NHL News

Mikael Backlund scored twice and Nazem Kadri posted one goal and one assist for the Flames, who scored three unanswered goals in the final frame while winning for the fifth time in seven games.

Calgary goaltender Dustin Wolf made 21 saves.

Chandler Stephenson and Kaapo Kakko tallied for the Kraken, who have lost four straight games and have managed only one victory in 11 outings (1-9-1).

Seattle goalie Joey Daccord stopped 42 shots, 18 of them in the scoreless first period.

Calgary pulled level at 10:04 of the third period. Kadri scored a power-play goal -- the Flames' fifth advantage against the league's worst penalty kill -- with a one-timer from the right faceoff circle.

Coronato netted the winning tally 75 seconds later. Taking advantage of a Seattle turnover at the Calgary blue line, Andersson sent a pass to Coronato, who had a step on a defender, and he ripped a top-shelf goal off the rush.

Backlund's empty-net goal with eight seconds remaining clinched the decision.

Seattle twice took a lead but could not hold it.

Stephenson opened the scoring at 7:52 of the second period with his third goal in as many outings. A Calgary turnover sent the Kraken into the offensive zone and Stephenson converted a nifty deke. The goal runs his point-scoring streak to seven games (four goals, three assists).

Backlund replied just past the midway point of the game with a fortuitous bounce. Andersson's pass to the front of the net banked into the net off Backlund's skate.

Kakko restored Seattle's lead on a power-play goal at 17:16 of the second period. Ryker Evans sent a perfectly placed shot-pass for Kakko to redirect for just his second goal of the season.

Gabe Perreault scored his first NHL goal for the Rangers, who earned just their second victory in seven games.

Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin made 26 saves, including one on Justin Faulk in overtime.

Jonathan Berggren scored his first goal for the Blues since arriving on waiver claim. Jordan Binnington made 29 saves in defeat.

Playing without top scorer Artemi Panarin -- who was sidelined by illness -- the Rangers controlled much of the first period while outshooting the Blues 10-5.

Conor Sheary tried to stuff a shot through Binnington 13 seconds into the game, then he shot the rebound wide.

The tight-checking game opened up late in the first period. Pavel Buchnevich tested Shesterkin with a shot from the high slot off the rush.

The Blues moved ahead 1-0 with 62 seconds left in the period. After Dalibor Dvorsky forced a turnover, Berggren came out of the right corner and snapped a shot into the short side of the net.

The Rangers tied the game 6:02 into the second period with a power-play goal. Will Cuylle's left-point shot caromed in off Perreault's skate.

Binnington kept the score at 1-1 by stopping Vincent Trocheck's point-blank shot on another New York power play.

The teams exchanged rushes late in the period, with Miller firing a shot on goal for the Rangers and Colton Parayko answering for the Blues.

The Blues stepped up their pressure in the third period. They outshot the Rangers 11-5 while generating multiple scoring chances.

Buchnevich fired a shot off the tip of Shesterkin's glove and Logan Mailloux rifled a shot off the top of the goaltender's shoulder as the game wound toward overtime.

Jack Quinn, Tage Thompson, Noah Ostlund, Josh Norris, and Ryan McLeod all scored for Buffalo. Zach Benson and Mattias Samuelsson each had two assists.

Alex Lyon stopped 24 of 27 shots to earn his seventh win of the season. Lyon has started Buffalo's last three games, and seems to be taking over as the Sabres' first choice at goaltender.

The loss snapped the Flyers' five-game (2-0-3) points streak, and the team has now won just once in its last five games (1-1-3).

Noah Cates, Cam York, and Travis Konecny each scored for Philadelphia, and Bobby Brink added two assists. Flyers goalie Samuel Ersson stopped 23 of 27 shots.

The two teams exchanged goals within a 58-second span in the first period. Quinn's re-direction opened the scoring at the 7:40 mark, but less than a minute later, Cates buried a quick shot for the equalizer.

A nice Philadelphia passing play was finished off by York's goal 11:01 into the second period. The Sabres then equalized when Rasmus Dahlin dropped off a between-the-legs pass to Thompson at the 16:54 mark, and Thompson banked a shot off the post and into the net.

Thompson's team-leading 17th goal of the season extended the star forward's scoring streak to five consecutive games.

Just 30 seconds before the second intermission, Ostlund's shot from the upper slot beat a screened Ersson. It was the fifth goal of Ostlund's NHL rookie season, and his second in as many games.

Norris extended Buffalo's lead with a power-play tally at 10:20 into third period. Norris' goal ended up as the game-winner, as Konecny scored just over four minutes later to narrow the deficit.

The Flyers are 0-for-16 on power plays over their last seven games, including an 0-for-3 performance on Thursday. The special-teams struggles were highlighted when Philadelphia couldn't score on a power play and with a pulled goalie late in the third period.

After the Sabres overcame the 6-on-4 disadvantage, McLeod sealed Buffalo's victory with an empty-net goal.

Playing on the second half of a back-to-back set, the Kings rallied from a one-goal deficit to win for the first time on its road trip (1-2-0) and improve to 11-4-5 away from Los Angeles.

Goaltender Anton Forsberg played for the second straight night and made 31 saves.

The Lightning's Oliver Bjorkstrand notched a power-play goal. Following a seven-game absence, Andrei Vasilevskiy returned with 18 saves as his team lost its third straight (0-2-1).

Tampa Bay played without its top point producer (late scratch Nikita Kucherov) and goal scorer (Brandon Hagel), but defenseman Ryan McDonagh returned.

With both clubs trying to rebound from a last loss to the Florida Panthers, the netminder nicknamed the Big Cat stopped the Kings' Trevor Moore three times on good chances by the Western Conference club, who lost in Sunrise 3-2 to the Stanley Cup champions on Wednesday.

The game's first penalty, a cross-check against Kempe, led to a 1-0 Lightning lead when Bjorkstrand notched career point No. 399 on a rebound at 12:54.

Forsberg kept it 1-0 with a spectacular, sliding glove save on Dominic James' shot in the final seconds.

In the second, Kempe redeemed himself by hitting the net twice as the low-scoring Kings ultimately grabbed a 2-1 lead.

Kempe received a pass from Anze Kopitar in the neutral zone and whistled in the tying goal at 5:21.

