Highlights of Friday's NHL games

[January 07, 2017]  Jan 7 (The Sports Xchange) - Highlights from National Hockey League games on Friday:

Avalanche 2, Islanders 1 (OT)

Nathan MacKinnon scored with 16.1 seconds left in overtime and the Colorado Avalanche ended seven weeks of home futility with a 2-1 win over the New York Islanders on Friday.

MacKinnon also had an assist and Gabriel Landeskog got the other goal for Colorado. Calvin Pickard finished with 35 saves for the Avalanche, who stopped a 10-game home winless streak.

Johnny Boychuk scored for New York and Thomas Greiss had 37 saves for the Islanders.

The Avalanche had not won at home since Nov. 14 and lost 10-of-11 overall before prevailing. Their only win in the last four weeks came Dec. 23 in Chicago.

Maple Leafs 4, Devils 2

Toronto used a first-period scoring flurry to cruise past New Jersey at Prudential Center.

Nazem Kadri, Auston Matthews, Connor Brown and Tyler Bozak scored four goals over a 5:49 stretch in the first period to give the Leafs an insurmountable edge.

PA Parenteau and Jon Merrill scored for the Devils.

Blackhawks 2, Hurricanes 1

Jonathan Toews and Artemi Panarin each scored, and Chicago held on for a win over Carolina.

Scott Darling made 39 saves to earn his first win since Dec. 18 for the Blackhawks. Chicago earned its second win in a row and improved to 15-4-4 on home ice.

Victor Rask scored the Hurricanes' lone goal.

Panthers 2, Predators 1

Jonathan Marchessault scored the go-ahead goal with 9:53 left in the third period, leading Florida over Nashville at the BB&T Center.

 Panthers backup goalie James Reimer earned the win in his first January start. Greg McKegg scored the Panthers' first goal. It was his second of the season and his second in two games.

Craig Smith scored the Predators goal.

Ducks 3, Coyotes 2 (OT)

Ondrej Kase scored in overtime when Mike Smith was unable to clear the puck from his own crease, giving Anaheim the victory over Arizona at Honda Center.

Joseph Cramarossa and Chris Wagner also scored for the Ducks.

Martin Hanzal and Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored for the Cotoes.

Canucks 4, Flames 2

Markus Granlund scored two goals and collected an assist as Vancouver defeated Calgary to extend its winning streak to six games.

Michael Chaput and Loui Eriksson also scored for the Canucks.

Michael Frolik scored twice for the Flames, who out-shot Vancouver 46-13. (Editing by John O'Brien)

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