Brandon Hagel scored twice in 23 seconds during Tampa Bay’s five-goal outburst in the first period as the Lightning trounced the visiting San Jose Sharks 8-1 on Thursday.
Cam Atkinson and Conor Geekie had a goal and an assist each before Hagel added his two goals. Jake Guentzel, who finished with two points, scored to cap the explosive frame, giving the Lightning a chance to improve to 8-0-1 in their past nine games against San Jose.
Brayden Point tied a career-high with four assists in his 600th NHL game.
Tampa Bay goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 20 shots to improve to 8-2-0 all-time against San Jose and won for the second time in his last five starts.
Oilers 6, Blue Jackets 3
Zach Hyman made the most of his return to the ice, scoring twice to lead Edmonton past visiting Columbus.
The left wing missed the Oilers’ last five games due to an unspecified injury. Even before missing time, the 32-year-old, who scored 54 goals last season, was struggling with just three goals through 20 games.
The Oilers’ top players joined Hyman in the scoring. Leon Draisaitl also scored twice, tying Florida’s Sam Reinhart for the league lead with 19 goals, and Connor McDavid had a season-high four assists.
Blues 4, Flames 3 (OT)
Colton Parayko scored the overtime winner, and Robert Thomas had a goal and two assists as St. Louis continued its strong play by beating host Calgary.
Zack Bolduc and Pavel Buchnevich also scored for the Blues, who are 4-0-1 since Jim Montgomery became the coach after Drew Bannister’s firing on Nov. 24. Philip Broberg had two assists, and Jordan Binnington made 36 saves.
Jakob Pelletier, Matt Coronato, and MacKenzie Weegar scored for the Flames, who are 1-3-2 in their last six games. Goalie Dan Vladar stopped 20 shots. Calgary’s six-game home winning streak was broken.
Canadiens 3, Predators 0
Sam Montembeault made 29 saves, and Patrik Laine scored his second power-play goal in as many games to lead Montreal past struggling Nashville.
Montembeault stopped all 13 shots in the third period to preserve his third shutout of the season and fourth of his career. Captain Nick Suzuki and rookie defenseman Lane Hutson each had an assist, extending their point streaks, as the Canadiens improved to 2-0-0 on their five-game homestand.
Nashville’s Justus Annunen made 27 saves in his first start since being acquired from the Colorado Avalanche but received no offensive support, as the Predators lost their sixth straight game (0-3-3).
Hurricanes 5, Avalanche 3
Andrei Svechnikov’s empty-net goal and three earlier assists gave him the first four-point game of his seven-year career in Carolina’s victory over Colorado in Raleigh.
NHL points leader Martin Necas added a goal and an assist for Carolina, which ended a three-game losing streak. Pyotr Kochetkov made 16 saves for his first win since Nov. 20.
Valeri Nichushkin scored two goals for Colorado after Artturi Lehkonen opened the scoring. Scott Wedgewood made 30 saves. Wedgewood, acquired from Nashville on Saturday, made his first start for Colorado.
Jets 3, Sabres 2 (OT)
Adam Lowry scored late in overtime as Winnipeg ended its four-game losing streak with a road win over Buffalo.
Gabriel Vilardi had a goal and an assist, Kyle Connor also scored, and Connor Hellebuyck made 28 saves for Winnipeg, which had been 3-7-0 after a strong start. The Jets also got two assists each from Josh Morrissey and Mark Scheifele.
Tage Thompson and Dylan Cozens scored for Buffalo, which is 0-3-2 since winning seven of its previous nine games. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 28 saves.
Senators 2, Red Wings 1
Josh Norris’ second goal of the game, scored with 43 seconds left, gave Ottawa a narrow win over Detroit.
Norris, a Michigan native, beat Red Wings goalie Ville Husso with a wrist shot from the high slot for his 11th goal of the season.
Drake Batherson had two assists, and Linus Ullmark made 19 saves for Ottawa, which snapped a two-game losing streak. Detroit lost its fourth straight game.
Panthers 7, Flyers 5
Sam Reinhart scored the go-ahead goal with 1:59 left, and Matthew Tkachuk had a goal and four assists in Florida’s thrilling road win over Philadelphia.
Carter Verhaeghe set up Reinhart’s goal, sending a no-look backhand pass to Reinhart, who fired a slap shot into the net to give Florida a 6-5 lead. Reinhart and Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl are tied for the league lead in goals with 19.
Owen Tippett scored twice, and Matvei Michkov had three assists for Philadelphia, which saw its three-game win streak end. Florida’s Spencer Knight made 29 saves, helping the Panthers win for the fourth time in five games.
Kraken 5, Islanders 2
Vince Dunn had a goal and two assists as Seattle defeated New York in Elmont, N.Y.
Tye Kartye, Oliver Bjorkstrand, and Shane Wright also scored for the Kraken, who won the first two games of their four-game road trip. Goalie Joey Daccord carried a shutout into the third before finishing with 27 saves.
Noah Dobson and Maxim Tsyplakov scored for the struggling Islanders, who have lost 10 of their last 13 games (3-5-5). Ilya Sorokin made nine saves before being replaced by Marcus Hogberg, who stopped all 11 shots he faced in his first NHL appearance since April 28, 2021.
