NHL News

The Kraken allowed three third-period goals in a 4-2 loss that capped a 1-9-1 skid. By the end of the next night, they were tied for last overall in the NHL standings.

Seattle and Calgary are set to meet again Monday night in Alberta, only with the Kraken in a much different situation. They are 6-0-1 since that loss and sit in a Western Conference wild-card spot.

Whether the Kraken are contenders or pretenders should be determined in January, when they have an NHL record-tying 17 games scheduled.

One of the keys to the Kraken's success has been the play of their fourth line. Ben Meyers, Ryan Winterton and Jacob Melanson combined for 11 of Seattle's 28 shots on goal Friday in a 4-3 win against the Vancouver Canucks.

Meyers, who had eight of those shots, scored late in the second period to give the Kraken a 3-1 lead.

"That line has been very responsible, very good," Kraken coach Lane Lambert said. "And with these games that we have coming up and the number of games that we've all talked about in January, we're going to have to have everybody (contributing quality minutes)."

Winterton and Melanson are both riding three-game point streaks.

"We're just focused on playing simple and being hard to play against," said Meyers, "and things are working out and we're finding success just doing the simple things right."

The Kraken also got a goal from defenseman Cale Fleury, his first since his rookie season with Montreal in 2019-20.

"Anytime you score, it's exciting, but it's been a while in this league for me, so it was special," Fleury said. "For me, it's just trusting my abilities. I know I'm in this league for a reason. I talked with Coach too, (and) he's just telling me to play with confidence, so when you have Coach telling you that it would be kind of rude not to."

The Flames have also been on the rise, with that previous win over Seattle igniting a 5-2-0 streak. That's despite a 4-3 home loss to Nashville on Saturday, in which they allowed the decisive goal with 29 seconds remaining.

"I don't think it was a great game for us compared to the ones we've played over the last little while," Flames coach Ryan Huska said. "I only thought we had maybe five guys that were at a level that I think they should have been at. I thought Nashville was much quicker than us for the majority part of the game. Not a great night."

Blake Coleman scored the tying goal for the Flames in the third period, Matt Coronato had two assists and goaltender Dustin Wolf stopped 32 shots.

"We were stubborn all night, and it came back to bite us at one of the biggest times of the game," Coleman said. "It's just one of those things where in that situation and that score and where we are, it's early to be talking standings, but we've given ourselves an opportunity to really climb. There's no excuse for it."

Flames forward Johnny Beecher left the game in the second period after sustaining an apparent upper-body injury in a fight with Nashville's Nicolas Hague. Beecher didn't return, and his coach didn't have an update on his status. Beecher was also suspended one game Sunday by the NHL for roughing Nashville's Michael McCarron.

Pittsburgh trailed 4-1 early in the second period, but worked its way back. Amid some consistent pressure on Columbus goaltender Jet Greaves (38 saves), Rakell converted from the low slot to force overtime.

In the extra session, Crosby, who assisted on Rakell's goal, came off the bench, took a pass from Erik Karlsson, broke free, then went forehand-backhand to beat Greaves for Pittsburgh's season-high fifth straight win.

Zach Werenski and Kirill Marchenko each had a goal with an assist for Columbus, which had won four of five.

The Penguins wasted no time opening the scoring. Just 1:48 into the contest, Ville Koivunen was in position for a net-front tip-in.

Pittsburgh recorded the game's first six shots on goal before the Blue Jackets took the lead via their second and third shots of the contest.

With 11:39 remaining in the first period, Columbus' Denton Mateychuk snapped the puck from the top of the left circle that went in off the blade of Dmitri Voronkov's stick. Some 27 seconds later, a trailing Mason Marchment pushed in a rebound of Adam Fantilli's shot past Penguins netminder Arturs Silovs for a 2-1 Blue Jackets' edge.

Columbus capped its first-period barrage with 1:22 left before the initial intermission. Mateychuk sent a pass to Werenski, who found Marchenko camped out at the side of the net and he got the puck by Silovs (21 saves).

The Blue Jackets scored just 47 seconds into the second. Werenski, with Crosby marking him, sent the puck from inside the blue line, through plenty of traffic and beyond Silovs.

Pittsburgh cut its deficit to 4-2 with 3:09 left in the second. Off a Columbus own-zone turnover, the puck found the stick of Noel Acciari, who beat Greaves, while alone in the slot.

The Penguins got within a goal just 3:28 into the third, via the power play, when Tommy Novak's slap shot found its way past Greaves.

Pittsburgh outshot Columbus, 43-25, and played a penalty-free game.

The only reason the Ducks are still near the top of the Pacific Division is because the Vegas Golden Knights had lost four in a row entering Sunday and the Edmonton Oilers had dropped two straight.

"Nobody is really looking at the standings right now," Ducks captain Radko Gudas said. "It's still halfway through the season. Anything can happen. It's obviously nice to be somewhere in the playoff picture compared to the last few years, where we were a lot of points out or a few points out, but we can't be looking at the standings right now and be satisfied with anything."

After trading goalie John Gibson and signing his former backup Lukas Dostal to a five-year, $32.5 million contract in July, the Ducks are allowing a league-leading 3.56 goals per game.

Dostal (13-10, 3.22 goals-against average, .887 save percentage in 26 games in 2025-26) hasn't performed at the level he did last season, when he posted a .903 save percentage and 3.10 GAA in 49 starts, but he's also been hung out to dry by careless turnovers.

"We're just trying to, maybe, do a little more extra," Gudas said. "Or sometimes trying to do too much with the puck instead of simplifying the game."

Ducks coach Joel Quenneville senses a lack of confidence with the puck, something his team flashed through the first 30 games, when they posted a 19-10-1 record. They've gone 2-7-2 since.

"I think when you're not winning, the confidence with the puck and positioning and trust, it kind of goes away," Quenneville said. "But nobody's going to feel sorry for you, you know. It's not just going to happen magically. You've got to make sure that we dig down and bear down and find a way, and getting back to what makes us a decent team is the little things."

The Capitals, who are 3-6-3 in their last 12 games, ran into the Ducks on Dec. 5 in Anaheim and surrendered three one-goal leads before losing 4-3 in a shootout.

Tom Wilson and Aliaksei Protas scored in that game for Washington, but they could be unavailable in the rematch.

Wilson left Saturday's 3-2 shootout loss to the Chicago Blackhawks with a lower-body injury. The team's leading goal scorer (22) and points leader (48) did not return.

Wilson was still being evaluated Sunday and the Capitals should have a better idea of his timeline Monday.

Protas, second on the team with 16 goals and tied for fourth with 31 points, was a late scratch against the Blackhawks because of a lower-body injury. He's considered day-to-day.

"I didn't think it was terrible, especially without 'Willy' and 'Pro' in the lineup," Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said of the loss to Chicago. "Those are huge holes. You're working through that."

Not only would Wilson's offense be missed, but also his tough presence on the ice against an Anaheim team known for its physical play.

