Prior to its current four-game skid, Vancouver hadn’t lost more than two straight all season.

The Canucks went scoreless on all four power-play opportunities. They are 1 of 28 on power plays over their past nine games.

“Not much compete from the guys,” Vancouver coach Rick Tocchet said. “That’s on me. I’ve gotta take the blame for that. I didn’t get the guys to compete hard enough, so I’ll take the heat on this one. There were a lot of no shows tonight.”

Miller opened the scoring 4:34 into the first period, when he poked in a loose puck after Grubauer lost his stick behind the net. It was Miller’s 29th goal of the season and fifth in his past three games.

Dunn tied it at 13:22 of the first, one-timing a slap shot from the point.

McCann gave Seattle a 2-1 lead with a power-play goal 20 seconds into the second. He snagged the puck off a clearance attempt and fired his team-leading 25th into the upper-right corner.

Vancouver tied it 2-2 at 4:57 when Pius Suter’s shot pinballed into the net off Schultz’s skate and Lafferty’s shoulder.

Seattle regained the lead when Schultz fired a slap shot from the right point at 13:28 of the second.

Eberle gave Seattle a 4-2 lead just 1:11 later, burying his own rebound after a nice pass from McCann behind the net. He added an empty-netter for his 12th of the season, including his eighth in the past 15 games.

“I still think we have another level, and I think we got to it tonight,” Eberle said. “That’s kind of the standard for us, and we need to find a way to get that consistency each night.

“And if we do that down the stretch and we find a way (into the playoffs), we’ll be a dangerous team.”

UP NEXT

Canucks: Host Boston on Saturday to begin a three-game homestand.

Kraken: Host Minnesota on Saturday night.

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DENVER — Ryan Johansen scored one goal after a fortuitous bounce off the boards in back of the net and another that glanced off another player.

These days, he will take them any way they want to go in.

Johansen broke out of a scoring slump with two goals, Alexandar Georgiev stopped 24 shots and the Colorado Avalanche beat the NHL-leading Vancouver Canucks 3-1 on Tuesday night.

Johansen tied the game in the second period and scored the go-ahead goal early in the third for his first goals since Dec. 29.

“Oh, it feels great,” Johansen said of finding the net again courtesy of some puck luck. “It reminds you, I guess, you’ve got to stick with it … Hopefully I can get some swagger from that and keep helping the group.”

Artturi Lehkonen sealed it with an empty-net goal with 27.6 seconds remaining. Nathan MacKinnon had an assist on Lehkonen’s goal, giving him at least a point in all 27 home games this season. MacKinnon tied Guy Lafleur (1979-80) for the seventh-longest home-point streak in league history, according to NHL Stats.

J.T. Miller had a goal for a Canucks team that’s dropped three in a row for the first time this season. Vancouver turned in a solid defensive effort, though, in rebounding from a 10-7 loss in Minnesota on Monday.

Thatcher Demko made 24 saves for the Canucks.

On his winner, Johansen sent a long wrist shot toward traffic in front of the net and it appeared to glance off defenseman Ian Cole before going in. Soon after, Vancouver nearly tied it up on a tipped-in shot. But it was ruled a high-stick and the goal was disallowed.

Georgiev was at his best in the third period when the Canucks dialed up the pressure. Vancouver was generating quality chances late in the game, before the momentum was disrupted by a tripping call on Cole.

“Sucks getting that penalty at the end,” Canucks coach Rick Tocchet said. “I thought we were coming. Not sure that was a good penalty.”

Tocchet said prior to the game he was eager to see how his team dealt with a little bit of adversity. He was pleased with the bounce-back performance after Vancouver’s defense allowed six goals in a 5:45 stretch against the Wild.

“I thought we played a good game, probably deserved better,” Tocchet said. “But they made the plays at the end.”

In the second period, the crowd began chanting “MVP.” It could have been for MacKinnon or even Denver Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic, who was sitting in the front row. Both players are the current favorites in their sports to win MVP awards, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

Johansen tied the game at 1-all early in the second period when he knocked in a carom off the back board.

“There’s just a little bit more competitive spirit in (Johansen’s) game here recently,” said Avalanche coach Jared Bednar, whose team has won six straight home games.

