NEW YORK — Florida winger Jonathan Huberdeau scored twice and back up goaltender Al Montoya registered 36 saves Tuesday as the Panthers opened up the second half of the season with an impressive 5-2 victory over the Washington Capitals.
Huberdeau’s second goal of the night, a ringing shot off the near post, was his 10th of the season and it sent some in the Verizon Center crowd heading for the exits with the Capitals down 4-0. The 22-year-old, who added a first-period assist, has 16 points in his past 15 games.
Flyers 4, Canadiens 2: Wayne Simmonds scored a pair of goals and the Philadelphia Flyers got back to winning ways on home ice with a 4-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens at Wells Fargo Center.
Simmonds netted his second goal with 8:04 remaining in regulation to break a 2-2 tie and help the Flyers (22-18-8) snap a three-game home losing skid. Philadelphia are 10-1-1 when Simmonds scores.
Devils 3, Rangers 2: Defenseman David Schlemko scored a power-play goal with 8:46 remaining in the third period to give the New Jersey Devils a come-from-behind 3-2 victory against the New York Rangers at Prudential Center.
Schlemko’s goal came less than two minutes after a turnover that led to a shorthanded breakaway for Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh, who missed the net on the golden opportunity.
Islanders 5, Wild 3: Brock Nelson scored the tie-breaking goal in the final minute of the second period and Frans Nielsen and John Tavares scored a little more than two minutes apart early in the third as the New York Islanders beat the Minnesota Wild 5-3.
Penguins 6, Senators 5: Sidney Crosby scored three consecutive goals to extend his recent scoring surge and rally the Pittsburgh Penguins to their fourth consecutive victory, 6-5 over the slumping Senators.
Maple Leafs 4, Bruins 3 (OT): The Toronto Maple Leafs, down by two goals in the third period, forced overtime and got a power play goal from Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau to shock the Boston Bruins 4-3.
Blues 1, Predators 0: Troy Brouwer’s deflection gave the St. Louis Blues their first 1-0 win of the season. Scoring his 10th goal, Brouwer got his stick on a one-timer from defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, beating Predators goalie Pekka Rinne at 18:55 of the third period and giving St. Louis its fourth win of the season over Nashville. The Blues (29-16-8) outshot the Predators 12-5 in the final period.
Blackhawks 2, Avalanche 1: Artemi Panarin and Richard Panik scored first-period goals as the shorthanded Chicago Blackhawks beat the Colorado Avalanche 2-1.
Oilers 5, Blue Jackets 1: In his return from a three-month absence because of injury, rookie Connor McDavid delivered a goal-of-the-year candidate and added two assists in leading the Edmonton Oilers to a 5-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Kings 6, Coyotes 2: It’s hard to imagine Dustin Brown’s popularity in Arizona falling any lower. The Los Angeles Kings captain is already the most reviled hockey player in the Valley due to a colorful history with the Arizona Coyotes.
Brown somehow added to the venom when he scored a pair of goals in the Kings’ 6-2 win over the Coyotes. Neither goal was impressive but both helped L.A. erase a second-period deficit and post its first regulation win over the Coyotes this season.
Ducks 3, Sharks 2: Rickard Rakell, Hampus Lindholm and Ryan Garbutt scored to give the Anaheim Ducks a 3-2 win over the San Jose Sharks at the Honda Center.
