NHL News

Dallas wrapped up a four-game road trip with a 3-2 win over the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday night, extending its point streak to four games (3-0-1) and road point streak to 10 (7-0-3).

Vladislav Kolyachonok scored the game-winner, and Roope Hintz and Esa Lindell also scored for the Stars, who are 8-1-1 over their last 10 games.

"All in all, it was a great road trip," forward Tyler Seguin said. "The boys were on fumes at the end, but we found a way to win."

Jason Robertson, who has 11 goals and seven assists over his last nine games, saw his seven-game goal streak and eight-game point streak come to an end in Seattle.

The 26-year-old paces the Stars with 14 goals and 31 points through 24 games this season. His 14 goals are tied for third amongst NHL leaders entering Friday's action.

Jake Oettinger, the Stars' likely starter against the Mammoth, is 10-4-2 with a 2.74 goals-against average and .900 save percentage in 16 games this season.

Friday is the first of four meetings between Dallas and Utah. The Stars won three of four contests between the teams last season.

Utah travels to Dallas to open a six-game, nine-day road trip. Utah is 5-6-2 on the road this season and 3-4-3 in its last 10.

The Mammoth wrapped up a four-game homestand with a 4-3 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday.

Barrett Hayton, Michael Carcone and Kailer Yamamoto found the back of the net for Utah.

Utah's penalty kill surrendered two goals on three Canadiens power-play chances in the loss.

"I think we played a good game, but unfortunately, we got beat on our strength," Mammoth coach Andre Tourigny said. "Our (penalty kill) has been our strength since the start of the season."

Logan Cooley, who leads the Mammoth with 13 goals in 24 games this season, picked up an assist in the loss. Cooley has four goals and two assists over his last two games thanks to a four-goal explosion Monday against the Vegas Golden Knights.

The Mammoth's blue line got a boost against the Canadiens as Sean Durzi returned after missing 21 games with an upper-body injury. Durzi logged 21:34 of ice time and had three blocked shots in the loss.

"He made good plays with the puck, he was focused, he was urgent," Tourigny said. "He did a good job. But the toughest game when you come back is always the second one. The first one, you have all the energy and everything. He passed the test, no doubt about it."

On Thursday, the Mammoth recalled forward Kevin Rooney from AHL affiliate Tucson and placed defenseman Olli Maatta (upper-body injury) on injured reserve.

Karel Vejmelka, Friday's expected starter, is 10-6-2 with a 2.84 GAA and an .886 save percentage in 18 games this season.

The Blackhawks have been mired in some tight contests as three out of the four games on their current losing streak (0-3-1) have been one-goal defeats, surrounded by a 9-3 torching by the Buffalo Sabres on Nov. 21.

Their most recent effort culminated in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday.

Connor Bedard and Jason Dickinson each scored for the Blackhawks and 2024 second overall draft selection Artyom Levshunov tallied his first career NHL goal in the loss.

Wednesday marked Chicago's second straight loss to divisional opponents as they fell 1-0 to the league-leading Colorado Avalanche on Sunday.

Bedard, the Blackhawks' leading scorer with 33 points (14 goals, 19 assists) in 23 games, was asked about the team's mindset following back-to-back critical losses.

"Immediately after you're always going to be frustrated after a loss, but I think there are so many games and you can't take every game as a Game 7," Bedard said. "At the end of the day it's everyone in our conference and our division is so tight and every point matters, so we gotta figure out how to win, but at the end of the day it's over now.

"We gotta see what went right, see what went wrong and just keep improving."

While Nashville is also a divisional opponent for the Blackhawks, the Predators haven't given many Central Division rivals much reason to worry so far this season.

Heading into Friday's action, the Predators sit dead last in the NHL with just 18 points through 23 games.

Nashville did pick up an impressive come-from-behind victory Wednesday when they took down the Detroit Red Wings 6-3 on the road.

Entering the final frame down 2-1, the Predators pulled together a five-goal third period to snap their three-game losing skid in which they were outscored 15-3.

Michael Bunting tallied the Predators' opening goal, while Nick Blankenburg, Roman Josi, Ryan O'Reilly, Erik Haula and Steven Stamkos all scored in their triumphant third period.

Blankenburg was asked about Nashville's outburst in the final frame.

"It's just huge," Blankenburg said. "There's no quit in this team, I think we've seen that throughout this year. It's just huge for us. We just said we just need one game to kind of get us going and obviously feels good (Wednesday) and we'll enjoy it."

Josi's third-period goal marked his first goal since returning on Nov. 22, following a 12-game absence due to an upper-body injury.

Nashville's captain and former Norris Trophy winning defenseman has now collected a total of seven points (two goals, five assists) across 11 games this season.

Chicago will be hoping that donning their fan-favorite black alternate jerseys for the first time this season will bring them some added luck against a Predators' squad that has dominated this matchup of late, winning 19 of the previous 23 meetings.

But the return of a key starter helped the Penguins pull off a 4-2 home win over the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday.

Goaltender Tristan Jarry made 29 saves in his return after missing seven games with a lower-body injury. He had last played Nov. 3.

"That's what I want. I want to come back seamlessly," Jarry said after the game. "The training staff, (goaltending coach Andy Chiodo), the coaches, they all did a great job. When you're able to integrate back with the team like that, I think it helps a lot. ... You want to stay sharp. All the injured guys and the extras, we did a good job."

Pittsburgh got goals from Connor Dewar, Kevin Hayes, Bryan Rust and defenseman Matt Dumba. Defenseman Ryan Shea had two assists.

Rust's goal 7:51 into the third period broke a 1-1 tie and put the Penguins ahead for good. It came 31 seconds after the Sabres tied the game.

"On our heels a little bit. Obviously, they were able to tie that game up," Rust said. "I think anytime you can have those momentum shifts, whether it's after goals, first (or) last minute of periods, I think those are big shifts. It was obviously nice to see that one go in."

Pittsburgh's Tristan Broz made his NHL debut and Ville Koivunen returned from a lower-body injury. Koivunen played 11:33 after missing three games.

The Blue Jackets have lost their last three (0-1-2) after falling 2-1 to the Toronto Maple Leafs in overtime Wednesday in Columbus.

Columbus blew third-period leads in two of the losses.

"Obviously we don't want to lose a lead like that again and then lose in overtime," said defenseman Zach Werenski, who scored the Blue Jackets' only goal. "I'm sure everyone's probably sick of it and sick of hearing it.

"But at the end of the day, we played really good hockey (Wednesday). I mean, we can't feel sorry for ourselves or be down about it. ... Obviously, we don't want that to happen and we've addressed it and talked about it. But in saying that, we're leading in almost every game and late in games."

Werenski had a goal overturned in the second period after an offside challenge.

Veteran defenseman Brendan Smith made his debut with Columbus after signing a one-year, two-way contract. He had two shots and a hit in 10:55.

Smith, 36, previously played with the Detroit Red Wings, New York Rangers, Carolina Hurricanes, New Jersey Devils and Dallas Stars over a 15-season career. He has sometimes served as a checking-line forward.

"His bite, his leadership, his aggressiveness as a defenseman, his ability to play a heavier, physical game down low in the D-zone," Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason said of Smith's attributes. "With (defenseman Erik Gudbranson) out, it gives us a little more bite on the back end."

Auston Matthews, Matthew Knies and Nicolas Roy came back from injury Wednesday and Toronto earned a 2-1 overtime road victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Maple Leafs have split the first two of six straight on the road, but have won only two of their past nine.

Against Columbus, William Nylander scored his 15th career overtime goal, passing Mats Sundin for the team record. It would not have been possible without the goaltending of Joseph Woll, who made 35 saves.