Just over 10 minutes later, Kempe stole the puck from Pontus Holmberg, sped off on a breakaway from the winger and deked Vasilevskiy for his team-leading 13th tally at 15:58.

Forsberg made another amazing save just over a minute into the third when he reached back and snatched a puck that was trickling toward the goal line. Vasilevskiy then answered by stopping Moore on a very short breakaway.

The Lightning got a power play at 1:05 with Vasilevskiy on the bench for an extra skater, but the Kings held on in the 6-on-4 penalty kill for their first win in five matches (1-2-2).

The Swedish forward also added an assist as he extended his points streak to six games. Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy posted three-point nights as each delivered an empty-net goal and two assists. Ryan Hartman and Vladimir Tarasenko tallied goals and Yakov Trenin recorded his fifth two-assist game of his career.

Jesper Wallstedt made 27 saves for the Wild.

Zach Werenski scored twice, giving him four in the Blue Jackets' last two games and extended his points streak to four games. Charlie Coyle and Cole Sillinger recorded assists.

Jet Greaves stopped 23 shots, but he could not get his leg pad on Eriksson Ek's shot that came during a scrum in front of the crease midway through the third period to give Minnesota a 3-2 lead.

Minnesota's late outburst overshadowed a record performance by Werenski, who became the first Blue Jackets defenseman to score multiple goals in consecutive games.

Werenski's first came with 4:40 remaining in the opening period. Miles Wood's takeaway in the Wild's attack zone led to a 3-on-2 opportunity, with Werenski as the trailer, and the blueliner scored his 12th of the season from the right circle after taking a crossing pass from Coyle.

Minnesota tied the game on Hartman's redirection in the slot with 6:30 left in the second period. Hartman was stationed behind Greaves and received a perfect feed from Kaprizov for the power-play goal.

Tarasenko put Minnesota ahead moments later with his sixth of the season and third in his last two games. The journeyman forward finished a 3-on-2 with 3:45 left in the period that started with a neutral-zone turnover. Trenin and Danila Yurov set up their fellow Russian linemate.

That lead lasted just 1:24 as Werenski turned a center ice takeaway into an unassisted goal, beating Wallstedt again from the right circle. He now has 13 goals to rank second among all NHL defensemen this season.

Kaprizov got his 22nd of the season and Boldy added his 20th in the final two minutes to ensure Columbus lost for the sixth time in seven games.

Edmonton tallied a goal in each period on the way to its sixth win in eight games (6-1-1). Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Connor McDavid each finished with a goal and an assist.

Nugent-Hopkins opened the scoring with a power-play goal in the first, while McDavid added a shorthanded tally in the third.

McDavid has 10 goals and 12 assists during an eight-game point streak.

Edmonton's Tristan Jarry stopped 12 of the 13 shots he faced, but left with an apparent lower-body injury after saving a Morgan Geekie slap shot with 4:52 left in the second. Calvin Pickard made 12 saves on as many shots in relief.

Pavel Zacha scored the lone goal and Jeremy Swayman made 22 saves for Boston, which is 5-2-0 in its last seven games.

After Jarry saved Sean Kuraly's shorthanded break at the opposite end of the rink, Edmonton's power play linked for the opening goal at 13:38. Starting the play by speeding down the wing and dropping a pass off for Leon Draisaitl, McDavid threaded a puck from behind the goal line to Nugent-Hopkins who banged in a goal at the back post.

Zacha then responded during the hosts' first man advantage, receiving a saucer pass from Elias Lindholm as he cut down the slot and lifting a glove-side backhander over Jarry with 3:33 left before intermission.

Hutson put Edmonton back in front at 14:38 of the second. The Boston University product slotted the rebound of former Bruin Max Jones' shot past an outstretched Swayman.

Pickard entered the net to make three huge stops before the end of the middle frame, including one on a Mikey Eyssimont wrist shot from the left circle and another on Hampus Lindholm's drive from the point.

Shortly after Pickard gloved David Pastrnak's chance over the crossbar during an early Boston power play in the third, a moment of McDavid brilliance allowed the Oilers to take a two-goal lead at 1:41. Nugent-Hopkins sprung the Edmonton captain down the middle for his first shorthanded goal of the season on a backhand breakaway finish.

Swayman stopped three Zach Hyman shots in less than three minutes following the halfway mark of the third, but Boston was unable to draw closer than 3-1 as a late power play was killed off.

Nick Suzuki added a goal and an assist and Noah Dobson also scored as the Canadiens outshot the Blackhawks 35-15 to win for the third time in five games (3-1-1). Montreal's Jakub Dobes recorded 14 saves.

The game featured three goals disallowed, two going against Montreal.

However, that proved a nonfactor as Chicago managed an early goal from Frank Nazar but nothing more. Spencer Knight made 31 saves for the Blackhawks, who have dropped four straight, the past three without injured star Connor Bedard (shoulder).

Chicago thought it opened the scoring a little more than four minutes into the game, but Alex Vlasic's goal was overturned after it was determined teammate Ilya Mikheyev interfered with the goaltender.

The Blackhawks eventually got on the board first at 7:27 of in the opening frame. Matt Grzelcyk sent the puck toward the net from the point, and Nazar was there to direct it by Dobes and snap a six-game point drought.

Montreal answered at 14:23 of the first period. Off a Cole Caufield pass from behind the net, Bolduc successfully sent a snap shot from the slot past Knight.

With 3:03 remaining in the second, it was the Canadiens' turn to have a goal overturned. After a video-review challenge by Chicago, Brendan Gallagher's tip-in goal on the power play was disallowed after the initial Montreal entry was deemed offside.

Montreal, however, took the lead just 20 seconds into the third. Moments after another power-play chance ended, the Canadiens struck as Bolduc redirected Hutson's shot past a seemingly unsuspecting Knight.

Less than a minute later, it again appeared Montreal scored through Josh Anderson, but Chicago again put forth a successful challenge that proved the play was offside. The Canadiens did add on halfway through the third via Dobson, who shoveled the puck from behind the Blackhawks' net, then off the glove of Knight and over the goal line.

Suzuki secured the victory by scoring into an empty net at 16:29.

Ullmark turned aside all 11 shots he faced in the third period to preserve his 13th career shutout and first of the season. He improved to 7-0-0 in seven career games against Pittsburgh.

