NHL roundup: Predators dispatch struggling Avalanche

[January 22, 2019]  Viktor Arvidsson, Roman Josi and Ryan Ellis also scored, and the Nashville Predators beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-1 on Monday in Denver.

Pekka Rinne stopped 35 shots for the Predators, who ended a two-game losing streak and gave coach Peter Laviolette his 600th career victory.

Alexander Kerfoot scored a goal, and Semyon Varlamov made 23 saves for the Avalanche.

Colorado, which is 3-9-2 in its past 14 games, played without Erik Johnson. The Avalanche's top defenseman went into the concussion protocol after being hit in the jaw with the puck in the first period of a Saturday win against the Los Angeles Kings.

Wild 4, Golden Knights 2

Charlie Coyle scored the winning goal with 5:31 remaining, and Devan Dubnyk made 30 saves to help Minnesota hand Vegas a rare defeat in Las Vegas.

Mikko Koivu scored his 200th career goal, and Eric Staal and Marcus Foligno also scored for the Wild, who leapfrogged Dallas and Colorado into third place in the Central Division with their third win in four games. Minnesota also improved to 4-0-1 in five all-time games against the Golden Knights.

Max Pacioretty and Alex Tuch scored goals for Vegas, which lost for just the second time in regulation in its past 15 home games (11-2-2). Colin Miller added two assists, and Marc-Andre Fleury, making his NHL-leading 44th start, stopped 18 shots.

Panthers 6, Sharks 2

Frank Vatrano recorded his first four-point game, and Florida broke a third-period tie with three quick goals in a victory over San Jose at Sunrise, Fla.

Predators center Nick Bonino (13) celebrates his the second period goal against the Colorado Avalanche at the Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Vatrano had a goal and a career-high three assists, and Aaron Ekblad, Mike Matheson, Keith Yandle, Vincent Trocheck and Nick Bjugstad also scored for Florida. Aleksander Barkov had three assists, and Evgenii Dadonov added two. Roberto Luongo stopped 27 shots for the Panthers, who enter the All-Star break on a three-game winning streak.

Timo Meier had a goal and an assist, and Logan Couture also scored for the Sharks, who lost their third straight. San Jose plays the Capitals in Washington on Tuesday before entering the All-Star break.

Kings 4, Blues 3

Anze Kopitar and Tyler Toffoli each had a goal and an assist for Los Angeles in a win over visiting St. Louis.

Brendan Leipsic had two assists, Drew Doughty and Paul LaDue also scored and Jonathan Quick made 33 saves on his 33rd birthday, helping send his team into a 12-day break on a positive note.

Mackenzie MacEachern scored his first NHL goal for the Blues. Oskar Sundqvist and Ryan O'Reilly also scored, Ivan Barbashev had two assists, and Jordan Binnington made 25 saves for St. Louis.

--Field Level Media

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