
NHL roundup: Oilers edge Wild for 6th straight win
Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl each notched one goal and one assist for the Oilers in the back-and-forth affair. Edmonton goaltender Stuart Skinner made 17 saves, more than half of them in the third period. McDavid has collected 21 points (five goals, 16 assists) in an eight-game spree.
Bouchard joined Paul Coffey as the only Oilers defensemen ever to post a 10-game point streak, a feat Coffey accomplished nine times. Bouchard has compiled four goals and 11 assists during his run.
Matt Boldy netted one goal and one assist, while Joel Eriksson Ek and Connor Dewar also scored for Minnesota. Brock Faber and Marcus Johansson both recorded two assists, and goalie Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 36 shots.
Panthers 3, Penguins 1
Eetu Luostarinen scored the go-ahead goal with 13:50 left in the third period as Florida defeated Pittsburgh in Sunrise, Fla. Sergei Bobrovsky made 26 saves as the Panthers ended a 2-1-0 homestand.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Aleksander Barkov (empty-netter) had Florida's other goals, and Anton Lundell added two assists.
Reilly Smith scored and Tristan Jarry made 30 saves for the Penguins, who lost their fourth straight game (0-2-2) -- their longest skid of the season. The Penguins went 0-for-3 on the power play, making them 0-for-36 with the man advantage over the past 13 games.
Blue Jackets 5, Blues 2
Jet Greaves made 41 saves in his second NHL start and first this season to help Columbus defeat visiting St. Louis.
Yegor Chinakhov had two goals and an assist, Kirill Marchenko had a goal and an assist and Dmitri Voronkov added two assists for the Blue Jackets, who ended a three-game losing streak.
Robert Thomas scored both goals and Joel Hofer made 17 saves for the Blues, who have lost three of four.

Blackhawks seek power-play improvement vs. Blues
Following a 1-0 win over the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday, the homestanding Blackhawks await the arrival of the rival St. Louis Blues for a Saturday night matchup.
The Blackhawks entered the game against Anaheim mired in a four-game losing streak (0-3-1), and teams engaged in a low-scoring, tight-checking clash.
Chicago's power play proved to be the difference when Philipp Kurashev netted the lone goal at 9:21 of the second period.
Before that game, Chicago's power play had scored just eight times in 75 attempts (10.7 percent), which ranked 29th in the league.
Kurashev's tally on assists from Connor Bedard and Tyler Johnson marked the third time the unit scored in the past five games. It came after Anaheim's Tristan Luneau was whistled for a double-minor high-sticking infraction.
Chicago won when scoring fewer than four goals for the first time this season.
"It was a great game overall, especially the special teams and Petr (Mrazek, the Blackhawks goaltender)," said Kurashev, who has five goals, two on the power play. "I definitely think we're moving the puck way quicker. We're opening up lanes for the shots."
Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson believes the team's power play is improving.
"The more we get confident on the power play, I think it allows us to play a better five-on-five game," said Richardson, whose team is 1-0-1 on a four-game homestand. "It'll let the whole game plan settle if we can do our jobs on the special teams."
Mrazek made 37 saves and posted his 25th career shutout. It was his first shutout since beating the Dallas Stars 1-0 on April 4, 2021, while backstopping the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Blues own a recent stranglehold in their rivalry with Chicago, going 11-1-1 since the beginning of the 2019-20 campaign.
In Columbus in a battle of backup goalies Friday night, the Blue Jackets' Jet Greaves made 41 saves, outdueling St. Louis' Joel Hofer (17 saves) for his first career NHL win in a 5-2 victory.
Robert Thomas scored twice, but it was not enough to keep the Blues from losing for the third time in four games.
On Friday afternoon, the Blues sent fan favorite defenseman Robert Bortuzzo to the New York Islanders for a seventh-round pick in the 2024 draft.
Across 424 career games with the 2019 Stanley Cup champions, Bortuzzo totaled 16 goals, 38 assists, 531 blocked shots and 781 hits while compiling a plus-46 rating.
Bortuzzo, 34, was acquired by St. Louis for defenseman Ian Cole in March 2015. Only 33 players logged more games in franchise history than he did, though he had appeared just four times this season and recorded no points.
St. Louis president of hockey operations and general manager Doug Armstrong said the decision to part ways was mutual.
"(Robert) really wanted to get back on the ice and wants to play again next year," Armstrong said on the Bally Sports broadcast. "Where we're at right now, we ... have (Tyler) Tucker and (Scott) Perunovich -- young players we have to see play."

Oilers overtake Wild, extend winning streak to six
Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl each notched one goal and one assist for the Oilers in the back-and-forth affair. Edmonton goaltender Stuart Skinner made 17 saves, more than half of them in the third period.
Bouchard joined Paul Coffey as the only Oilers defensemen ever to post a 10-game point streak, a feat Coffey accomplished nine times. Bouchard he has compiled four goals and 11 assists during his run.
McDavid has collected 21 points (five goals, 16 assists) in an eight-game spree.
Matt Boldy netted one goal and one assist, while Joel Eriksson Ek and Connor Dewar also scored for Minnesota. Brock Faber and Marcus Johansson both recorded two assists, and goalie Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 36 shots.
Bouchard broke a 3-3 tie 92 seconds into the third period when he unloaded a point shot on the power play for his second of the game and seventh of the season.
The Wild were unable to find the equalizer, and they have now lost two straight following a four-game winning streak.
Bouchard opened the scoring at 15:16 of a one-sided first period by firing a top-shelf shot from the right circle.
After being outshot 18-4 in the opening frame, the Wild responded with a pair of goals 26 seconds apart in the first minute of the second period.
Boldy tied the score 15 seconds into the frame with his sixth goal of the campaign. Then, Eriksson Ek converted a one-timer for his 13th of the season. The two tallies came within the first 41 seconds of the frame, the second-fastest two goals to start a period in franchise history.
McDavid responded 40 seconds later with a highlight-reel goal in which he zoomed around seemingly everybody and tucked the puck into the net as he was actually going behind it. The result was his ninth goal of the season.
Dewar restored the Wild's lead with his sixth of the season at 11:58 of the second, but Draisaitl's power-play goal, his 11th tally of the season, tied the game 3-3 with 90 seconds remaining in the middle period.