Fresh off his hat trick Monday, Miller staked the Canucks to a 1-0 lead in the first when he broke free from the Avalanche defense and sent a shot past Georgiev’s glove.

It was a memorable night for Canucks forward Arshdeep Bains, who made his NHL debut. Born in Surrey, British Columbia, Bains said before the game it was “every kid’s dream to play for their hometown team.” His father was in attendance.

“First stepping out there, it just feels like a dream,” Bains said. “And then when you get into your first shift and throughout the game, it’s just like another hockey game. It was really cool.”

UP NEXT

Canucks: Finish a three-game trip Thursday night at Seattle.

Avalanche: At Detroit on Thursday night.

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TEMPE, Ariz. — The Carolina Hurricanes got a goal before the fans had settled into their seats and scored again a few minutes later.

Their goalie was good all night, ensuring the early lead would hold.

Jordan Martinook scored 16 seconds into the game, Pyotr Kochetkov stopped 30 shots and the Hurricanes blew past the Arizona Coyotes 5-1 on Friday night.

“We started really well, which was great to see,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. And then our goalie played really well too. I mean (Kochetkov) made real good saves.”

The Hurricanes jumped on Arizona with two goals in the opening five minutes and kept up the pressure to win for the sixth time in eight games.

Jalen Chatfield, Seth Jarvis, Teuvo Teravainen and Michael Bunting also scored for the Hurricanes.

Dylan Guenther scored for Arizona and Karel Vejmelka gave up five goals on 23 shots before being replaced by Matt Villalta, who had two saves in his NHL debut.

In the playoff picture a month ago, the Coyotes have spiraled toward the bottom of the Central Division with eight straight losses. Arizona hasn’t won since beating Pittsburgh 5-2 on Jan. 22.

“Obviously, the way we started the game it’s unfortunate,” Coyotes coach André Tourigny said. “I think it’s not because we didn’t play well, but we need to be more detailed and that’s on me. That’s my responsibility to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

Coming off a 4-2 at Dallas on Tuesday night, the Hurricanes but had the early jump against the Coyotes.

Martinook scored on backhander off a rebound before as fans were still milling around, and Chatfield quickly made it 2-0, punching in a rebound on Martin Necas’ wraparound attempt.

The Coyotes picked up the pressure and Kochetkov stopped Michael Carcone on a breakaway, but Guenther beat him a few minutes later after gathering a turnover in the neutral zone.

The Coyotes had some early pressure in the second period, but Jarvis scored midway through when a mishandled puck by the Coyotes went right to him in the left circle.

“They’re a tough team to play in the second because of the way they put pressure, the way they don’t let you change,” Tourigney said “And that’s what happened on the third goal — we couldn’t change.”

Teravainen made it 4-1 late in the period, punching in a rebound on a power play. Bunting continued the onslaught early in the third period, ending Vejmelka’s night by wheeling a backhander between his pads.

“I think Dallas, weirdly enough, we probably played a better game than we did tonight,” Jarvis said. “We got rewarded more here. We were able to put the puck in and capitalize a little bit more.”

UP NEXT

Hurricanes: At Vegas on Saturday night.

Coyotes: At Colorado on Sunday.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL

Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly has been suspended five games for cross-checking Ottawa Senators forward Ridly Greig in the final seconds of the teams’ game over the weekend.

The NHL’s department of player safety announced the suspension Tuesday after a virtual hearing with Rielly and team and union representatives. It was not held in New York because of snow, but the invitation for an in-person hearing allowed the league to suspend for six or more games.

Rielly took exception to Greig firing a slap shot into an empty net with 5.1 seconds left Saturday night to make it 5-3 Senators. He cross-checked Greig in the head and left shoulder but did not injure the 21-year-old playing his first full professional season.

“This is not a hockey play,” the league said in a video explaining the suspension. “This is an intentional, forceful strike to an opponent’s head using the stick as a weapon to exact retribution on an opponent well after a goal has been scored.”

As a result of the suspension, Rielly — who had no disciplinary history of fines or suspension in his 11-year NHL career — will forfeit $195,313 in salary.

Because the suspension was under six games, the only appeal is to Commissioner Gary Bettman. Anything longer would have gone to Bettman and then, if requested, to a neutral arbitrator.

