Evans scores again as Canadiens down Lightning 5-2

SABRES 4, BLUES 2

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Jason Zucker scored a tiebreaking power-play goal with 9:30 remaining and Buffalo notched their third straight victory by beating St. Louis.

Jiri Kulich extended Buffalo’s lead with a breakaway goal that went between Blues goalie Jordan Binnington’s legs with 3:41 to play.

Tage Thompson had a goal and an assist against his former team as the Sabres won in St. Louis for just the second time in 12 years to sweep the season series. Zucker had a goal and an assist, and Jack Quinn had two assists for Buffalo. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 35 shots.

Brayden Schenn and Nathan Walker scored for the Blues. Binnington had 12 saves.

Buffalo scored on two of its first three shots, including its first of the game.

DUCKS 5, OILERS 3

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Ryan Strome scored with 2:36 remaining as Anaheim rallied from a two-goal deficit in the second period to defeat Edmonton.

Strome’s goal, his sixth of the season, originally wasn’t called, but it was reversed after a review. Strome’s shot was entirely over the goal line before Edmonton goalie Calvin Pickard could stop it with his skate.

Mason McTavish added an empty-net goal. It is the first time since March 30, 2019, the Ducks have defeated the Oilers by more than one goal.

Cutter Gauthier, McTavish and Robby Fabbri each had a goal and an assist. Drew Helleson also scored for Anaheim, which snapped a seven-game losing streak to Edmonton.

Lukas Dostal made 20 saves.

Leon Draisaitl had two goals and Connor McDavid two assists for the Oilers, who were 3-0-1 in their past four. Evan Bouchard also tallied a goal and Pickard stopped 27 shots.

RED WINGS 4, CAPITALS 2

DETROIT (AP) — Patrick Kane reached the 1,300-point mark and Todd McLellan won for the first time as Detroit’s coach in their victory over Washington.

Kane, who needed two points to reach that mark, had a power-play goal and assist during Detroit’s four-goal first period.

Alex DeBrincat scored two goals and Lucas Raymond added another as the Red Wings snapped a four-game losing streak. Alex Lyon made 26 saves.

McLellan replaced Derek Lalonde prior to Friday’s loss to Toronto.

Alex Ovechkin scored for the second consecutive game after missing the previous 16 due to a fractured fibula. The Capitals star forward is 25 goals shy of passing Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record of 894.

Nic Dowd had the other Capitals goal. Charlie Lindgren made 23 saves but Washington remained one point behind first-place New Jersey in the Eastern Conference.

PENGUINS 3, ISLANDERS 2

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Sidney Crosby broke Mario Lemieux’s Pittsburgh franchise career record for assists on Michael Bunting’s power-play goal and the Penguins beat New York.

Crosby has 1,034 assists, good for 12th in NHL history. Only three players — Ray Bourque, Wayne Gretzky and Steve Yzerman — have more assists with a single team. The 37-year-old Crosby has played 1,310-regular-season games. Lemieux played 915.

Evgeni Malkin added the deciding power-play goal in the third for Pittsburgh, which has 14 goals with the man advantage in its last 13 games. Anthony Beauvillier also scored to help the Penguins win for the seventh time in their last eight home games.

Alex Nedeljkovic made 29 saves in his first start since Dec. 17.

Kris Letang missed the game because of a lower-body injury, and defenseman Nathan Clurman made his NHL debut.

Anders Lee and Bo Horvat scored third-period goals for the Islanders, who fell behind 3-0 before their rally fell short.

Marcus Hogberg stopped 38 shots during his first start since April 28, 2021.

GOLDEN KNIGHTS 3, FLAMES 0

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Brett Howden scored his 15th goal of the season and Ilya Samsonov stopped 31 shots as Vegas Golden defeated Calgary.

Howden redirected defenseman Alex Pietrangelo’s shot from the top of the slot late in the second period and is now tied with Ivan Barbashev for the team lead in goals. Howden has scored a goal in four of the last five games.

Victor Olofsson and Tanner Pearson also scored for the Golden Knights, who have shut out Calgary twice this season, beating them 5-0 on Oct. 28.

Dan Vladar made 34 saves for Calgary.

The Golden Knights have now won six straight, the longest active win streak in the NHL, while improving to 25-8-3 on the year. They own a 13-2-1 record against Pacific Division opponents.

SENATORS 3, WILD 1

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Josh Norris broke a tie on a power play with 7:18 left, Leevi Merilainen made 30 saves in his fifth NHL game and Ottawa beat Minnesota.

Ottawa has won seven of its past nine games, while the Wild have lost five of their past seven. The Senators won in Minnesota for the first time since 2016.

With starter Linus Ullmark and backup Anton Forsberg out with injuries, the Senators have been relying on Merilainen and Mads Sogaard since before the NHL holiday break.

Frederick Gaudreau opened the scoring for Minnesota late in the first period. Ridly Greig tied it early in the second.

Claude Giroux added an empty-netter.

STARS 5, BLACKHAWKS 1

CHICAGO (AP) — Matt Duchene and Jamie Benn each had a goal and two assists, and Dallas beat Chicago.

Jason Robertson, Evgenii Dadonov and Wyatt Johnston each had a goal and an assist for Dallas, which had lost three of four. Jake Oettinger made 24 saves.

Chicago dropped its fourth consecutive game. It lost three of four in its season series against Dallas.

Connor Bedard scored his 10th goal for the Blackhawks, and Arvid Soderblom made 26 stops. Next up for Bedard and company is the Winter Classic on Tuesday against St. Louis.

Dallas grabbed control after Chicago forward Tyler Bertuzzi was ejected 8:11 into the second period. Bertuzzi was sent off for elbowing Stars forward Colin Blackwell in the face.

The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

Evans scores again as Canadiens down Lightning 5-2

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