Capitals rookie forward Ryan Leonard was injured in the last game against the Ducks after taking a hard hit from Jacob Trouba and missed the next seven games.

The defenseman, who also had an assist, collected the puck off the faceoff and carried it to the right circle before snapping it short side past Jake Oettinger's glove.

Juraj Slafkovsky had a goal and an assist for the Canadiens, who have won four of their last five. Samuel Montembeault made 24 saves.

Wyatt Johnston scored twice and Oettinger made 25 saves for the Stars, who have lost a season-high five straight (0-2-3).

Johnston tied it 3-3 at 11:07 of the third period. Monteambeault stopped Miro Heiskanen's shot from down low on the right side and the rebound bounced to Johnston, who quickly buried it short side from in front.

Brendan Gallagher gave Montreal a 1-0 lead at 8:42 of the first period. Alex Carrier's shot from above the slot deflected off Phillip Danault and then Gallagher in front to beat Oettinger under his glove.

Mavrik Bourque tied it 1-1 at 13:53. Montembeault slowed down a dumped puck behind his net for his defensemen, but it was Bourque who collected it in the right corner. He went for the wraparound and slid it five-hole on the netminder.

Johnston finished off some quick passing to put the Stars ahead 2-1 in the second period, one second after their power play expired. Thomas Harley fed Mikko Rantanen in the right circle and the winger dished it to Johnston in the slot, where he buried a snap shot stick side at 10:14.

Oliver Kapanen pulled the Canadiens even less than two minutes later, taking a cross-ice feed from Ivan Demidov low in the left circle for a one-timer that went far side at 11:59.

Montreal squandered nearly three full power plays in the second before finally capitalizing on its fourth opportunity to make it 3-2 at 18:39. Slafkovsky took a pass from Nick Suzuki at the left hash mark and one-timed it over Oettinger's blocker.

Since the start of the 2019-20 season, the Senators are 15-2-2 against the Red Wings. The two teams have yet to square off this season as all four of their matchups have been saved for the second half of the schedule.

Monday's contest marks the end of the Senators' four-game homestand and Ottawa can end it on a three-game win streak. Saturday's 4-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets saw the Senators trail early after conceding a short-handed goal, but they scored the game's next three goals to take command.

Thomas Chabot had two of those goals, but suffered a painful moment late in the second period when he was struck in the face by a Tanner Pearson clearing attempt. In classic gritty defenseman style, Chabot returned for the start of the third period to finish out the game after receiving a few stitches in his chin.

"The jaw wasn't broken or anything, then you're good to go, really," said Chabot, who wore a full face shield upon returning. "My head was fine, everything was good, so once the jaw was cleared ... it was just about doing some stitches and getting back out there."

While Ottawa is 2-0-0 in 2026, Detroit seeks its first victory of the new year. The Red Wings are 0-1-1 in January after consecutive losses to the Pittsburgh Penguins, including a 4-1 home defeat on Saturday that stands as one of the more lackluster offensive performances in team history.

Detroit mustered only 12 shots against Pittsburgh, tying the third-lowest total in any Red Wings game since the NHL began recording shots in the 1959-60 season.

"We didn't play the way that we've been playing, which is going to the net, getting pucks to the net and being simple," forward J.T. Compher said. "We were trying to make the perfect play. ... Everyone's saying the right thing and then everyone gets on the ice and we don't shoot it."

Alex DeBrincat scored his team-leading 22nd goal for Detroit's only tally. Lucas Raymond leads the Red Wings in assists (33) and points (44).

Tim Stutzle leads Ottawa in goals (19), assists (24) and points (43). The red-hot forward owns 19 points (eight goals, 11 assists) over a 12-game points streak. If he scores a point Monday, he'll tie the fourth-longest points streak in franchise history.

The Senators and Red Wings have two of the NHL's better power plays, and both units have been rolling. Ottawa is 16-for-52 on the power play over its last 14 games while Detroit is 10-for-30 with the extra attacker over its last 10 games.

John Gibson stopped 27 of 29 Penguins shots Saturday, which helped the Wings stay close despite their shots deficit. Gibson has gotten the majority of action lately, but Cam Talbot could rotate in for a start Monday to face his former team.

Leevi Merilainen is expected to make his fourth consecutive start for Ottawa. Linus Ullmark remains absent on personal leave, so Merilainen and recent AHL callup Hunter Shepard will hold the fort until Ullmark returns.

The Rangers could use some similar performances on home ice, and their next chance to start improving their record in front of their fans comes Monday when they host the Utah Mammoth.

New York is playing its first home game since rallying for a 5-4 shootout win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Dec. 20. The Rangers went 2-3-1 on a six-game trip culminating in Friday's 5-1 win in Miami over the Florida Panthers.

"We're in the middle of an Eastern Conference where there's only a handful of points that separate most of the teams, and so every point is so vitally important as far as trying to stay in the playoff race," coach Mike Sullivan said.

The Rangers scored 12 goals in their two wins on the trip and were held to six goals in the other games.

Mika Zibanejad netted a hat trick against the Panthers as part of his fourth career five-point game. Artemi Panarin collected two goals and an assist as the Rangers improved to 5-0-0 this season when he gets at least three points.

"I'm hoping this could be the start of something good for us," Zibanejad said. "A fresh start."

Each of Panarin's three-point showings came on the road where the Rangers are 15-8-2, compared to 5-10-3 at home.

Panarin and Zibanejad produced their biggest games while J.T. Miller sat for the sixth straight outing due to a shoulder injury. He sustained the injury on a hit from Nick Seeler in New York's most recent home game and was in a non-contact jersey during practice on Sunday.

New York is 3-2-2 in its past seven home games since a listless 4-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Nov. 29, but each of those wins required overtime or a shootout.

The Mammoth, who earned a 3-2 home win over the Rangers on Nov. 22, are 8-12-0 in their past 20 games. Opponents held them below two goals in four of the past eight games.

The latest instance occurred Saturday afternoon when the Mammoth followed up Thursday's 7-2 road win over the New York Islanders with a 4-1 loss at the New Jersey Devils.

"We got to try to get on a run here," Utah defenseman Sean Durzi said. "Can't have one good game and then one bad game, (then) one good game. We got to string together a lot of good ones."

The Mammoth were two points back of the Western Conference wild-card spots entering Sunday's action.

On Saturday, they allowed two goals in a span of 1:51 in the first period and two more in a span of 90 seconds in the second period. The Mammoth totaled 31 shots on goal but only Michael Carcone was able to score, while the trio of Dylan Guenther, Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz had no points after combining for 10 on Thursday.

"Puck management early in the game cost us a lot," Utah coach Andre Tourigny said. "I think it's a game with a tight gap and we try to play in front of them, and we paid for it. Then when we were trailing, they played good defense and we had good opportunities, but we could not bury it."

Stanley was penalized for roughing and removing an opponent's helmet after getting entangled with Tkachuk and throwing the bare-fisted punch in the second period of the visiting Jets' 4-2 defeat.