Hurricanes aim to stop road woes, prepare for Canucks
The road trip began with a 2-1 loss at Winnipeg on Monday despite outshooting the Jets 43-22, as Laurent Brossoit made a season-high 42 saves. But Carolina, which has the second-worst road record in the Metro Division (6-9-0) behind only the last-place Columbus Blue Jackets (2-8-3), followed that with a 6-1 clunker at Edmonton on Wednesday. The Hurricanes then lost 3-2 at Calgary on Thursday after blowing an early 2-0 lead.
Frustrated Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour, who during an in-game interview at Edmonton said he had "never seen a team play this brutal," didn't hold back after seeing his team allow three goals in the span of a little over six minutes midway through the third period at Calgary. Blake Coleman scored the game-winner with a short-handed goal.
"Just not good enough," Brind'Amour said. "We've got a lot of guys that aren't pulling their weight. It's plain and simple. You can read into that what you want but we're not going to win if we don't have 20 guys going. We have some guys working every night, contributing, doing what they do. But there's a lot of others that need to look in the mirror."
Carolina is tied for third in the Metro Division with the New York Islanders with 29 points, eight points behind the first-place New York Rangers. Last season, the Hurricanes won the division with 113 points, including a sparkling 24-11-6 road record.
Next up is a trip to Vancouver to face one of the surprise teams in the Western Conference, the Canucks, who are just four points behind the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights in the Pacific Division and lead the league with 103 goals scored. The Hurricanes also have games at Ottawa and Detroit before returning home on Dec. 15 against Nashville.
"We're fragile right now," Brind'Amour said. "There's no doubt. We've been kicked around a little bit. But the way we've played the last two games is not going to get it done. No one is going to feel sorry for us. We know we're a good team but we're not playing like that."
Vancouver, which comes in off a 2-0 shutout win over the visiting Minnesota Wild on Thursday, hasn't put together back-to-back wins since Nov. 12 (5-2 at Montreal) and Nov. 15 (4-3 in overtime against the Islanders). The Canucks have alternated wins and losses over their last 10 games.
Casey DeSmith, acquired in a trade with Montreal on Sept. 19, made 26 saves to pick up his first shutout of the season and snap Minnesota's four-game winning streak. It was the 10th career shutout for DeSmith, who became the first Vancouver backup goalie since Anders Nilsson on Oct. 24, 2017, against Minnesota to pick up a shutout.
Nils Hoglander and Teddy Blueger both scored goals for the Canucks, who won despite managing just 17 shots on goal, including three in the third period.
DeSmith, who improved to 5-2-1 this season, was making his first start since Nov. 25, after four consecutive starts by No. 1 Thatcher Demko.
"I've always kind of been somebody who can go on a long layoff and hop back in there and do my job," DeSmith said. "I take a lot of pride in that."
"What is it, two weeks since he played?" Vancouver coach Rick Tocchet said. "That's what Casey does. He's done that in his career where he's had inactivity. He was solid tonight for us."

Panthers claw back, hand Penguins another loss
Sergei Bobrovsky was spectacular in goal, making 26 saves, as the Panthers ended a 2-1-0 homestand.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Aleksander Barkov (empty-netter) had Florida's other goals, and Anton Lundell added two assists.
Former Panthers forward Reilly Smith scored for the Penguins, who lost their fourth straight game -- their longest skid of the season. The Penguins have also lost nine of their past 12 games.
The Penguins went 0-3 on their power play. Over the past 11 games, Pittsburgh is 0-for-36 with the man advantage.
Tristan Jarry made 31 saves for the Penguins. However, Penguins star Sidney Crosby, who leads the team with 15 goals, was held without a point.
The first period featured no scoring and just one penalty, as Barkov was called for hooking on Crosby. Pittsburgh got two shots on goal during the power play, but Bobrovsky saved both.
Then, with 14:50 left in the second period, the Penguins had a great chance on Jake Guentzel's breakaway. But Bobrovsky blocked Guentzel's forehand-to-backhand move.
Finally, with 11:55 remaining in the second, the Penguins made it 1-0 on Smith's backhander that was slipped in five-hole. Evgeni Malkin had the primary assist with a great pass from along the right boards.
The Panthers tied the score with 2:56 left in the second as Ekman-Larsson shoved in a loose puck. The goal came nine seconds after Florida failed to score on a power play.
On the go-ahead goal, Lundell won a faceoff, Evan Rodrigues shot the puck, and Luostarinen batted in a mid-air rebound, scoring just below the crossbar.
With 2:39 left in the third, Rodrigues was called for hooking on Marcus Pettersson. Sam Reinhart nearly scored short-handed on a breakaway, but Jarry stopped him.
With two minutes left, Pittsburgh pulled Jarry for a 6-on-4 man advantage. But Barkov sealed the win with his empty-net goal 27 seconds before the final buzzer.