David Perron scored early in the second period for his 800th career point and Claude Giroux also tallied for the Senators, who improved to 7-0-1 in their last eight meetings with the Penguins.

Ottawa's Drake Batherson notched two assists and Tim Stutzle had one while playing in his 400th career NHL game.

Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby was held off the scoresheet to remain one point shy of Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux (1,723) for the most in franchise history.

The Penguins nearly snapped Ullmark's shutout bid midway into the second period, however Rickard Rakell was deemed to have interfered with the netminder on the play. Pittsburgh was unsuccessful in its subsequent challenge as well.

Arturs Silovs finished with 22 saves for the Penguins, who extended their winless streak to seven games (0-3-4).

Ottawa converted its first power-play opportunity after Silovs was whistled for a tripping penalty.

Facing away from the net just in front of the goal line, Batherson neatly backhanded a centering feed that Tkachuk converted from the doorstep to open the scoring at 2:16 of the first period.

Perron doubled the advantage 1:34 into the second period after he deflected home Jordan Spence's shot toward the net.

Ridly Greig's pass caromed off the skate of Michael Amadio and right to Giroux, who converted from in close to give Ottawa a 3-0 lead at 4:50 of the second period.

Tkachuk scored into an empty net with 6:05 left in the third period to seal the win.

LPGA golfer and Ontario native Brooke Henderson dropped the ceremonial puck prior to the game.

Jakob Chychrun scored twice while Logan Thompson stopped 22 shots for his second shutout of the season. Defenseman John Carlson flew past the 750-point mark on his career with a goal and two assists while Justin Sourdif chipped in with two helpers.

Toronto's Dennis Hildeby turned away 23 of Washington's 27 shots. The Maple Leafs were blanked for the first time in regular-season play since a 3-0 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Jan. 11.

Aleksei Protas opened the scoring at the 13:53 mark when he jostled his way to the inside to beat Oliver Ekman-Larsson to a slick Sourdif feed from behind the net. Chychrun doubled the lead less than three minutes later, pouncing on a puck that caromed off the sideboards to the front of the goal.

Chychrun provided the highlight of the game early in the third period, entering the zone on his lonesome and snapping the puck just inside the post past a stunned Hildeby. Carlson sealed the deal with a one-timed slap shot off a Sourdif drive on net.

The Capitals struck iron twice in the opening frame before finding the back of the net. Sonny Milano shimmied through the Leafs defense five minutes in, drawing a penalty on Scott Laughton for his efforts. Alex Ovechkin hit the post from his usual spot high in the faceoff circle on the resulting power play.

Ovechkin hit the post a second time in the middle frame off a no-look backhand dish from a streaking Dylan Strome. Laughton whiffed Toronto's best opportunity up to that point, shovelling a backhand attempt directly into Thompson's blocker off a Washington turnover.

Even with four power-play opportunities, the Leafs only registered 12 shots on goal through the first two periods. Toronto failed to capitalize on a fifth man advantage in the third.

The result snapped Toronto's three-game win streak on the road. Washington has won four straight against the Maple Leafs.

Jarry, who stopped 12 of 13 shots, departed at the 16:55 mark of the second. Calvin Pickard finished the rest of the stanza and returned to the ice for the third period.

Jarry, 30, entered the game with an 11-3-1 record in 16 appearances with a 2.77 goals-against average and a .905 save percentage.

The netminder was acquired in a blockbuster trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins last week. Jarry and Sam Poulin were shipped to the Oilers for Stuart Skinner, Brett Kulak and a 2029 second-round pick.

The Devils opened the trip with a 2-1 shootout victory over the Vegas Golden Knights in Las Vegas on Wednesday as goaltender Jake Allen turned in a sparkling performance, making 36 saves and then stopping the shootout attempts by Pavel Dorofeyev, Mark Stone and Mitch Marner.

Connor Brown scored in regulation and Jesper Bratt tallied what proved to be the game-winner in the second round of the shootout when he roofed a backhand shot past Carter Hart.

"Nothing was getting by Jake," New Jersey coach Sheldon Keefe said. "That was a great performance by him. ... When you have that type of goaltending, you're going to have a real good chance. But I thought the guys in front of him also did a real nice job against a real good team."

Allen got a little help from the goal posts in overtime when Vegas had a 4-on-3 power play for the final 1:53 after Dawson Mercer picked up a hooking penalty on Stone. Marner caromed shots off each post on the ensuing power play while Stone also had a shot trickle off the bottom of the right post.

"They took it to us not too long ago at home (a 3-0 loss on Dec. 5) and we wanted just to right the ship a little bit," Allen said. "Result aside, we wanted to make progress here and start pushing a little bit, get our game back in order, build some consistency with our group, and I thought (Wednesday) was a good step."

Now it's up to the Devils to build on the tough road win on Friday night.

"Maybe you don't win the next one, but we've just got to progress here," Allen said. "This is a good start. It's a short road trip. We've got another chance in Utah against a good, skilled team before we go home and before we finish (going into) the break. I think our mindset is we want to finish the last four or five games on the right foot and take a break and then keep churning after Christmas."

Utah comes in off an impressive 4-1 victory on Wednesday at Atlantic Division leader Detroit in the second game of a road back-to-back that began with a 4-1 loss on Tuesday at Boston.

Clayton Keller had a goal and an assist, Nick Schmaltz picked up his 300th NHL assist on Keller's goal and Karel Vejmelka made 27 saves as the Mammoth won for the third time in four games.

"Tough back-to-back, and to be able to get two points is huge for us," Schmaltz said.

Jack McBain scored what proved to be the game-winner to put Utah up 2-0 in the second period and Dylan Guenther scored a key insurance goal to make it 3-1 late in the third period, his sixth goal in the last six games.

"We need to keep rolling," Utah coach Andre Tourigny said. "I think we're playing a simpler game with more drive, with more net presence, with more dirty goals, going in the dirty area. I think that paid off."

Colorado leads the NHL with 55 points in just 33 games, has lost just twice in regulation and is 13-0-2 on home ice. The Avalanche carry an 11-game home winning streak into Friday night.

Just as impressive is the play of Nathan MacKinnon, who leads the league in goals (28). His 58 points has him in a battle with the Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid (56 through Wednesday) for tops in the NHL.