"It was a huge, huge win for us, and just pumped to get it done," Woll said. "We stuck to our game plan, grinded one out on the road. It's great to get the two points there."

"Goalie was really good," Toronto coach Craig Berube said. "His battle was really good. He fought through traffic. He was seeing everything well. He looked sharp. Looks like he's on his toes, playing a lot of pucks."

The Maple Leafs have depended on Woll with fellow goaltender Anthony Stolarz injured. Woll missed the early season because of a personal issue.

"He's been a very calming presence, is the best way I can describe it with him back there," defenseman Jake McCabe said. "He's done a very, very good job and been good with the puck and talking to us D-men."

Nylander assisted on Easton Cowan's second career goal that tied the game at 16:43 of the third period.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson earned his 14th assist of the season on Nylander's goal. The defenseman is on a seven-game point streak (two goals, five assists).

Knies also assisted on Nylander's goal, while Matthews and Roy were held off the scoresheet. Matthews had three shots on goal in 24:35 of ice time.

"I felt good," Matthews said. "Just trying to get the legs under me the first half of the game, but I just thought as the game went on I felt more and more comfortable."

The Capitals will look to finish their four-game homestand with a 3-1 record. They have won five of their past six after defeating the Winnipeg Jets 4-3 on Wednesday.

Washington's Alex Ovechkin was honored before the game for the milestones he recently achieved: 900 goals and 1,500 games.

Fittingly, he scored his 11th goal of the season and the 908th of his career in the second period that gave the Capitals a 3-2 lead.

"That was a huge goal for us," said Washington defenseman John Carlson, who also scored. "That was awesome, especially after such an important and cool and amazing tribute to him. Like always, it's always fitting to celebrate him, and to come up with a big play at a big time from our captain is enormous."

Jakob Chychrun extended his goal streak to four games, scoring five times in that span.

The Capitals endured a 2-6-2 spell before their recent success.

"We're figuring out who we are," said Capitals goaltender Charlie Lindgren, who stopped 18 shots. "At the start of the year, it felt like we were back and forth trying to figure it out. ... Wins were maybe a little tougher to come by but now we're playing with more consistency, and it's been fun to watch us."

The Canucks started a four-game road trek on a positive note with a 5-4 win at Pacific Division-leading Anaheim on Wednesday. Max Sasson scored a goal and added an assist for Vancouver, which previously lost six of its last seven games.

"We said in between periods that we're not taking this thing to (overtime). We need to win in regulation," Sasson said. "We got the job done. ... It's a big win to start the road trip."

Rookie goalie Nikita Tolopilo stopped 37 shots in his season debut to earn his first career regulation win. Tolopilo, who played in two games last season, got the call after Kevin Lankinen started eight of Vancouver's last nine games.

Lankinen has had to play more since Thatcher Demko, the Canucks' top netminder, suffered a lower-body injury on Nov. 11. However, the team announced earlier in the week that Lankinen was out because of a personal matter.

That means the crease belongs to Tolopilo and Jiri Patera, who has played in just nine NHL games. Patera gave up seven goals on 40 shots in his season debut, an 8-5 loss at Florida on Nov. 17.

Such a green tandem is not ideal for a team like the Canucks. They have allowed 90 goals, the second most in the NHL, and their only winning streak was a three-gamer from Oct. 16-19.

Vancouver's recent skid came as reports surfaced that the team may consider trading captain and star defenseman Quinn Hughes, whose 20 assists lead the team. The 26-year-old American is eligible to sign an eight-year extension next summer, but he has also acknowledged it would be fun to play with his two brothers on the New Jersey Devils.

The Sharks are coming off a 6-0 defeat Wednesday against the red-hot Colorado Avalanche, who extended their winning streak to 10 games.

Coach Ryan Warsofsky said the young Sharks can learn from how a team like Colorado, a top Stanley Cup contender, plays.

"We continue to learn as we go here and get better, and we've probably taken a step in the right direction as far as a sample size of the season," Warsofsky said. "But obviously we have a ways to go."

The shutout ended a five-game points streak for Macklin Celebrini, who has been on the scoresheet in nine of his last 11 games. The second-year forward leads the team with 14 goals and 20 assists, and his 34 points tie him with Edmonton's Connor McDavid for second in the NHL.

Goalie Yaroslav Askarov gave up four goals as his three-game winning streak ended. It was the most he's allowed since yielding four in a 4-3 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Oct. 28. Warsofsky pulled Askarov early in the second period Wednesday for backup Alex Nedeljkovic.

Friday's game will be the first of back-to-backs for both teams. Vancouver plays at Los Angeles on Saturday, while the Sharks will face the Vegas Golden Knights on the road.

Carolina handed them the first of those losses last Friday in a 4-3 decision in Winnipeg.

The Jets have dropped seven of their last 10 games and continue to feel the impact of losing reigning Hart and Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck, who's out until at least the holidays after a minor knee procedure. Secondary scoring has become the team's biggest issue.

Over their last six games, the Jets' top line of Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor, and Gabriel Vilardi combined for 21 points. In that same stretch, the rest of the forward group managed only nine.

"I don't know what it is right now. Things aren't clicking. Things aren't going our way," Jets forward Cole Perfetti told 680 CJOB. "In that bottom nine, someone has to step up. A line has to step up. Someone just needs one to go in off their behind or whatever it takes to get the floodgates going. ... It's crazy right now."

Jets coach Scott Arniel isn't putting the scoring problems solely on the forwards. Winnipeg generated little from the blue line in Wednesday's 4-3 loss in Washington, the first game of a five-game road swing.

"Our (defense) has to find a way to get that puck to the netfront," Arniel said. "I think we had only three shots on net from our (defense), and as a group we need to be better. We can't go into games with one line running. We need to get hungrier and a little meaner about finding ways to score goals."

Carolina, meanwhile, is also searching for more offense. Despite a 4-2 loss to the New York Rangers on Wednesday -- their third defeat in four games -- Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour remains encouraged as his team pushes for the top spot in the Metropolitan Division where they currently trail New Jersey by a single point.

"In this stretch, we had one poor game. That's it. Unfortunately, we haven't gotten what we probably deserved, points-wise," Brind'Amour said. "That's tough. You have to win games. You can have 10 good shifts, but that one you let up can cost you the game. We have to eliminate those."

Carolina defenseman K'Andre Miller agreed, noting the Hurricanes must grind through their recent scoring dip, which has them averaging nearly a goal per game less than usual.

"It's not going to be as easy as snapping your fingers every night," Miller said after the loss to the Rangers. "We have to figure out ways to work for our chances and keep finding ways to put the puck in the back of the net."

Both teams enter the game managing notable injuries.

For Carolina, Pyotr Kochetkov and Jordan Staal remain day-to-day, while Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Charles-Alexis Legault are on injured reserve. Winnipeg defenseman Neal Pionk is also day-to-day and could be a game-time decision Friday.

Captain Mark Stone, who missed 16 games with a wrist injury, returned in Wednesday night's loss against the Ottawa Senators and didn't miss a beat, scoring a goal, delivering two hits and garnering three takeaways in almost 20 minutes (19:58) of time on ice.

Heading into Friday afternoon's game with the Montreal Canadiens in Las Vegas, the Golden Knights are just one point behind the Pacific Division-leading Anaheim Ducks despite a disappointing home record (5-3-4) and a dreadful 1-8 record in games played beyond regulation.

The Golden Knights dropped their seventh straight extra-time affair Wednesday against the Senators as Shane Pinto scored the winner in the third round of the shootout. Linus Ullmark made 32 saves and stopped all three Vegas shootout attempts.