The league has the option to suspend or fine Stanley, a six-year veteran with no suspension history.

Tkachuk did not drop his gloves or receive a minor penalty, though he was assessed a 10-minute misconduct. Ottawa's Drake Batherson scored the eventual winning goal in the final seconds of Stanley's double minor.

Tkachuk assisted the Senators' first goal Saturday. Stanley finished with a minus-2 rating in 12:33 of ice time.

"I will probably choose my words wisely," Senators coach Travis Green said postgame. "If the refs had to do it again and call it again, they'd probably make a different call. You never like to see a guy get suckered in the face."

The league scheduled another hearing Sunday with Flames forward John Beecher, who sucker-punched Nashville Predators forward Michael McCarron in the first period of Calgary's 4-3 home loss.

Beecher took a roughing minor Saturday for tagging McCarron as the linesmen separated them during a larger altercation involving every skater on the ice. Predators defenseman Nicolas Hague later fought Beecher, who appeared to hurt his left arm and did not return to the game.

Beecher, 24, was limited to 3:06 of ice time. McCarron helped set up Hague's winning goal with 29 seconds left in regulation.

The Flames claimed Beecher off waivers from the Boston Bruins in November. He has never been suspended.

The Devils opened the season by winning eight of nine games but are just 14-16-2 since then. They capped the first half with a 4-1 win against the visiting Utah Mammoth on Saturday afternoon, giving them two victories in a row.

"It's a big win for us," said New Jersey goaltender Jacob Markstrom, who made 30 saves. "We've got 41 more, and this is how most of them got to look like."

The Devils scored two goals or less in each of Markstrom's previous four starts, and he lost three of them. They scored two goals in the first period on Saturday and added two in the second to give him a 4-0 lead entering the third.

"Obviously, we get four on the board here and thinking we're controlling the game from puck drop to the end," Markstrom said. "So it's a big team win and something that we need to build on, and this is the way we've got to play to be successful."

Jake Allen and Markstrom have rotated the past 10 starts, so Allen likely will start against Carolina in the second game of a back-to-back set.

New Jersey is 3-1-1 in Allen's last five starts. Allen, however, is 3-5-1 in nine career starts against the Hurricanes, with a 2.82 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage.

New Jersey defenseman Dougie Hamilton scored a goal on Saturday for the first time since Oct. 28. Now the Devils would like to see Dawson Mercer end his scoring drought, as he is goal-less since Nov. 29.

The Hurricanes also will play the second game of a back-to-back set after falling 5-3 to the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday. Carolina led 3-1 entering the third period before surrendering four unanswered goals.

"We've done it four times in the last six games, or something like that," Hurricanes forward Nikolaj Ehlers said of squandering a multi-goal lead. "And it's games where we've actually played really well, up until the last period.

"Last game, it was me throwing the puck right to a guy in the slot. Today, it was maybe a few mistakes and it was in the back of our net. So we've got stuff we need to clean up. Luckily, we've got 41 games to do that."

The loss was the third in a row and sixth in eight games for Carolina.

"Those are the teams you want to play up against," Ehlers said of the Avalanche, who improved to 31-2-7. "So we can take some stuff, but we've got some stuff we've got to bring with us as well that we need to clean up."

Brandon Bussi is expected to start in goal for the Hurricanes after Frederik Andersen made 30 saves against Colorado.

Bussi has made 16 NHL starts, none against the Devils. He surrendered a season-high six goals in his last outing, a 7-5 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.

The team will look to erase a sense of foreboding in the locker room on Sunday evening when they visit the Chicago Blackhawks.

"I think we're just finding ways to lose games right now," Golden Knights defenseman Kaedan Korczak said.

Vegas sustained its latest loss Friday in St. Louis, rallying from a two-goal deficit before allowing the Blues to score the go-ahead goal with 1:33 remaining in the third period in a 4-3 outcome. St. Louis captain Brayden Schenn scored after a rebound off an odd-man rush deflected off his skate and past Golden Knights goaltender Carter Hart.

After falling 6-5 to Colorado in a shootout on Dec. 27, the Golden Knights have just seven goals in their past three games, but Vegas captain Mark Stone is riding a three-game goal streak.

The team also welcomed the return of top scorer Jack Eichel (41 points) on Friday; he had missed the past seven games with an illness and upper-body injury.

"He'd been out awhile, so not a lot of practice time with us, if any," Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. "His timing was off, for sure."

Vegas has surrendered 30 non-shootout goals in the past seven games.

"Good teams find a way to win," Cassidy said. "We've got to get back to that."

The Blackhawks, meanwhile, will try to match a season high with their third straight victory on Sunday.

After allowing visiting Washington to score the game-tying goal midway through the third period on Saturday, Chicago regrouped for a 3-2 victory. Captain Nick Foligno's goal in the sixth round of a shootout lifted the Blackhawks.

Veteran Teuvo Teravainen, who scored in his third straight game, has seen the team's younger core continue to develop in a run that includes three victories in five games (3-1-1).

"It builds their confidence," Teravainen said. "They make some plays in the right moments, and of course they're going to make some bad plays also sometimes. This group is good. They're learning, and it's a big win."

No matter the experience level, the Blackhawks have strived for better opening sequences in games. They found one in Washington, with Ryan Donato redirecting an Ilya Mikheyev shot for the game's first goal at 1:13 of the first period.

"I loved our start," Foligno said. "It's an area that we needed to get a little bit better in. I thought tonight on the road, against a good team, we just competed, just kind of built on our game."

Chicago has ventured into shootouts in three of the past five games.

The Golden Knights can capture the three-game season series against the Blackhawks with a victory. Vegas edged Chicago 4-3 in a shootout on Dec. 2. Hart stopped 27 shots, Ivan Barbashev and Braeden Bowman each scored and set up a goal, and defenseman Shea Theodore earned two assists.

Theodore, however, remains sidelined with an upper-body injury.

Sam Reinhart scored and Sergei Bobrovsky made 15 saves as the Panthers fell 5-1 to the New York Rangers in Miami.

"From the get-go, I thought we might have pushed at times, but they went to the areas that made it difficult in front of our net, and we made it easy in front of theirs," Reinhart said after the game. "So, that seemed like the difference tonight."

Florida, sixth in the Atlantic Division, has lost back-to-back games and three of four (1-2-1). The Panthers -- the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions -- are 2-3-1 over their past six games and 13-9-3 on home ice.

"I liked our push in the third," Florida coach Paul Maurice said. "Unusual game for us. The (Rangers) go 2-for-3 (on the power play) ... which is 3-for-3 (Aaron Ekblad) was just coming out of the box, so we give up three (short-handed) goals. I don't know the last time we gave up three short-handed goals in a game.

"There were a couple of things I thought we were a little late on and then some good things we just didn't connect on, and I don't want us to lose our focus on that."

Bobrovsky, Sunday's likely starter, is 17-10-1 with an .885 save percentage and a 2.84 goals-against average this season in 28 starts.

