Montreal Canadiens forward Patrik Laine notched his first hat trick with the team, leading them to a commanding 6-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres, extending Buffalo’s winless streak to 11 games. The Canadiens saw additional goals from Juraj Slafkovsky, Joel Armia, and Josh Anderson, with assists from Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, and Lane Hutson. Goaltender Sam Montembeault made 20 saves. Buffalo’s Dylan Cozens scored their lone goal, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen allowed six goals on 21 shots before backup James Reimer entered in the third, stopping all six shots he faced.
The Sabres’ struggles deepened following a team meeting in Montreal with owner Terry Pegula. Joel Armia opened the scoring for Montreal just 19 seconds into the game after Buffalo’s Owen Power mishandled the puck. Laine’s hat trick marked his 11th career three-goal performance and brought his season tally to six goals in seven games since recovering from a knee injury.
In other NHL action, the Pittsburgh Penguins rallied to beat the Los Angeles Kings 3-2 in overtime, with Rickard Rakell scoring the game-winner off an Erik Karlsson assist. Evgeni Malkin and Matt Grzelcyk also scored for Pittsburgh, while Los Angeles saw goals from Adrian Kempe and Alex Turcotte. Pittsburgh’s Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 29 shots, while Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper made 28 saves.
The Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-3, powered by Nick Paul’s three-point performance. The Lightning scored three goals in the second period, including a critical five-minute power play. Columbus’ Adam Fantilli, Cole Sillinger, and Mikael Pyyhtia each scored, but Tampa sealed the win with an empty-netter from Brayden Point. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 28 saves for Tampa, while Jet Greaves stopped 27 shots for Columbus.
The Carolina Hurricanes blanked the New York Islanders 4-0, with Pyotr Kochetkov earning his first shutout of the season by making 32 saves. Goals came from Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov, Jordan Martinook, and Tyson Jost. The Hurricanes’ dominant performance marked their first back-to-back wins since late November, while the Islanders suffered their second three-game pointless streak of the season.
In Nashville, Juuse Saros’ 25-save shutout led the Predators to a 2-0 win over the New York Rangers, snapping a difficult stretch for Nashville. Jonathan Marchessault and Adam Wilsby provided the scoring, while the Rangers extended their losing streak to three games. The shutout marked Saros’ third of the season and 26th of his career, reinforcing his role as a key player for the Predators.
