NHL roundup: Auston Matthews scores Nos. 50, 51

 

[February 22, 2024]  Auston Matthews scored twice, surpassing the 50-goal mark, as the Toronto Maple Leafs stretched their win streak to a season-best five games with a 6-3 victory over the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday in Tempe, Ariz.

William Nylander also had two goals, while Bobby McMann and John Tavares each had a goal and an assist for Toronto. Mitchell Marner added three assists, and Timothy Liljegren and TJ Brodie each had two assists. Ilya Samsonov made 23 saves for his fifth straight victory.

Matias Maccelli, Barrett Hayton and Dylan Guenther scored for Arizona. Karel Vejmelka stopped 30 shots for the Coyotes, who have dropped 11 straight (0-10-1).

Matthews became the fastest U.S.-born player to reach the 50-goal mark, accomplishing the feat in his 54th game of the season. The last time any player got to 50 goals quicker in a season was when Mario Lemieux reached the mark in 50 games for the 1995-96 Pittsburgh Penguins.

Bruins 6, Oilers 5 (OT)

Charlie McAvoy scored in overtime to cap a two-point performance and visiting Boston recovered from blowing a three-goal lead to beat Edmonton.

David Pastrnak and Jake DeBrusk netted a goal and an assist apiece for the Bruins, while Morgan Geekie, Brad Marchand and Trent Frederic each had a goal. Boston goaltender Jeremy Swayman made 37 saves, and Mason Lohrei added three assists.

Warren Foegele scored twice, Zach Hyman logged one goal and one assist and Mattias Janmark and Corey Perry tallied once each for the Oilers. Edmonton goalie Stuart Skinner stopped 29 shots, and Connor McDavid and Cody Ceci both notched a pair of assists.

Sabers 3, Canadiens 2

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 29 saves to help visiting Buffalo beat Montreal.

Zemgus Girgensons, Jeff Skinner and Alex Tuch scored for the Sabres, who have won three of their past five.

Jayden Struble and Arber Xhekaj scored for Montreal. Joshua Roy had two assists and Sam Montembeault turned aside 20 shots for the Canadiens, who have lost three in a row and five of their past six.

Feb 21, 2024; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (34) handles the puck against Arizona Coyotes left wing Lawson Crouse (67) during the first period at Mullett Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Flyers 3, Blackhawks 1

Travis Sanheim, Travis Konecny and Garnet Hathaway scored to back a 21-save effort from Samuel Ersson as visiting Philadelphia topped Chicago.

The Flyers stopped a two-game losing streak behind a persistent attack. Philadelphia outshot the Blackhawks 33-22 as the Flyers won for the fifth time in seven games.

Seeking to secure consecutive wins at the United Center for the first time in a month, Chicago failed to keep pace offensively in the opener of a five-game homestand. The Blackhawks lost for the 10th time in 11 games, unable to build on their NHL-low 33 points.

Blue Jackets 7, Ducks 4

Zach Werenski and Sean Kuraly each scored two goals and visiting Columbus held off an Anaheim rally.

Johnny Gaudreau, Yegor Chinakhov and Boone Jenner also scored goals for the Blue Jackets, who blew a four-goal lead before scoring three times in the third period. Gaudreau, Jenner, Alexandre Texier and Jack Roslovic each had two assists. Daniil Tarasov stopped 27 of the 29 shots he faced.

Mason McTavish scored two goals, Troy Terry had a goal in a three-point game and Pavel Mintyukov had three assists for the Ducks, who scored four goals in 12 minutes during the second period, including three in a 3:31 span. Alex Killorn also had a goal, while John Gibson stopped 20 shots.

--Field Level Media

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