Losing Rielly, one of their All-Stars and most valuable players this season, for this stretch is a major blow to the Maple Leafs as they try to hold on to a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The 29-year-old skates over 24 minutes a game for Toronto, and his contributions in all facets are difficult to replace.

“He’s been on fire, obviously an incredible season,” Leafs forward William Nylander told reporters after practice Monday. “We have a pretty resilient group, I feel like, so when guys have been out, other guys have stepped up and played, took over that role.”

The situation got plenty of folks around hockey talking about everything from the unwritten rules of how to score an empty-net goal to the pros and cons of retribution — especially late in a game.

Veteran forward Andrew Cogliano, talking about Greig and Rielly on Tuesday morning prior to the suspension being handed out, does not think people aren’t taking enough of the emotional side of the game into consideration.

“I’m pretty sure if Greig had another opportunity, he wouldn’t do that, if I had to guess,” said Cogliano, who’s in his 17th NHL season and has been with Colorado since 2022. “I think it’s something the probably didn’t need to happen but heat of the moment and things happen and Rielly took it in his own hands and didn’t think it was right for his team. At the end of the day, he might get suspended but maybe it makes their room a little tighter.”

Younger Avalanche teammate Bowen Byram didn’t mind seeing the situation unfold from afar, especially because Greig was not injured.

“I know Ridley Greig really well,” Byram said. “I played hockey with him growing up, so I was texting with him after and he was saying: ‘Why did I do that? That was stupid,’ or whatever. I kind of like that, honestly. It’s an intense game and there’s a lot of emotions going on. I don’t mind seeing some fireworks like that every once in a while, and I think it’s good for the game, as well.”

Rielly argued during his hearing that he made contact with Greig’s body before striking his opponent’s head. The league acknowledged some body contact but said it was still not an acceptable use of a stick in that situation, with the result already determined.

“This is not the case of two players mutually jousting where both players could reasonably expect escalating contact or for both players’ sticks to come up high,” the league said. “This is also not an inadvertent or accidental use of the stick while leveraging for body position or for other hockey purposes. This play occurs well after the goal has been scored, late in the game with the score out of reach and for the sole purpose of retribution.”

The Maple Leafs knew they’d be without Rielly on Tuesday night at home against the Blues. He’ll also miss upcoming games against Philadelphia, Anaheim and at St. Louis and Arizona.

“It is what it is,” Leafs center Auston Matthews said Monday. “We’ve got to obviously just pick ourselves up and move forward and put our best foot forward.”

Rielly is eligible to return Feb. 22 at Vegas.

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NEW YORK — Alexis Lafreniere scored 1:53 into overtime and the New York Rangers rallied to beat the Colorado Avalanche 2-1 on Monday night.

Artemi Panarin also scored and Jonathan Quick stopped 31 shots to help the Rangers get their second straight win and their 15th comeback win this season.

Nathan MacKinnon scored for the Avalanche, who had won three straight. Alexandar Georgiev finished with 27 saves against his former team.

In the extra period, Mika Zibanejad dropped the puck to Lafreniere, who then whipped a shot past Georgiev for his 13th goal of the season and third overtime winner of his career.

“Luckily it went in, so that was good,” Lafreniere said. ”That was big win against a really good team. We wanted to play better defense, and I think we did a really good job.”

The Central Division-leading Avalanche, starting a season-high six-game trip, are 11-3-1 in their last 15 games and 5-2-1 in their last eight on the road.

MacKinnon got his team-leading 32nd goal with 1:48 left in the opening period, firing the puck past Quick to give the Avalanche a 1-0 lead.

Cale Makar and Josh Manson had assists on the play, giving Colorado a league-best 155 points from its defensemen. Makar has 305 points in 283 career games, two shy of tying Tyson Barrie as highest-scoring defenseman in franchise history.

MacKinnon has points in 14 straight games and in 33 of his last 34 games overall. The 28-year-old forward is tied with Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov with an NHL-leading 85 points.

After Georgiev frustrated the Rangers for more than 50 minutes, Panarin scored his team-leading 31st at 11:17 of the third to tie it. The Rangers outshot the Avalanche 12-6 in the third period.

“I think they had more jump as the game went on,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. ”We just didn’t do enough to secure the win.”

Both goalies were sharp throughout the tight contest.