More importantly for the Avalanche, MacKinnon's high-level play and intensity have spread to his teammates. The 13-year veteran is on pace to set a career high in goals.

"I mean, he's just a dominant player," Colorado defenseman Josh Manson said of MacKinnon. "He creates chances all the time on the ice but makes the guys around him better. And I feel like he's got that kind of shot mentality this year, like just throwing everything to the net, and it's working for him."

MacKinnon has plenty of help, with linemate Martin Necas in the top five in scoring with 45 points (14 goals, 31 assists) through Wednesday, and defenseman Cale Makar leading all defensemen in scoring with 40 points (10 goals, 30 assists).

Colorado has excelled in nearly every category -- it leads the NHL in goals per game (4.03) and fewest goals against (2.21). But despite their firepower, the Avalanche have struggled on the power play. They rank 26th in the NHL in power-play percentage at 15.7 but offset that with the best penalty kill in the NHL (85.3%).

Colorado can improve its standing on the power play against Winnipeg, which ranks tied for 19th in killing penalties (79.8%). The Jets are tied for 13th in the NHL in power-play percentage (20.0), but it hasn't translated into wins.

Winnipeg, the Presidents' Trophy winners last season with 116 points, is 23 points behind the Avalanche in the standings and enters Friday on a two-game skid. The Jets are 3-9-2 since Nov. 18 and started their three-game road trip with a 1-0 loss at St. Louis on Wednesday night.

The frustration is evident for a team with high expectations.

"To a man, we've got to step up and prepare better," Winnipeg forward Kyle Connor said after the loss to the Blues. "It's one shift on, one shift off, it kind of seems like here. It's been going on for like a long time here, almost a month, and it's not the way we want to play. And it just keeps going on. So we've got to find a way to get out of it."

It does help having back Connor Hellebuyck, the reigning league Most Valuable Player and three-time Vezina Trophy winner as top goaltender, after he missed a month with a knee injury and had arthroscopic surgery. In three starts since his return, Hellebuyck has allowed just four regulation goals but the Jets are 1-1-1 in those games.

Connor leads the team in scoring with 41 points (15 goals, 26 assists), followed by Mark Scheifele with 40 points (16 goals, 24 assists) and Gabriel Vilardi, who has 30 points (16 goals, 14 assists).

But the Islanders, even in their banged-up state, are faring far better than Horvat's former club.

The Islanders will look to resume their December resurgence when they face the Canucks in the first battle of the season between the teams in Elmont, N.Y.

Both teams have been off since Tuesday, when the visiting Islanders squandered a third-period lead in a 3-2 road loss to the Detroit Red Wings while the Canucks continued an East Coast road trip with a 3-0 win over the New York Rangers.

The loss to the Red Wings snapped a three-game winning streak for the Islanders, who are 6-2-0 this month despite playing with an undermanned lineup. Forward Kyle Palmieri (left knee) and defenseman Alexander Romanov (right shoulder) are out for the regular season with injuries suffered last month.

Left winger Jonathan Drouin missed five games earlier this month with a lower-body injury. Horvat, who leads the Islanders with 19 goals and 31 points, was injured Dec. 11, when his left ankle bent awkwardly as he got tangled up with Anaheim Ducks defenseman Drew Helleson.

Horvat will miss his third straight game Friday, though head coach Patrick Roy said Thursday he wasn't ruling out the possibility Horvat could travel with the Islanders for Saturday's game at the Buffalo Sabres.

While Roy wasn't willing to use Horvat's absence as an excuse Tuesday, his eventual return will be welcomed by a club struggling to score this month. The Islanders have scored two goals or fewer in five of their last nine games.

"It happens to every team to miss a quality player during the course of the season," Roy said Tuesday night. "We're missing three. But, hey, stay in the present moment. We want to give ourselves a chance."

Any chance the Canucks had of making the playoffs likely disappeared last Friday when they dealt captain and leading scorer Quinn Hughes to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for center Marco Rossi, left winger Liam Ohgren, defenseman Zeev Buium and the Wild's first-round pick in the 2026 draft.

The Canucks, who traded Hughes following a 3-9-3 skid that dropped them into last place in the NHL, signaled their plans to mount another rebuild with the acquisitions of Rossi, Ohgren and Buium, all of whom are 24 or younger.

Vancouver has made the playoffs just three times in the last 12 seasons. Horvat helped the Canucks to the postseason in 2015 and 2020 before being dealt to the Islanders on Jan. 30, 2023.

The Canucks have not advanced beyond the second round since their most recent trip to the Stanley Cup Final in 2011.

Still, the blockbuster trade has paid some early dividends for the Canucks, whose consecutive wins since the deal are their first set of back-to-back victories since a season-high three-game winning streak from Oct 16-19. Buium and Ohgren each have a goal apiece for Vancouver, which remains last in the NHL with 29 points.

"It's a bonus for sure if you can get off to a good start with the new guys and get them feeling good about themselves as well," Canucks head coach Adam Foote said. "You lose your captain, a guy that's been here a long time, it's hard on a lot of our guys. It's a big thing, but you have to move forward and play hockey."

That group figures to be together again on Friday night when the Panthers play host to the Carolina Hurricanes in Sunrise, Fla.

Florida, which is 6-1-0 over its past seven games, is expected to start goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, who rested on Wednesday as the Panthers edged the visiting Los Angeles Kings, 3-2.

For the season, Bobrovsky is 14-8-1 with a 2.80 goals-against average and three shutouts.

Panthers coach Paul Maurice said his squad -- the NHL's two-time reigning Stanley Cup champions -- is trying to survive despite a multitude of injuries, most notably to star forwards Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov.

Tkachuk is expected to return in late December or early January, and he may be joined by some other teammates.

"We're getting closer to getting some guys back," Maurice said. "(In the meantime), winning is everything. It gives us some confidence."

Verhaeghe, who has scored nine goals over his past 11 games, said the Panthers are prepared to grind out victories.

"We're comfortable playing tight games," Verhaeghe said.

Asked about the standings and Florida's attempt to climb them, Verhaeghe acknowledged that the Eastern Conference is "tight."

Added Verhaeghe: "We watch (the standings) a little bit. But the most important thing is how we play."

One Panthers concern that came out of Wednesday's game was a lower-body injury sustained by forward Evan Rodrigues. Maurice, though, said he does not consider the injury serious.