Jet Greaves, Yegor Chinakhov power Blue Jackets past Blues
Yegor Chinakhov had two goals and an assist, Kirill Marchenko had a goal and an assist and Dmitri Voronkov added two assists for the Blue Jackets, who ended a three-game losing streak.
Robert Thomas scored both goals and Joel Hofer made 17 saves for the Blues, who have lost three of four.
Greaves, 22, earned the start after Spencer Martin started in goal against the New York Islanders on Thursday and surrendered seven goals in the 7-3 loss. Elvis Merzlikins was unavailable because he was placed on injured reserve on Wednesday with an illness.
In his only other NHL start, Greaves set franchise records for saves (46) and shots faced (49) by a Columbus goalie making his NHL debut in a 4-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on April 4 of last season.
The Blue Jackets grabbed an early 1-0 lead when Marchenko squeezed the puck through Hofer's pads from in close at 1:42 of the first period.
Greaves stopped the first nine shots before Thomas scored on a breakaway to tie it 1-1 at 14:36 of the first.
Columbus moved back ahead before the end of the period when Adam Fantilli scored off the rush to make it 2-1 at 17:01. Fantilli, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, has three goals and an assist in the past two games.
The Blue Jackets stretched the lead to 3-1 at 6:26 of the third period after Voronkov stole the puck in the St. Louis zone and led the rush the other way. He passed the puck to Marchenko, who fed Chinakhov for the redirection.
Chinakhov scored on a one-timer from the high slot while on a power play to extend the lead to 4-1 at 12:21.
Thomas scored from in close with Hofer pulled for the extra attacker to cut the lead to 4-2 with 2:22 left, but Alexandre Texier scored into an empty net with four seconds left to make it 5-2.
Columbus also played its second straight game without forward Patrik Laine and defenseman Erik Gudbranson because of illnesses.
Blue Jackets leading goal-scorer Boone Jenner did not return after getting hit in the face with a shot by teammate Ivan Provorov with 7:51 left in the second period.

Kraken hungry for a win -- or a lead -- with Lightning in town
The Kraken will try to get started on the right foot Saturday night when they play host to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
"Obviously, right now, it's not working," Kraken forward Alex Wennberg said. "But I feel like the belief is in the team. We're all together here, and we're finding something. We're going to grow from this and become better, and right now we've just got to find a way to get the first one. After that, we're going to keep rolling."
The Kraken opened a six-game homestand Thursday with a 2-1 loss to New Jersey despite outshooting the Devils 38-17 -- including 16-3 in the final period. Jared McCann hit the crossbar on a two-on-one rush with about three minutes remaining and Vince Dunn grazed the right post in the final minute. There was a mad scramble in front of the New Jersey net as the final buzzer sounded.
But Seattle came up short again.
"We played our tails off," Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said. "I mean, it's a hard outcome, right? We played against a good hockey team, we played really hard. We made a couple of mistakes. That's the nature of the beast, and ... we're not getting the benefit of some of the hard work."
Tye Kartye scored the lone goal for Seattle, a one-timer from the low slot in the second period after taking a pass from Wennberg from below the goal line.
"That's kind of what the blueprint is for us," Kartye said. "We've got to do that a little more, kind of just get the puck to the bottom and try and get the puck in the slot to create more chances."
Kraken forward Andre Burakovsky returned after a 20-game absence because of an upper-body injury and forced a turnover that led to Kartye's goal. But Burakovsky was checked into the boards later in the period and lost his footing. He went to the locker room to receive medical attention.
After re-evaluation Friday, the Kraken said Burakovsky will be week-to-week with an upper-body injury.
The Lightning opened a five-game trip with a 5-1 defeat Thursday at Nashville. That snapped their two-game winning streak.
"We're playing a decent road game, and then they get two quick ones in the second," Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. "Once that happened, we never punched back. That's probably the most disappointing thing about the game. I mean you're not going to win every game, but let's give a push. Whether you're up or down or protecting the lead or trying to come from behind, especially in that case, you've got to punch back. And we didn't."
Alex Barre-Boulet scored and Jonas Johansson made 25 saves for the Lightning. Nikita Kucherov saw the end of an 11-game point streak in which he contributed six goals and 15 assists.
"I think we were getting guys to the net, but we just weren't recovering the puck," Lightning forward Brandon Hagel said. "... If you're going to do that all night you're not going to have second chances and have the goalie scrambling. It was kind of one of those nights."

Streaking Flyers take road prowess into battle with Avalanche
The Flyers are coming off a 4-1 victory at the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday night and improved to 9-3-1 in their past 13 games. Philadelphia is 8-4-1 on the road this season.
"I think right now our goaltending is playing really well, so that obviously helps," Flyers center Sean Couturier said. "I think the way we play, we back-check hard, we try to get better at reloading hard, and we want to play a fast, offensive game, but we got to know how to reload also, and I think we've worked on that lately and it's paying off."
Travis Konecny scored twice in the win over the Coyotes and has four points over his last two games. The 26-year-old has a team-leading 14 goals and 21 points in 26 games this season.
"He's got a great engine," Philadelphia coach John Tortorella said. "I don't like some of the things (he does defensively), but I need to let him be who he is. Because that's why he's such a great player."
Konecny also has three of the Flyers' seven short-handed goals this season, which lead the league.
"He is intense, aggressive, fast, explosive," Couturier said. "So when he sees a loose puck, he's most likely winning that race, and it's fun to play with a guy like that. He's going to win you a lot of races."
Couturier, who centers a line with Konecny and Tyson Foerster, has points in four straight (one goal and three assists).
Goaltender Carter Hart is 8-6-1 with a 2.45 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage in 16 games this season.
The Avalanche enter Saturday's contest having lost four of five following a 4-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on home ice on Thursday.
Colorado center Nathan MacKinnon, who has a team-leading 36 points in 26 games this season, had a goal and an assist against the Jets to extend his point streak to 10 games. MacKinnon has four goals and 12 assists during the streak. He also has points in 12 straight home games (seven goals, 16 assists).
"He's obviously been crucial," said Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar, who was named the NHL's second star for November. "His play's just been elevated to a completely new level, and he does that every year. Doesn't shock me."
Makar led the league with 21 assists and ranked second in points (25) in 14 games in November.
The Avalanche are 9-3-0 on home ice this season but are 5-3-2 over their past 10 games overall.
"We're kind of hit-and-miss throughout our lineup here for the last little bit. It's costing us," Colorado coach Jared Bednar said.
In 22 games this season, Colorado netminder Alexandar Georgiev is 14-7-1 with a 2.87 GAA and a .902 save percentage.