Sunday is the teams' second and final regular-season meeting. Nathan MacKinnon, Sam Malinski and Gavin Brindley each had a goal and an assist, while Brock Nelson, Artturi Lehkonen and Gabriel Landeskog also tallied as Colorado thumped visiting Florida 6-2 on Dec. 11.

The Avalanche travel to Florida for the second half of a back-to-back, following an impressive 5-3 come-from-behind victory over the host Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night.

With Colorado trailing 3-1 entering the third period, Nelson scored twice and Jack Drury and MacKinnon also found the back of the net as the Avalanche scored four unanswered goals to secure the win.

"It was a great effort; it'd be easy to pack it in," Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar said. "I thought our guys, as soon as the puck hit the ice in the third, they were determined."

MacKinnon, who leads the league in goals (35) and points (74) over 40 games, added three assists for his 33rd career four-point game and second in as many games. The 30-year-old star has five goals and eight assists over his last four games.

The Avalanche are the fourth team in NHL history to post two double-digit win streaks in the same season. They also won 10 straight from Nov. 4-26. Colorado is two wins shy of tying the franchise record for consecutive victories, set in the 1998-99 campaign.

"It was great to see our guys sort of dig in and do what they needed to do," Bednar said. "Sometimes you need a little luck with that. We got it tonight, and we were able to get the result."

Trent Miner, recalled from the AHL's Colorado Eagles on Friday, will likely start between the pipes Sunday. Miner, who has made two appearances with the Avalanche this season, is 0-0-2 with a 2.12 GAA and a .909 save percentage.

Meanwhile, the Columbus Blue Jackets also have fared pretty well of late.

The surging Penguins eye a season-high fifth consecutive victory Sunday against the host Blue Jackets, who have won four of their last five.

Pittsburgh dropped eight in a row from Dec. 7-20 but has won five of the last six. The Penguins scored at least four goals in the five victories, and they outscored their opponents 20-8 during the four-game winning stretch.

"We're scoring a lot of goals, playing amazingly," said Pittsburgh goaltender Stuart Skinner, who stopped 11 of 12 shots during Saturday's 4-1 victory at Detroit.

"I feel like the team's got a really solid amount of chemistry right now."

Four different Penguins scored Saturday, Sidney Crosby recorded two assists and all but five players recorded at least one shot.

"We're using everybody, every guy's going, playing their game and playing their role," Skinner said. "It's really fun to watch."

With a goal at Detroit, Pittsburgh's Bryan Rust has four with four assists during a six-game point streak. Meanwhile, Yegor Chinakhov scored his first goal with the Penguins after being acquired from Columbus on Monday, in exchange for veteran forward Danton Heinen and a pair of draft picks.

Rust has two goals while Pittsburgh earned three of a possible four points from two games versus Columbus this season.

The Blue Jackets snapped Buffalo's 10-game winning streak with Saturday's 5-1 home victory. Columbus defenseman Denton Mateychuk had a goal with an assist while star blueliner Zach Werenski returned from a four-game injury absence to record two helpers. Jet Greaves made 32 saves for the Blue Jackets, who have allowed eight goals during their current 4-1-0 stretch.

"You just have to meet it head on," Werenski said. "We just went out there and wanted to play our game and play confidently. Play with some swagger.

"When we play like that, we can beat anyone," he added.

While Werenski is among the NHL's top offensive defenseman with 42 points on the season, Mateychuk has posted two goals and five assists in the last six contests.

Werenski totaled a goal and an assist during the host Blue Jackets' 4-3 overtime loss to Pittsburgh on Nov. 28.

Greaves has allowed just eight goals while starting each of the last five games. However, Elvis Merzlikins, who has lost three straight starts and owns a hefty 4.04 goals-against average, could be in the Columbus net for this back-to-back scenario.

Skinner has stopped 38 of 40 shots while winning his last two outings after giving up 12 goals in losing his previous three starts -- two since Pittsburgh acquired him from Edmonton last month. However, teammate Arturs Silovs, who has won his last three starts despite allowing three goals in each of those games, could be in the Penguins net Sunday.

Crosby, Pittsburgh's leader with 45 points on the campaign, scored twice at Columbus in November. That came after he was blanked during the Penguins' 5-4 home shootout loss to the Blue Jackets on Oct. 25.

The Stars are 0-2-2 in their past four outings, most recently falling 4-3 to the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday. They trailed 4-1 early in the third period before scoring a pair of goals late in the frame.

"We're certainly in a little bit of a funk," Dallas coach Glen Gulutzan said.

The skid comes after a stretch in which the Stars won 12 of 15 games (12-2-1). The team believed the NHL's holiday break would re-invigorate them and help elevate their game. Instead, they've struggled and their performance on the ice hasn't shown signs of improvement over the past four games.

One of the stingiest teams in the league, Dallas has allowed four goals in all four of their losses during their slide. Prior to the current stretch, it had given up at least four goals in a game only six times in 37 games.

"There are no easy shifts in this league, no easy games," Stars captain Jamie Benn said. "You have to come prepared to play every night or you'll get humbled pretty quick."

Dallas is hoping a stretch of 14 games over the next 28 days will help it get back to the form that propelled the team to second in the NHL's overall standings. Those struggles allowed the Wild to catch up, and Minnesota took over second place Saturday with a standings point in their shootout loss to the Los Angeles Kings.

"Our team did really good with rhythm and playing every second night, and all of the sudden a break hits and we haven't got back on the horse yet," Gulutzan said. "It's not tired; we're rested. It's down a degree and losing that edge. The league is humbling; it can turn very quickly. So you've got to get your edge back and get back in a rhythm of playing every second night and playing good hockey."

Montreal heads into the contest looking to bounce back after getting shut out 2-0 against the St. Louis Blues on Saturday. The Canadiens had won five of their previous seven games and had points in each of those contests (5-0-2) before the setback.

"I thought just execution was poor to start the game," Montreal captain Nick Suzuki said. "I thought we just weren't able to capitalize on our offensive chances and that's a big reason why we lost."

The Canadiens' power play has been a key part of their success this season, ranking in the top 10 entering Sunday's game. That area has been a struggle over the past two and a half weeks, however. Montreal is 4-for-22 since Dec. 16, an 18.2% success rate that ranks 22nd in the NHL in that stretch.

Against the Blues, they went 0-for-4 with just six shots on the man advantage, including a 5-on-3 for over a minute and a half in the second period.

"I thought we had some pretty good looks, just didn't score," Suzuki said. "Yeah, a little bit frustrating, but there was a lot of time left in the game for us to come back."

Schaefer, the No. 1 overall pick in June's draft, tied the score at 2-all in the second before collecting the game-winner off a nifty pass from Mathew Barzal with 49 seconds left in overtime. Adam Pelech scored the game's first goal in the second and Emil Heineman forced overtime for the Islanders, who have won four of six (4-2-0). David Rittich made 18 saves.