Meanwhile, the Hurricanes have made the playoffs seven straight years. But during that span, they never made it to the Stanley Cup Finals. They can, in part, blame the Panthers for this. Florida ended Carolina's season in 2023 and again in 2025 in the conference finals.

It's a new season, however, and the Hurricanes enter Friday's matchup leading the Eastern Conference with 46 points and riding five straight wins. During the current streak, Carolina has allowed just 1.8 goals per game.

The Hurricanes have used three goalies this season: Brandon Bussi, who has an 11-1-0 record and a 2.05 GAA, Pyotr Kochetkov (6-1-0, 1.95) and Frederik Andersen (5-7-2, 3.15), who appears to be slowing down at age 36.

Bussi, a New York native, is quite a story. The 27-year-old rookie was signed by the Panthers in July. Three months later, the Panthers released him and Carolina picked up his contract when Kochetkov needed to go on injured reserve.

Offensively, the Hurricanes are led in goals by Seth Jarvis (19), in points by Sebastian Aho (29) and in assists by defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere (21). Jarvis is working on what would be his third straight season with 30-plus goals.

Aho has led the Hurricanes in scoring seven of the past eight seasons.

Gostisbehere leads a Carolina defense that also includes standouts Jaccob Slavin and K'Andre Miller. Slavin returned to the lineup on Sunday after missing 29 games due to a lower-body injury.

"Sometimes being injured is harder than the grind of the season," Slavin said.

Miller, a former first-round pick, was traded by the New York Rangers to the Hurricanes on July 1. He was a plus-1 in Carolina's 4-1 win over Nashville on Wednesday.

"I thought we had a great game," said eighth-year Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour, who has yet to miss the playoffs with this franchise. "We were good."

They are 1-3-2 in their last six games heading into Thursday night's contest against the injury-depleted Blues.

New York has just 10 goals during the downturn and has been shut out twice, including 3-0 by the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday.

The Rangers controlled much of the game but couldn't score.

"I thought we defended hard. I thought we controlled territory," New York coach Mike Sullivan said. "We had a significant amount of O-zone time. The power play had a lot of good looks. We're trying to solve it for sure, but is it a little bit concerning at this point? Yeah."

The key to a turnaround, Rangers captain J.T. Miller said, is to "bear down" offensively.

"Like myself, I had chance after chance, I feel like," said Miller, who has failed to score a goal in seven of his last eight games. "It's just not enough. It's not enough to my standard, it's not enough to the team's standard to just play well, outplay the other team and not bury your chances.

"We deserve better a lot of these nights, but that being said, we're not bearing down and the other teams are. We're kind of stuck. Win three, lose a couple, win three, and we are where we are. It's very frustrating."

Vincent Trocheck has gone 10 games without scoring a goal, former top overall pick Alexis Lafreniere has just one goal in his last nine games, and Will Cuylle has only three goals in his last 17 games.

The Rangers called up Gabe Perreault and fellow prospect Brennan Othmann from Hartford of the American Hockey League on Wednesday to refresh their supporting cast.

Jonathan Quick started in goal against the Canucks on Tuesday, so the Rangers likely will turn to Igor Shesterkin against the Blues. He made 19 saves when New York defeated visiting St. Louis 3-2 on Nov. 24.

Joel Hofer allowed three goals on 21 shots for the Blues in that game. He blanked the Winnipeg Jets 1-0 on Wednesday night while making his career-high fifth straight appearance, but Jordan Binnington could get the call against the Rangers.

With five forwards on their injured list with long-term ailments, the Blues had two newcomers in their lineup Wednesday night: Prospect Otto Stenberg made his NHL debut, and former Red Wing Jonatan Berggren made his Blues debut are arriving on a waiver claim.

St. Louis coach Jim Montgomery said he liked Berggren's playmaking contributions against the Jets, and he praised Stenberg's defensive play.

"Some high-end passes (by Berggren), the backhand one, that's high-end vision to send in (Dalibor) Dvorsky on the breakaway, the slip play he makes in the offensive zone to (Pius) Suter who almost stuffs it in on the weak side," Montgomery said. "You can tell he has really good vision, supports pucks really well.

"I thought Stenberg was really responsible and good (in) puck support. His intelligence keeps the team connected. We don't get too spread apart. He has really good habits. ... He made some really good reads on our penalty kill and our D-zone coverage, too. So I thought it was a really good start to his career."

The Lightning will try to get on the north side of their .500 home mark on Thursday night when they host the Los Angeles Kings in the first of two meetings between the clubs in a two-week span.

The Florida Panthers bolted to a 2-0 lead vs. Tampa Bay on Monday in the first four minutes and took full advantage of fewer chances. They killed all five Lightning power plays in a 5-2 win that took a toll on Cooper's club.

"Honestly, I thought it was a brutal hockey game," Cooper said after Tampa Bay fell to 2-5-1 in its past eight games. "(Florida was) on the fourth game of a road trip in a couple of different time zones, so they're tired. You've got us in our fifth game ... in five different cities. It was basically what I thought were two tired hockey teams."

Brandon Hagel, who had 10 goals and 14 points during a recent seven-game stretch, was injured on a hit by Florida's Seth Jones. Hagel skated on just two shifts in the third period before leaving the game.

Hagel, who did not practice Wednesday, joins a list of injured Lightning players that included defensemen Victor Hedman, Erik Cernak, Ryan McDonagh and Emil Lilleberg. McDonagh, however, was at practice Wednesday while Hagel was not.

Tampa Bay reassigned Brandon Halverson to Syracuse of the American Hockey League on Tuesday, putting fellow goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy back in the lineup.

The club's defensemen were responsible for producing both goals against the Panthers: J.J. Moser scored his third goal of the season, and Max Crozier added the first of his NHL career in his 33rd game.

Like the Lightning, the Kings made a pair of moves involving their goaltending on Tuesday as they prepared to play the Panthers on Wednesday.

Starter Darcy Kuemper was knocked out of Monday's 4-1 setback to the Stars by Dallas' Mikko Rantanen, sending the No. 1 goalie to the injured list and prompting the recall of Pheonix Copley from the Ontario Reign of the AHL.

