12.01.2025
Florida Panthers 3 - 4 Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins overcame a six-game losing streak by defeating the Florida Panthers 4-3 with a thrilling finish, as David Pastrnak scored a power-play goal with just two seconds remaining in overtime. This marked the latest overtime goal in the Bruins' franchise history and was a significant comeback win, punctuated by their resilience after Sam Reinhart had tied the game for the Panthers with three seconds left in regulation. Pastrnak was a standout performer, contributing two goals and an assist, and Jeremy Swayman made 40 crucial saves, earning praise from interim coach Joe Sacco. Additionally, Oliver Wahlstrom scored his first goal with the Bruins, celebrating his lifelong fandom of the team. Despite the Panthers’ dominating 109 shot attempts to the Bruins' 37, they ultimately fell short, marking their first one-goal game loss this season in non-regulation play. Sam Reinhart’s late-game heroics put him sixth in franchise history for goals with the Panthers, further underlining the intensity of the matchup.
Buffalo Sabres 2 - 6 Seattle Kraken
The Seattle Kraken staged an impressive comeback, scoring six unanswered goals to defeat the Buffalo Sabres 6-2 at KeyBank Center. Kaapo Kakko led the charge with two goals, showcasing his increasing value to the team since joining from the New York Rangers. The win marked the Kraken's sixth multigoal comeback victory of the season, demonstrating the team's resilience and confidence, as emphasized by coach Dan Bylsma. Joey Daccord was solid in the net, making 33 saves in his first start since late December. Key contributions came from Chandler Stephenson, Josh Mahura, and Jared McCann, each with two assists, halting Seattle's recent four-game losing streak. Despite leading 2-0 with goals from Sam Lafferty and Jack Quinn, the Sabres struggled, as Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff labeled the second period “embarrassing.” Meanwhile, Rasmus Dahlin continued his assist streak for Buffalo, yet their inability to hold the lead remained a problem, a sentiment echoed by both Ruff and center Dylan Cozens.
Pittsburgh Penguins 0 - 5 Ottawa Senators
Merilainen gets 1st NHL shutout, Senators cruise past Penguins
PITTSBURGH -- Leevi Merilainen made 29 saves for his first NHL shutout, and the Ottawa Senators won 5-0 against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on Saturday.
The 22-year-old played his seventh game (six starts) since being selected in the third round (No. 71) of the 2020 NHL Draft.
"It feels awesome, of course, to get the first one out of the way," Merilainen said. "It feels as good as every win."
"I think we just got outplayed tonight," Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. "We didn't play well enough."
Ottawa scored on its first two shots on goal.
Pinto made it 2-0 with two seconds remaining on the ensuing power play at 5:14. He ended a seven-game goal drought from the right face-off circle on another one-timer set up by Giroux.
Pinto extended the lead to 3-0 at 19:04 with a short-handed goal, keeping the puck on a 2-on-1 for a wrist shot from the right circle.
"Came out strong, had a good first," Pinto said. "Kind of shut it down. Leevi made some big saves. Just a good overall team win. ... Try to get our swagger back. We had it a bit on the West Coast (road trip in December). We kind of lost it for a bit. Hopefully, this one builds our confidence." The teams combined for 15 penalties in the first period (Ottawa, eight; Pittsburgh, seven).
"We lost our control and our temper," Penguins defenseman
"Solid, right from the drop of the puck," Senators coach Travis Green said. "We looked like a team that was ready to play with some conviction tonight. Nice road win. ... There was a lot of stuff going on after the whistles. It was a physical game early. I liked that we stuck together." The Penguins won 5-3 against the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday but have lost two of three to start a five-game homestand.
"Every team tries to be consistent," Pittsburgh captain
"But besides that, I think lately, we've given ourselves a chance to win and done some good things for the most part."
NOTES: Merilainen (22 years, 151 days) is the second goalie in Senators history to have a shutout at age 22 or younger. He joined
Toronto Maple Leafs 0 - 3 Vancouver Canucks
Canucks shut out Maple Leafs to end 4-game slide
TORONTO --
Vancouver, which lost 2-0 at the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday, had issues traveling to Toronto from snowy Raleigh, North Carolina, and arrived at about 2 p.m. local time on Saturday.
“I think it becomes a problem when you talk about it and we didn’t talk about it as a group, which is good,” Vancouver coach Rick Tocchet said. “You are going to have these challenges and you need 20 guys going and we all worked in the right direction. [We showed] a lot of heart. Last couple of years, this is a resilient group. Takes a lot of punches and gets back up, so this is one of those times where we got back up.”
“I didn’t think we played with enough pace in the game,” Toronto coach Craig Berube said. “We didn’t obviously generate enough. We obviously have to generate more than we did, power plays included.”
Toronto managed a combined two shots on its three power plays.