Matthews tied Mats Sundin with his 420th career goal with an impressive unassisted game-tying tally 9:30 into the second. The Leafs captain collected the record-breaking goal, putting the visitors ahead with 2:41 remaining in the period, when he took a cross-ice pass from Bobby McMann and fired a shot beyond Rittich's glove.

Matthews, who has 20 goals this season, grinned broadly and raised his arms while Oliver Ekman-Larsson raced over for an embrace. The Maple Leafs spilled on to the ice and mobbed Matthews against the boards across from their bench. The Arizona native broke Sundin's record in his 664th regular-season game -- 317 fewer than the Hall of Famer needed to set the record from 1994-2008.

Avalanche 5, Hurricanes 3

Brock Nelson scored two power-play goals in the first 7 1/2 minutes of the third period to spark a comeback as Colorado won its 10th consecutive game by rallying past Carolina in a victory in Raleigh, N.C.

Gabriel Landeskog and Jack Drury also scored for the Avalanche, Nathan MacKinnon tallied a goal and three assists and Cale Makar had two helpers. Scott Wedgewood also made 25 saves to help Colorado extend its point streak to 13 games.

Sebastian Aho had a goal and an assist for the Hurricanes, and Nikolaj Ehlers and Andrei Svechnikov had the other Hurricanes tallies. However, goalie Frederik Andersen suffered his ninth consecutive loss despite making 30 saves, including the first 16 shots he faced.

Blue Jackets 5, Sabres 1

Five Columbus players reached the back of the net to help end visiting Buffalo's 10-game winning streak.

Denton Mateychuk, Brendan Gaunce, Dmitri Voronkov, Mathieu Olivier and Cole Sillinger had a goal apiece to help the Blue Jackets notch their fourth victory in their previous five games. Jet Greaves backed up their effort with 32 saves.

Josh Doan was the only Sabre to solve Greaves, while Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 30 saves as Buffalo suffered its first lost since Dec. 8.

Kings 5, Wild 4 (SO)

Quinton Byfield had a goal and an assist for Los Angeles in a shootout victory against visiting Minnesota.

Adrian Kempe, Samuel Helenius and Corey Perry also scored, and Darcy Kuemper made 24 saves in regulation and stopped three of four attempts in the shootout for the Kings, who had lost two straight and four of five.

Kempe and Brandt Clarke scored in the four-round shootout for Los Angeles, while Matt Boldy scored for Minnesota. Brock Faber had a goal and an assist, and Jake Middleton, Joel Eriksson Ek and Boldy also scored, and Jesper Wallstedt made 35 saves for the Wild, who have a six-game point streak (3-0-3).

Penguins 4, Red Wings 1

Bryan Rust had a goal and Sidney Crosby had two assists to lead visiting Pittsburgh to a victory over Detroit, extending its win streak to four games.

Yegor Chinakhov, Rickard Rakell and Connor Dewar also scored, and Parker Wotherspoon had two assists for Pittsburgh, which completed a sweep of a home-and-home set. The Penguins, who defeated the Red Wings 4-3 in overtime on Thursday in Pittsburgh, held Detroit to just 12 shots on goal, a season-low for an opponent.

Alex DeBrincat scored for Detroit, which didn't have a shot on goal in the first 13 minutes of the game and had just six shots on goal in the first 35 minutes. John Gibson finished with 27 saves.

Senators 4, Jets 2

Thomas Chabot scored twice as host Ottawa lengthened Winnipeg's winless skid to nine games.

Drake Batherson and Claude Giroux were the other goal scorers for the Senators. Leevi Merilainen made 20 saves in net for Ottawa.

Kyle Connor picked up a goal and an assist, while Adam Lowry also scored for the Jets, who are 0-6-3 since Dec. 15. Winnipeg's Connor Hellebuyck made 23 stops.

Flyers 5, Oilers 2

Denver Barkey's first NHL tally highlighted a three-goal first period for Philadelphia, who topped host Edmonton.

Travis Sanheim and Bobby Brink also scored in the first, while Nick Seeler and Owen Tippett each posted a goal with an assist and Sean Couturier added two helpers for the Flyers, who finished a 3-2-0 road trip. Dan Vladar made 22 saves for Philadelphia, which allowed 13 Edmonton shots on goal in the first period, but just 11 the rest of the way.

Connor McDavid extended his point streak to 15 games with his 25th goal of the season and Evan Bouchard also scored for the Oilers, who have dropped two straight and three of four. Edmonton goalie Calvin Pickard made 24 saves.

Devils 4, Mammoth 1

Four different skaters scored for New Jersey as the Devils recorded their second straight win with a victory against visiting Utah.

Timo Meier and Nico Hischier each scored, while Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist. Dougie Hamilton ended a 26-game goal drought to pitch in for New Jersey. Brett Pesce and Jack Hughes each had two assists as well, while Jacob Markstrom made 30 saves.

Michael Carcone scored the lone goal for the Mammoth, who have lost three of their last four games. Karel Vejmelka made 26 saves.

Lightning 7, Sharks 3

Defenseman Darren Raddysh recorded his first hat trick as Tampa Bay swarmed host San Jose from the start to spark a rout and climb into first place in the Eastern Conference.

Brayden Point, Raddysh and Brandon Hagel scored in the opening 6:46 as Tampa Bay extended its winning streak to a season-high-tying seven games. Nikita Kucherov crafted a five-point showing with a tally and four assists to extend his point streak to seven games.

The Sharks' Pavol Regenda notched his first hat trick as well to give him five goals in four games, but the club lost for the first time in its four outings since the holiday break. Timothy Liljegren and Jeff Skinner had two assists apiece. Macklin Celebrini had a helper to extend his point streak to 10 games (seven goals, 13 assists).

Blues 2, Canadiens 0

Jordan Binnington made 25 saves for his 19th career shutout as St. Louis blanked visiting Montreal. Binnington earned his first victory since Dec. 7.

Jonatan Berggren and Robert Thomas scored for the Blues, who won their second game in as many days.

Jacob Fowler made 17 saves for the Canadiens, whose two-game winning streak came to an end.

Blackhawks 3, Capitals 2 (SO)

Spencer Knight steadied Chicago with 32 saves to help lift the Blackhawks past host Washington in a shootout win.

Nick Foligno buried the game-winning goal in the sixth round of the shootout to give the Blackhawks the victory. Ryan Donato and Teuvo Teravainen found the back of the net in regulation for Chicago, while Dylan Strome and Ryan Leonard tallied regulation goals for the Capitals to force the overtime at 2-2. Washington's Logan Thompson made 31 saves in the loss.

The Blackhawks had a short 4-on-3 man advantage in the final minute of overtime but were unable to find the game-winner. Nick Lardis, Andre Burakovsky and Foligno scored in the shootout for Chicago, while Strome and Sonny Milano found the net for the Capitals.

Predators 4, Flames 3

Defenseman Nicolas Hague scored with 29 seconds left in regulation to give Nashville a win over host Calgary.