In a tightly bunched division where only four points separate first place and sixth place, the overtime struggles could come back to hurt Vegas' playoff chances come April if things don't improve soon.

"Obviously, overtime and the shootouts, it's tough because these are points on the table for us that we've got to get back," Golden Knights defenseman Noah Hanifin said. "We've got to figure that out, and we've got to start winning some of those games."

Getting Stone back could help in that regard. The 33-year-old forward scored a power-play goal that tied it 3-3 midway through the third period and was his 14th point (three goals, 11 assists) in just seven games.

"Overall, felt pretty good," said Stone, who had been sidelined since an Oct. 18 game against Calgary. "Been able to skate quite a bit (and) the legs started to go out a little bit at the end of the game, but overall felt great."

Stone wasn't too concerned with his team's overtime and shootout woes.

"I think the last month we've played really good hockey," Stone said. "Just haven't been able to get over the hump. ... As dumb as it sounds, we've just got to get the next goal. One point still helps you in the standings. We've just got to keep banking points and eventually it'll turn for us."

Montreal will be playing the second game of a three-game road trip that began with a 4-3 win at Utah on Wednesday. Nick Suzuki -- a Vegas first-round pick in 2017 who was later traded to Montreal as part of the deal that brought Max Pacioretty to Vegas -- had two goals and an assist, passing 400 career points in the process.

"I'm just trying to do my best out there," Suzuki said. "Get to play with a lot of great players every single night and they've helped me get to where I am today. Definitely grateful for that."

Suzuki's power-play goal tied it 3-3 early in the third period and Ivan Demidov followed with what proved to be the game-winner at the 4:47 mark. Jakub Dobes made 31 saves for the Canadiens, who bring a two-game win streak into Friday's game.

"The Demidov goal was a big goal," Montreal coach Martin St. Louis said. "After that, we defended against a team that brings a lot of speed. We got the job done five against six. Dobes played an excellent game. Nothing was perfect, but we found our best."

Montreal finishes the trip on Saturday afternoon in Denver against the NHL points leader Colorado.

This will be a business trip for Tkachuk, too. He hopes to return to action Friday afternoon against the Blues after missing 21 games with a thumb injury that required surgery.

"We have to check some boxes, but everything looks good for Friday," Tkachuk said Wednesday on the "Wingmen" podcast with his brother Matthew.

His return would add even more fuel to the Senators' surge. They have earned six of a possible eight points thus far on their seven-game road trip across North America.

Since suffering a 2-4-1 start to the season, the Senators have gone 10-3-3 in Tkachuk's absence to move into second place in the Atlantic Division.

Coach Travis Green leaned hard on his top three forward lines Wednesday as the Senators pulled out a 4-3 shootout victory over the Vegas Golden Knights.

Tim Stutzle, Shane Pinto, Claude Giroux and Drake Batherson each played more than 20 minutes. Ottawa's pace lagged through the middle of the game, but the Senators powered through.

"Our first (period) was great, and we dipped a little in the second but stuck with it in the third and (were) patient to the end," said Senators defenseman Jake Sanderson, who had a goal and two assists in the victory.

Going forward, Green would like to roll four lines for longer stretches of games.

"We talked about playing 60 minutes," Green said. "We got a little tired. I've got to do a little better job of getting our fourth line out, getting them a few more minutes to save some energy later in games."

The Blues returned home after a 1-1-3 Eastern Conference road trip during which they elevated their competitive level and got strong performances from goaltender Jordan Binnington.

"Some positives, but some things we can learn from," defenseman Cam Fowler said. "Our guys are fighting for one another and we're trying to stack some points up here. It feels like we've been gone for a long time, so it will be nice to get home and see our families.

"But it's nice to spend some time with one another on the road too and go to work and play for one another. That's starting to come naturally to us. I'm proud of our guys for digging in at the end of the road trip."

The Blues earned points in nine of their last 12 games, but they are just 4-3-5 during that span. They fell 3-2 in overtime to the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night.

Only the Golden Knights have more overtime or shootout losses than the Blues' seven.

"So we have to find a way to start winning these," Blues center Robert Thomas said.

The Blues are just 3-5-4 at home this season. They will play three games at Enterprise Center in four days before returning to the road.

On the second stop of its five-game road trip, Calgary could not withstand an offensive onslaught by the Tampa Bay Lightning. They netted four goals in the first 10:01 to improve their record to 14-5-2 in the past 21 games.

Flames forward Mikael Backlund knew it would be tough coming to downtown Tampa and playing the sizzling Lightning.

Backlund, tied for fourth on the Flames with 13 points (four goals, nine assists), said the Flames could not overcome Tampa Bay's attack as the Lightning scored three times on four shots against goaltender Dustin Wolf.

"It's never easy against a team on a heater," Backlund said. "They came out a lot harder than we did. They're a good first-period team, especially in this building. They put us right on our heels, and we couldn't respond."

An interesting decision for coach Ryan Huska will be who starts against the Panthers.

Wolf, the team's No. 1 goalie, played only 5:52 before being pulled -- close to being a night off. Backup Devin Cooley (2-2-1, 1.86 goals-against average, .930 save percentage) stopped 17 of 19 shots.

Calgary is 1-1-0 on its five-game road trip.

In outplaying the Philadelphia Flyers early on Wednesday, Florida fought hard for a two-goal lead. But the visitors rallied with four straight tallies, including the game-winner and insurance tally in the final minute, to escape with a 4-2 victory.

Florida coach Paul Maurice called out his team afterward, citing the lack of speed as the Flyers took control.

"I thought we were slow with the puck," Maurice assessed. "I think they got in on some pucks. We were just late to some loose pucks that were laying around, and they maintained that control."

Florida's Brad Marchand opened the scoring with his team-leading 14th goal, giving the 37-year-old left wing 26 points in 22 games.

The two-time defending Stanley Cup champs are 5-3-0 in their past eight and will play the next five on home ice in Sunrise.

The Panthers have fought against weak spells of offense and porous defense without forwards Aleksander Barkov, Tomas Nosek and Matthew Tkachuk. The club also has lost defenseman Dmitry Kulikov to a lengthy injury.

However, Tkachuk, sidelined after adductor/sports hernia surgery in August, skated last week for the first time since the Panthers won their second Stanley Cup over the Edmonton Oilers in June.

"I'm just excited to get out with the boys," Tkachuk said. "I don't know when that's going to be, but it's obviously kind of getting over that hump and sooner rather than later. It's starting to trend really, really well."

The two-time All-Star has played a key role in a culture shift that has led Florida to three consecutive Stanley Cup Final appearances.

The Panthers acquired him from the Flames in a July 2022 trade that sent Jonathan Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weegar, Cole Schwindt and a first-round pick to the Pacific Division club.

The gritty Tkachuk, 27, missed the final 25 games last season but returned in the playoffs to help spark another championship run.

"He's still quite a way away, but he's back on the ice and he wasn't two weeks ago," Maurice said. "So we're taking it."

Somebody's winning streak will have to end.

Colorado has won 10 games in a row as it prepares to face off against the Wild -- winners of six straight -- in a post-Thanksgiving matinee in Saint Paul, Minn.

Both teams have shined because of stellar goaltending and timely scoring.

The Avalanche are coming off a 6-0 win against the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday. It was the third consecutive shutout for Colorado, which matched a franchise record from 2001.

Mackenzie Blackwood, who has a pair of shutouts in his past two starts, credited his teammates. Colorado has sprinted to a 17-1-5 record, the best in the league, to start the season.

"(On Wednesday), we were great," Blackwood said. "They did a heck of a job limiting chances and burying theirs. These guys care so much, and they take pride in it, no matter what the score is. So that makes me so freaking happy that those guys are like that. It makes me want to go to war for them.