On Oct. 2, the Lightning claimed Copley off waivers from Los Angeles but returned the netminder to the Kings two weeks later in a trade for future considerations.

Against Florida on Wednesday night, scoring frustrations resurfaced as the Panthers beat the Kings 3-2 despite a late power play and 6-on-4 push by the visitors in the final minutes.

Los Angeles also was stopped three times on breakaways by Panthers goalie Daniil Tarasov, who denied Trevor Moore twice and Kevin Fiala once.

Over the past 15 games, the Kings have scored two or fewer goals on 11 occasions.

"To grow a lead would be nice," defenseman Drew Doughty said after the defeat to Dallas. "The bottom line is we're not putting pucks to the net. I mean, it's the same old thing about having guys at the net and screening the goalie and getting tips and dirty goals.

"I still don't believe we have enough of that. We're too perimeter."

Connor Brown scored a goal and Jesper Bratt scored the game-winner in the shootout for New Jersey, which moved into the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with the win.

Pavel Dorofeyev scored a late power-play goal and Carter Hart finished with 32 saves for Vegas, which had a seven-game point streak snapped.

New Jersey took advantage of a Vegas turnover in its own zone to take a 1-0 lead at the 4:50 mark of the second period. Zach Whitecloud failed to control Noah Hanifin's clearing pass along the left boards and Brown scooped up the loose puck and then drove the net, deking Hart and then tucking a wrist shot around his left pad and inside the right post for his second goal in the last three games.

Vegas took advantage of a Juho Lammikko tripping penalty on Ben Hutton to tie it with 4:11 left in regulation. Dorofeyev roofed a one-timer from the bottom of the right circle off a Mark Stone crossing pass for his ninth power-play goal of the season, tied for second with Detroit's Alex DeBrincat in the NHL behind Wyatt Johnston of Dallas (12).

Vegas had several chances to win it in overtime with a 4-on-3 power play after Dawson Mercer went to the box for hooking Stone with 1:53 to go, but Mitch Marner had two shots ring off the post while Stone had another shot bounce off the far post.

Bratt deked Hart and roofed a backhand to start the second round of the shootout and Allen then gloved Stone's wrist shot. After Hart made a pad save on Dougie Hamilton's try, Allen poke-checked the puck off Marner's stick to seal the win. The puck caromed into the net off Marner's skate but was quickly disallowed for a double-hit.

The Golden Knights played without leading scorer Jack Eichel (illness) and defenseman Shea Theodore (upper-body), who both missed their first games this season.

Justin Faulk scored for the Blues, who won for the second time in their past three outings.

Connor Hellebuyck made 25 saves for the Jets, who have lost five of their past six (1-4-1).

The Blues broke the deadlock with 6:43 left in the second period. Pavel Buchnevich forced a turnover along the back wall on the forecheck, and then Robert Thomas fed Faulk coming down the middle for his goal.

Panthers 3, Kings 2

Carter Verhaeghe scored the go-ahead goal in the second period as Florida rallied to defeat Los Angeles in Sunrise, Fla.

Verhaeghe has scored nine goals in his past 11 games, and he has 11 for the season. The Panthers, who are 6-1-0 over their past seven games, also got goals from Anton Lundell and Sam Bennett plus two assists from Brad Marchand. Panthers backup goalie Daniil Tarasov made 27 saves and improved his record to 4-5-1.

Joel Armia and Kevin Fiala scored for the Kings, who got 25 saves from Anton Forsberg.

Mammoth 4, Red Wings 1

Clayton Keller had a goal and an assist and Karel Vejmelka made 27 saves as Utah topped host Detroit.

Jack McBain also scored, Dylan Guenther notched his sixth goal in six games and Kevin Stenlund added late insurance for the Mammoth. Karel Vejmelka allowed 14 goals over his previous four starts but was stout throughout while making 27 saves to win his third start in a row.

Emmitt Finnie scored for the Red Wings, who took just their second regulation defeat in 10 games (6-2-2). Cam Talbot stopped 23 shots.

Hurricanes 4, Predators 1

Sebastian Aho had two goals and an assist as Carolina prevailed at Nashville, extending its winning streak to five games.

Jackson Blake registered a goal and an assist, Seth Jarvis also scored and Andrei Svechnikov had two assists for the Hurricanes. Pyotr Kochetkov made 25 saves.

Filip Forsberg scored and Juuse Saros made 33 saves for the Predators, who lost for just the fourth time in their past 11 games (7-4-0).

"We win a lot of games by a goal, or even two goals, but I think we can do a better job of continuing to end games early when we're feeling it and have that hunger," Duchene said.

Dallas showed that desire Monday against the visiting Los Angeles Kings, scoring three goals in the third period to pull away for a 4-1 win that snapped a two-game skid.

"That's the stingiest hockey team in the league and we just came off (a 4-0 loss to the Florida Panthers) and we're talking about staying with it when there's tight checking," Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said. "I thought our guys did a really good job of just staying with it and it finally started to break through."

After getting outshot 24-14 through the first two periods, the Stars outshot the Kings 12-4 in the final period.

"I liked how we stayed with a killer instinct to end the game," said Duchene, who contributed a goal and an assist. "That's something I don't think we've done enough of."

Dallas' Mikko Rantanen and Wyatt Johnston added a goal and an assist apiece against Los Angeles after combining for no goals and one assist in the previous two losses.

"When we're healthy, we've got a really deep lineup and a good four lines that can roll games," said Rantanen, who leads Dallas with 44 points (14 goals, team-high 30 assists). "So, it's good for our coaches, too. Roll four lines and it's going to pay dividends at the end of the year."

The Sharks have won three in a row and can match their longest winning streak of the season with a victory against the Stars, who beat San Jose 4-1 on Dec. 5 in Dallas.

The Sharks are 4-1-0 since, most recently toppling the visiting Calgary Flames 6-3 on Tuesday.

San Jose forward Igor Chernyshov, a second-round pick of the Sharks in the 2024 draft, made his NHL debut against Calgary and assisted on a goal by Macklin Celebrini.

"I thought he was really good," Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said of Chernyshov, 20. "He's going to be another one. He's going to be a good player. He can make plays. He's big. Did not look overwhelmed by the moment whatsoever."

Celebrini, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 draft, had two goals and two assists against the Flames to give him 51 points (18 goals, 33 assists) on the season.