Erik Haula scored twice in his 800th NHL game and Michael Bunting collected a goal and three assists for the Predators, while Steven Stamkos contributed two assists before limping off the ice after blocking a shot in the closing seconds. Nashville has now won six of its last eight games.

Blake Coleman and defensemen Yan Kuznetsov and Rasmus Andersson scored for the Flames, while Matt Coronato had two assists. Dustin Wolf made 32 saves but couldn't prevent Calgary from losing for just the second time in its last seven games.

Stationed in the crease, Minten slammed the rebound of a David Pastrnak shot past Canucks goaltender Kevin Lankinen (18 saves) for the final tally.

Minten, who had a point-blank shot stopped by Lankinen in the final minute of regulation, also scored a power-play goal in the first period.

Elias Lindholm also scored, Pastrnak had two assists and Jeremy Swayman made 31 saves for the Bruins, who were 2-for-3 on the power play en route to their second straight win since a six-game skid.

Filip Hronek scored after assisting on Elias Pettersson's goal to lead Vancouver, which led 33-21 in shots while finishing just 1-for-6 with a man advantage. The Canucks have lost three in a row and five of their last six (1-3-2).

Both of Hronek's points came in the second period.

Boston's push in the first five minutes included Geekie hitting the post and Lankinen stopping Pastrnak's backhander on the breakaway, but it took until a four-minute power play -- due to Marcus Pettersson's two penalties on one shift -- for Minten to make it 1-0 with 3:36 left in the period.

Stationed in the bumper position on the power play, Minten received a centering pass from Alex Steeves and turned to snap a shot past Lankinen's blocker.

Elias Pettersson brought Vancouver even just 48 seconds into the middle frame, having Hronek's point shot deflect off his skate at the net front and through the five-hole on Swayman.

Another man-up tally put the Bruins back in front at 7:25, as Pastrnak threw a puck from the bottom of the left circle towards the goal that bounced off Lindholm's skate in front and into an open side of the net.

Minutes after Swayman flashed his left pad for a highlight-reel rebound stop on former teammate Jake DeBrusk, the Canucks went back to the advantage with 1:24 left before intermission. Vancouver scored in just eight seconds when Hronek slid down the right side and had his centering attempt bounce off Boston defenseman Charlie McAvoy outside the crease.

Swayman withstood a push from the hosts early in a scoreless third, including nine of the period's first 10 shots. A holding call against Pavel Zacha just 21 seconds into the period boosted that total.

Adrian Kempe, Samuel Helenius and Corey Perry also scored, and Darcy Kuemper made 24 saves in regulation and stopped three of four attempts in the shootout for the Kings, who had lost two in a row and four of five.

Kempe and Brandt Clarke scored in the four-round shootout for Los Angeles, while Matt Boldy scored for Minnesota.

Brock Faber had a goal and an assist, and Jake Middleton, Joel Eriksson Ek and Boldy also scored, and Jesper Wallstedt made 34 saves for the Wild, who have a six-game point streak (3-0-3).

The Kings took a 1-0 lead at 6:08 of the first period.

Anze Kopitar stole the puck from Quinn Hughes behind the Minnesota net and made a pass from below the goal line through the crease to Kempe on the opposite side and he scored with a one-timer.

Middleton scored his first goal of the season on a one-timer from the left circle to tie it 1-1 at 8:28.

Perry was stationed to the side of the net while on a second-period power play when Byfield's shot hit him in the thigh and was redirected into the net to move Los Angeles back ahead 2-1 at the 16:57 mark.

Minnesota followed with a power-play goal of its own to tie it 2-2 at 18:23.

Hughes had the puck in his zone when he fired a stretch pass to Eriksson Ek, who had split two defenders, and he got off a shot from the bottom of the left circle that beat Kuemper over his left shoulder.

Byfield gave the Kings their third lead of the game 3-2 when he was credited with a goal after a scramble in the crease at 4:54 of the third.

The Wild came right back and tied it 3-3 at 7:33 when Faber scored from the bottom of the left circle off the rush.

Helenius scored his first goal of the season at 12:09 of the third period to break another tie. Helenius, who played just 4:34, finished a rush by scoring with a wrist shot from the bottom of the left circle off a cross-ice feed from Kevin Fiala.

Boldy was credited with his 26th goal of the season when it went off his body and into the net to tie it 4-4 at 17:03.

Erik Haula scored twice in his 800th NHL game and Michael Bunting collected a goal and three assists for the Predators, who have won six of their last eight. Steven Stamkos contributed two assists, but limped off the ice after blocking a shot in the closing seconds.

Juuse Saros stopped 20 shots for the win.

Hague blasted in a screened shot from the left point for the winner.

Blake Coleman and defensemen Yan Kuznetsov and Rasmus Andersson scored for the Flames, who lost for only the second time in their last seven games. Matt Coronato had two assists and Dustin Wolf made 32 saves.

Coleman tied it 3-3 with 7:11 left in regulation. He put a shot through Saros from the bottom of the right circle after a giveaway by Brady Skjei in his own zone.

Bunting capitalized on a misplay by Wolf to give Nashville a 3-2 lead 4:08 into the second. Bunting intercepted Wolf's pass from behind the net and ripped a shot into the open net from the right circle.

Haula hit the goal post with about a minute left in the middle period.

The Predators had a 13-3 shot advantage in the second.

Calgary's John Beecher left after a fight with Hague 9:52 into the second.

It was 2-2 after an eventful and chippy first period.

Andersson's goal tied the game at 2 with 6:19 left in the first.

Haula scored goals 1:33 apart to give Nashville a 2-1 lead. He tied it with 8:41 remaining in the first and put the Predators ahead with 7:08 left.

Kuznetsov scored the game's first goal 1:56 in.

Calgary's Mikael Backlund appeared to make it 2-0 at 7:40, but after Nashville's challenge, the goal was overturned for being offside.

There was a lengthy scrum around a fight between the Flames' Ryan Lomborg and the Predators' Cole Smith with 6:45 remaining in the opening stanza.

Schaefer, the no 1 pick in June's draft, tied the score at 2-2 in the second before collecting the game-winner off a nifty pass from Mathew Barzal with 49 seconds left in overtime.

Adam Pelech scored the game's first goal in the second, and Emil Heineman forced overtime for the Islanders, who have won four of six (4-2-0). Goalie David Rittich made 18 saves.

Nicolas Robertson scored in the third for the Maple Leafs, who extended their point streak to six games (4-0-2). Goalie Joseph Woll recorded 21 saves.

Matthews tied Mats Sundin with his 420th career goal with an impressive unassisted game-tying tally 9:30 into the second. The Maple Leafs captain picked up a loose puck in the Islanders' zone and skated around Scott Mayfield while keeping the puck at stick's length before he tucked a shot into the net while skating across the crease.

Matthews collected the record-breaker and put the Maple Leafs ahead with 2:41 remaining in the period, when he took a cross-ice pass from Bobby McMann and fired a shot beyond Rittich's glove.