“We didn’t get anything going on our power play which could have given us momentum in the game,” Berube said. “We didn’t move the puck well enough tonight, I didn’t think we were connected well enough on breakouts or in the neutral zone, and it was just slow.”
“It was a whirlwind 24 hours here,” Myers said. “Guys stepped up tonight. It was a huge win for the group coming in on a back-to-back with a crazy travel day. It seemed like a lot of guys were going tonight and played the right way. Played real simple and I think it provided more opportunities for us. I think we have to realize that going forward and try to bring that more consistently.”
Lankinen kept it 1-0 at 10:47 when he stopped
“I thought we had chances, just couldn’t capitalize and I thought we couldn’t really get momentum on our side,” Maple Leafs captain
Hughes made it 2-0 at 18:12 of the second period. His point shot was inadvertently swatted into the net out of the air by Toronto defenseman
“[There is] a lot of character in here and nobody was feeling sorry for themselves,” Hughes said, “not because of what happened (with travel) last night, but how the last couple games have gone. We desperately needed a win and we got one. This was nothing out of the ordinary. Everyone played junior hockey and grew up with different things going on. The weather is nothing you can control. I’ve seen crazier in the NHL.”
“Not good enough. [They] outworked us, outcompeted us and that’s why they won,” Maple Leafs defenseman
NOTES: Matthews was held without a point, ending his four-game point streak (three goals, five assists) since returning from a six-game absence because of an upper body injury. … The Canucks are 1-1-2 on a five-game road trip that ends at the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday.
Montreal Canadiens 1 - 2 Dallas Stars
The Dallas Stars secured a 2-1 shootout victory against the Montreal Canadiens, extending their winning streak to seven games, marking their most substantial run since 2024. Jason Robertson scored the lone shootout goal, while Jamie Benn netted a regulation goal, extending his point streak to five games. Jake Oettinger was solid in net, making 30 saves for the Stars, who are now third in the Central Division with 55 points. Patrik Laine made an impactful return for Montreal by scoring a power-play goal, his ninth of the season, all on the power play, making him only the second player since 1933-34 to achieve such a feat. Sam Montembeault kept Montreal competitive with 34 saves, yet the team’s string of three consecutive wins in extra time came to an end. Notably, linesman Michel Cormier was injured during the game, requiring assistance to leave the ice after being struck by a slap shot.
New Jersey Devils 3 - 2 Tampa Bay Lightning
In a thrilling overtime victory, Stefan Noesen netted his first regular-season overtime goal, leading the New Jersey Devils to a 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning at Prudential Center. Noesen capitalized on a power-play opportunity by firing a decisive shot at the netfront. Jack Hughes delivered a strong performance with a goal, an assist, and a game-high five shots, while Ondrej Palat also found the net for New Jersey. Jacob Markstrom was instrumental with 23 saves, including a standout left-arm save against Brayden Point in the third period. Despite strong efforts from Victor Hedman and Nikita Kucherov, who scored for Tampa, and 23 saves from Andrei Vasilevskiy, the Lightning couldn’t clinch their third consecutive win. The Devils' penalty kill was perfect, bouncing back from allowing two power-play goals in a previous game, and they maintained an impressive 21-0-1 record when entering the final period with a lead. The game marked an important turnaround for New Jersey, showcasing a more resilient and competitive style of play.
Philadelphia Flyers 6 - 0 Anaheim Ducks
Flyers score 6, Ersson makes 22 saves in shutout win against Ducks
PHILADELPHIA --
The victory came two nights after a 4-1 loss to the Dallas Stars that the Flyers felt was one of their worst of the season.
"I just thought we played a hard game," coach John Tortorella said. "As I said after the last game, we haven't played many bad games. I just wanted us to answer the right way. We got off to a start, score the first goal. We talked about checking better; we checked better. And I thought played a good hockey game."
The Flyers also drew emotion from the fans' reaction to the presence of Ducks forward
"Helped the crowd was really into it tonight," Konecny said. "It was awesome, great atmosphere. We just played hard. We've been playing hard and not getting results. So, it was good to get one tonight."
"That's probably the loudest we've had a team game so far throughout this season," Gauthier said. "They were super loud but I don't think that crept into anyone's habits or what they do on the ice. We had some poor habits coming into tonight's game with the St. Louis game. So the quicker we can get back to that, to our game plan, the better it will be for us."
Frost gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead at 6:48 of the first period when he skated through the slot and one-timed Konecny's pass past Gibson.
Drysdale made it 2-0 with a power-play goal at 18:11. The defenseman took a pass from Konecny and slipped a shot from the top of the crease under Gibson's pads for his first goal in 27 games, dating to Oct. 17.
"It felt really good," Drysdale said. "It's obviously been a while, a struggle. Felt real good to get that one but more importantly get the win." Konecny said it was good to hear the fans chanting Drysdale's name throughout the game, in part because of injury adversity he's faced, including a month-long absence because of an upper-body injury sustained Nov. 9. Drysdale also played all of last season with a sports hernia he had surgically repaired in April.