Islanders look to spoil King's record-setting road streak
Now, the Islanders will try to do something no one's done in the NHL this season.
The Los Angeles Kings will look to continue their historic unbeaten road streak Saturday night when they visit the Islanders in their lone trip this season to Elmont, N.Y.
Both teams were off Friday after pivotal wins Thursday night. The Kings remained perfect on the road this season by blanking the Montreal Canadiens 4-0. The Islanders finally pulled away from an opponent in the third period by scoring the final three goals in a 7-3 win over the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets.
The road win was the 11th straight for the Kings, who snapped a tie with the 2006-07 Buffalo Sabres for the most consecutive road victories to start a season.
But the Kings' streak has been far more dominant than the one authored by the Sabres, who advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals the following spring. Buffalo outscored its opponents 44-25 during its season-opening run and recorded six one-goal wins, including five in overtime or the shootout.
The Kings have outscored their opponents 50-18 while winning eight games by two or more goals. They recorded three-goal comebacks in two of their one-goal wins, including Tuesday when Los Angeles overcame a three-goal third-period deficit to beat the Blue Jackets, 4-3, for its lone road win decided after regulation thus far.
"Normally we're downplaying achievements, talking about getting to the next game, but I think we have to acknowledge the group has played really well," Kings head coach Todd McLellan said. "And how they did it on the road -- twice we've had to come back from three-goal deficits."
Kings goalie Cam Talbot also moved into the record books Thursday when he improved to 9-0-0 on the road and tied Glenn Hall of the 1965-66 Chicago Blackhawks for the most consecutive road wins to start a season by a goalie.
"It's a special group," Talbot said of the Kings. "So I'm happy to be part of that record for sure."
The Islanders were happy to exorcise at least some of their third-period demons Thursday night. New York was outscored 39-18 in the third period and overtime of its first 24 games and had squandered a third-period lead in five of its previous 10 games.
History seemed on the verge of repeating itself when Adam Fantilli scored 1:28 into the third to pull the Blue Jackets within 4-3. But Mathew Barzal scored at the 5:33 mark, and Bo Horvat scored twice in 20 seconds shortly beyond the midway point of the period as the Islanders finished with seven goals for the first time since a 7-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on March 21, 2023.
"When they scored early in the third, we kept pushing," Islanders head coach Lane Lambert said. "We figured (they would) probably (be) in that position again tonight. And our guys did a great job of responding and doing what they needed to do by staying aggressive."
The win marked the first time the Islanders scored multiple goals in the third period of a regulation victory this season. New York scored two third-period goals in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Oct. 30 and scored twice in the third period of Tuesday's 5-4 overtime loss to the San Jose Sharks.
"We know exactly what's being said about us blowing leads and whatnot," Barzal said. "So we're just trying to prove people wrong. That's not who we are."

Rangers tangle with Capitals, hoping to brush off rare loss
The Rangers' three-game win streak ended in their 6-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday. New York tallied two goals early in the second period to make it a 3-2 game before Drake Batherson scored at the 7:18 mark for the first of three unanswered Senators goals.
Ottawa's six markers matched New York's season high for goals allowed in a game. The Rangers also surrendered five tallies in their previous outing, a 6-5 win over the San Jose Sharks on Dec. 3.
Though this week might count as a relative rough patch, New York has yet to play consecutive games without a win this season.
"(Tuesday wasn't) the first game where we're loose or where we didn't put in what we needed to put in," Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said. "But the response has always been good ... I do think that our guys have answered when something hasn't gone our way or we haven't liked it. They have answered and come back with a good effort."
Washington is also looking to get on track and end a three-game winless drought (0-2-1). The Capitals held three different leads against the Dallas Stars on Thursday but ultimately dropped a 5-4 shootout loss.
Head coach Spencer Carbery wasn't impressed with the Capitals' inability to stay ahead.
"I'll go through the film and I'll probably see 25 of those situations where (there are) just head-scratching mistakes in moments where you have control of the game," Carbery said. "... You just don't make those mistakes when you're trying to win games and protect leads."
The Capitals are 12-0-3 this season when scoring at least two goals, but couldn't maximize their points during Thursday's relatively rare offensive outburst. Washington is averaging 2.35 goals per game and has a 9 percent power-play percentage, ranking last in the NHL.
Alex Ovechkin's slow start has been part of the problem, as the superstar forward has a modest 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) over 23 games. Ovechkin hit another statistical milestone Thursday, earning the 1,500th point of his NHL career.
T.J. Oshie (upper-body injury) has missed Washington's last six games, but Oshie has been taking part in full practices and could return Saturday.
Rangers forward Chris Kreider didn't practice Thursday and is day-to-day with a lower-body injury, according to Laviolette. Barclay Goodrow is also questionable after a puck to his face forced an early exit from Tuesday's game. Veteran forward Riley Nash has been called up from the AHL if New York needs lineup reinforcements.
Rangers forward Mika Zibanejad has 10 points (four goals, six assists) over an eight-game points streak.
The Rangers and Capitals play back-to-back games this weekend, likely necessitating a split in goaltender starts. Igor Shesterkin and Jonathan Quick, in some order, would face the Capitals on Saturday and the visiting Los Angeles Kings on Sunday. Likewise, Darcy Kuemper and Charlie Lindgren probably will each get a start over Washington's games with New York and then on the road against the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday.
All four regular-season meetings between the Rangers and Capitals take place between Saturday and Jan. 14.

