PITTSBURGH (AP) - Mike Matheson scored a highlight-reel goal after a lengthy rush, and the surging Penguins beat the Bruins 4-1 Thursday night for Pittsburgh’s first win in Boston in more than six years.
Zach Aston-Reese, Jason Zucker and Jake Guentzel also scored for the Penguins, who won their fifth straight game and improved to 11-2-1 in their last 14. Casey DeSmith stopped 30 shots. It was Pittsburgh’s first win in Boston since an overtime win on Nov. 24, 2014, ending a span of 10 games (0-8-2).
The Bruins had gone 12-0-1 in their last 13 games in TD Garden against the Penguins.
Brad Marchand scored his 14th goal and rookie goalie Dan Vladar stopped 19 shots in his third career start for Boston, which had earned at least a point in five of its previous six games (4-1-1).
ISLANDERS 8, CAPITALS 4
UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) - Mathew Barzal had three goals and two assists, Jordan Eberle scored twice, and New York beat Washington.
Brock Nelson, Casey Cizikas and Josh Bailey also scored to help the Islanders improve to 14-1-2 at home and move back into a tie with Washington and Pittsburgh atop the East Division with 50 points. The Capitals have a game in hand on both the Islanders and Penguins.
Semyon Varlamov made 22 saves for New York, improving to 8-3-1 in his last 12 decisions while allowing only 30 goals over that span.
John Carlson had two goals, and T.J. Oshie and Daniel Sprong also scored for the Capitals.
RANGERS 3, SABRES 2, OT
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) - Mika Zibanejad one-timed in Artemi Panarin’s pass 4:32 into overtime, and New York overcame giving up a late goal.
Filip Chytil and Colin Blackwell also scored and Igor Shesterkin stopped 21 shots in a game New York persevered after Buffalo’s Tage Thompson forced overtime by scoring with 4 seconds left.
The Rangers won for the fifth time in seven outings, and improved to 7-3-1 in their past 11 since ending a three-game skid. New York moved into a tie for fifth place in the East Division with the slumping Philadelphia Flyers, who are off until Saturday, and coming off a 6-1 loss at Buffalo on Wednesday night.
Rasmus Asplund also scored for Buffalo.
CANADIENS 4, SENATORS 1
OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) - Jake Allen made 22 saves, Phillip Danault and Brendan Gallagher each had a goal and an assist, and Montreal won its third straight.
Paul Byron and Corey Perry provided the rest of the offense for Montreal, which blanked the Edmonton Oilers 4-0 some 48 hours earlier in the Canadiens’ return to action after a week off with two players in the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol.
Jake Evans had two assists for his first two-point game of his career. Tomas Tatar added two assists for Montreal. Allen picked up his first victory since making 34 stops in a 2-1 win over the Senators on Feb. 6.
Connor Brown scored for Ottawa, while Filip Gustavsson made 34 saves.
PANTHERS 3, RED WINGS 2, OT
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) - Alex Wennberg scored 1:25 into overtime to lift Florida.
Frank Vatrano had a goal and an assist and Noel Acciari also scored for the Panthers. in their fourth straight win. Chris Driedger made 25 saves. Carter Verhaeghe had two assists.
Anthony Mantha and Adam Erne scored for the Red Wings, who have lost six straight on the road. Thomas Greiss stopped 33 shots and Patrik Nemeth had two assists.
STARS 4, PREDATORS 1
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Anton Khudobin made 21 saves to lead Dallas past Nashville.
Esa Lindell, Jason Robertson, Jamie Benn and Miro Heiskanen scored for Dallas, which snapped a three-game losing streak. Joe Pavelski had two assists.
Colton Sissons had the lone goal for the Predators, who snapped a six-game winning streak. Juuse Saros had 27 saves while ending his four-game win streak.
LIGHTNING 3, BLUE JACKETS 2
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Brayden Point scored twice, including the third-period winner, and Tampa Bay rallied past Columbus.
Ross Colton and Point scored 1:06 apart in the third period to erase a one-goal deficit and snap a three-game losing streak for the Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy finished with 36 saves to pick up the win.
Eric Robinson and Zach Werenski scored for Columbus, which has one win in the past six games. Elvis Merzlikins finished with 31 saves for the Blue Jackets.
HURRICANES 4, BLACKHAWKS 3
CHICAGO (AP) - Jesper Fast scored with 29 seconds remaining in regulation, Warren Foegele added two goals, and Carolina beat Chicago.
Fast beat goaltender Kevin Lankinen from 15 feet, rebounding Vincent Trochek’s drive from the right side for the winner in the second game in three nights between the teams.
Trochek also scored for the Hurricanes, who pulled within a point of co-leaders Tampa Bay and Florida in the Central Division.
Dylan Strome, Dominik Kubalik and Brandon Hagel scored for Chicago. The Blackhawks remain tied with Nashville for the final playoff spot, and the teams meet on Saturday night.
WILD 3, GOLDEN KNIGHTS 2, SO
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Kevin Fiala scored in the shootout and Minnesota beat Vegas.
Fiala scored in the second round of the tiebreaker and Cam Talbot stopped Alex Tuch on the Golden Knights’ final attempt.
Kirill Kaprizov and Jared Spurgeon scored for Minnesota, while Talbot played his best road game of the season, stopping 35 shots. Talbot, who is a perfect 7-0-0 at home, improved to 3-5-2 away from St. Paul.
William Karlsson and Brayden McNabb scored for the Golden Knights. Robin Lehner had 35 saves but dropped to 3-0-1 with just six goals allowed since his return from a concussion.
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