"This team, for as offensive as we are, they take pride in the D-zone. So guys care, and it matters to them. They don't like getting scored on almost more than they like to score goals."

The theme is also true for the Wild, who struggled to start the season but have posted a 10-1-1 record in their past 12 contests. Minnesota is coming off a 4-3 overtime win over the Chicago Blackhawks, which followed back-to-back shutout victories over the Pittsburgh Penguins and Winnipeg Jets.

Wild coach John Hynes praised his team for finding a way to win an imperfect game. They trailed 2-0 in the second period and 3-2 in the third before rallying.

"Every night you might not be at your best," Hynes said. "But the mindset of the group (on Wednesday) is something that I think we can draw on moving forward, that you've got to keep fighting and battling regardless of what happens, and you've got to try to make a game of it.

"We did."

The Wild will face a high-octane Avalanche squad led by Nathan MacKinnon, who leads the league with 18 goals in 23 games. He has 21 assists to give him a league-best 39 points.

Martin Necas and Cale Makar have posted 30 points apiece as Colorado boasts three of the league's top 10 scorers.

Minnesota's top scorers are Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy, who are tied for the team lead with 28 points each. Both players have 14 goals and 14 assists.

Colorado likely will turn back to Scott Wedgewood in net. He is 13-1-2 with a 2.09 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage in 17 starts this season, and he is 1-1-2 with a 2.94 GAA and a .900 save percentage in five career games against the Wild.

The Wild have split starting duties lately between Filip Gustavsson and Jesper Wallstedt. Gustavsson is 7-7-2 with a 2.80 GAA and a .903 save percentage in 16 starts, and Wallstedt is 6-0-2 with a 1.94 GAA and a .935 save percentage in eight starts.

Gustavsson is 2-7-1 with a 3.81 GAA and an .887 save percentage in 10 career games against Colorado. Wallstedt has yet to face the Avalanche.

Gustavsson says he liked sharing duties with Wallstedt.

"Why not?" he said. "It's so many games now. We play almost every other day, and it's hard on the body to play that much. So it's good for the goalies to get their rest, too."

The Kings will look to continue their good fortune on the road Friday when they visit the Anaheim Ducks in the first Freeway Faceoff of the season.

Los Angeles' success on the road has been offset a bit by its porous record at home (2-4-3), although the team snapped a three-game winless skid (0-1-2) with a 2-1 victory over the visiting Ottawa Senators on Monday.

"It's weird. Like two years ago, same thing. We're hot on the road. Last year, we're hot at home. Now we're hot on the road. So, can't say anything about that," Quinton Byfield said recently, per RinkRoyalty.com.

Brandt Clarke scored a power-play goal with 6:10 remaining in the third period on Monday. The goal was Clarke's third of the season and first in his last 12 games.

Warren Foegele also tallied, Joel Edmundson notched a pair of assists and Joel Armia set up a goal to extend his point streak to a season-high three games.

Darcy Kuemper improved to 5-1-1 in his past seven games following his 27-save performance.

"We have so much confidence when he's in the net," Clarke said of Kuemper, a Vezina Trophy finalist last season at the age of 35.

"There's some situations where, like, it almost seems like it's a bigger breakdown that it looks like. But just because he's so calm and makes the routine save, like, it doesn't even get brought up. We're so grateful to have him, and, yeah, he's our backbone."

Adrian Kempe, who leads the team in points (20) and shares top honors in assists (13) with Byfield, has been held off the scoresheet in four of his last five games.

The Ducks dropped a 5-4 decision to the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday to fall to 3-2-0 on their six-game homestand and 8-3-0 at home this season.

"Every game is going to be hard," Anaheim coach Joel Quenneville said. "We talked about that, and that was a good example of what it's like every night. You've got to play right until the end and it's a battle. You've got to know that you can't give them anything. You've got to make them earn it."

Jackson LaCombe collected a goal and two assists, Cutter Gauthier had one of each and Leo Carlsson and Mason McTavish also scored. Gauthier scored his team-leading 14th goal following a redirection of a LaCombe feed 6.3 seconds before the end of regulation.

"I thought we came out hot and we had a lot of chances," LaCombe said. "Just a few bounces didn't go our way. That's just how it is sometimes. I don't think we did anything wrong at the start. Just happens."

Beckett Sennecke, 19, notched an assist to become the second teenager in Ducks history to record a five-game point streak, following Oleg Tverdovsky in 1995-96. Sennecke, who has one goal and four assists during that span, was the third overall pick of the 2024 NHL Draft.

The Devils' rise to the top of the Eastern Conference has been powered by their 9-0-1 record on home ice. In away games, the Devils are a modest 6-7-0, losing their last three road dates.

A two-game homestand allowed New Jersey to get back in the win column, as the Devils earned victories over both the Detroit Red Wings and St. Louis Blues. Wednesday's 3-2 overtime win over the Blues saw New Jersey twice erase one-goal deficits, and Simon Nemec then completed the comeback with the overtime winner.

Beyond the bounce-back goals, the key sequence of the game came when the Devils killed off a four-minute Blues power play in the third period.

"We gave up a goal early in the game on the PK, so we knew we've got to dial it in (in the third)," captain Nico Hischier said. "Obviously special teams is very important in this league. We got a power-play goal as well. Games can be decided from that."

Hischier scored that power-play goal himself as New Jersey went 1-for-2 with the extra attacker Wednesday. The Devils are only 4-for-27 on the power play in their last 12 games, however, and now face the Sabres' elite penalty-kill unit.

Buffalo blanked the Penguins during Pittsburgh's only power-play opportunity on Wednesday, and held a 31-19 shots advantage in the game. Unfortunately for the Sabres, they still came up short in a 4-2 road loss that ended Buffalo's two-game winning streak.

In something of an inversion of the Devils' situation, the Sabres are in last place in the Eastern Conference due to a miserable 1-6-2 road record and only a decent 8-4-2 home mark. This makes maximizing home points on Friday all the more important for the Sabres as they try to escape the East basement.

The loss to Pittsburgh may have come with the silver lining of an offensive discovery, as both Buffalo goals came in the last 13 minutes of play. The breakout came after the left-handed Zach Benson replaced Josh Doan on the top line alongside Alex Tuch and Tage Thompson.

"The top line, there wasn't much going on there," Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said. "So (we) just tried to put a lefty over there who could maybe get the puck back into the middle a little bit more."

Thompson (12 goals, nine assists) and Tuch (eight goals, 13 assists) are tied for the Sabres' team lead with 21 points apiece.

Since the Sabres also play on Saturday against the Minnesota Wild, two members of Buffalo's goaltending rotation will split the back-to-back starts. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has started the last three games and will likely get one of the two outings, with Colten Ellis or Alex Lyon starting the other.

New Jersey also plays Saturday against the Philadelphia Flyers, so Jacob Markstrom and Jake Allen will alternate the next two starts. Markstrom has started the last two games and looked sharp, delivering a 2.45 goals-against average and .914 save percentage.

Jesper Bratt leads the Devils with 22 points (five goals, 17 assists).

The Bruins just spent 10 days completing a four-game road trip that spanned from California to New York, ending it on a high note with a 3-1 win over the Islanders on Wednesday. Friday will mark Boston's first skate on home ice since Nov. 17, and another will follow against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night to complete a back-to-back.

"We came into the trip wanting to at least be .500 on it, and felt like we left some points in California in a couple of those games," Bruins forward Tanner Jeannot said. "We knew we wanted to come out and play (Wednesday's) game really hard, finish off the road trip and head back home for Thanksgiving. The boys battled hard."