"It was great," Konecny said. "And he's an awesome kid, so it's a lot of fun seeing someone go through something like that and the crowd behind him. He's earned that. He works at his game a lot. He deserved to have a game like tonight."
Tippett one-timed a centering pass into the slot from Konecny to make it 3-0 at 16:12 of the second period.
Poehling made it 4-0 just 24 seconds into the third period when he took a pass from Hathaway, skated around Ducks defenseman
Michkov scored a power-play goal on the rebound of a Konecny shot at 7:36 to make it 5-0.
It was Michkov's first point in five games and his second goal in the past 16.
Tortorella said getting offensive-minded players like Drysdale and Michkov scoring again should help their overall play.
"You just hope it helps them confidence-wise, both of them quite honestly, because they're both struggling offensively, and I think sometimes it affects the other parts of their game," Tortorella said. "So, hope it helps them and we'll see as we keep on pushing forward."
Hathaway scored on his own rebound at 8:55 to make it 6-0.
"They came out in the third period and they said, 'This is our game, we're going to take it,'" Ducks coach Greg Cronin said. "And we didn't have a response."
NOTES: Frost has scored four goals during a six-game point streak against the Ducks, all four being game-winning goals. ... The Flyers scored two power-play goals in a game for the first time since Oct. 23. ... Konecny had his second four-assist game of the season (also Oct. 26). The only Flyers with more in a season are Bobby Clarke (1974-75) and Eric Lindros (1996-97) each with three. ... Gauthier tied for the Ducks lead with three shots on goal in 13:19 of ice time. ... Ducks defenseman
Chicago Blackhawks 3 - 4 Edmonton Oilers
Zach Hyman scored the decisive power-play goal in the third period as the Edmonton Oilers came from behind to beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 at United Center. Hyman’s goal came from a rebound off Leon Draisaitl’s shot, breaking a 3-3 tie and aiding the Oilers in their rally. Vasily Podkolzin contributed a goal and an assist, while Calvin Pickard made 19 saves for Edmonton, helping the team clinch their fifth win in six games. Draisaitl extended his point streak against the Blackhawks to 17 games, marking the longest active streak by a player against one franchise. The Blackhawks’ Connor Bedard saw his nine-game point streak end, despite strong performances from Teuvo Teravainen and Nick Foligno, each of whom had a goal and an assist. The Chicago team, plagued by recent losses, struggled to maintain their early lead, with interim coach Anders Sorensen noting the team's challenge in countering the Oilers’ momentum.
St Louis Blues 1 - 2 Columbus Blue Jackets
The Columbus Blue Jackets secured their fourth consecutive win by narrowly defeating the St. Louis Blues 2-1, led by Jet Greaves' impressive 31 saves, nearly achieving his first NHL shutout. Adam Fantilli and Cole Sillinger provided the goals for Columbus, with Fantilli's involving a clever setup from Kirill Marchenko. Despite St. Louis's late push with a power-play goal by Colton Parayko, aided by an extra attacker, they couldn't complete the comeback, marking their third loss in four games. Blues coach Jim Montgomery criticized his team's lack of urgency, contrasting their recent dominant win over Anaheim. Notably, Ryan Suter passed Wayne Gretzky on the NHL all-time games played list, taking 24th spot with his 1,488th game, while several Columbus players extended their point streaks, highlighting their current strong form.
Winnipeg Jets 3 - 0 Colorado Avalanche
Hellebuyck shuts out Avalanche for 3rd straight time in regular season in Jets win
WINNIPEG —
Hellebuyck has earned a shutout in three straight regular season meetings with Colorado. The two-time Vezina Trophy winner had 35 saves in a 1-0 win on Nov. 7 and 30 saves in a 7-0 win on April 13.
He is 15-7-4 with five shutouts in 26 regular-season games against the Avalanche, including 8-1-0 in his past nine.
“He's been fantastic all year,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. “And not just this year. For me, he’s been one of the top guys in the League for a while. I think that that is earned. It's consistency over time, giving your team a chance to win, which is kind of what we're seeing out of our guy now. He gives you the chance every night if guys are playing and committed in front of him. When there's a breakdown, he's there to save it so you've got to try to make it as difficult as you can on him.”
“He’s rolling,” Ehlers said of Hellebuyck. “All the years I’ve played with him he’s been unbelievable. We’ve had some really good goalies, been really lucky with the goalies we have… 'Bucky' is the best, there’s no way around it.”