Maple Leafs face Predators after losing key goaltender
Joseph Woll, who was emerging as Toronto's No. 1 netminder, was injured while making a save midway through the third period of a 4-3 road victory over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night.
Woll, starting his fifth consecutive game, made several superb saves in stopping 29 of 31 shots before his injury. With Ilya Samsonov (illness) out, veteran NHL goaltender Martin Jones took over and allowed one goal on 10 shots. Jones had been recalled from the AHL Toronto Marlies for the game because of Samsonov's status.
"It was tough to watch, obviously," Jones said. "You don't want to see that. Just tried to get my head in the game and get ready to go. (Woll) is solid. I mean, he does everything really well, the way he moves, the way he competes. You saw a couple saves tonight that were just unbelievable, just competing and battling in there."
Woll could not put weight on his left leg as he was helped off the ice by two teammates. He was seen leaving the arena on crutches.
"It's unfortunate, right?" Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said. "He's been playing so well, and he's building such great momentum here on his season and his career. It's a setback here. Now he's going to miss time for sure. We'll determine the extent of it once we get home. But, obviously, he's the big reason why we got two points here tonight."
The Predators, meanwhile, dominated the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning 5-1 on Thursday night.
The Predators, who have won nine of their past 11 games, were 4-for-4 killing penalties against a good Lightning power play. Three of the power plays came in the second period. The play of goaltender Juuse Saros, who made 32 saves, was a key factor in the penalty-killing.
"We certainly tested ourselves there," Nashville defenseman Ryan McDonagh said. "Obviously, we talk about trying to stay out of the box and we probably gave them too many opportunities, but it was a huge job there and probably the difference as far as keeping the momentum and keeping the score the way it was."
"We're really happy for the penalty kill," Predators coach Andrew Brunette said. "I think to step up the way they did against (one of) the greatest power plays of all time. Obviously (Saros) played a big part in that, but those were big kills in squashing the momentum we might have lost, and our power play was opportunistic and got a couple of big goals."
Juuso Parssinen and Filip Forsberg scored when Nashville had the man advantage.
The Predators will face a Toronto team dealing with more injuries than just Woll's.
Toronto defenseman John Klingberg (hip) is out for the remainder of the season. He will have surgery for the injury and is expected to miss five to six months. Klingberg, who signed a one-year, $4.15 million contract with Toronto on July 1, had five assists in 14 games.
The Maple Leafs are also without defensemen Mark Giordano (fractured finger) and Timothy Liljegren (lower-body injury).

After ending skid, Sabres out for more against Canadiens
The Sabres ended a four-game losing streak with a 3-1 road win against the Boston Bruins on Thursday night, showing the Eastern Conference co-points leader they can go head-to-head with any team in the NHL.
"For our confidence, that's the standard now, the way we played (Thursday) night," Buffalo defenseman Mattias Samuelsson said. "It just shows we can beat -- I don't know if they're the best team in the league, but they're up there."
The Sabres received a major boost earlier in the week when right wing Tage Thompson returned from a nine-game absence because of a wrist injury.
Thompson, who combined for 85 goals the previous two seasons, had an assist in his first game back, a 5-3 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday, and scored in the win against the Bruins on Thursday.
Thompson said the key to Thursday's win was keeping things simple while staying aggressive.
"Just step over the board and try to win your shift," he said. "Try to win the battle, beat the guy across from you. Don't worry about the end result, and I think we did that (Thursday) night."
Getting off to a good start against Montreal should also benefit Buffalo, like it did against the Bruins.
The Sabres came into Thursday's game with the worst goal-differential in the first period in the NHL at minus-17, but they peppered Boston with 19 shots on goal in the scoreless opening frame.
"We made it a lot harder on the other team," Thompson said. "They had to earn every inch out there and that's going to have to continue moving forward."
The Canadiens thought they played better than the score indicated in a 4-0 loss to the visiting Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night.
"If you go back, look at the tape and ignore the score, I think there's a lot to take from it," defenseman Mike Matheson said.
Montreal put 24 shots on Kings goalie Cam Talbot, including several from high-danger areas, but couldn't solve the netminder.
"You have to be opportunistic on your chances," Montreal coach Martin St. Louis said.
Montreal lost by the same score to the red-hot Kings two weeks ago in Los Angeles, but they had better puck movement and more scoring chances in the latest meeting.
"I thought we played a lot better than we did in LA," Montreal captain Nick Suzuki said. "(We) hit I don't know how many posts, had a lot of scoring chances, once you go down to a team that plays like that, it's hard to get through their trap. They made it difficult on us to come back."
The Sabres are in the bottom third of the league in power-play percentage, but they'll try to capitalize on a Montreal penalty-kill unit that has allowed a power-play goal in four consecutive games and eight of the past 10.

Simon Nemec, Devils aim for 3-0 start to road trip vs. Flames
The Devils continue their four-game road trip with a Saturday matinee contest against the Calgary Flames having won the first two games, the latest a 2-1 victory over the Seattle Kraken on Thursday.
New Jersey, which struggled last month in big part due to injuries, has won five of six outings.
That is not the only good news for the Devils. The arrival of 2022 second overall draft pick Simon Nemec has paid dividends. His first career NHL goal, in just his third game, was the game-winner against the Kraken.
"I didn't think," Nemec said of his tally that came when he buried a one-timer from the slot. "I didn't even (celebrate) or something. It's there. I was really happy. I didn't look happy, but I was. First goal, you'll remember forever."
The 19-year-old has also collected two assists in his first three NHL games.
"Another strong game (from Nemec)," Devils coach Lindy Ruff said. "He was able to jump in and find a lane, great shot. He had a couple opportunities where he was in on good offensive plays. His hockey sense, his ability to pick the right time is good."
The goal, which came 9:08 into the second period, held up to be the game-winner in big part because of goaltender Akira Schmid, who made 16 of his 37 saves in the third period.
"When you've got a one-goal lead, it's an uncomfortable feeling, but you have to execute the right plays," Ruff said. "I think (Thursday) was a step again in the right direction."
The Flames snapped a two-game losing skid with yet another comeback victory. Calgary erased a two-goal third-period deficit en route to a 3-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday.
The Flames are finishing a six-game homestand and have won three of the previous five games with comebacks. Already this season, they have won five games when trailing through two periods and eight times when trailing at any point.
"There's only two ways to win in this league and we've got one of them down pretty dang well," said forward Blake Coleman, whose short-handed goal served as the winner against the Hurricanes. "If we can figure out the other half, we'll be in pretty good shape."
As exciting as the comeback victories have been, the Flames are well aware it is not a recipe to make the playoffs. They have trailed in 21 of 22 games and surrendered the first goal in eight consecutive outings.
A huge reason they sit outside a playoff position is that inability to draw first blood, and they know it.
"You don't want to chase games, we've talked about that a lot, but the resolve and the courage, whatever you want to call it, these guys have it," coach Ryan Huska said. "They continue to play hard. I didn't mind our start. We were down 2-0 on two deflections. ... I didn't mind our start, other than the score."
Huska would not divulge Friday which goaltender will be tagged to start. Dan Vladar was pulled in his first start after No. 1 netminder Jacob Markstrom was sidelined due to a broken finger suffered in Monday's practice, and rookie Dustin Wolf sparkled in the Carolina win, making 28 saves.

