NHL roundup: Connor McDavid powers Oilers past Flyers

 

[January 03, 2024]  Connor McDavid passed the 900-point mark for his career with a goal and four assists to lead the host Edmonton Oilers to their sixth straight victory, 5-2 over the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night.

It was the 10th career game of least five points for McDavid, who became the fifth-fastest player to score 900 points in his career when he assisted on Zach Hyman's goal in the second period. McDavid did it in his 602nd career game. Wayne Gretzky accomplished the feat the fastest in just 385 games.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had two goals and an assist, Hyman had a goal and two assists and Leon Draisaitl added a goal and an assist for Edmonton, which won for the 14th win in the last 17 games. Stuart Skinner made 35 saves to pick up his 15th win.

Travis Konecny had a goal and an assist, Joel Farabee had two assists and Marc Staal also scored for Philadelphia, which suffered its third straight loss. Carter Hart finished with 31 saves.

Canucks 6, Senators 3

Elias Pettersson and Pius Suter each scored twice as Pacific Division-leading Vancouver began the new year in dominant fashion, rolling over visiting Ottawa.

Ian Cole and J.T. Miller also scored for Vancouver, which sits atop the Pacific Division with 51 points. Goaltender Thatcher Demko finished with 35 saves for the Canucks.

Vladimir Tarasenko scored twice and Claude Giroux had a goal and an assist for the Senators, who began a five-game road trip with a one-sided loss. Goalie Anton Forsberg allowed four goals on just 13 shots before he was replaced by Joonas Korpisalo in the first period. Korpisalo made 11 saves on 13 shots.

Capitals 4, Penguins 3

Visiting Washington took an early four-goal lead, then held on to edge Pittsburgh.

Tom Wilson, Beck Malenstyn, Martin Fehervary and Alex Ovechkin scored, and Rasmus Sandin added two assists for the Capitals, who had lost four consecutive games (0-2-2). Washington goaltender Darcy Kuemper made 32 saves.

Sidney Crosby, Rickard Rakell and Jake Guentzel each had a goal and an assist for the Penguins, who had won three in a row and were 7-1-1 in their previous nine. Goaltender Tristan Jarry got pulled after giving up three goals on seven shots. With his two points, Crosby passed Joe Thornton for 12th on the NHL's all-time scoring list with 1,540.

Bruins 4, Blue Jackets 1

James van Riemsdyk scored the game-winning goal in the second period and assisted on a pair of insurance markers in the third as Boston beat host Columbus.

van Riemsdyk posted his first three-point game of the season for the Bruins, who earned their fourth straight win since the NHL's holiday break concluded last week. Boston's Kevin Shattenkirk, Danton Heinen and Trent Frederic also scored.

Kent Johnson scored the lone goal and Spencer Martin finished with 23 stops for Columbus, which had been on a three-game point streak (1-0-2).

Hurricanes 6, Rangers 1

Andrei Svechnikov scored twice, Pyotr Kochetkov made 28 saves and Carolina routed host New York for the Hurricanes' season-best fourth straight win.

Carolina improved to 7-1-3 in its past 11 games with a pair of power-play goals in the first period. Carolina scored multiple power-play goals for the fourth time in five games and 10th overall this season.

Jordan Martinook, Jalen Chatfield and Michael Bunting also scored for the Hurricanes, who tied a season best with six goals. Former Ranger Brady Skjei added three assists.

Flames 3, Wild 1

Andrew Mangiapane and Jonathan Huberdeau each scored in the first period and Calgary held on for a win over Minnesota in Saint Paul, Minn.

Blake Coleman added an empty-net goal for the Flames, who won their second game in a row. Calgary has five wins in its past seven games.

Pat Maroon scored the lone goal for the Wild. Minnesota goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury took the loss despite turning aside 30 of 32 shots. Fleury again failed to match Patrick Roy for second place on the all-time NHL wins list. Roy recorded 551 victories.