Alex Steeves, who played on a new-look fourth line with Sean Kuraly and Mikey Eyssimont, recorded the first two-goal performance of his NHL career. Jeannot scored the eventual game-winner in the second period in between Steeves' tallies, the latter of which came on a short-handed rush with 9:39 left in regulation.

"I'm not thinking I'm David Pastrnak or anything all of a sudden, but it definitely gives me confidence," Steeves said.

Fraser Minten also played a key role in Boston's latest victory, providing the only assist on both the tying and winning goals.

Goaltender Jeremy Swayman could be in line for his fourth consecutive start after making a career-high 44 saves against the Islanders. He is 7-2-0 with a .935 save percentage across his last nine starts, giving first-year coach Marco Sturm an easy decision of late.

"That's why he was back in," said Sturm, whose team was outshot 45-14. "We had that feeling (before the game) that we can't get him out of the net because he's playing that well -- and he showed it. How calm he was, that gives us, I would say, a little bit of extra juice. We don't have to worry about what's behind us."

The Rangers have followed up a four-game skid with back-to-back wins -- including a 4-2 road win against their Metropolitan Division rival Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday -- to move above the .500 mark at 12-11-2.

"We're playing with more structure," New York coach Mike Sullivan said. "I think we're playing with better intentions. We've got numbers back. I think that's the game that's going to give us the best chance to win."

In an unusual trend, the Rangers are 10-4-1 on the road and just 2-7-1 at Madison Square Garden, where they will return for a Saturday date with the Tampa Bay Lightning. They had just one road loss on the season prior to the recent skid.

A pair of third-period goals proved to be the difference in Wednesday's game for the Rangers, who were at a 38-18 disadvantage in shots and withstood five Carolina power plays.

Artemi Panarin had a goal and an assist, while Vincent Trocheck scored the deciding goal 45 seconds into the final frame. Those efforts helped make a winner out of Igor Shesterkin (36 saves).

"I don't think we were at our best, but we found a way to win and I thought the third was our best period," New York captain J.T. Miller said. "It's funny, you go through the first 15 games of the year, how many games we thought we should have won. This is one of those that hopefully can help even some of those out."

Detroit gave up five third-period goals to the team with the league's worst record -- Nashville -- in a 6-3 loss on Wednesday. The Red Wings will host the streaking Tampa Bay Lightning in a Friday matinee.

"We were talking in the back -- a lot of times when you play, you get a feel for where you need to take practice the next day or your meeting or what you're going to look for because there's some patterns that appear. Where do we as a staff take this?" McLellan said. "It's all over the map. Leaving New Jersey (a 4-3 loss on Monday) we were a little bit concerned about net play -- the deflections, the tips, those types of things. We saw one of those (Wednesday) but there's other areas we have to take care of. We can't get everything done in one day.

"Every time we get something and we grab onto it, we give something else back," he added. "That is not the sign of a good team. Good teams hold their lessons and you build off of them."

The Red Wings built a 2-1 lead during the first two periods but McLellan didn't feel comfortable about his team's performance throughout the contest.

"I didn't like our game most of the night. I thought we were quite casual early in the game," he said. "Our passing was horrendous. There was nothing crisp about our game and somehow our power play, even that was ugly, but it kept us in the game. Third period starts, we gave up four (goals) in every different fashion you can think of."

Alex DeBrincat scored his 12th goal and tied captain Dylan Larkin for the team's points lead with 24.

In contrast, the Lightning have looked sharp recently and carry a five-game winning streak into Detroit. They have given up just five goals during that span with Andrei Vasilevskiy protecting the net in four of them.

Tampa Bay collected a 5-1 win over Calgary on Wednesday, two nights after Vasilevskiy recorded his first shutout of the season against Philadelphia.

"Phenomenal," said defenseman Declan Carlile, who scored his second career goal against the Flames. "I mean, best goalie in the world. Obviously, I'm not here all the time, but I watch a lot of games and I've been watching for a long time, and, yeah, he's one of a kind."

Nikita Kucherov leads the Lightning with 16 assists and 27 points. He carries a seven-game point streak (four goals, nine assists) into the rematch.

The matchup on Friday begins a three-game trip. Tampa Bay will play seven of its next nine games on the road.

"The boys defended, and if we made a mistake, Vas was there for us," head coach Jon Cooper said. "You look at summing the whole thing up, it's another solid victory for us at home. And now we've got to go see if we can do this on the road."

Vasilevskiy made 29 saves at Detroit on Oct. 17 but the Red Wings pulled out a 2-1 overtime victory. Larkin scored the game-winner.

It was the third straight shutout for Colorado, which ties the franchise record set Nov. 14-18, 2001, when Patrick Roy was in net for all three games.

Avalanche goaltenders have not allowed a goal for 189 minutes, 42 seconds.

Nathan MacKinnon and Artturi Lehkonen had a goal and an assist each, Ross Colton and Sam Malinski also scored and Martin Necas added two assists for Colorado, which has taken only one regulation loss in its first 23 games (17-1-5). The Avalanche's 10-game winning streak is tied for the second longest in franchise history.

San Jose goalie Alex Nedeljkovic turned away 21 of 23 shots in relief of Yarolsav Askarov, who allowed four goals on 19 shots.

Maple Leafs 2, Blue Jackets 1 (OT)

Joseph Woll willed visiting Toronto to something of a fortuitous road win, escaping Columbus with an overtime victory.

William Nylander flicked the winning goal past an overcommitted Jet Greaves with 20 seconds left in overtime. It was his franchise-record 15th career overtime winner, breaking a tie with captain Auston Matthews and franchise icon Mats Sundin.

Woll turned away 35 of 36 shots, with Greaves stopping 22 of 24 for his part. Easton Cowan also scored for Toronto and Zach Werenski netted Columbus' lone goal of the night. The Jackets have now dropped three in a row and four of their last five.

Devils 3, Blues 2 (OT)

Nico Hischier had a goal and two assists to lead New Jersey past St. Louis in overtime at Newark, N.J.

Hischier set up Simon Nemec for the winning goal 2:58 into overtime as the Devils improved to 9-0-1 at home. Timo Meier had a goal and an assist for New Jersey, and Jacob Markstrom made 21 saves.

Cam Fowler had a goal and assist for the Blues, who have one win in the past seven games (1-2-4). Robert Thomas also scored, and Jordan Binnington made 26 saves.

Lightning 5, Flames 1

Declan Carlile's first goal of the season capped a four-goal first-period eruption as host Tampa Bay routed Calgary.

Brandon Hagel, Charle-Edouard D'Astous and Zemgus Girgensons all found the net before Carlile found the target. Hagel and Nikita Kucherov each had a goal and an assist while Jake Guentzel produced two helpers as the Lightning crafted their second five-game winning streak in a month.

Joel Farabee scored short-handed for Calgary, which had its season-best three-game winning streak end. Goalie Dustin Wolf surrendered three markers on four shots and was pulled for Devin Cooley, who made 17 saves on 19 shots.

Stars 3, Kraken 2

Vladislav Kolyachonok scored the tiebreaking goal at 14:16 of the third period as Dallas improved its NHL-leading road record with a victory over Seattle.

Roope Hintz and Esa Lindell also tallied and Tyler Seguin had two assists for the Stars, who completed a 3-0-1 trip and upped their away mark to 9-1-3. Dallas goaltender Casey DeSmith made 26 saves.

Brandon Montour and Vince Dunn scored for Seattle, which took just its second regulation loss at home this season (6-2-3). Joey Daccord stopped 18 of 21 shots.

Bruins 3, Islanders 1

Alex Steeves scored two goals for Boston, which completed a season sweep of New York with a win in Elmont, N.Y.

