Steven Stamkos scored two power-play goals and assisted on another tally to help the Tampa Bay Lightning, the NHL’s top team, stroll past the visiting Dallas Stars 6-0 on Thursday to win their fourth consecutive game.
Feb 14, 2019; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning center Steven Stamkos (91) shoots against Dallas Stars right wing Denis Gurianov (34) during the third period at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 32 shots to shut out the Stars for the second time this season. He has five shutouts this season and 17 in his five-year NHL career. Vasilevskiy has made 67 saves against Dallas in the past two outings and is now 5-0-1 in his career against the Stars.
The Lightning are 6-0-2 in their past eight games, lead the NHL with 90 points and have scored at least five goals in each of their past four games. Nikita Kucherov had a goal and three assists in the easy win for Tampa Bay.
Blues 4, Coyotes 0
Vladimir Tarasenko scored twice and Joel Edmundson collected one goal and one assist as visiting St. Louis won at Glendale, Ariz., for its eighth straight victory.
The winning spree has moved St. Louis up to third in the Central Division. The last time the Blues won eight straight games was during a nine-game run from Oct. 15-Nov. 5, 2002.
Rookie goalie Jordan Binnington made 21 saves to record his third shutout of the season in only his 13th start. Binnington has compiled a 11-1-1 record to kick off his NHL career. Robert Bortuzzo also scored for the Blues.
Blackhawks 5, Devils 2
Patrick Kane extended a pair of streaks with a goal and two assists as host Chicago rallied from a two-goal deficit and recorded a victory over New Jersey.
Kane helped the Blackhawks get their eighth win in nine games by scoring his 34th goal late in the first period to extend his points streak to 16 games.
After scoring, Kane set up second-period tallies by Drake Caggiula and Jonathan Toews, marking his 15th straight game with at least one assist. Kane broke the team record for consecutive games with an assist set by Hall of Famer Stan Mikita from Nov. 26-Dec. 25, 1967.
Avalanche 4, Jets 1
Dominic Toninato scored his first NHL goal, Gabriel Landeskog, J.T. Compher and Sven Andrighetto also had goals, and Colorado beat host Winnipeg.
Semyon Varlamov made 24 saves and Matt Nieto had two assists for the Avalanche, who ended an eight-game losing streak. It was Colorado’s first win in Winnipeg since Jan. 18, 2016.
Brandon Tanev had a goal and Connor Hellebuyck stopped 31 shots for Winnipeg. The Jets had won two in a row and were 8-0-1 in their past nine home games before falling to Colorado.
Islanders 3, Blue Jackets 0
Thomas Greiss stopped all 31 shots he faced, and Casey Cizikas continued his breakout season by scoring two breakaway goals for New York, which beat host Columbus in a key Metropolitan Division matchup.
Josh Bailey scored in the second period for the Metropolitan-leading Islanders, who have won 4 of 5 and are 20-5-2 since Dec. 15.
Cizikas, a fourth-liner who never scored more than nine goals in any of his first seven NHL seasons, has 15 goals in 2018-19. The two-goal game was the second of the season for Cizikas, who scored twice against the Montreal Canadiens on Nov. 5, and the third of his career.
Red Wings 3, Senators 2
Andreas Athanasiou scored two first-period goals, and goaltender Jimmy Howard got a win in his 500th career game as Detroit edged visiting Ottawa.
Athanasiou had a go-ahead goal against Nashville on Tuesday, his first tally since Jan. 8. His two-goal outing on Thursday increased his season total to 20.
Frans Nielsen scored what proved to be the game-winner in the second period. He has nine goals this season. Howard turned aside 40 shots. Brady Tkachuk and Matt Duchene scored for the Senators.
Panthers 3, Flames 2 (SO)
Aleksander Barkov and Vincent Trocheck scored in a shootout, leading Florida over visiting Calgary.
Sean Monahan had Calgary’s only score in the three-round shootout, and the game ended when Matthew Tkachuk was stopped by Panthers goalie James Reimer.
Benched after two periods in his previous start, Reimer bounced back in this one, stopping 41 shots to get the win for the Panthers. He had lost his previous two starts.
Predators 3, Canadiens 1
Brian Boyle scored his first goal with Nashville, and Pekka Rinne made 34 saves in a win over visiting Montreal.
With the score tied 1-1 at the 8:36 mark of the third period, Boyle’s slap shot from just inside the blue line found its way past a screened Carey Price. It was Boyle’s 14th goal overall this season, and his first in five games with the Predators since being acquired in a Feb. 6 trade from the New Jersey Devils.
The victory ended a three-game winless stretch for Nashville, which also got goals from Viktor Arvidsson and Ryan Hartman. The Canadiens took just their second regulation loss over their past 12 games (8-2-2). Tomas Tatar tallied for Montreal.
Maple Leafs 6, Golden Knights 3
Auston Matthews had two goals and an assist, and Morgan Rielly and Mitch Marner each added a goal and an assist to lead Toronto to a win in Las Vegas.
Matthews collected his 100th and 101st career goals to become the second member of the 2016 NHL Draft class to hit the century mark, joining Winnipeg’s Patrik Laine (105). Laine was selected second behind Matthews in that draft.
Andreas Johnsson and Patrick Marleau also scored goals for Toronto, which won for the sixth time in seven games while also improving to 19-7-2 on the road. William Karlsson, Paul Stastny and Oscar Lindberg scored goals for Vegas, which fell to 2-7-0 in its past nine games while losing a franchise-record fifth consecutive home game.
Capitals 5, Sharks 1
T.J. Oshie scored two goals and added an assist as Washington earned a road win over San Jose, which saw its six-game winning streak end.
Oshie reached the 500-point milestone with his three points. He scored one goal each in the first and second periods, the latter giving him the 500th NHL point. Alex Ovechkin, Jakub Vrana and Tom Wilson each finished with one goal and one assist for the Capitals.
Kevin Labanc had the lone goal for the Sharks, his fifth tally in three games.
Canucks 4, Kings 3 (SO)
Brock Boeser scored the deciding goal in a shootout, following his goal in the second period, as Vancouver rallied late to win at Los Angeles.
Canucks rookie Adam Gaudette scored with 1:38 remaining in regulation to tie the score 3-3 after Alec Martinez gave the Kings a lead at 10:59 of the third period.
The Canucks, who also got a goal from Elias Pettersson, won for the third time in eight games since the All-Star break. Austin Wagner and Michael Amadio added goals for the Kings, who have earned points in five of their past six games.
—Field Level Media