“(Winnipeg’s team defense) was rock solid,” Bednar said. “One thing you can't do; is that we came out a little soft and they got that early goal. And then we kind of picked it up a little bit second half of the first period. But you spot them one, it's tough enough to try and find the offense, and then they're digging in… It just didn't look like we had the energy and the determination to kind of get through some of their checking. We had some opportunities. We checked hard. We played hard. But the offense just wasn't coming tonight for us.” Ehlers scored 1:08 into the first period, taking the puck at the red line and beating Blackwood with a wrist shot from the slot to make it 1-0 Jets.
“I think I felt good out there, our line was going in every single zone,” Ehlers said. “We didn’t create a bunch of chances, but we didn’t give up anything against a pretty good line in this league.”
Scheifele made it 2-0 at 15:53 of the second.
“I feel like we did a really good job against them,” Jets defenseman
“They play good defense — tight,” Blackwood said. “They don’t give you a lot of chances so you know it’s going to be a close game, and another close one today.”
Ehlers scored into an empty net at 19:03 of the third for the 3-0 final.
NOTES: Hellebuyck’s sixth shutout of the season ties a career high. He leads the NHL with 26 wins (26-6-2). … Colorado is 12-4-1 in its past 16, and 7-3-0 in its past 10 road games. … Jets forward
Nashville Predators 1 - 4 Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals defeated the Nashville Predators 4-1, extending their point streak to seven games. Alex Ovechkin contributed with his 873rd NHL goal and an assist, moving him just 22 goals shy of Wayne Gretzky's all-time record. Notably, Ovechkin achieved his 20th goal of the season, marking the 20th consecutive season he's reached this milestone, a feat only surpassed by Gordie Howe's 22 seasons. Capitals' Ethen Frank, in his second career game, scored his first NHL goal, breaking a tie in the third period. Other goals came from Tom Wilson, who opened the scoring with a power-play goal, and Andrew Mangiapane. The Capitals' coach, Spencer Carbery, praised his team's ability to deliver strong performances in critical game moments. Meanwhile, Nashville struggled, with Filip Forsberg scoring their sole goal as the team endured back-to-back losses. Despite Nashville coach Andrew Brunette's optimism, the Predators couldn't capitalize on their opportunities, facing persistent challenges in converting chances into goals.
Utah Hockey Club 1 - 2 New York Islanders
The New York Islanders secured their third consecutive win by edging out the Utah Hockey Club 2-1, thanks to Mathew Barzal's late goal with just 1:25 remaining in regulation at the Delta Center. Barzal capitalized on a rebound during a net-front scramble, lifting the puck over a sprawling Connor Ingram from the right circle to clinch the victory. Anders Lee played a crucial role with two assists, while Marcus Hogberg contributed with 21 saves for the Islanders, who improved their record to 17-18-7. Despite Nick Schmaltz's initial goal for Utah early in the second period, and Connor Ingram's 30 saves, Utah (18-17-7) suffered their eighth loss in ten games. Brock Nelson equalized for the Islanders early in the third period, benefitting from a Lee setup to score into an open net.
Calgary Flames 2 - 1 Los Angeles Kings
In a thrilling matchup at Scotiabank Saddledome, the Calgary Flames secured a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings, largely thanks to Dustin Wolf's stellar performance with 31 saves. The Flames, now boasting two consecutive wins and a record of 20-14-7, saw contributions from Matt Coronato, who notched a goal and an assist, and Jonathan Huberdeau, who clinched the win with a third-period power-play goal. Jacob Moverare scored his first goal of the season for the Kings, who saw their five-game winning streak come to an end. A key moment featured Kings forward Adrian Kempe hitting the post and Wolf making critical saves against Phillip Danault's attempts, showcasing his impressive defensive skills.
Vegas Golden Knights 1 - 2 New York Rangers
Igor Shesterkin made a pivotal contribution with 29 saves, leading the New York Rangers to a narrow 2-1 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena. Vincent Trocheck and Adam Edstrom added crucial goals for the Rangers, who improved their form with back-to-back wins and victories in four of their last six games. Despite Mark Stone giving the Golden Knights an early lead with a wraparound power-play goal in the second period, Trocheck equalized with a power-play goal of his own, backhanding a loose puck into the net. Edstrom secured the win by tipping in a Jonny Brodzinski shot in the third period, while Ilya Samsonov made 24 saves for a Vegas team that is now on a two-game losing streak.
San Jose Sharks 1 - 3 Minnesota Wild
Marc-Andre Fleury's impressive performance with 36 saves was crucial in the Minnesota Wild's 3-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center. Marco Rossi and Matt Boldy both found the net for the Wild, who have secured five wins in their last six games. Mats Zuccarello was a standout contributor, recording a goal and two assists, including a pass to Rossi that opened the scoring. Despite William Eklund's effort to narrow the gap for the Sharks, who are struggling with three straight losses and 11 in their last 13 games, Yaroslav Askarov's 19 saves couldn't stop the Wild. Zuccarello capped the matchup with an empty-net goal after a misplay by the Sharks to seal the Wild's victory.