Tanner Jeannot also scored for the Bruins, who won despite being outshot 45-14. Goalie Jeremy Swayman made 44 saves, including 13 after the Islanders pulled Ilya Sorokin with 4:34 left.

Mathew Barzal scored in the first for the Islanders, who are 1-2-0 on a seven-game homestand following a 6-1-0 road trip. Ilya Sorokin recorded 11 saves.

Rangers 4, Hurricanes 2

Artemi Panarin collected a goal and an assist and Igor Shesterkin made 36 saves, fueling New York to a victory over Carolina in Raleigh, N.C.

Former Hurricane Vincent Trocheck and Noah Laba also tallied and Will Cuylle scored into the empty net for the Rangers, who have won two in a row following a season-high four-game losing streak. They also avenged a 3-0 setback to Carolina on Nov. 4. New York captain J.T. Miller notched an assist in his return from a two-game absence due to an upper-body injury.

Carolina defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere scored and set up a goal, Seth Jarvis also tallied and Sebastian Aho had two assists while playing in his 700th career NHL game. Frederik Andersen turned aside 14 shots for the Hurricanes, who fell short in the opener of their season-high seven-game homestand.

Flyers 4, Panthers 2

Tyson Foerster scored the tie-breaking goal with 45.2 seconds left to send Philadelphia to a road victory over Florida in Sunrise, Fla.

Emil Andrae added a goal and an assist for Philadelphia, which rallied from a 2-0 deficit to post its third win in four games. Matvei Michkov and Sean Couturier also scored for the Flyers, while Dan Vladar made 25 saves.

Brad Marchand and Carter Verhaeghe scored for two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida, which had won five of its previous seven contests. Sam Bennett set up both Panthers goals, while Sergei Bobrovsky turned aside 14 shots.

Predators 6, Red Wings 3

Ryan O'Reilly scored the go-ahead goal and added two assists as visiting Nashville ended a three-game losing streak with a victory over Detroit.

Michael Bunting scored his 100th career goal and added an assist for Nashville, who had gone 2-9-2 over their previous 13 games. Nashville's Erik Haula, Steven Stamkos and Nick Blankenburg each had a goal and an assist.

Roman Josi also scored, Luke Evangelista registered two assists and Justus Annunen stopped 28 shots for his first victory in his seventh game this season. James van Riemsdyk, Alex DeBrincat and Ben Chiarot scored for Detroit, which took its third loss in four games. Cam Talbot made 23 saves.

Senators 4, Golden Knights 3 (SO)

Linus Ullmark made 32 saves and wasn't beaten on three shootout tries and Shane Pinto scored a goal and also tallied the shootout winner as Ottawa prevailed in Las Vegas.

Jake Sanderson had a goal and two assists, Tim Stutzle and Claude Giroux each had two assists and Drake Batherson also scored a goal for the Senators.

Mark Stone, back after missing 16 games with a wrist injury, scored for Vegas, as did Jack Eichel and Brett Howden. Akira Schmid finished with 20 saves.

Wild 4, Blackhawks 3 (OT)

Kirill Kaprizov scored 1:38 into overtime, lifting Minnesota to a win at Chicago.

Matt Boldy added a goal and two assists for the Wild, who earned their sixth victory in a row. Brock Faber finished with a goal and an assist, and Nico Sturm also had a goal. Minnesota goaltender Filip Gustavsson stopped 34 of 37 shots.

Connor Bedard tallied a goal and an assist for the Blackhawks, who are winless in four games (0-3-1). Jason Dickinson and Artyom Levshunov also scored, and Spencer Knight allowed four goals on 24 shots.

Canadiens 4, Mammoth 3

Nick Suzuki scored twice in a three-point outing and Ivan Demidov completed the comeback as Montreal claimed a victory over Utah in Salt Lake City.

Zachary Bolduc collected one goal and two assists for the Canadiens, who trailed 2-0 after one period. Jakub Dobes made 31 saves as Montreal earned its second win in a row.

Barrett Hayton, Kailer Yamamoto and Michael Carcone tallied for the Mammoth, who saw their two-game winning streak snapped. Karel Vejmelka stopped 13 shots.

Capitals 4, Jets 3

Connor McMichael netted what proved to be the winning goal early in the third period as Washington beat visiting Winnipeg to earn its fifth victory in six games.

John Carlson, Jakob Chychrun and Alex Ovechkin also scored for the Capitals. Washington's Charlie Lindgren made 18 saves.

Gabriel Vilardi got a pair of goals and Mark Scheifele scored once for the Jets. Winnipeg's Kyle Connor had three assists while Eric Comrie made 30 stops.

Penguins 4, Sabres 2

Tristan Jarry returned to action and made 29 saves while leading Pittsburgh to a win over visiting Buffalo. Jarry missed the previous seven games because of a lower-body injury.

Mathew Dumba, Bryan Rust, Kevin Hayes and Connor Dewar scored for the Penguins, who won for the first time in three games (1-1-1). Ryan Shea contributed two assists.

Jason Zucker and Jack Quinn each tallied a goal and an assist and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 15 saves for the Sabres, who had won two straight.

Canucks 5, Ducks 4

Drew O'Connor scored the eventual game-winner as visiting Vancouver edged Anaheim. Nikita Tolopilo, making his second career start, made 37 saves.

Max Sasson added a goal and an assist, and Linus Karlsson, Evander Kane and Conor Garland also found the back of the net as the Canucks snapped a three-game losing streak and won in regulation for just the third time in 18 games.

Jackson Lacombe had a goal and two assists while Cutter Gauthier had a goal and an assist for the Ducks, who dropped to 8-3-0 on home ice this season.

Jake Sanderson had a goal and two assists, Tim Stutzle and Claude Giroux each had two assists and Drake Batherson also scored a goal for Ottawa, which moved into a tie for second place in the Atlantic Division with the Boston Bruins with the win.

It was the third victory in four games of a season-long seven-game road trip for the Senators, all of which have been decided by one goal.

Jack Eichel scored the 250th goal of his career and Mark Stone, back after missing 16 games with a wrist injury, and Brett Howden also scored for Vegas. Akira Schmid finished with 20 saves.

Ullmark, who stopped a breakaway try by Eichel late in the third period to help force overtime, stopped tries by Pavel Dorofeyev, Eichel and Mitch Marner in the shootout. Stutzle hit the post in the second round and Pinto followed with the game-winner in the third round, circling in from the left side and ripping a wrist shot past Schmid's glove side.

Ottawa needed just 51 seconds to take a 1-0 lead when Pinto scored on the first shot of the game, a sharp-angled shot from the right corner near the goal-line that scooted under Schmid's left pad.

The Senators extended the lead to 2-0 at the 13:04 mark on a power-play goal by Sanderson, who one-timed a shot from inside the blue line through traffic past Schmid's blocker side.

Vegas cut the lead to 2-1 on Howden's first goal in nine games, a backhand shot inside the right post.

Batherson put the Senators back up by two goals just before the end of the period when he cut down the slot, took a pass from Stutzle and roofed a shot past Schmid's glove side. It marked the first time this season that the Golden Knights allowed three goals in a first period.

Eichel made it 3-2 early in the second period when he backhanded in an Ivan Barbashev pass inside the right post.

Vegas tied it early in the third period on a power-play goal by Stone, whose cross-crease pass caromed into the net off Stutzle's skate.

Max Sasson added a goal and an assist, and Linus Karlsson, Evander Kane and Conor Garland also found the back of the net as the Canucks snapped a three-game losing streak and won in regulation for just the third time in 18 games.

Tom Willander and Filip Hronek each chipped in a pair of helpers for the Canucks, who improved to 7-5-1 on the road this season.