Georgiev, who played parts of five seasons for the Rangers as Henrik Lundqvist’s backup, made a sliding pad save on Vincent Trocheck’s one-timer at 3:40 of the third and stopped a point-blank blast from Zibanejad just over eight minutes into the period. He also stopped Adam Fox with 1 second left in regulation.

“I’m trying to see the big picture and those are big points for us,” Georgiev said. ”It’s an awesome building with a great atmosphere. Some good memories here, and I’m trying to make some new ones.”

Quick denied MacKinnon midway through the third to keep it a one-goal game at the time. He also stopped Mikko Rantanen from in front with just under a minute left in regulation.

“They are a great team. A lot of the credit goes to way we played defensively,″ Quick said. ”We kept the majority of their chances to the outside.”

The 38-year-old Quick improved to 11-4-2 as Igor Shesterkin’s backup in his first season with the Rangers. The victory was the 371st of his career.

“He’s given us really quality games,” Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said of Quick’s contribution. “Every day he comes to the rink, he’s ready to play. You’re appreciative of everything he does.”

The first-place Rangers were coming off 7-2 win at Ottawa on Jan. 27 before the extended break around the All-Star game.

Rangers captain Jacob Trouba served the second game of a two-game suspension assessed for elbowing Golden Knights forward Pavel Dorofeyev on Jan. 26.

Zach Parise made his Avalanche debut. The 39-year-old forward signed with Colorado on Jan. 26 after playing the previous two seasons for the Islanders.

”Conditioning-wise, I felt way better than I thought I would,” said Parise, who played on a line with Ryan Johansen and Artturi Lehkonen.

With the victory, Laviolette passed Al Arbour for seventh place all-time with his 783rd coaching win.

“It was a really exciting consistent win by our guys,” Laviolette said. “Our guys just stuck with it.”

UP NEXT

Avalanche: At New Jersey on Tuesday night.

Rangers: Host Tampa Bay on Wednesday night.

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AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL

SEATTLE — Jordan Eberle had two goals and an assist in Seattle’s three-goal first period, and the Kraken beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-2 on Sunday night.

Jared McCann had a goal and an assist, Brandon Tanev also scored, and Oliver Bjorkstrand had two assists as Seattle extended its point streak to three games (2-0-1). Joey Daccord stopped 30 shots.

“We were disappointed to lose the point the other night,” Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said of Friday’s 4-3 overtime loss to St. Louis when the Blues rallied from a 3-1 deficit. “But we came back and got the two points tonight that were critical.

“We have one game left before a long break, so we have to get our heads completely focused on that job, make sure we’re ready to go for a real competitive 60 minutes.”

Yegor Chinakhov scored twice in the third period for Columbus, and Daniil Tarasov had 23 saves. The Blue Jackets have lost seven of their last nine games (2-5-2).

With Columbus’ Dmitri Voronkov off for holding, Bjorkstrand fired a hard shot from just beyond the top of the right circle. Eberle got just enough stick on it in front of the net to deflect it past Tarasov to open the scoring with 7:20 left in the first period.

McCann made it 2-0 with just under 4 minutes remaining in the period, breaking up the left side for a pass from Eberle and a shot from the middle of the left circle.

Eberle needed just 14 seconds of the Kraken’s second power-play opportunity to make it 3-0. McCann took a hard shot from the left circle, which Tarasov saved, but was unable to grab onto. With the puck loose in the crease, Eberle came in from Tarasov’s right and swept it into the far side with 2:02 left in the first.

Eberle became the first Kraken player with multiple power-play goals in a game, and Bjorkstrand got his second assist on the play to increase his team-leading points total to 40.

“The first one, we broke in well, had a couple good looks at it, and it went off their guy, off the stick, and went in,” Eberle ssaid. “The second one, we found a way to get back, created some movement, and made a play, and Jared found the puck.

“We haven’t done a lot of that this year – we’ve had some shots from the side and we’ve burying it that way, so it was nice to find different ways to put it in,” added

Chinakhov got the Blue Jackets on the scoreboard with a backhander at 7:12 of the third period. He then pulled them within one on a breakaway with 4:02 remaining.

Tanev clinched it for the Kraken with an empty-netter with 13 seconds left.