Blues trade D Robert Bortuzzo to Islanders
Bortuzzo, 34, had been with St. Louis since March 2015. He won a Stanley Cup with the Blues in 2019.
Bortuzzo has appeared in just four games this season and none since Nov. 18. In 537 career games with the Pittsburgh Penguins (2011-15) and Blues, he has amassed 74 points (20 goals, 54 assists), 491 penalty minutes and 1,061 hits.
In a separate move, the Islanders placed defenseman Ryan Pulock on injured reserve with a lower-body injury.

Golden Knights seeking season sweep of Stars
Amid a six-game point streak, the visiting Knights look to complete a three-game season series sweep of the Stars on Saturday.
Vegas won the first three games against Dallas in the playoffs last season, and eventually needed six to capture the series and advance to the Stanley Cup Final it went on to win. Fast forward to this season, and the Golden Knights have posted a pair of tight victories over the Stars -- 3-2 in a shootout at home on Oct. 17 and 2-1 in overtime at Dallas on Nov. 22.
Currently, the Golden Knights sit atop the West standings, six points ahead of Dallas, which is amid a tight race in the Central Division. Vegas overcame a 3-1 first-period hole to score five unanswered goals for a 6-3 victory at St. Louis on Wednesday, and improved to 3-0-3 in the last six.
"I think the structure has been there all year. It has allowed us to stay in games," Golden Knights forward Mark Stone said, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Stone has four points in the last five games
Vegas' Jack Eichel scored in his fourth straight game, and added an assist Wednesday, to give him 10 points in the last five contests. He netted the winner 1:57 into overtime at Dallas last month.
Since that defeat to the Golden Knights, the Stars are 3-3-2. Dallas avoided being swept on its recent three-game trip by rallying for a 5-4 shootout victory at Washington on Thursday. The Stars trailed 3-1 early in the second period but fought their way back to prevail behind two goals from Roope Hintz.
"We have no panic in here," said Dallas' Matt Duchene, who recorded an assist in his 1,000th career game Thursday.
"It doesn't really matter what we get down. We're a very even-keeled, mature veteran group. ... We just had to pick it up, start playing our game."
Perhaps that comeback will help the Stars string some victories together. They haven't won back-to-back contests since a four-game winning streak from Nov. 9-14.
Hintz also looks to get going after recording just his fourth and fifth points in the last seven games on Thursday. He has a goal with an assist against the Golden Knights this season.
Dallas' Jake Oettinger (2.67 goals-against average) has stopped 56 of 60 shots in two games versus Vegas this season. However, he's yielded nine goals while losing his last two starts overall.
Meanwhile, the Golden Knights' Adin Hill, who ranks among the NHL leaders in goals-against average (1.84), save percentage (.933) and win percentage (.786), has saved 55 of the 58 shots he's faced in those two games versus Dallas.
Vegas' Logan Thompson, who owns a 2.38 GAA in 14 appearances this season, has stopped 72 of 78 shots while going 2-0-1 as a starter this month.
Dallas' Jason Robertson recorded a pair of assists on Thursday to increase his team lead to 16. He has an assist for his only point in this season's two meetings with Vegas.

Bruins seeking more intensity in clash with Coyotes
Boston is coming off a 3-1 loss to Buffalo on Thursday, putting an end to its three-game winning streak that had followed a three-game skid.
The loss also came at a price as top defenseman Charlie McAvoy exited in the third period with an upper-body injury after a collision with Buffalo's JJ Peterka.
McAvoy did not participate in Friday morning's practice and is considered day-to-day.
"We're hopeful for (Saturday)," Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said. "It's upper-body, nothing with the head."
McAvoy's injury came on the same day that Derek Forbort was placed on long-term injured reserve with a lower-body ailment that also bothered him during training camp. Mason Lohrei was recalled from Providence of the American Hockey League.
The Bruins were held to just five shots in Thursday's first period and didn't cut into a 2-0 deficit until captain Brad Marchand scored late in the second -- his fifth consecutive goal for the team over its last three games.
"Sometimes we aren't prepared to start with the intensity that we need to," Marchand said. "We seem to be going back and forth between the way we need to be successful and trying to be too cute, and think the game's going to be easy at times."
Though the Bruins sit just two points behind league-leading Vegas in the overall NHL standings, the team has had a couple of rough days. The loss followed a disappointing effort in Thursday's practice.
"I expected us to get better every period. I think we went from awful to poor," Montgomery said. "We didn't really ever get to average for our game."
Montgomery also expects goaltender Jeremy Swayman to be available after he was absent Thursday due to illness.
Arizona moved into a playoff position and above the .500 mark during a five-game win streak that was just snapped with Thursday's 4-1 home loss to Philadelphia.
Connor Ingram allowed only five goals during the streak as Arizona became the first team in NHL history to win five straight games against the last five Stanley Cup-winning franchises, but the Flyers tagged him for four goals on 26 shots.
The loss was the Coyotes' first since Nov. 22 against St. Louis.
"We are going to be playing hard games like that hopefully down the stretch," Coyotes defenseman Travis Dermott said. "We're gonna have to learn to stick in games that we're not creating much offensively and just bear down defensively and let that offensive stuff happen."
Lawson Crouse scored the Coyotes' lone goal against Philadelphia, which opened up its 2-1 lead with goals in the second and third periods.
Crouse is the team's second-leading goal scorer with 11, trailing only Michael Carcone -- who had netted five over the previous four games -- for the team lead.
"It took too long for us to adjust and play a simple game," Arizona coach Andre Tourigny said.
The game in Boston marks the start of a three-game road trip for the Coyotes. They will visit Buffalo and Pittsburgh before returning home next Friday.