Canadiens 4, Stars 3

Nick Suzuki and Jordan Harris each had a goal and an assist and visiting Montreal held on to beat Dallas.

Kaiden Guhle and Cole Caufield also scored for the Canadiens, who had lost three straight and finished their road trip 3-3-1. Sam Montembeault made 30 saves.

Jan 2, 2024; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid (97) scores a goal during the first period on Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Carter Hart (79) at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports/ File photo

Wyatt Johnston had a goal and an assist for the Stars, who had won five of their previous six games. Jason Robertson and Jamie Benn scored, Mason Marchment had two assists and Scott Wedgewood stopped 14 shots.

Predators 3, Blackhawks 0

Gustav Nyquist and Ryan O'Reilly scored power-play goals to back a 21-save shutout from Juuse Saros and lead host Nashville to a victory against Chicago.

Nashville stopped a three-game losing streak at Bridgestone Arena, netting its first home win since Dec. 16. The Blackhawks lost their 12th straight away from home, a skid that includes a two-goal defeat in Nashville on Nov. 18.

Nyquist provided the only offense the Predators needed with a power-play goal at 5:16 of the first period. With Chicago's Brett Seney in the penalty box for holding the stick, Nyquist took a pass from Roman Josi, skated through the left circle and beat Blackhawks goaltender Arvid Soderblom (33 saves) with a wrist shot.

Jets 4, Lightning 2

Neal Pionk and Alex Iafallo scored in the second period, and red-hot Winnipeg beat visiting Tampa Bay.

In sweeping the two-game season series from the Lightning, Winnipeg improved to 11-1-2 in its past 14 matches and stretched its season-long point streak to nine games (7-0-2).

Nikita Kucherov had a goal and an assist and Steven Stamkos potted one for Tampa Bay. Victor Hedman had two helpers and goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy made 24 saves.

Avalanche 5, Islanders 4 (OT)

Nathan MacKinnon scored 32 seconds into overtime and added two assists, and Colorado beat New York in Denver.

Valeri Nichushkin had two goals, Jonathan Drouin had a goal and an assist, Devon Toews also scored and Alexandar Georgiev turned away 18 shots for the Avalanche.

Brock Nelson had a goal and an assist, while Simon Holmstrom, Pierre Engvall and Alexander Romanov also had goals for the Islanders.

Panthers 4, Coyotes 1

Carter Verhaeghe scored a goal and added an assist, leading Florida over Arizona in Tempe, Ariz.

Sam Reinhart, Matthew Tkachuk and Gustav Forsling also scored for the Panthers, who have won five straight games. Verhaeghe has tallied two points in four of his past five games.

Alex Kerfoot responded with a goal for the Coyotes, who saw their two-game winning streak come to an end. Karel Vejmelka stopped 34 shots in the loss.

Red Wings 5, Sharks 3

David Perron scored twice, including the winning goal with 90 seconds remaining in regulation, to pace visiting Detroit over San Jose.

Daniel Sprong netted one goal and one assist, while J.T. Compher and Michael Rasmussen also scored for the Red Wings, who kicked off a three-game California road trip on a winning note. Goaltender Alex Lyon made 24 saves and Lucas Raymond collected three assists.

Fabian Zetterlund, Justin Bailey and Alexander Barabanov scored for the Sharks, who have the fewest points in the league and are in the throes of a nine-game skid. Goalie Kaapo Kahkonen stopped 26 shots.

Maple Leafs 3, Kings 0

Martin Jones made 31 saves to help visiting Toronto beat Los Angeles to end a three-game losing streak.

It was the second shutout of the season and 30th of his NHL career for Jones, moving him into a tie with the Kings' Cam Talbot and the Washington Capitals' Darcy Kuemper for seventh among active NHL goalies.

Talbot made 26 saves for the Kings, who have lost three in a row for the second time in less than a month and were shut out for the first time this season.

-Field Level Media

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