“We didn’t have much to start the game, but found a way to push ourselves,” Columbus coach Pascal Vincent said. “Early on, their transition game really hurt us – they’re really good at that. They were connecting on breakouts in their neutral zone groups, then we got better at closing the gap and putting pressure on their guys. I thought we created more turnovers. In the second period, we started to move, then in the third period, we were going pretty well.”

UP NEXT

Blue Jackets: At St. Louis on Tuesday night.

Kraken: At San Jose on Tuesday night.

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SEATTLE — The St. Louis Blues pulled off a two-goal rally for the second time in three games and continued to climb their way back into the playoff conversation in the Western Conference.

Pavel Buchnevich scored his second goal of the game 3:31 into overtime and the Blues beat the Seattle Kraken 4-3 on Friday night.

St. Louis, which trailed 3-1 in the second period, won its fourth straight game and picked up two points in the crowded race for one of the Western Conference’s wild-card spots.

And they completed an impressive three-game road trip, rallying from a two-goal deficit to beat Calgary, topping Vancouver in overtime and finishing the trip with a comeback win in Seattle. All three games finished 4-3.

“We’re committed more to the standards that we’re asking for our guys and we’re starting to see that, and I think that has to do with resiliency,” interim St. Louis coach Drew Bannister said. “But I think guys are just more focused on what they can control right now and the things that we can’t control aren’t a distraction.”

Buchnevich scored his 15th goal of the season 1:27 into the third period to pull the Blues even at 3, beating Joey Daccord to the glove side off a feed from Robert Thomas.

St. Louis controlled the puck and had the better chances early in overtime and Buchnevich brought a perfect end to the Blues’ road trip by beating Daccord off a feed from Brayden Schenn.

Buchnevich finished with three points.

“He could not give me (a) better pass,” Buchnevich said. “I just got to hit the net lately. I miss the net a lot, so it’s good I hit the net right now.”

St. Louis (52 points) moved within one point of both Nashville and Los Angeles in the wild-card race, while Seattle (50 points) moved three points back. Both the Kraken and Blues have two games remaining before the All-Star break.

Thomas scored his 17th goal on a power play late in the second period that turned the momentum for St. Louis after Seattle had controlled most of the period. Oskar Sundqvist also scored on the power play 7:39 into the first period for St. Louis.

Jordan Binnington made 33 saves for the Blues.

Oliver Bjorkstrand had a goal and an assist for Seattle, but the Kraken lost for the fifth time in six games. Eeli Tolvanen and Brian Dumoulin also scored for the Kraken.

“It’s probably a game I think we probably should win. I thought we played good enough,” Bjorkstrand said. “Unfortunately, they found a way to tie it and from there we couldn’t really get that last goal.”

Bjorkstrand’s power-play goal 3:55 into the second period came moments after Daccord stopped a shorthanded 2-on-1 rush by the Blues. The save led to a breakout for Seattle and eventually Bjorkstrand’s sixth power-play goal of the season.

Bjorkstrand was also the reason for Tolvanen’s goal less than three minutes later. Bjorkstrand’s backcheck on Scott Perunovich led to a steal and Tolvanen eventually finished the play off a pass from Yanni Gourde.

But Seattle lamented the missed chances that could have given them a fourth goal. None was bigger than Jaden Schwartz missing an open net late in second period that would have given Seattle a 4-2 lead.

Daccord made 14 saves for the Kraken.

“It’s a tough point to lose. We played hard. We played a pretty good hockey game,” Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said.

UP NEXT

Blues: Return home to face Los Angeles on Sunday.

Kraken: Close out their homestand against Columbus on Sunday.

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SAN JOSE, Calif. — Tomás Hertl scored 1:29 into overtime and the NHL-worst San Jose Sharks rallied past the New York Rangers 3-2 on Tuesday night for their first three-game winning streak of the season.

San Jose erased a 2-0 deficit with goals by Nico Sturm and Ryan Carpenter in the first five minutes of the third period. Hertl then fired a cross-ice feed from Jan Ruuta into an open net to win it on a play set up by Alexander Barabanov controlling the puck in the offensive zone.

“(Ruuta and Barabanov) made a great play and I got an empty-netter,” Hertl said. “Kind of an easy goal for me, but a great job by them for sure. Huge win for us, and it’s nice to have three in a row.”