Maple Leafs G Joseph Woll to sit out 'some time' with injury
Woll made 29 saves before being helped off the ice midway through the third period. He attempted to make a glove save on a shot but crumbled to the ice, and the injury appeared to be to his left leg.
"It's unfortunate, right?" Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said to reporters after the game. "He's been playing so well. He was building such great momentum here on his season and his career. It's a setback here now."
Woll, 25, is 8-5-1 on the season with a .916 save percentage and 2.80 goals-against average.
The Maple Leafs selected Woll, a Missouri native, in the third round of the 2016 NHL Draft.
Ilya Samsonov, who has been out two games with an injury, is set to return to the ice soon. He is 4-1-3 with an .878 save percentage and 3.58 GAA in 10 games this season.
The Maple Leafs also have veteran Martin Jones on the roster, recalled on an emergency basis on Wednesday from the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League. He made nine saves in relief of Woll on Thursday and got the win.
Toronto is set to host the Nashville Predators on Saturday.

Able-bodied Patrick Kane revved up as Red Wings welcome Senators
The nine-time All-Star and presumed future Hall of Fame inductee signed a one-year contract with Detroit last week. Kane, who underwent hip resurfacing surgery during the offseason, skated well but didn't have a point in his first appearance on Thursday. Kane had three shots on goal and hit the post in the third period.
His new teammates blew a four-goal lead and wound up losing to San Jose in overtime, 6-5.
"It was just fun to get out there and play again," Kane said. "Obviously, it would've been a little bit better getting the win. It seemed like we were rolling there at 4-0."
The Sharks evened the score before a wild second period, in which eight goals were tallied, ended. Dylan Larkin gave the Red Wings the lead back with 6:40 remaining in the game but Tomas Hertl tied it with 1:29 on the clock. Mikael Grandlund then scored 37 seconds into overtime.
"We were casual and got outworked all night," coach Derek Lalonde said. "It's another learning lesson. We have to be on all the time."
Kane was reunited with his former Chicago linemate, Alex DeBrincat, during most of his shifts. Joe Veleno served as their center, though J.T. Compher -- who missed Thursday's game with a minor injury -- will likely take on that role.
"Overall, I felt fine," said Kane, who played for Chicago and the New York Rangers last season. "I'll definitely have to build up the timing, the confidence and getting back to trying to take over (games) when you have the puck on your stick. I was a little bit tentative at times, but overall I felt pretty good and felt like I was making some plays."
San Jose coach David Quinn said he expects Kane to give the Wings a big boost.
"It's great for our league that he's back," he said. "I wish Newsy (Lalonde) had held him out one more night because I don't care how long he doesn't skate, I don't care if he's out there on one leg or one and a half legs, this guy's an elite player. Every time he's got it, you hold your breath when you're standing on the other bench."
Ottawa also suffered a one-goal loss on Thursday, falling to Toronto, 4-3. The Senators had won their previous two games.
"We did a lot of good things," forward Claude Giroux said. "Definitely frustrating right now. If we play like that every night we're going to win more than we lose."
Defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker had a memorable night, scoring his first NHL goal in his 48th career game.
"It was really cool," Bernard-Docker said. "I probably celebrated like I've never scored one in my life, but it's the first one so I figured I may as well, you know, give it a little celebration."
The Senators and Wings have met twice this season. Detroit captured a 5-2 win at Ottawa on Oct. 21 as Veleno scored two goals.
The rematch was held during Global Series Sweden on Nov. 16. Tim Stutzle scored with two seconds remaining in overtime to give the Senators a 5-4 win.

Riding season-best win streak, Oilers take on Wild
The Oilers have been climbing the standings since handing the coaching reins to Kris Knoblauch just over three weeks ago. They reached a new level during the current run, which included an impressive 6-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday to kick off a six-game homestand.
"It's a good chance for us to kind of establish this building as a tough building to come into," Edmonton forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said. "We're going to have to keep building on it."
Captain Connor McDavid has collected 19 points (4-15-19) in a seven-game point streak, while defenseman Evan Bouchard has netted 12 points (2-10-12) in a nine-game streak, but a huge key to Edmonton's turnaround has been an improved defensive play. During the streak, the Oilers have outscored the opposition by an impressive 26-8 margin (not including the extra "goal" credited for winning a shootout).
"Obviously a lot of good signs," McDavid said. "It's something that we want to keep going. It feels good in the room. You can feel like there's a little bit of momentum and it shows on the ice."
Edmonton No. 1 goalie Stuart Skinner struggled to start the season, but in his last five games, he is 5-0-0 with a 1.58 goals-against average.
"It just breeds confidence for the entire team," Knoblauch said. "Often when your goalie is struggling, the defensemen are always hesitant because they don't want to get involved in the play. They don't want to make a mistake."
The Wild arrive after a 2-0 road loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday. The result ended Minnesota's four-game winning streak that coincided with John Hynes taking over the coaching duties after Dean Evason was fired on Nov. 27.
Against the Canucks, the Wild fired the first 10 shots on goal, but their inability to take a lead proved costly en route to their first shutout loss of the season.
"We didn't have our best for 60 minutes, but we didn't play terribly," Minnesota forward Marcus Johansson told the St. Paul Pioneer Press. "We gave up some chances in the end, when we were chasing. We started well, and then they came back a little bit. That's a good hockey team."
Although Minnesota had reason to be disappointed with the loss in Vancouver, it is worth noting the Wild have outscored their opponents 18-7 over the past five outings.
"We were riding a high, winning four in a row, but we've got to see what we're made of (Friday) night," Wild defenseman Jon Merrill said. "And luckily we do have a chance to get out there ... and right what happened."
Hynes added, "There's a lot of good lessons out of this game. The first four games were a little bit different style of games. This is the first time we've seen this style of game against us, and we didn't handle it the right way, so it's a good opportunity to grow."
Minnesota has won nine of its last 10 games against the Oilers, including a 7-4 win at Saint Paul, Minn., on Oct. 24.