Nikita Tolopilo, making his second career start, made 37 saves.

Jackson Lacombe had a goal and two assists while Cutter Gauthier had a goal and an assist for the Ducks, who dropped to 8-3-0 on home ice this season.

Leo Carlsson and Mason McTavish also scored for Anaheim, while Petr Mrazek stopped 23 shots.

Sasson scored the go-ahead goal at 15:58 of the third period, deflecting Hronek's point shot off Drew Helleson and past Mrazek.

O'Connor added the eventual game-winner, scoring into an empty net with 1:52 remaining.

Gauthier pulled the Ducks to 5-4 with seven seconds remaining, re-directing a Lacombe shot past Tolopilo.

The Ducks got on the board nine seconds into the middle frame on a power play as Lacombe put a wrist shot past the glove of Tolopilo.

Garland restored the Canucks' two-goal lead at 9:04 of the second period, toe-dragging around Helleson before beating Mrazek with a backhander.

Anaheim scored twice in a span of 2:15 to tie it 3-3 heading into the third.

Carlsson pulled the Ducks to within one, putting a backhand shot into a wide-open net.

Anaheim tied it 3-3 as McTavish finished off a 2-on-1 feed with Beckett Senneke.

Despite being outshot 13-5 in the opening 20 minutes, Vancouver led 2-0.

The Canucks opened the scoring at 9:49 of the first period, as Karlsson beat an out-of-position Mrazek.

Kane doubled the lead at 11:47 on a power play, snapping a shot glove side past Mrazek.

On Wednesday, the Ducks announced goaltender Lukas Dostal is out day-to-day with an upper-body injury. In a corresponding move, the club recalled Ville Husso from the AHL.

Roope Hintz and Esa Lindell also tallied and Tyler Seguin had two assists for the Stars, who completed a 3-0-1 trip and upped their away mark to 9-1-3. Dallas goaltender Casey DeSmith made 26 saves.

Brandon Montour and Vince Dunn scored for Seattle, which took just its second regulation loss at home this season (6-2-3). Joey Daccord stopped 18 of 21 shots.

The winning goal came after the Stars gained possession in the offensive zone and cycled the puck. Seguin dropped a pass back to Kolyachonok at the left point shot, and his soft wrist shot deflected off defenseman Adam Larsson's shin pad, past a screened Daccord and pinged off the right post before finding the net.

The goal was Kolyachonok's first in the five games he has played for Dallas.

The Stars opened the scoring at 5:52 of the first period as Hintz redirected Alex Petrovic's shot from the right point between Daccord's pads.

The Kraken tied it at 9:06 of the opening period.

DeSmith made a blocker save on Montour's shot from the high slot, but Shane Wright pounced on the rebound on the left wing and chopped a backhander that went through the crease and into the right corner. Montour regained the puck just beneath the goal line and flipped the puck toward the net, and it caromed off the heel of DeSmith's right skate as the goalie tried to go from post to post.

The Stars regained the lead at 6:13 of the second period on an odd-man rush.

Lindell got the puck deep on left wing and Daccord stopped his initial shot, but Dallas' Justin Hryckowian found the rebound in a scramble at the top of the crease and kicked the puck back to Lindell, who buried his second chance as Daccord was still scanning for the puck.

Dunn tied it at 2-2 just 18 seconds into the third period on a lengthy solo rush. The defenseman picked up the puck at the right faceoff dot in his own zone, weaved his way through center ice and into the offensive zone. While surrounded by three defenders, Dunn unleashed a wrist shot from the inside top of the left faceoff circle that surprised DeSmith high to the glove side.

Zachary Bolduc collected one goal and two assists for the Canadiens, who kicked off a three-game road trip with their second consecutive victory.

Goaltender Jakub Dobes made 31 saves, including a handful in the dying minutes of regulation time while the Mammoth pushed for the equalizer.

Barrett Hayton, Kailer Yamamoto and Michael Carcone replied for the Mammoth, who saw their two-game winning streak snapped.

Goalie Karel Vejmelka stopped 13 shots.

Montreal trailed going into the third period but Suzuki tied the clash with his team's second power-play goal of the clash, converting a rebound chance at 3:20 of the final frame.

Demidov scored the game-winner 87 seconds later when he fired a seeing-eye shot inside the far post from the left circle.

Utah came close to tying the clash again, but could not solve Dobes again.

Both squads claimed and lost a lead in the back-and-forth affair.

Bolduc's power-play goal just past the midway point of the first period opened scoring and snapped a 13-game goal drought, and then Suzuki doubled the lead with his 400th career point, burying a one-timer to complete a perfectly executed 3-on-2 rush at 16:37 of the opening frame.

Utah responded with a trio of goals in a 4:09 span to take the lead. Hayton began the comeback when he finished a three-way passing play from deep in the right circle at 9:43 of the second period.

Yamamoto tied the clash just over two minutes later when he drove to the net and converted the feed from Dylan Guenther.

Carcone put the Mammoth ahead when his wraparound attempt was denied, but he chipped the loose puck into the cage at 13:52.

But the Canadiens roared back and handed Utah its first regulation-time loss of the season when leading after two periods.

The Avalanche ran their winning streak to 10 games.

It was the third straight shutout for Colorado, which ties the franchise record set Nov. 14-18, 2001, when Patrick Roy was in net for all three games.

Avalanche goaltenders have not allowed a goal for 189 minutes, 42 seconds.

Nathan MacKinnon and Artturi Lehkonen had a goal and an assist each, Ross Colton and Sam Malinski also scored and Martin Necas added two assists for Colorado, which has taken only one regulation loss in its first 23 games (17-1-5).

The Avalanche's 10-game winning streak is tied for the second longest in franchise history. Colorado also won 10 straight from Jan. 14-30, 2022, a season when it won the Stanley Cup, and from Dec. 29, 2017 to Jan. 22, 2018. The franchise record is a 12-game run in the 1998-99 season.

Kiviranta was back in the lineup after missing the previous 17 games with a lower-body injury. Ivan Ivan, who assisted on Kiviranta's goal, made his season debut.

San Jose goalie Alex Nedeljkovic turned away 21 of 23 shots in relief of Yarolsav Askarov, who allowed four goals on 19 shots.

Colton started the scoring when he beat Askarov 3:39 after the opening faceoff, and MacKinnon's power-play goal at 19:07 of the first gave Colorado a 2-0 lead.

It was MacKinnon's NHL-best 18th goal of the season. MacKinnon also tops the league with 39 points.

The Avalanche broke it open early in the second period with three goals in a span of 1:16. Malinski scored on a snap shot at 3:44, and Manson made it 4-0 when his shot from the left point went through a double screen and by Askarov at 4:51.

Nedeljkovic replaced Askarov, and Colorado scored on the first shot he faced when Kiviranta floated the puck in from right in front of the crease.

The Sharks stepped up the pressure after the fifth goal but couldn't get one by Blackwood despite having four power-play opportunities.

Lehkonen capped the scoring with a goal at 16:15 of the third period.

Matt Boldy added one goal and two assists for Minnesota, which won its sixth game in a row. Brock Faber finished with a goal and an assist.

Connor Bedard tallied a goal and an assist for Chicago, which earned a point for forcing the game to overtime. Jason Dickinson and Artyom Levshunov also scored.

Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson stopped 34 of 37 shots to earn the victory.

Blackhawks goaltender Spencer Knight allowed four goals on 24 shots.

Kaprizov provided the winning goal early in the overtime session. He had the puck on his stick in the extra session and flicked a wrist shot through traffic from the left circle for his 14th goal before Knight could recover.