Artemi Panarin scored his 29th goal for the scuffling Rangers, who finished 1-2-1 on their West Coast trip and are 3-5-2 in their last 10 games. Adam Fox had a goal and an assist.

Panarin’s goal doubled New York’s lead 1:38 into the second period when he beat screened goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood over the right shoulder with a sharp wrist shot. Panarin, the top scorer for the Metropolitan Division leaders, has points in 14 of his last 16 games.

Fox scored the only goal of the first, poking in a rebound off a wrist shot by Alexis Lafrenière that set off a scramble in front of the San Jose net.

Rangers coach Peter Laviolette thought his team could have pressed more in the offensive zone.

“We made mistakes in the third period and it cost us,” Laviolette said. “They were able to tie it up and push it to overtime. That’s disappointing, just from that standpoint. We were in a position to win the game going into the third and we didn’t get it done.”

Sturm took advantage of a misplay by the Rangers behind their own net, picking off a pass from Erik Gustafsson and banking in the puck off goalie Igor Shesterkin. Minutes later, Carpenter tipped in a shot from the point by Rutta to tie it 2-all.

The Sharks are unbeaten since captain Logan Couture returned from injury last Saturday. They lost 15 of the prior 16 games.

“Just couldn’t be prouder of this team,” Sharks coach David Quinn said after beating his former club. “I’ve been proud of them on many occasions in a tough season, but none more so than I am tonight.”

Blackwood made 29 saves in the win. Shesterkin stopped 19 shots.

After winning in a shootout Monday night at Los Angeles, the Sharks have won both games of a back-to-back for the first time all season.

“Came back late, not a lot of sleep for the boys and feeling the body a little bit, trailing against another good team and then to come back … it’s a gutsy win by the group,” Sturm said.

UP NEXT

Rangers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday.

Sharks: Host the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday.

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Conor Garland and Nils Hoglander each scored twice and the NHL-leading Vancouver Canucks beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-4 on Saturday night.

After Toronto tied it at 4 early in the third period, J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson scored power-play goals to put it away. Thatcher Demko made 44 saves to help Vancouver improve to 31-11-4 and take a one-point advantage over East-leading Boston.

“We found a way to win,” said defenseman Quinn Hughes, who had three assists. “Our power play found a way.”

William Nylander scored twice for Toronto to reach 200 for his career. Jake McCabe and Mitch Marner also scored and Martin Jones stopped 15 shots. The Maple Leafs fell to 22-14-8.

After Marner tied it at 4 on a short-handed breakaway at 3:13 of the third, Miller put the Canucks back on top at 7:11, tipping Hughes’ shot from the point past Jones. Pettersson connected 3 1/2 minutes later, sliding in a pass from Miller.

“I was really thrilled with the way we were able to stick with it,” Demko said. “In the last couple of years that would be something that might deflate us, we might not have the ability to come back and win that game. I’m really proud of the group.”

Down 3-0 deficit after the first period, the Maple Leafs scored three goals — two from Nylander — in less than four minutes in the second. Garland added his second of the game late in the period.

“We got belief in this team. We came in here as a group and knew that was pretty pathetic,” Marner said about the first-period showing. “So we knew this game, and the pace of this game, was going to be very high and very competitive and we didn’t bring it in the first period and I like our response in the second.”

UP NEXT

Maple Leafs: At Seattle on Sunday night.

Canucks: Host Chicago on Monday night.

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EDMONTON, Alberta — Warren Foegele had two goals, Leon Draisaitl had a goal and three assists and the Edmonton Oilers rallied to beat the Seattle Kraken 4-2 on Thursday night to extend their winning streak to a franchise-record 12 games.

Zach Hyman also scored for Edmonton, and Stuart Skinner stopped 25 shots. The Oilers have gone 20-3-0 in their last 23 games to improve to 25-15-1. They tied the record for the longest winning streak by a Canadian team set by the 1967-68 Montreal Canadiens.

“I am happy we got the win. This group just keeps battling back and we were super calm. Hopefully we can continue this,” Foegele said. “Stu played a huge game again and that is what you need from your goaltender.”

The Oilers have come from behind eight times during the 12-game streak.

“It’s been a theme of this winning streak. We stay composed,” defenseman Mattias Ekholm said. “I feel like it hasn’t really mattered if it’s going into the third, going into the second, going to the last five minutes of the game… We find a way right now to stay in it and end up on the right side of things.”