NHL roundup: Mikael Granlund's OT goal gives Sharks wild win
San Jose erased a 4-0 deficit, after Detroit put in four goals in a span of 4:35 in the second period. The Sharks replied with four goals later in the period.
Detroit took a 5-4 lead with 6:40 remaining in regulation on a goal by Dylan Larkin, but San Jose pulled its goalie and tied the game with 1:29 left on a tally by Tomas Hertl.
Nico Sturm and Hertl each had two goals for the Sharks, who won in overtime for the second consecutive game. Zetterlund contributed a goal and an assist, Mikael Granlund had a goal and two assists and Jan Rutta notched two assists.
Michael Rasmussen collected two goals, Lucas Raymond logged a goal and an assist and Klim Kostin also scored. Ben Chiarot and Robby Fabbri each had two assists.
Stars 5, Capitals 4 (SO)
Roope Hintz scored twice in the third period as Dallas snapped a two-game skid at Washington.
Tyler Seguin and Mason Marchment also scored for the Stars in a back-and-forth contest, which called on Dallas to fight from behind three times, never holding the lead until the final score.
Dallas netminder Scott Wedgewood made three saves in the shootout, while Jason Robertson found the back of the net, sliding the puck past Washington goaltender Charlie Lindgren to secure the victory for the Stars.
Predators 5, Lightning 1
Defenseman Ryan McDonagh had a goal and an assist against his former team and Juuse Saros made 32 saves as surging Nashville beat visiting Tampa Bay.
Fellow defenseman Roman Josi also posted a goal and an assist, while Filip Forsberg, Juuso Parssinen and Yakov Trenin also scored for Nashville, which has won three straight and nine of 11. Saros was stout while earning his seventh win in eight starts. He played a key role in helping Nashville kill all four Tampa Bay power plays.
Alex Barre-Boulet scored and Jonas Johansson made 25 saves for the Lightning, who have been outscored 20-4 during a four-game slide on the road.
Kings 4, Canadiens 0
Quinton Byfield had two goals and an assist and Cam Talbot made 24 saves vs. Montreal to fuel Los Angeles to an NHL-record 11th straight road win to start the season.
Anze Kopitar notched three assists and Trevor Moore converted a breakaway in the third period to extend their respective season-opening road point streaks to 11 games. They are the second pair of teammates in NHL history to achieve that feat, joining Hall of Famers Wayne Gretzky and Jari Kurri (12 games in 1984-85 with the Edmonton Oilers).
Drew Doughty scored in a third straight game and added an assist for the Kings, who broke a tie with the 2006-07 Buffalo Sabres for the most consecutive road wins to start a season.
Sabres 3, Bruins 1
Buffalo opened the scoring with two second-period goals and never looked back en route to a win over host Boston.
JJ Peterka and Tage Thompson scored back-to-back goals to give the Sabres a lead that it would never relinquish, and Buffalo's Victor Olofsson rounded out the scoring in the third period.
Brad Marchand scored for Boston in the second period. He has collected the Bruins' past five goals over a three-game span, including the overtime winner against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday and a hat trick in a 3-1 victory over the Columbus Jackets on Sunday.
Islanders 7, Blue Jackets 3
Mathew Barzal and Bo Horvat each scored twice for host New York, which overcame a second-period deficit and pulled away to beat Columbus in Elmont, N.Y.
Pierre Engvall, Cal Clutterbuck and Kyle Palmieri also scored for the Islanders, who racked up seven goals for the first time since a 7-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on March 21.
Adam Fantilli scored twice and Emil Bemstrom had a goal for the Blue Jackets, who have lost three straight (0-2-1) and are 5-11-3 since Nov. 1. Goalie Spencer Martin recorded 29 saves.
Flames 3, Hurricanes 2
Blake Coleman scored the decisive short-handed goal and added an assist as host Calgary netted a trio of third-period tallies en route to a comeback victory over Carolina.
Rasmus Andersson and Connor Zary also scored for the Flames, who snapped a two-game losing streak. Goaltender Dustin Wolf, in just his second NHL start of the season and the third of his career, made 28 saves.
Stefan Noesen and Michael Bunting scored for the Hurricanes, who have lost three consecutive games to open a six-game road trip. Goalie Pyotr Kochetkov stopped 24 shots.
Maple Leafs 4, Senators 3
David Kampf scored the go-ahead goal in the second period and visiting Toronto defeated Ottawa.
Mitchell Marner, Calle Jarnkrok and William Nylander also scored for the Maple Leafs. Jake McCabe and TJ Brodie each added two assists. Joseph Woll, making his fifth straight start, had a strong game, stopping 29 shots before being injured while making a save in the third period. Martin Jones took over and made nine saves.
Josh Norris, Jacob Bernard-Docker and Claude Giroux scored for the Senators. Anton Forsberg made 18 saves for the Senators, who had won their two previous games.
Jets 4, Avalanche 2
Kyle Connor scored twice and Connor Hellebuyck made 32 saves as Winnipeg defeated Colorado in Denver.
Josh Morrissey collected a goal and an assist and Adam Lowry also scored for Winnipeg. Axel Jonsson-Fjallby, Nikolaj Ehlers, Dylan Samberg and Nino Niederreiter also registered helpers.
Nathan MacKinnon led the Avalanche with a goal and an assist. Joel Kiviranta also scored, while Devon Toews, Sam Malinski and Bowen Byram picked up one assist apiece. Alexandar Georgiev made 24 stops for Colorado.
Flyers 4, Coyotes 1
Travis Konecny scored two goals, including one short-handed, and Carter Hart made 25 saves as Philadelphia snapped Arizona's five-game winning streak in Tempe, Ariz.
Cam York had a goal and an assist and Joel Farabee also scored for Philadelphia, which extended its point streak to four games (3-0-1). It also was the third straight road win for the Flyers, who have won six of their last seven road contests.
Lawson Crouse scored for Arizona. Connor Ingram, the NHL's First Star of the Week, finished with 22 saves. His personal five-game winning streak came to an end.