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NHL roundup: Pens hammer Wild in Crosby's return

[January 15, 2020] Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby had a goal and three assists in his return from injury, and Evgeni Malkin added two goals and an assist Tuesday as the Penguins trounced the visiting Minnesota Wild 7-3.

Crosby, who had sports hernia surgery, missed the previous 28 games. Jared McCann, Bryan Rust and Dominik Simon each added a goal and an assist, and Alex Galchenyuk also scored for Pittsburgh, which won its fourth straight.

Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry made 26 saves.

Zach Parise scored twice and Marcus Foligno once for the Wild, who lost their fourth straight. Devan Dubnyk made 22 saves in defeat.

Jets 4, Canucks 0

Kyle Connor had two goals and an assist, and Connor Hellebuyck made 41 saves for his club-record 18th career shutout as Winnipeg snapped a six-game home skid with its 10th straight win over Vancouver.

Jack Roslovic and Blake Wheeler also scored for the Jets, who snapped an 0-5-1 home slide. Hellebuyck, who posted his fourth shutout and 21st win this season, was solid all night while thwarting Vancouver, which had totaled 10 goals while winning its previous two games.

Jacob Markstrom made 21 saves for the Canucks, who had won nine of 11 entering this contest but haven't defeated Winnipeg since a 4-1 home victory on Dec. 20, 2016. Vancouver, trying for a third straight road victory, has also lost nine in a row at Winnipeg since last winning there in March 2014.

Islanders 8, Red Wings 2

Brock Nelson scored twice, and host New York racked up a season-high goal total while cruising over hapless Detroit.

Jordan Eberle reached the 500-career-point mark with a goal and an assist as the Islanders snapped a two-game losing streak. The eight goals were the most in a game for the Islanders in nearly four years, since an 8-1 victory over Edmonton on Feb. 7, 2016.

Detroit's starting goaltender, Jimmy Howard, was pulled after giving up three goals in the first eight minutes. Givani Smith posted his first NHL goal, and Filip Hronek also scored for the Red Wings, who lost for the 10th time in 13 games.

Coyotes 6, Sharks 3

Phil Kessel and Taylor Hall each had two goals and an assist, and Arizona took sole possession of first place in the Pacific Division with a win over San Jose in Glendale, Ariz.

Arizona goaltender Adin Hill, making his fourth start in the past five games, stopped 25 shots. The Coyotes ended a three-game losing streak (0-2-1) while improving to 4-0-1 in their past five home games.

Conor Garland had an empty-net goal and two assists, and Lawson Crouse scored a goal and added an assist for Arizona. Derek Stepan posted three assists. Kevin Labanc and Evander Kane posted a goal and an assist apiece for the Sharks, and Timo Meier had the other goal. Aaron Dell stopped 34 shots.

Blue Jackets 3, Bruins 0

Rookie Elvis Merzlikins made 34 saves to record his second shutout in as many games as host Columbus handed Boston its first blanking of the season.

Alexander Wennberg scored his second goal in as many contests, and Kevin Stenlund and Riley Nash also tallied for the Blue Jackets, who improved to 12-2-4 in their past 18 games.

Jaroslav Halak made 24 saves in relief of an injured Tuukka Rask for the Bruins, who fell to 3-2-3 in their past eight games. Rask was injured 1:12 into the game after he was hit in the head by the left glove of Emil Bemstrom, who was being pushed from behind by Boston defenseman Brandon Carlo.

Stars 3, Avalanche 2 (OT)

Esa Lindell scored at 1:54 of overtime, and Dallas rallied to beat Colorado in Denver.

Denis Gurianov and Jason Dickinson had goals while Ben Bishop stopped 41 shots for the Stars, who swept the four games against Colorado this season.

Nikita Zadorov and Gabriel Landeskog scored, Nathan MacKinnon had two assists, and Philipp Grubauer made 27 saves for the Avalanche. Colorado has lost four straight, the last two in overtime.

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Pittsburgh Penguins captain, Sidney Crosby, hoists the Stanley Cup while taking part in the Natal Day Parade in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada August 7, 2017. REUTERS/Tim Krochak

Sabres 4, Golden Knights 2

Jack Eichel scored the game-winning goal in the third period and had an assist to extend his point streak to eight games, leading Buffalo to a victory over visiting Vegas.

Sam Reinhart had a goal and two assists, and Kyle Okposo and Curtis Lazar also scored goals for the Sabres, who improved to 14-6-3 at home. Linus Ullmark finished with 24 saves.

Reilly Smith and Tomas Nosek scored goals for the Golden Knights, who lost their fourth straight game. Marc-Andre Fleury had 22 saves while taking his third consecutive loss. Shea Theodore notched two assists.

Maple Leafs 7, Devils 4

Auston Matthews recorded his second career hat trick, John Tavares had a goal and two assists, and Toronto ended a three-game losing streak by defeating visiting New Jersey.

William Nylander and Zach Hyman each added a goal and an assist for the Maple Leafs, and Frederik Gauthier scored a goal. Mitchell Marner and Rasmus Sandin each added two assists.

Blake Coleman had three goals for his first career hat trick for the Devils, and P.K. Subban also scored. Will Butcher had two assists.

Oilers 4, Predators 2

Josh Archibald's goal midway through the second period broke the deadlock and held up as the game-winner as host Edmonton beat Nashville.

Leon Draisaitl netted two goals and one assist while Connor McDavid collected three assists and goaltender Mike Smith made 30 saves for the Oilers, who sport a 5-1-1 mark in their past seven games. McDavid (74 points) and Draisaitl (73) sit first and second in the league's scoring race.

Filip Forsberg scored a lacrosse-style goal for the Predators, and Colin Blackwell also found the net for the visitors. Pekka Rinne stopped 28 shots.

Lightning 4, Kings 3 (SO)

Steven Stamkos scored in regulation and added the deciding goal in a shootout to carry Tampa Bay to a win over visiting Los Angeles.

Tampa Bay's Nikita Kucherov knotted the game at 3 with 1:15 remaining when his high shot found the net with the Lightning goalie pulled and an extra skater on.

Alex Killorn had a goal, Anthony Cirelli assisted on two goals, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 38 saves for the Lightning, who have won seven straight over Los Angeles. Kyle Clifford and Jeff Carter each recorded a goal and an assist for the Kings, Dustin Brown scored, and Jonathan Quick stopped 35 shots.

Blackhawks 3, Senators 2 (OT)

Jonathan Toews scored 42 seconds into overtime, and Chicago rallied to beat host Ottawa for the sixth straight time.

Dominik Kubalik added two goals for the Blackhawks, continuing a torrid stretch in which he has scored in five consecutive games. Toews and Patrick Kane each recorded two assists for the Blackhawks. Robin Lehner made 20 saves to earn the victory.

Connor Brown had a goal and an assist, and Chris Tierney also scored for Ottawa, whose winless streak reached eight games (0-4-4). Each of the Senators' past three losses have come in overtime or a shootout round. Marcus Hogberg turned aside 27 shots but fell to 1-2-5 on the season.

--Field Level Media

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