Eeli Tolvanen and Jared McCann scored to give Seattle a 2-0 lead. The Kraken lost their third in a row during the tail end of a six-game trip after a nine-game winning streak.

“Our first 20 was good and, obviously, the first 10 minutes of the second period was what cost us,” Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said. “We weren’t as sharp as we needed to be and obviously gave up too much in that time span. We did push back after that, but we weren’t able to capitalize on what was a good start.”

Seattle started the scoring midway through the opening period when Oliver Bjorkstrand sprang Tolvanen with a long breakaway pass. The Finnish forward beat Stuart Skinner high to the glove side for his 12th of the season.

The Kraken went up 2-0 a few minutes later when McCann picked the top corner for his 18th after a giveaway by Evander Kane.

Edmonton scored 37 seconds into the second. A big rebound on Draisaitl’s shot fell to Foegele and he scored his eighth before goalie Joey Daccord could get across.

The Oilers drew even on the power play 4:38 into the second when Draisaitl banked in his 22nd of the season off Daccord. Draisaitl has 10 goal in his last 13 games.

Edmonton added a third goal in a seven-minute span when a backhand pass from Draisaitl sent Foegele in all alone.

The Oilers put the game away with 2:38 remaining while Yanni Gourde served a five-minute major for charging. Connor McDavid sent a pretty backhand across the crease to give Hyman an easy power play tap-in for his 27th of the season. The assist extended McDavid’s points streak to 12 games.

Edmonton tied its franchise record with 10 consecutive games allowing two or fewer goals.

UP NEXT

Kraken: Host Toronto on Sunday night.

Oilers: At Calgary on Saturday night.

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ST. LOUIS — Jordan Kyrou had his third career hat trick, Jordan Binnington made 41 saves, and the St. Louis Blues beat the New York Rangers 5-2 on Thursday night.

Brandon Saad and Pavel Buchnevich also scored for St. Louis.

Adam Fox and Vincent Trocheck scored for the Rangers.

The Blues have gone 8-4-0 since Drew Bannister became interim coach, replacing Craig Berube.

The Rangers have lost three straight (0-2-1) for the first time all season. New York has won just two of its last seven games and is 8-8-1 in its last 17 games after starting the season 18-4-1.

Binnington continued his trend of solid starts since Christmas. He is 4-1-0 and has won three consecutive starts. Igor Shesterkin stopped 15 shots for the Rangers.

Kyrou completed his hat trick when he scored unassisted at 7:01 of the third period. He picked up a cross-ice pass from Zac Jones and scored on a breakaway.

Kyrou had hat tricks last March 11 at Columbus and on Dec. 19, 2022, at Vancouver.

The Blues scored their second power-play goal in four chances at 9:26 of the second period when Saad put the puck in the back of the net for a 3-1 lead. It came after the Rangers had killed off back-to-back penalties earlier in the period.

It was the 14th power-play goal this season for St. Louis and the team’s first go-ahead power-play goal of the season. The Blues’ power play entered the game ranked last in the NHL.

The Rangers entered the game tied for the fifth best in the NHL in the penalty kill and had enjoyed a perfect PK in its last three games (5 for 5). New York has allowed 19 power-play goals, tied for the second fewest in the NHL.

Two goals put the Blues ahead in the first period after the Rangers opened the scoring.

St. Louis tied it on a goal by Kyrou, who scored on a wrist shot from the right circle, at 4:02

Kyrou got his second goal on the power play at 7:30 to put the Blues ahead 2-1. The goal came on passes from Thomas to Buchnevich to Kyrou.

Fox scored on a loose rebound in front of the net at 1:50 of the first period.

Trocheck scored New York’s second goal on the power play at 10:58 of the third period.

UP NEXT:

Rangers: At Washington on Saturday.

Blues: Host Boston on Saturday night.

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WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Cole Perfetti scored twice and Connor Hellebuyck made 29 saves to help the Winnipeg Jets deliver a 5-0 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday that extended their winning streak to a franchise-tying seven games and kept the team alone atop the NHL standings.

Brenden Dillon, Josh Morrissey and Gabriel Vilardi also scored for the Jets, who ran up their franchise-record point streak to 13 games. Adam Lowry contributed a pair of helpers.