The Blackhawks opened the scoring with 14:19 remaining in the second period. Dickinson blasted a slap shot from the slot into the net for his first goal since Oct. 15.

Bedard gave Chicago a 2-0 lead with 7:52 left in the second period. He tipped in a pass from teammate Sam Rinzel for his 14th goal.

Faber scored in the final minute of the second period to pull the Wild within 2-1.

Nico Sturm evened the score at 2-all on a goal 2:17 into the third period. He redirected a shot from teammate Jonas Brodin for his first goal of the season.

The Blackhawks went back on top 3-2 on Levshunov's goal with 14:29 remaining.

Minnesota fought back again to even the score at 3-all with 9:25 to play. Boldy notched his 14th goal when he swept in a loose puck in front of the crease.

The Blackhawks finished with 11 blocked shots, compared with five blocked shots for Minnesota.

John Carlson, Jakob Chychrun, Alex Ovechkin, and Connor McMichael scored, while Tom Wilson, Sonny Milano, Ethen Frank, Matt Roy, and Anthony Beauvillier picked up assists for the Capitals. Washington's Charlie Lindgren made 18 saves.

Gabriel Vilardi got a pair of goals and Mark Scheifele scored once for Winnipeg. Kyle Connor had three assists. Josh Morrissey and Dylan DeMelo each had an assist. Eric Comrie made 30 stops for the Jets.

Washington opened the scoring at 6:38 in the contest when Wilson led a rush into the Jets' zone and found Carlson alone in the slot for a 1-0 lead.

Chychrun would make it 2-0 for the Capitals with a screened point shot with 5:39 left in the first period.

Winnipeg cut the deficit with 22 seconds remaining in the opening frame. Connor picked off a turnover in the Capitals' end and fed Vilardi for a tap-in, making it 2-1.

Vilardi got his second of the game on the power play to tie it 1:24 into the second period. He tipped in Morrissey's long shot from the blue line from the side of the net to make it 2-2.

Ovechkin restored Washington's lead just 3:58 later in the middle stanza. On the night he was honored for reaching 1,500 games and 900 goals, he spun off the boards and fired a high shot past Comrie for career goal No. 908 to give his team a 3-2 advantage.

The Capitals went up 4-2 at the 5:25 mark of the third period. McMichael picked up a turnover on their blue line and raced up the ice on a breakaway and scored on a backhand.

Winnipeg got within one with 4:49 remaining in regulation from Scheifele, who snapped in a shot, but that was as close as the Jets would get, suffering their third straight loss.

William Nylander flicked the winning goal past an overcommitted Jet Greaves with 20 seconds left in overtime. It was his franchise-record 15th career overtime winner, breaking a tie with captain Auston Matthews and franchise icon Mats Sundin.

Woll turned away 35 of 36 shots, with Greaves stopping 22 of 24 for his part.

Zach Werenski had a goal called off in the second period but continued to be a nuisance for the rest of the night. Coming back from an injury scare in the last game against Washington, with 6:30 left in regulation, it was a quick snap shot from the dynamic defenseman that finally beat an overworked Woll.

Easton Cowan responded just over three minutes later with the second goal of his young career. A no-look, behind-the-net dish from Nylander wound up sweetly on his stick and over the shoulder of Greaves.

The Jackets seemed intent on ending the game in regulation. Woll used every limb to deny Miles Wood twice at the post with three minutes remaining.

Kent Johnson boasted perhaps the best opportunity of the opening frame, snapping one off the crossbar and into the mesh a little over five minutes in. Matthews responded soon after off a crafty give-and-go with Max Domi, with Knies nearly poking it in after the initial shot snuck under the arm of Greaves.

As has been their tendency in the second periods this year, the Leafs found themselves hemmed in their own zone for lengthy stretches. Werenski thought he had opened the scoring with a snap shot just inside the post. The goal was ruled offside after a coach's challenge, Johnson having crossed the blue line just before his teammate.

The Leafs rebounded late in the period with their first extended possessions of the game. Knies nearly hammered one in close past a sprawling Greaves on a delayed penalty, Toronto's first power play of the affair.

Perhaps Woll's best save of the game came in the third period, when defenseman Morgan Rielly was unable to stop a Columbus short-handed breakout. Woll slid across the crease to rob Sean Monahan on the doorstep during a long 3-on-1.

Columbus played the game without the services of their leading scorer, Kirill Marchenko, who has missed two consecutive games with an injury. The Jackets have now dropped three in a row and four of their last five.

Michael Bunting scored his 100th career goal and added an assist for the Predators, who had gone 2-9-2 over their previous 13 games. Nashville's Erik Haula, Steven Stamkos and Nick Blankenburg each had a goal and an assist.

Roman Josi also scored, Luke Evangelista registered two assists and Justus Annunen stopped 28 shots for his first victory in his seventh game this season.

James van Riemsdyk, Alex DeBrincat and Ben Chiarot scored for Detroit, which took its third loss in four games. Cam Talbot made 22 saves.

O'Reilly shoveled in a rebound with 5:46 remaining to put Nashville back on top. Haula scored 28 seconds later, and Stamkos added an empty netter with 1:15 to go in the contest.

The Predators cashed in on the first power play of the contest. With Nate Danielson in the penalty box for high-sticking, Blankenburg took a shot from the point that Bunting redirected into the net with 4:12 left in the first period. Haula was credited with the second assist.

Detroit tied the game on a power play at 5:30 of the second period. With Josi in the penalty box for cross-checking, DeBrincat skated into the left circle and beat Annunen on the short side.

With Blankenburg in the penalty box, van Riemsdyk gave Detroit a 2-1 lead with 3:26 remaining in the second period when van Riemsdyk backhanded his own rebound past Annunen's left skate.

Blankenburg scored on a backhander at 2:05 of the third period, and Josi scored 15 seconds later when he banged in his rebound.

Chiarot tied it at 3-all less than a minute later with a shot from the point past a screened Annunen.

Tanner Jeannot scored the game-winning goal in the first minute of the second period for the Bruins, who won despite being outshot 45-14.

The 14 shots were the second-fewest in a victory in franchise history. Boston had 13 shots in a 2-0 win over the Dallas Stars on Oct. 15, 2003.

Steeves tied the score in the first and iced the win with a short-handed goal in the third as the Bruins won for the third time in seven games (3-4-0) following a seven-game winning streak.

Goalie Jeremy Swayman made 44 saves, including 13 after the Islanders pulled Ilya Sorokin with 4:34 left.

The Bruins finished 3-0-0 against the Islanders, outscoring them 12-6.

Mathew Barzal scored in the first for the Islanders, who are 1-2-0 on a seven-game homestand following a 6-1-0 road trip. Sorokin recorded 11 saves.

Barzal gave the Islanders a short-lived lead in impressive fashion 4:41 into the first. The center, playing on his bobblehead night at UBS Arena, was stationed in the left faceoff circle when he took a pass from Tony D'Angelo. In one motion, Barzal maneuvered the puck around Pavel Zacha and tucked a shot into the left corner of the net past a sprawling Swayman.

Steeves tied the score just 1:42 later, when he put back the rebound of a Sean Kuraly shot over Sorokin.

Jeannot collected the game-winner to cap a chaotic sequence 43 seconds into the middle period. Nikita Zadorov's shot glanced off Sorokin and bounced off several players in the crease before Jeannot fired a shot over Sorokin's glove.

A turnover by promising Islanders rookie Matthew Schaefer led to Steeves' second goal. Steeves picked off a pass by Schaefer to begin a 2-on-1 that ended when Fraser Minten dragged himself around a sprawling Schaefer and dished to Steeves, who beat Sorokin from point-blank range with 9:39 left.