Patrik Laine scored three power-play goals to get his 11th career hat trick on Tuesday, leading the Montreal Canadiens to a 6-1 win against the struggling Buffalo Sabres.
Laine scored a one-timer off a pass from captain Nick Suzuki in the first period, making him the second player in Canadiens history (since 1933-34) to score his first four goals with the team on the power play. Mark Recchi did this in 1994-95.
Laine added two more goals in the second period, both one-timers just 70 seconds apart. With 11 career hat tricks, Laine now has the third most by a Finnish-born player in NHL history, behind Hall of Famers Jari Kurri (23) and Teemu Selanne (22).
Juraj Slafkovsky scored a goal and an assist, and Joel Armia and Josh Anderson also scored to help Montreal end a two-game losing streak. Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Lane Hutson each had two assists, while Sam Montembeault made 20 saves. Dylan Cozens scored for Buffalo, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen gave up six goals on 21 shots before being replaced by James Reimer (six saves).
Senators 3, Kraken 0
Linus Ullmark made 30 saves for his third shutout of the season and second in the past three games, as Ottawa began a nine-game road trip with a win in Seattle.
Ullmark, the 2022-23 Vezina Trophy winner as the NHL’s top goaltender with Boston, has won his last six starts, allowing only five goals in that span. Shane Pinto, Noah Gregor, and Tim Stutzle scored for Ottawa, which won its fourth straight game.
The Senators will play four more away games before returning home for the NHL’s holiday break, then go on the road again for five straight games because the International Ice Hockey Federation’s world junior championships are being held in Ottawa.
Kraken goalie Joey Daccord, who was taken from Ottawa in the 2021 expansion draft, stopped 23 of 26 shots. Seattle went 1-2-1 in its four-game homestand.
Lightning 5, Blue Jackets 3
Jake Guentzel scored in his NHL-best seventh straight game as Tampa Bay held off a strong comeback attempt by Columbus.
Nick Paul (one goal, two assists) tied a career high with three points, and Brayden Point scored his team-leading 21st goal. Luke Glendening and Mitchell Chaffee also scored to give Tampa Bay a 4-0 lead going into the third period.
Mikael Pyyhtia, Adam Fantilli, and Cole Sillinger scored to bring the Blue Jackets within 4-3, but Point’s empty-net goal with 2:09 left sealed Columbus’ fifth straight loss (0-3-2).
Penguins 3, Kings 2 (OT)
Rickard Rakell scored at 1:44 of overtime to lift Pittsburgh over Los Angeles.
Rakell also had an assist, and Evgeni Malkin and Matt Grzelcyk added goals. Alex Nedeljkovic made 29 saves for the Penguins, who were down by a goal with six minutes left.
Adrian Kempe and Alex Turcotte scored for the Kings, while Vladislav Gavrikov had two assists. Darcy Kuemper made 28 saves for Los Angeles, which has lost two of its last three after a six-game winning streak.
Bruins 4, Flames 3 (OT)
David Pastrnak scored at 4:22 of overtime as Boston came back from two two-goal deficits to beat Calgary.
Elias Lindholm scored the Bruins’ first goal and added an assist against his former team, while Morgan Geekie and Marc McLaughlin scored in the third period to tie the game at 3-3. Jeremy Swayman made 20 saves for the Bruins.
The Flames’ three goals came in the second period, with Matt Coronato and Nazem Kadri scoring in a 27-second span. Ryan Lomberg’s first goal with Calgary made it 3-1 at the second intermission. Dustin Wolf stopped 31 shots.
Blackhawks 3, Capitals 2
Ryan Donato scored the go-ahead goal with 2:18 left, and Chicago came back to beat Washington.
Ilya Mikheyev had a goal and an assist, and Teuvo Teravainen assisted on every goal for Chicago. TJ Brodie also scored for the Blackhawks, who were down 2-0 going into the final period. Arvid Soderblom made 20 saves for Chicago.
Washington lost on the road for the second straight night after a franchise-record 10-game road winning streak. Pierre-Luc Dubois and Andrew Mangiapane scored for the Capitals, and Logan Thompson stopped 20 shots.
Devils 4, Blues 1
Jacob Markstrom made 19 saves to help New Jersey beat St. Louis.
Ondrej Palat, Stefan Noesen, Brenden Dillon, and Jesper Bratt scored for the Devils, who are 5-1-1 in their last seven games. Jack Hughes had two assists.
Jordan Kyrou scored for the Blues, and Jordan Binnington made 24 saves. The Blues have now lost three of their last 11 games (6-3-2) since Jim Montgomery replaced Drew Bannister as head coach.
Predators 2, Rangers 0
Juuse Saros made 25 saves to end an eight-game losing streak as Nashville beat New York.
Jonathan Marchessault and Adam Wilsby scored for Nashville, with assists from Steven Stamkos and Filip Forsberg. Saros helped the Predators win their second game in three after an eight-game skid (0-5-3).
New York lost its third straight game and has fallen in 11 of its last 14 games after starting 12-4-1. Igor Shesterkin made 30 saves on 32 shots.
Hurricanes 4, Islanders 0
Pyotr Kochetkov made 32 saves for his first shutout of the season as Carolina beat New York.
Sebastian Aho had a goal and an assist, and Andrei Svechnikov, Jordan Martinook, and Tyson Jost also scored. Shayne Gostisbehere had two assists, and Carolina won back-to-back games for the first time this month.
Ilya Sorokin made 19 saves on 23 shots through two periods for the Islanders before Marcus Hogberg, making only his second appearance of the season, stopped six shots in the third. New York couldn’t score on their only power-play chance and lost their second straight game.
Jets 4, Sharks 3
Adam Lowry scored his fourth game-winning goal of the season with 73 seconds left to give Winnipeg a comeback win over San Jose.
The Sharks led 3-2 until Kyle Connor tied the game with a power-play goal at 11:56 of the third. Lowry then gave Winnipeg the lead for good. Connor had two goals in another strong game for the Jets’ top line, which totaled eight points. Connor Hellebuyck made 32 saves to earn his 20th win of the season.
Macklin Celebrini and Tyler Toffoli each had a goal and an assist for San Jose. Fabian Zetterlund scored San Jose’s other goal, and Jake Walman had two assists. The Sharks dropped to 1-5-0 in their past six games.
