Bruins 4, Blue Jackets 0
Justin Brazeau scored 2:29 into the first period, and Boston never looked back in blanking visiting Columbus Blue Jackets in the latter game of the teams’ home-and-home series.
Morgan Geekie had one goal and one assist, while David Pastrnak and Cole Koepke also lit the lamp for Boston, which bounced back from a 6-2 loss in Columbus on Friday and improved to 5-1-1 in its last seven games. Jeremy Swayman stopped all 18 shots he faced en route to his second shutout this season.
Bruins forward Fabian Lysell made his NHL debut. The 21-year-old former first-round draft pick had a plus-1 rating in 11:32 of ice time. Daniil Tarasov (24 saves) took the loss in his first start since Dec. 5 for the Blue Jackets, who were shut out for only the second time this season and had a four-game point streak (3-0-1) snapped.
Canadiens 4, Panthers 0
Jakub Dobes made 34 saves in his NHL debut, leading the visiting Montreal Canadiens to a 4-0 win against the Florida Panthers on Saturday afternoon in Sunrise, Fla.
The 23-year-old Czech, who was selected by the Canadiens in the fifth round of 2020 NHL Draft, is the first Montreal goalie with a shutout in his first NHL game since Yann Danis in a 2-0 victory against Atlanta Thrashers in October 2005.
Kirby Dach scored two goals, Jake Evans and Cole Caufield also scored and Alex Newhook had two assists for the Canadiens, who have won four of five.
Spencer Knight made 20 saves for Florida. The Panthers were shut out in back-to-back games for the second time this month.
Kraken 5, Canucks 4 (OT)
Vince Dunn scored twice, including the winner on a breakaway at 2:15 of overtime, as Seattle rallied from three goals down to beat host Vancouver.
Jaden Schwartz also tallied twice for the Kraken, who trailed 4-1 with five minutes remaining in regulation. Matty Beniers also scored, and goaltender Philipp Grubauer made 18 saves as Seattle snapped a five-game losing streak.
Brock Boeser scored twice, Jake DeBrusk had a goal and assist, Conor Garland also tallied, and J.T. Miller and Carson Soucy had two assists apiece for the Canucks. Thatcher Demko made 24 saves.
Capitals 5, Maple Leafs 2
Alex Ovechkin scored into an empty net in his return from a broken fibula and visiting Washington defeated Toronto.
It was Ovechkin’s 869th goal, leaving him just 26 shy of surpassing Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record of 894. The Russian superstar missed 16 games with the injury. Andrew Mangiapane and Jakob Chychrun each added a goal and an assist for the Capitals, who have won three of four. Nic Dowd and Tom Wilson also scored and Logan Thompson made 35 saves.
John Tavares and Bobby McMann scored for the Maple Leafs, who have lost three of four. Matt Murray stopped 27 shots.
Kings 4, Oilers 3 (OT)
Quinton Byfield scored twice, including the overtime winner, and had an assist in a win for Los Angeles against visiting Edmonton.
Warren Foegele had a goal and two assists, Jordan Spence had two assists, and Darcy Kuemper made 24 saves for the Kings, who improved to 11-2-1 at home.
Kasperi Kapanen, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Viktor Arvidsson scored for the Oilers, who lost for just the fourth time in their past 16 games (12-3-1). Stuart Skinner made 25 saves.
Lightning 6, Rangers 2
Brayden Point scored one goal in a three-point night and host Tampa Bay scored four times on special teams en route to pounding reeling New York.
Nikita Kucherov had a power-play goal and two assists, and Anthony Cirelli and Ryan McDonagh recorded short-handed tallies. Nick Paul notched the final tally, and Cirelli added an assist.
Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy made a season-high 42 saves as the Lightning improved to 8-2-0 in December. New York’s Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck hit the net, but the Rangers lost for the 14th time in their past 18 matches (4-14-0).
Flyers 3, Ducks 1
Samuel Ersson put his recent struggles aside and made 32 saves to propel Philadelphia past host Anaheim.
Noah Cates, Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee scored for Philadelphia, which improved to 1-1-0 to start its six-game road trip. Ersson had allowed at least three goals in each of his previous eight appearances.
Troy Terry scored the lone goal for Anaheim, which has lost eight of its last 11 games. Lukas Dostal made 22 saves.
Jets 4, Senators 2
Gabriel Vilardi and Nikolaj Ehlers scored third-period goals in rapid succession after Winnipeg erased a two-goal deficit and went on to a home victory over Ottawa.
Ehlers finished with a goal and two assists, while teammates Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor each had a goal and an assist. Connor Hellebuyck made 33 saves for the Jets, who have won three in a row.
Mads Sogaard turned back 19 shots and Tim Stutzle and Ridly Greig found the back of the net, with the latter’s goal a short-handed tally for a 2-0 Ottawa lead.
Islanders 6, Penguins 3
Casey Cizikas posted his first two-goal game in more than three years, leading New York to a win over Pittsburgh in the opener of a back-to-back, home-and-home which started in Elmont, Long Island.
Anders Lee also scored twice for the Islanders, who won for the fifth time in 11 games this month (5-5-1). Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Anthony Duclair also scored, and goalie Ilya Sorokin made 22 saves.
Michael Bunting, Noel Acciari and Richard Rakell scored for the Penguins, who fell to 9-4-1 since late November. Goalie Tristan Jarry recorded 28 saves.
Hurricanes 5, Devils 2
Carolina scored twice in less than 90 seconds in the third period to break a tie and defeated New Jersey in Raleigh, N.C.
Jack Roslovic had two goals and an assist, Sebastian Aho a goal and an assist and Dmitri Orlov and Jackson Blake also scored for Carolina. Seth Jarvis had three assists, Sean Walker added two and Dustin Tokarski stopped 21 shots as the Hurricanes avenged a 4-2 loss to the Devils on Friday night in Newark, N.J.
Paul Cotter and Ondrej Palat scored for New Jersey, which had its three-game winning streak halted. Jake Allen made 36 saves.
Flames 3, Sharks 1
Jonathan Huberdau scored twice to lead visiting Calgary to a victory over struggling San Jose.
Goaltender Dustin Wolf made 21 saves in the win, including a handful late in regulation when the hosts made a frantic push for the equalizer. Mikael Backlund also scored and Nazem Kadri collected three assists for Calgary.
Macklin Celebrini replied for the Sharks, who are winless in seven games (0-6-1). Goalie Yaroslav Askarov stopped 30 shots in an outstanding performance.
–Field Level Media