The 19-year-old needed just 34 games to reach 50 points, the fourth fewest to reach that mark by a teenager in NHL history. Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins reached 50 points in 28 games in the 2006-07 season, and Wayne Gretzky reached that mark in 32 games in both the 1979-80 and 1980-81 seasons for the Edmonton Oilers.

"He proves each and every night why he's one of the best players in the league," Sharks forward Barclay Goodrow said of Celebrini. "We're all pretty happy he's on our team."

Goodrow logged two goals and an assist on Tuesday, ending his personal 10-game point drought.

Now the Kraken are searching for something to spark a rebound as they kick off a four-game road trip against the Calgary Flames on Thursday.

Seattle arrives in Calgary on the heels of a 5-3 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday, which put them in a three-game slump. The Kraken have just one win in their last 10 outings (1-8-1).

Adding to the frustration is how close they were to claiming a huge victory over the league-leading Avalanche.

"We played hard, like we have been," coach Lane Lambert said. "We just couldn't find a way to get it over the finish line."

Seattle held a 3-2 lead going into the third period but surrendered it. The Kraken had a golden chance to again pull ahead, but Jordan Eberle could not convert a penalty shot in the eighth minute of the final frame, clanging a shot off the post.

Less than a minute later, Colorado took the lead for good.

"For the most part, we played a better game. We were with them," Eberle said. "It comes down to I missed a penalty shot to possibly take the lead, and they scored on the power play right after. That's the difference right there.

There was no update on Wednesday about the status of defenseman Brandon Montour, who left the game early in the third period. He's reportedly set to miss Thursday's game, per Emerald City Hockey.

On the positive, Kraken forward Chandler Stephenson scored against Colorado to run his point-scoring streak to six games (three goals, three assists).

Both clubs are seven points outside of a playoff position, although Calgary has played three more games.

The Flames return home after a 6-3 loss to the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday which ended a two-game road trip. It was a clash in which they erased an early two-goal deficit but almost immediately fell behind again.

Trailing 3-2 entering the third period, the Flames allowed three goals in the final 20 minutes to let a close game get away from them.

"I didn't like the chances we gave up early in the game to put ourselves in a hole. I liked how we came back," coach Ryan Huska said. "Some of the plays we made were poor plays with the puck. They have a lot of team speed, and we didn't manage that."

Calgary is on a 9-5-2 run but has lost two of three games and now leads only the Vancouver Canucks in the league standings.

The onus is on the Flames if they want to keep their slim playoff hopes alive, to play to their identity, unlike in San Jose.

"We kind of played their style all (game)," forward Blake Coleman said. "It was more of a track meet, run-and-gun type of game, and that's generally not the way that we find success."

Although the Flames wasted an important opportunity to pull closer to a playoff spot, since San Jose held the Western Conference's second wild-card position going into Wednesday's action, they believe a push is possible.

"Turn the page," Huska said. "We'll review a few things with the guys and then we've got to get ourselves ready for our next opponent."

Jackson Blake had a goal and an assist, and Andrei Svechnikov had two assists for the Hurricanes. Pyotr Kochetkov made 25 saves.

Filip Forsberg scored and Juuse Saros made 33 saves for the Predators, who lost for just the fourth time in their past 11 games (7-4-0).

Carolina dominated the first period, building up a 6-1 advantage in shots on goal and 10-2 in total shot attempts just past the six-minute mark. Nashville didn't get its second shot on goal until seven minutes in.

The Hurricanes finally capitalized on one of their chances, with Blake giving them a 1-0 lead at 13:00. Saros made the save on a Logan Stankoven shot from the right circle, but the rebound bounced off his pad and deflected off defenseman Nick Perbix in front. Blake collected the loose puck and backhanded it past Saros' right skate.

Aho doubled the lead on the power play at 2:43 of the third period. Blake sent a pass from the bottom of the right circle to Aho at the near hashmark, where he quickly fired a wrist shot that beat Saros blocker side.

Seth Jarvis made it 3-0 less than two minutes later. Nikolaj Ehlers carried the puck into the zone before sending a short feed over to Aho, who then dished a cross-ice feed to Jarvis for a one-timer from the left face-off dot at 4:33.

Forsberg cut it to 3-1 at 8:06. Kochetkov stopped Ryan O'Reilly's shot off the rush but couldn't contain the rebound at the right side of the crease, and Forsberg, at the top of the paint, spun around to put the puck into an open net.

Aho capped off the scoring with an empty-net goal at 19:15.

Predators forward Jonathan Marchessault and Hurricanes forward Jordan Martinook both left the game in the second period with lower-body injuries.

Justin Faulk scored for the Blues, who won their second game in their last three outings.

Connor Hellebuyck made 25 saves for the Jets, who have lost five of their last six (1-4-1).

St. Louis built an 11-1 shots advantage at one point in the first period while testing Hellebuyck from every angle.

Faulk fired a shot through traffic on a power play. Robert Thomas hit the post on a clean break-in. Hellebuyck turned away Pius Suter coming down the middle and Logan Mailloux bolting in from the right point.

The Jets didn't generate much offense until they got a late first-period power play that carried over into the second period. They put four shots on goal with the man advantage, but couldn't break through.

After Winnipeg mustered two shots on its next power play, the Blue regained control.

Thomas came down the middle unchecked for a shot from the slot, then Brayden Schenn took a lead pass from Philip Broberg for a breakaway.

Hellebuyck made the saves to keep the game scoreless.

The Blues finally broke the deadlock with 6:43 left in the second period. Pavel Buchnevich forced a turnover along the back wall on the forecheck, then Thomas fed Faulk coming down the middle for his goal.

Winnipeg made a push in the third period. Hofer made a glove save on Kyle Connor's turnaround shot during a goalmouth scramble, then he made stops on Nino Niederreiter and Cole Perfetti to protect the lead.

With 41.6 seconds left to play, a 5-on-5 fracas broke out in the Blues' zone. Jets defenseman Logan Stanley took the extra penalty, allowing the Blues to close out the victory on the power play while Hellebuyck was trapped in his net.

Second on the team with 28 points, Keller was blanked in each of the previous four games, but the captain was Utah's offensive standout. Jack McBain also scored, Dylan Guenther notched his sixth goal in six games and Kevin Stenlund added late insurance for the Mammoth, who capped a 2-1-0 trip with their third win in four contests.

