Patrik Laine scored three power-play goals to record his 11th career hat trick on Tuesday, lifting the host Montreal Canadiens to a 6-1 victory over the spiraling Buffalo Sabres.
Laine converted a one-timer off a cross-slot feed from captain Nick Suzuki in the first period to become the second player in Canadiens history (since 1933-34) to score each of his first four goals with the franchise on the power play. Mark Recchi previously accomplished the feat in 1994-95.
Laine also beat Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen with a pair of one-timers just 70 seconds apart midway into the second period. Laine’s 11 career hat tricks are third most by a Finnish-born player in NHL history, trailing only Hall of Famers Jari Kurri (23) and Teemu Selanne (22).
Juraj Slafkovsky collected a goal and an assist and Joel Armia and Josh Anderson also scored to help Montreal snap a modest two-game skid. Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Lane Hutson each had two assists, and Sam Montembeault made 20 saves in the win. Buffalo’s Dylan Cozens scored a goal and Luukkonen yielded six goals on 21 shots before being relieved by James Reimer (six saves).
Senators 3, Kraken 0
Linus Ullmark made 30 saves for his third shutout of the season and the second in the past three games as Ottawa opened what amounts to a nine-game trip with a victory in Seattle.
Ullmark, the 2022-23 Vezina Trophy winner as the NHL’s top goaltender while with Boston, has won his past six starts, allowing five goals over that span. Shane Pinto, Noah Gregor and Tim Stutzle scored for Ottawa, which won its season-high fourth consecutive game. The Senators will play four straight away games before returning home for the NHL’s holiday break, then hit the road again for five in a row because the International Ice Hockey Federation’s world junior championships are being held in Ottawa.
Kraken goalie Joey Daccord, selected from Ottawa in the 2021 expansion draft, stopped 23 of 26 shots. Seattle went 1-2-1 on its four-game homestand.
Lightning 5, Blue Jackets 3
Jake Guentzel scored in his NHL-best seventh straight game as host Tampa Bay fended off a strong comeback by Columbus.
Nick Paul (goal, two assists) tied a career high with three points and Brayden Point netted his team-leading 21st goal for the Lightning. Luke Glendening and Mitchell Chaffee also scored to help Tampa Bay carry a 4-0 lead into the third period.
Mikael Pyyhtia, Adam Fantilli and Cole Sillinger scored to pull the Blue Jackets within 4-3, but Point’s empty-netter with 2:09 left sealed Columbus’ fifth straight loss (0-3-2).
Penguins 3, Kings 2 (OT)
Rickard Rakell scored on a wrist shot from the right point at 1:44 of overtime to lift Pittsburgh over visiting Los Angeles.
Rakell also had an assist, Evgeni Malkin and Matt Grzelcyk added goals and Alex Nedeljkovic made 29 saves for the Penguins, who trailed by a goal with six minutes left.
Adrian Kempe and Alex Turcotte scored, Vladislav Gavrikov contributed two assists and Darcy Kuemper made 28 saves for the Kings, who have dropped two of three following a six-game winning streak.
Bruins 4, Flames 3 (OT)
David Pastrnak scored at the 4:22 mark of overtime as Boston erased a pair of two-goal deficits to defeat host Calgary.
Elias Lindholm netted the Bruins’ opening goal and added an assist against his former team, while Morgan Geekie and Marc McLaughlin each scored in the third period to pull Boston even at 3-3. Jeremy Swayman made 20 saves for the Bruins.
All three of the Flames’ goals came in the second period, with Matt Coronato and Nazem Kadri tallying in a 27-second span to open the scoring. Ryan Lomberg’s first goal with Calgary made it 3-1 entering the second intermission. Dustin Wolf stopped 31 shots.
Blackhawks 3, Capitals 2
Ryan Donato scored the go-ahead goal with 2:18 remaining as host Chicago rallied for a win against Washington.
Ilya Mikheyev had a goal and assist and Teuvo Teravainen tallied an assist on every goal for Chicago. TJ Brodie also scored for the Blackhawks, who entered the final period with a 2-0 deficit. Blackhawks goalie Arvid Soderblom made 20 saves.
Washington lost on the road for the second time in as many nights after a franchise-record 10-game road winning streak. Pierre-Luc Dubois and Andrew Mangiapane scored for the Capitals, and Logan Thompson stopped 20 shots.
Devils 4, Blues 1
Jacob Markstrom made 19 saves to backstop visiting New Jersey over St. Louis.
Ondrej Palat, Stefan Noesen, Brenden Dillon and Jesper Bratt scored for the Devils, who are 5-1-1 in their last seven games. Jack Hughes earned two assists.
Jordan Kyrou scored and Jordan Binnington made 24 saves for the Blues, who suffered just their third regulation loss in 11 games (6-3-2) since Jim Montgomery replaced Drew Bannister as head coach.
Predators 2, Rangers 0
Juuse Saros made 25 saves to snap a personal eight-game losing streak, Jonathan Marchessault and Adam Wilsby each scored and host Nashville posted a victory over reeling New York.
Steven Stamkos and Filip Forsberg assisted on both goals while Saros stood tall in helping the Predators win for the second time in three games following an eight-game skid (0-5-3).
New York took its third straight defeat and fell for the 11th time in 14 games after starting 12-4-1. Igor Shesterkin, who allowed five goals in his previous start Saturday against the Los Angeles Kings, stopped 30 of 32 shots in Nashville.
Hurricanes 4, Islanders 0
Pyotr Kochetkov turned in a 32-save performance for his first shutout of the season as Carolina coasted past New York in Raleigh, N.C.
Sebastian Aho had a goal and an assist, while Andrei Svechnikov, Jordan Martinook and Tyson Jost also scored as the Hurricanes won back-to-back games for the first time this month. Shayne Gostisbehere provided two assists, helping Carolina avenge a 4-3 road loss from Dec. 7.
Ilya Sorokin made 19 saves on 23 shots through two periods for the Islanders before Marcus Hogberg, making just his second appearance of the season, stopped six shots in the third. New York failed to convert on its only power-play opportunity and lost its second straight game.
Jets 4, Sharks 3
Adam Lowry’s fourth game-winning goal of the season with 73 seconds left in regulation gave visiting Winnipeg a comeback win over San Jose.
The Sharks held a 3-2 lead until Kyle Connor’s power-play equalizer at 11:56 of the third period. Lowry then put Winnipeg ahead for good. Connor had two goals in another huge performance for the Jets’ top line, which totaled eight points. Connor Hellebuyck stopped 32 of 35 shots to earn his league-leading 20th win of the season.
Macklin Celebrini and Tyler Toffoli each had a goal and an assist for the Sharks. Fabian Zetterlund scored San Jose’s other goal, and Jake Walman contributed two assists. The hard-luck loss dropped San Jose to 1-5-0 in its past six games.
–Field Level Media
