NHL roundup: Tkachuk posts five-point game as Flames rout Rangers

Matthew Tkachuk collected two goals and a career-high five points — his second game of the week with at least four points — and the host Calgary Flames climbed back atop the Western Conference with a 5-1 victory over the New York Rangers on Friday night.

Mar 15, 2019; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Calgary Flames left wing Matthew Tkachuk (19) celebrates his goal against the New York Rangers during the third period at Scotiabank Saddledome. Calgary Flames won 5-1. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports

Goalie David Rittich stopped 24 shots for the Flames, who have racked up 20 goals during a three-game winning streak.

Tkachuk has been as hot as anybody through the winning spree, having netted six goals and 10 points in that span, and coming through at key times. Case in point was his game-winning goal three minutes into the second period.

With the score tied 1-1, Tkachuk deflected Mark Giordano’s waist-high point shot en route to his sixth four-point game of the campaign. Seventy seconds later, Tkachuk had a hand in Garnet Hathaway’s tally, feeding the puck to the front of the net for a nifty redirect for his 100th career assist.

Maple Leafs 7, Flyers 6

Jake Muzzin scored two goals and added an assist, Auston Matthews added another pair of goals and host Toronto rallied from a three-goal deficit to defeat Philadelphia.

Patrick Marleau, Zach Hyman and Martin Marincin each contributed one goal for the Maple Leafs, who snapped a two-game losing streak. Ron Hainsey, Nazem Kadri, William Nylander and Nikita Zaitsev each had two assists. Maple Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen stopped 23 of 29 shots on goal.

James van Riemsdyk paced the Flyers with a hat trick, while Jakub Voracek, Radko Gudas and Shayne Gostisbehere added one goal apiece.

Blue Jackets 3, Hurricanes 0

Columbus goalie Sergei Bobrovsky made 46 saves for his sixth shutout of the season as host Columbus defeated Carolina.

Adam McQuaid, David Savard and Josh Anderson scored for Columbus, with two early goals providing the Blue Jackets with a cushion as the Hurricanes peppered Bobrovsky at times.

Bobrovsky stopped 22 second-period shots, as the Hurricanes held a 22-2 edge on shots but didn’t change the scoreboard.

Devils 3, Canucks 2

Damon Severson’s shootout goal gave visiting New Jersey a comeback victory over Vancouver.

Severson, New Jersey’s seventh shooter in the shootout, was falling down as he beat Vancouver goaltender Jacob Markstrom with a wrist shot from the doorstep. He decided the contest after Vancouver’s Elias Pettersson and Drew Stafford had exchanged shootout goals.

The Devils posted their second straight win following seven consecutive losses. The Canucks took their 14th loss in 19 games.

Golden Knights 2, Stars 1

Ryan Reaves scored the game-winner early in the third period, and Marc-Andre Fleury had 40 saves for his league-leading 35th victory as visiting Las Vegas defeated Dallas.

Max Pacioretty also scored for Vegas, which improved its lead over fourth-place Arizona to six points in the Pacific Division with its seventh win in its last eight games. Fleury extended his personal winning streak to six games, during which he has allowed a total of five goals.

Roope Hintz scored for Dallas, which lost for just the second time in eight games. The Stars, playing the second half of a back-to-back that started with a 4-1 win at Minnesota on Thursday night, didn’t land in Dallas until 2:30 in the morning.

Ducks 5, Avalanche 3

Corey Perry scored a tie-breaking power-play goal with 57 seconds left, Josh Gibson had 41 saves, and visiting Anaheim beat Colorado.

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Perry finished with two goals, Ryan Getzlaf had a goal and two assists and Daniel Sprong had a goal and an assist for the Ducks, who dealt a blow to Colorado’s playoff hopes.

Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and an assist, and Mikko Rantanen and Sven Andrighetto scored for the Avalanche. Colorado (30-29-12) is now five points behind Arizona for the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot with 11 games remaining for both teams.

—Field Level Media

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source: reuters.com