Vejmelka allowed 14 goals over his previous four starts, but was stout throughout while winning his third start in a row.

Emmitt Finnie scored for Detroit, which suffered just its second regulation defeat in 10 games.

Following a scoreless first period, it took Utah just 1:44 into the second to open the scoring. Off Nick Schmaltz's shot on goal from the right wing, Red Wings goaltender Cam Talbot (23 saves) gave up a juicy rebound that an unmarked, trailing Keller was there to push in.

The Red Wings had a chance to equalize through two power-play opportunities later in the period but failed to convert on either. Utah then made it 2-0 when McBain was on the doorstep to put in the puck from Michael Carcone with 5:43 remaining in the middle frame.

After Utah failed on its fourth power-play chance, the hosts finally broke through. With the Red Wings amid their own man-advantage, Andrew Copp, from the ice, got the puck from behind the Utah net over to John Leonard, who found Finnie in the slot to beat Vejmelka with 10:05 remaining in regulation.

However, the Mammoth answered with 4:08 left in the third as Guenther was in the right spot to pounce on a loose puck that glanced off Talbot. Just 31 seconds later, Utah sealed the contest when Keller found Stenlund in the slot for a successful snap shot.

The Mammoth have won four of their last six on the road.

Verhaeghe has scored nine goals in his past 11 games, and he has 11 for the season.

The Panthers, who are 6-1-0 over their past seven games, also got goals from Anton Lundell and Sam Bennett, and two assists from Brad Marchand.

Panthers backup goalie Daniil Tarasov made 27 saves and improved his record to 4-5-1. Tarasov twice stopped Trevor Moore on breakaways, the second one with 4:54 left on a shot that would've tied the score.

Joel Armia and Kevin Fiala scored for the Kings, who also got 25 saves from Anton Forsberg.

Los Angeles has now lost four straight games, which is tied for their longest skid of the season.

The first two goals of the game were nearly identical - deflections on the power play.

Los Angeles scored first as Armia redirected a shot from Brandt Clarke with 6:21 left in the initial period. After the deflection, the puck dipped down and went between Tarasov's pads.

Florida tied the score with 17:46 remaining in the second as Lundell tipped in a shot by Aaron Ekblad. Had it not been for Lundell's stick, Ekblad's shot likely would have gone wide of the net.

The Panthers took a 2-1 lead with 12:56 left in the second as Verhaeghe spun around and knocked in a rebound off the right leg of Kings defenseman Joel Edmundson. Jeff Petry earned the primary assist as it was his shot from the point that started the sequence.

Florida wasted no time in extending its lead to 3-1 as the Panthers scored just 10 seconds into the third period. Marchand got the primary assist as his perfect pass connected with a charging Bennett, who tipped the puck to the short side of the net, past Forsberg.

The Kings - thanks to a fortuitous bounce -- closed their deficit to 3-2 with 15:12 left in the third. Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling tried to clear the puck in his own end, but his attempt caromed off Fiala, beating Tarasov five-hole.

A high-sticking penalty on Lundell with 3:05 left gave the Kings a key power play. Los Angeles eventually pulled Forsberg for a 6-4 advantage, but the Panthers held on for the win.

The Flyers are 2-0-3 in their last five games, but they had dropped three consecutive games in overtime or a shootout before Tuesday's 4-1 road win over the Montreal Canadiens.

Alexandre Texier scored to give the Habs a 1-0 lead 19:00 into the first period, but Carl Grundstrom's equalizer just 39 seconds later triggered four unanswered Philadelphia goals. It was also the first of three late daggers for the Flyers, who scored in the final two minutes of each period.

Forward Trevor Zegras praised his teammates' "pretty timely goals," noting that Grundstrom's goal in particular was "massive, giving us a whole lot of confidence going into the room and then obviously into the second (period)."

Philadelphia has a league-best 12 victories this season when allowing the game's opening goal. The Flyers (12-6-4) and the league-leading Colorado Avalanche (7-1-3) are the only teams who have won more than they've lost when trailing first in a game.

The Sabres are returning home after a six-game road trip that began with a 5-2 loss on Dec. 3 in Philadelphia. Buffalo dropped the first three games of the trip before rebounding for three consecutive victories to earn the club's longest winning streak of the season.

Buffalo remains in last place in the Eastern Conference, however, which has led to an organizational shake-up. Thursday marks the Sabres' first game under Jarmo Kekalainen, who was named general manager on Monday after Kevyn Adams was fired.

Lindy Ruff remains behind the Sabres' bench, and the head coach said that the outlook has remained the same since the front office change.

"(Kekaleinen's) message is keep putting the work in," Ruff said. "Keep trying to coach these players up and win hockey games."

A victory on Thursday would be the 915th of Ruff's career, making him the fourth-winningest coach in NHL history. He currently shares fourth with Barry Trotz, who currently serves as the Nashville Predators' general manager.

Defenseman Michael Kesselring is expected to play Thursday after missing Buffalo's last 14 games with a lower-body injury. Forward Peyton Krebs is questionable after missing Wednesday's practice with an illness that Ruff said was hampering several Sabres players.

Buffalo has one of the NHL's top penalty kills, but the unit has hit a bit of a slump. The Sabres killed only 15 of 21 penalties during their six-game road trip. The Flyers might still be hard-pressed to take advantage, as Philadelphia's struggling power play is 0-for-13 over its last six games.

Zegras and Buffalo's Tage Thompson lead their respective teams in both goals and points, and both star forwards are on four-game goal streaks. Zegras' scoring run comes within a larger five-game points streak that has seen the Flyers center amass seven points (four goals, three assists). Thompson also has seven points (four goals, three assists) during his scoring streak.

Alex Lyon has gotten the win in each of Buffalo's last three games. He has not started more than three consecutive games since opening the season in net for Buffalo's first five, but he could start again Thursday if the Sabres want to ride the hot hand. For the season, Lyon is 6-6-3 with a 2.99 goals-against average and .905 save percentage.

The Flyers have gotten good goaltending from both Daniel Vladar and Samuel Ersson this season, though Vladar has had the majority of starts. Vladar has started four of the Flyers' last five games, posting a 1.70 GAA, .926 save percentage and 2-0-2 record in those four outings.