Matthews grinned broadly and raised his arms while teammate Oliver Ekman-Larsson raced over for an embrace. The Maple Leafs spilled on to the ice and mobbed Matthews against the boards across from their bench.

The 28-year-old broke Sundin's record in his 664th career regular-season game -- 317 fewer than Sundin needed to set the record from 1994 through 2008.

Following Matthews' milestone goals, Schaefer tied the score with a Matthews-esque goal 11:10 into the third. Schaefer skated around Max Domi and Morgan Rielly before darting into the crease and nudging a shot past Woll.

Toronto took the lead at 12:12, when Nicolas Roy stole the puck from Heineman behind the Islanders' net and fed Robertson, who beat Rittich from point-blank range.

Heineman redeemed himself by scoring the tying goal from the right faceoff circle with 2:45 left.

Nick Foligno buried the game-winning goal in the sixth round of the shootout to give the Blackhawks the victory.

Ryan Donato and Teuvo Teravainen found the back of the net in regulation for Chicago, while Dylan Strome and Ryan Leonard tallied regulation goals for the Capitals to force the overtime at 2-2.

Washington's Logan Thompson made 31 saves in the loss.

Donato gave the visiting team an early boost as he tipped Ilya Mikheyev's wrist shot past Thompson just over a minute into the contest.

Strome found an equalizer just under five minutes into the opening period as he picked up a juicy rebound and fired it into the back of the net.

The Capitals caught a tough break late in the first as leading scorer Tom Wilson left the game after coming down awkwardly and played only just under six minutes.

Teravainen retook the lead for the Blackhawks on a power play with 15:36 left in the second period.

The Finnish winger caught a feed from Tyler Bertuzzi and placed his short-side shot just under the crossbar.

Capitals forward Connor McMichael dangled his way past a couple of Blackhawks' defenders, but Knight got his toe in front of the shot to deny a possible highlight-reel goal with just over 11 minutes left in the middle frame.

Nic Dowd snapped his shot off the crossbar with 2:24 left in the second as the Capitals kept firing pucks toward the Blackhawks' net.

Just over a minute later, Dowd met the same result as he saw his slot shot bounce off the post and away.

Thompson continued his strong showing as he sprawled across the crease to deny Bertuzzi and keep the deficit at one with 13:42 left in the third period.

Leonard finally found the game-tying goal with 8:42 left in the third as he battled out in front of the net and tapped the puck past Knight.

Chicago had a short 4-on-3 man advantage in the final minute of overtime but was unable to find the game winner.

Nick Lardis, Andre Burakovsky and Foligno scored in the shootout for the Blackhawks, while Strome and Sonny Milano found the net for the Capitals.

Gabriel Landeskog and Jack Drury also scored for the Avalanche, who haven't lost since Dec. 9 in an overtime result. Nathan MacKinnon was awarded a goal with 17.5 seconds left to go with three earlier assists. Cale Makar also had two assists.

Scott Wedgewood made 25 saves, including 10 in the final period. Colorado has a 13-game points streak.

Sebastian Aho had a goal and an assist for the Hurricanes. Nikolaj Ehlers and Andrei Svechnikov had the other Carolina goals, but goalie Frederik Andersen suffered his ninth consecutive loss despite making 30 saves. Andersen stopped the first 16 shots he faced.

After holding a 3-1 edge going to the third period, the Hurricanes fell to 15-2-1 in games when leading after two periods.

Nelson and Drury scored in a 33-second span less than two minutes into the third period to pull the Avalanche even at 3-3 before Nelson gave Colorado the lead for the first time.

Nelson's power-play goals came for a team that rated 29th in the NHL on power plays at 15.9% entering the game.

Aho's 300th career goal came on a short-handed breakaway with 1:51 left in the first period.

Landeskog got the Avalanche even on a wrap-around goal 1:47 into the second period.

Three minutes later, Carolina was back ahead on Ehlers' power-play goal.

Drury, who has scored in two of three games for the first time this season, joined forward Martin Necas and defenseman Brent Burns in their first games in Raleigh since playing last season for the Hurricanes. Drury and Necas were traded last January.

Aho has racked up 11 points across the last six games.

The Hurricanes beat Colorado in a shootout in October with Andersen in the nets.

Drake Batherson and Claude Giroux were the other goal scorers for the Senators. Leevi Merilainen made 20 saves in net for Ottawa.

Kyle Connor picked up a goal and an assist, while Adam Lowry also scored for the Jets. Winnipeg's Connor Hellebuyck made 23 stops.

Lowry scored a short-handed goal at 12:08 of the first period to give the Jets a 1-0 lead. Connor set up the play with a bank pass off the boards to Winnipeg's captain, who finished off a breakaway with his backhand.

The Senators evened the score before the period ended, with 4:57 remaining. Chabot scored a power-play goal with 6 seconds left on the man advantage after taking a pass in the slot and firing a wrist shot.

It was the fifth straight game the Jets have allowed a goal on the penalty kill.

Chabot scored his second of the game to put Ottawa ahead 2-1 at the 5:56 mark of the second period. He corralled a ricocheting rebound and beat an outstretched Hellebuyck.

Batherson extended the Senators' lead to 3-1 with a power-play goal with 4:10 left in the second period. He was left wide open and finished after a slick backhand pass from Tim Stutzle, with the goal coming with 17 seconds remaining in a double minor to Logan Stanley.

That assist widened Stutzle's point streak to 12 games.

The Jets cut the deficit to one with 9:50 left in regulation. Dylan DeMelo's slap shot rang off the crossbar, and Connor collected the bouncing puck and put it into the net to make it 3-2.

Giroux restored the Senators' two-goal lead, putting Ottawa ahead 4-2 when his shot deflected off his opponents and into the net with 4:32 remaining in the game.

Matthews tied Mats Sundin with his 420th career goal on an impressive unassisted tally 9:30 into the second. The Maple Leafs captain picked up a loose puck at the edge of the Islanders' zone and skated around New York defenseman Scott Mayfield while keeping the puck at stick's length before he tucked a shot into the net while skating across the crease.

Matthews collected the record-breaker and put the Maple Leafs ahead with 2:41 remaining in the period, when he took a cross-ice pass from Bobby McMann and fired a shot beyond David Rittich's glove.

Matthews grinned broadly and raised his arms while teammate Oliver Ekman-Larsson raced over for an embrace. The Maple Leafs spilled on to the ice and mobbed Matthews against the boards across from their bench.

The 28-year-old broke Sundin's record in his 664th career regular season game -- 317 fewer than Sundin needed to set the record from 1994 through 2008.

Matthews is the second visiting player to collect a milestone goal against the Islanders at UBS Arena in the last nine months. The Washington Capitals' Alex Ovechkin broke Wayne Gretzky's NHL record by scoring his 895th goal in a 4-1 loss on April 6.