“It felt really good,” said Perfetti, who also registered an assist and is up to 14 goals and 15 helpers in 40 games. “It’s always fun to score and it felt good to score twice tonight.”

Hellebuyck recorded his second shutout of the season and 34th of his career. He is 11-0-2 in his past 13 games, the longest unbeaten streak for a goaltender in franchise history.

Winnipeg, which began a four-game homestand, leads the league with 58 points. Its seven-game winning streak ties the franchise record set in March/April 2017.

Daniil Tarasov stopped 18 shots for Columbus.

“That’s a team that’s going for the (Stanley) Cup, and that’s a team that we’re striving to be like,” Blue Jackets forward Justin Danforth said. “They don’t make many mistakes on the ice.

“They clog the middle of the ice, they backcheck, forecheck our (defense), they finish hits, block shots. That’s probably one of the better teams we’ve played all year.”

Jets leading scorer Mark Scheifele left the game with 13:27 remaining in the third period after a point shot by Morrissey was deflected and hit him on the right side of the head in front of the net. He went off the ice to the dressing room and didn’t return until joining his teammates on the ice for the post-game celebration.

Coach Rick Bowness said Scheifele had a few stitches in his ear.

Winnipeg led 1-0 after the first period and 3-0 following the second.

Dillon tied his 2013-14 career high for goals with his sixth of the season at 3:12 of the opening period.

“We have shown more than enough times that we can score the goals, but our commitment to defense over the last stretch of whatever it is, this has been really impressive and it’s been nice that we are getting the results because of it,” Dillon said.

Scheifele’s assist was the 400th of his career and extended his point streak to four games with two goals and three helpers.

Perfetti extended his goal-scoring streak to three consecutive games at 10:50 of the second period.

Morrissey’s slap shot three minutes later made it 3-0.

“We did (play a good first period), but we had a six-, seven-minute block in the second that we tried to complicate things and they scored two so at that point it’s 3-0 for them,” said Columbus coach Pascal Vincent.

Perfetti scored his second of the game at 3:34 of the third and Vilardi made it 5-0 on the power play at 9:29.

UP NEXT

Blue Jackets: Kick off a three-game homestand against Seattle on Saturday night.

Jets: Host Chicago on Thursday night.

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MONTREAL — Samuel Montembeault made 45 saves and stopped all three shootout attempts, Cole Caufield scored the lone goal in the tiebreaker and the Montreal Canadiens held off the New York Rangers 4-3 on Saturday night.

Brendan Gallagher, Sean Monahan, Joel Armia scored to give Montreal a 3-0 lead early in the second period.

In the shootout, Mika Zibanejad attempted a one-handed deke only for the sprawling Montembeault to reach back and swat the puck away with his paddle.

“I try not to think too much when guys are coming down on me in the shootout,” Montembeault said. “But (Zibanejad) did the same move on me last year — and scored. I made a nice save this time and I’m really happy.”

Vincent Trocheck and Artemi Panarin each had a goal and an assist, and Adam Fox tied it for New York midway through the third. Jonathan Quick made 27 saves.

“(Montembeault) was big all the way through it,” Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said. “He played a solid game … probably over 30 scoring chances. He was good in regulation, good in overtime, and made a heck of a save in the shootout on Mika.”

Gallagher opened the scoring midway through the first with his sixth goal of the season and first in 25 games

Monahan broke a 10-game drought 1:09 into the second with a shot that bounced off Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren and into the back of the net. Armia beat Quick between the legs 1:30 later.

New York finally got on the board at with 9:32 left in the second with Trocheck’ tip.

Trocheck then pulled off a nifty set play by tipping the puck between Mitchell Stephens’ legs during an offensive zone draw and setting up Panarin for his 25th with 5:31 left in the second.

Fox tied it at 9:30 of the third with a point shot through traffic.

“Every night here is special, but there’s some nights that stand out a little bit more,” Gallagher said. “Saturday night when the Rangers are in town, it was a good hockey game, there were chances both ways, both teams were making plays, it was physical. And Monty really stepped up and made some massive saves.”

UP NEXT

Rangers:. Host Vancouver on Monday night.

Canadiens: At Philadelphia on Wednesday night.

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