NHL roundup: Panarin scores three times as Rangers rout Lightning 5-1

The Lightning’s 39 points through 37 games is one behind their total after the same number of games in 2016-17, which was the last time they missed the playoffs.

Elsewhere in the NHL on Saturday:

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PENGUINS 4 BLUES 2

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Evgeni Malkin had a goal and an assist, helping the Penguins top the Blues.

Malkin scored his 14th of the season on the power play. It was his third goal in two games. Malkin also set up Drew O’Connor’s fourth of the year.

Jeff Carter scored his fourth goal for Pittsburgh in the third period, and Sidney Crosby’s 20th of the season was an empty-netter. Tristan Jarry made 25 stops.

Crosby is one point from tying Joe Thornton for 12th place on the NHL’s career points list. He became the 19th player in NHL history to score 400 even-strength goals and 22nd in NHL history with 16 seasons of 20 or more goals.

Robert Thomas scored his team-leading 15th of the season for the Blues, while former Penguin Kasperi Kapanen added his fourth.

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BRUINS 5 DEVILS 2

BOSTON (AP) — David Pastrnak scored two of Boston’s four second-period goals, and Kevin Shattenkirk recorded his 100th and 101st career goals.

Jake DeBrusk also scored in the second and Linus Ullmark stopped 31 shots for Boston, which posted its second straight win after a four-game losing streak. Charlie Coyle added a pair of assists.

Luke Hughes and Nico Hischier scored for the Devils, who had won three in a row. Vitek Vanecek made 26 saves and Tyler Toffoli had two assists.

Boston defenceman Charlie McAvoy left the ice late in the game, favouring his left leg, after crashing into Ullmark hustling back on a Devils 2-on-1 break. Coach Jim Montgomery said McAvoy is fine.

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PREDATORS 3 CAPITALS 2 (SO)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Roman Josi scored a franchise record-tying goal, Yaroslav Askarov made 26 saves in regulation and overtime for his first NHL win, and Nashville stopped a three-game skid.

Luke Evangelista opened the scoring less than three minutes in, and Josi’s goal not long after tied Shea Weber for the most by a Predators defenceman. Josi scored his 166th goal a night after dropping the gloves to fight Detroit’s Alex DeBrincat, a move by the captain that coach Andrew Brunette and his teammates appreciated.

They also appreciated Josi’s 26:51 of ice time and goals by Gustav Nyquist and Ryan O’Reilly in the shootout that helped them get back in the win column.

Alex Ovechkin and Beck Malenstyn scored for Washington, which has lost four in a row and remains one of the worst offensive teams in the league. It was Ovechkin’s 829th goal, which puts him 65 back of Wayne Gretzky’s career record.

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SABRES 3 BLUE JACKETS 2 (OT)

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Jeff Skinner scored 1:20 into overtime, and Buffalo got the win while playing without coach Don Granato because of an illness.

Casey Mittelstadt and Jack Quinn also scored for Buffalo, which had dropped two in a row. Owen Power had two assists and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 18 saves.

Granato missed the game due to an unspecified illness. Seth Appert, who coaches the Sabres’ AHL affiliate in Rochester, was called up to fill in behind the bench.

Adam Fantilli and Damon Severson scored for Columbus, and Daniil Tarasov made 39 saves. Coming off a 6-5 overtime win against Toronto on Friday night, the Blue Jackets lost for the fourth time in five games.

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HURRICANES 3 MAPLE LEAFS 2

TORONTO (AP) — Sebastian Aho had a goal and two assists, and Carolina earned its third consecutive victory.

Michael Bunting and Seth Jarvis also scored for Carolina. Pyotr Kochetkov made 25 saves.

Timothy Liljegren and Nicholas Robertson scored for Toronto, which got 25 stops from Martin Jones.

The Leafs have dropped five of their last six games.

Carolina went 2-for-4 on the power play, while Toronto went 0-for-3.

Aho has seven goals and 13 assists in his last 10 games.

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PANTHERS 4 CANADIENS 1

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Eetu Luostarinen scored a pair of power-play goals and Florida extended its win streak to four games.

Sam Bennett and Carter Verhaeghe also scored for the Panthers, who outscored Montreal 3-0 in the third period. Anthony Stolarz finished with 18 saves for Florida.

Cole Caufield scored for the Canadiens, who dropped their second straight game in regulation after getting at least one point in each of their previous five games. Jake Allen stopped 22 shots for Montreal.

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JETS 4 WILD 2

WINNIPEG, Man. (AP) — Nino Niederreiter scored two goals, powering the Jets to the win.

Axel Jonsson-Fjallby and Alex Iafallo also scored for Winnipeg, which improved to 9-1-2 in its last 12 games. Connor Hellebuyck stopped 34 shots in front of a sold-out crowd of 15,325 at Canada Life Centre.

Matt Boldy and Ryan Hartman scored for Minnesota, which had won four in a row.

Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson made 19 saves before being replaced by Marc-Andre Fleury to start the third period. Fleury stopped nine shots.

The Jets have held opponents to three goals or less in a franchise-record 24 consecutive outings and 30 games overall this season, which leads the NHL.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

NHL roundup: Panarin scores three times as Rangers rout Lightning 5-1

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