NHL roundup: Pens' Alex Nedeljkovic returns, blanks Knights

 

[November 20, 2023]  Just back from a hand injury, goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic turned away all 38 shots he faced Sunday to lead the Pittsburgh Penguins past the visiting Vegas Golden Knights, 3-0.

It was Nedeljkovic's first shutout of the season, the eighth of his career and his first against Vegas. Ryan Graves, Noel Acciari and Evgeni Malkin scored for the Penguins, who snapped a two-game losing streak in playing their third game in four nights and fourth game in six nights.

The shutout capped quite a weekend for Nedeljkovic, who came off long-term IR earlier in the day after a hand injury. The 27-year-old, in his first season with Pittsburgh and pegged as the backup to Tristan Jarry, had not played in the NHL since Oct. 24. He started Friday for AHL affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on a conditioning assignment and not only won that game, but also scored a goal.

The Golden Knights have lost five of their past seven games (2-4-1) after an 11-0-1 start to the season coming off winning the Stanley Cup. They have managed 17 goals in their past seven games. Goaltender Adin Hill stopped 30 of 32 shots.

Flyers 5, Blue Jackets 2

Ryan Poehling had one goal and two assists while Joel Farabee and Cam York had one of each to lift host Philadelphia over Columbus, which has lost nine straight games.

Bobby Brink and Travis Konecny each scored one goal for the Flyers, who won their fifth game in a row. Sean Walker contributed two assists, and Philadelphia goaltender Samuel Ersson made 20 saves.

Alexandre Texier and Boone Jenner scored one goal apiece for the Blue Jackets, and goaltender Spencer Martin stopped 21 shots.

Maple Leafs 4, Wild 3 (OT)

William Nylander scored 3:09 into overtime to lift Toronto to a win over Minnesota to conclude the NHL Global Series at Stockholm, Sweden.

Nylander extended his club-record, season-opening point streak to 17 games with an earlier assist. He later skated in with the puck and beat Wild netminder Marc-Andre Fleury (21 saves) on the short side for the victory. Defenseman Morgan Rielly had a goal with two assists and Auston Matthews joined Nylander with one of each for the Maple Leafs, who prevailed despite squandering a two-goal lead.

Nov 19, 2023; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic (39) makes a save against Vegas Golden Knights left wing William Carrier (28) during the second period at PPG Paints Arena. Pittsburgh won 3-0. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

The Wild, who earned two points in two games at Stockholm, trailed 3-1 early in the third period before storming back with two goals in approximately 2 1/2 minutes.

Sabres 3, Blackhawks 2

Rasmus Dahlin had a goal and two assists as visiting Buffalo defeated Chicago.

Jeff Skinner and Erik Johnson also scored for the Sabres, who ended a three-game losing streak. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 24 saves.

Philipp Kurashev had a goal and an assist, Taylor Raddysh also scored, and Petr Mrazek made 17 saves for the Blackhawks, who have dropped four straight.

Blues 3, Ducks 1

Joel Hofer made 30 saves as visiting St. Louis defeated Anaheim.

Jake Neighbours, Pavel Buchnevich and Alexey Toropchenko scored for the Blues, who were coming off 5-1 losses to the San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings in the first two games of their four-game road trip.

Mason McTavish scored and John Gibson made 28 saves for the Ducks, who have lost three straight games.

--Field Level Media

[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.