The Lightning's Brayden Point, Raddysh and Brandon Hagel scored in the opening 6:46 as Tampa Bay extended its winning streak to a season-high-tying seven games.

The Lightning climbed into first place in the Eastern Conference ahead of the Detroit Red Wings, who lost 4-1 to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday, by bombarding the Sharks for five scores inside the match's first 24 minutes.

Stretching his point streak to five games, Nikita Kucherov crafted a five-point showing with a tally and four assists. Point had an assist to go with his goal.

Dominic James scored once while Jake Guentzel and Oliver Bjorkstrand posted two assists apiece. Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 19 shots.

San Jose's Pavol Regenda notched his first hat trick to give him five goals in four games, but the club lost for the first time in its four outings since the holiday break. Timothy Liljegren and Jeff Skinner had two assists apiece.

Macklin Celebrini had a helper to extend his point streak to 10 games that have produced 20 points -- seven goals and 13 assists.

Goalie Yaroslav Askarov started but surrendered three markers in 10 shots. Alex Nedeljkovic replaced him and made 12 saves on 16 shots.

To open Tampa Bay's final outing on its three-game West Coast trip, Point fired an accurate shot in the top-right corner at 2:37 and Raddysh scored 91 seconds later. Hagel's tally at 6:46 was enough to chase Askarov and force coach Joel Quenneville to insert Nedeljkovic.

San Jose found some life when Regenda trickled in a shot at 10:50 on the team's first power play.

At 2:49 of the second period, Raddysh increased it to 4-1 with a power-play marker. James grabbed a turnover and found the twine just 1:06 later for a 5-1 lead.

Liljegren's close shot was redirected by Regenda at 9:50 for the Slovakian winger's second marker, but Kucherov made it 2-for-2 on the power play at 14:48 for a 6-2 lead. Raddysh scored at 16:53 on the man advantage for the Lightning's fourth goal in the frame.

Regenda wrapped up his first hat trick with 3:49 to play.

Binnington earned his first victory since Dec. 7. He was named to the Canadian Olympic team despite posting a 1-5-0 record last month with a 4.77 goals-against average and .839 save percentage.

Jonatan Berggren and Robert Thomas scored for the Blues, who won their second game in as many days.

Jacob Fowler made 17 saves for the Canadiens, whose two-game winning streak came to an end.

The Blues got on the board with 9:12 left in the first period. Cam Fowler came down the middle, drew Fowler's attention, then fed Berggren for his shot into the open side of the net from the right circle.

Montreal's best scoring opportunity came during Brendan Gallagher's four-shot burst in the final seconds of the period. Twice, Gallagher redirected a shot on goal, and he also tried to convert a rebound.

The Blues applied pressure from the start of the second period. Fowler stopped Pavel Buchevich on a 2-on-1 rush and Alexey Toropchenko on a slot shot.

St. Louis increased its lead to 2-0 while short-handed. Thomas created a 2-on-1 opportunity, then followed up Toropchenko's shot attempt with a tap-in.

The Canadiens had multiple power-play scoring chances after the Blues went up 2-0. But Binnington made spectacular stops on Ivan Demidov while Montreal was playing 5-on-4, then on Noah Dobson and Cole Caufield while the Canadiens were playing 5-on-3.

Former Blues winger Zack Bolduc broke in alone in the final seconds of the second period, but Binnington made a sprawling save to deny him.

The Canadiens sustained pressure throughout the third period, but they failed to break through. Gallagher hit the post with a power-play shot, Sammy Blais was denied at the net front, and Caufield was stopped on a wraparound.

Travis Sanheim and Bobby Brink also scored in the first, while Nick Seeler and Owen Tippett each posted a goal with an assist and Sean Couturier added two helpers for the Flyers, who finished a 3-2-0 road trip. Dan Vladar made 22 saves for Philadelphia, which allowed 13 Edmonton shots on goal in the first period, but just 11 the rest of the way.

Connor McDavid extended his point streak to 15 games with his 25th goal of the season and Evan Bouchard also scored for the Oilers, who have dropped two straight and three of four.

Philadelphia made its mark early in the first period. Tippett passed the puck into the slot for a streaking Barkey, who beat Oilers' Calvin Pickard (24 saves) for his milestone goal just 7:16 into the contest.

Barkey's marker essentially set the tempo, as the visitors made it 2-0 with 9:29 left in the first when Sanheim beat Pickard from the right circle.

Philadelphia then extended its lead a little over four minutes later when an Edmonton turnover led to the puck deflecting into the net off the heel of Brink's skate off a shot from Cam York.

Vladar, meanwhile, was solid by stopping 12 shots in the first period. However, he couldn't prevent McDavid from scoring on a breakaway, which came off a Sanheim turnover in the neutral zone, with 3:52 remaining before the first intermission.

The Oilers made it 3-2 on the power play with 10:06 remaining in the second period. With an assist from McDavid, Bouchard unloaded a successful slap shot from the left point to give Edmonton at least one goal on the man advantage in nine of the last 10 games.

Philadelphia found some breathing room with 10:51 remaining in regulation off Seeler's wrister for his first goal of the season. Tippett added an empty-netter as the Flyers scored at least five goals for the third time in their last six.

McDavid, meanwhile, has 14 goals with 22 assists in the last 15 games.

Denton Mateychuk, Brendan Gaunce, Dmitri Voronkov, Mathieu Olivier and Cole Sillinger scored for the Blue Jackets, who have won four of their past five games. Jet Greaves made 32 saves.

Josh Doan scored, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 30 saves for the Sabres, who lost for the first time since Dec. 8.

Mateychuk gave Columbus a 1-0 lead at 3:00 of the first period. Boone Jenner left a drop pass for the defenseman inside the blue line, and Mateychuk fired a wrist shot from above the right circle that beat Luukkonen inside the far post.

With his assist, Jenner moved within one of tying Cam Atkinson (402) for third in points in Blue Jackets history.

Doan tied it 1-1 at 11:26. Owen Power spotted Josh Norris below the left circle, and the center dished a feed through the crease to Doan on the back door for the tap-in.

It was Doan's 12th goal of the season in his 40th game, matching his career total in 62 games entering this season.

Gaunce put Columbus back in front with a short-handed tally at 14:04. After Sabres center Tage Thompson stumbled inside the offensive blue line, Gaunce collected the loose puck, skated up the right side, then cut to the middle inside the zone and snapped the puck past Luukkonen from the slot for a 2-1 advantage.

Voronkov increased the lead to 3-1 at 17:12 when his deflection of Ivan Provorov's shot from above the left circle leaked through Luukkonen's five-hole.

Olivier extended to 4-1 at 8:04 of the second period. Zach Aston-Reese lobbed the puck through the neutral zone, and Olivier collected it and slipped a backhand by Luukkonen from the bottom of the left circle.

With the teams skating 4-on-4 with just over nine minutes to go in the third, the Sabres pulled Luukkonen for an extra attacker. Sillinger scored on the empty net at 11:46 to make it 5-1.