EDMONTON, Alberta — Mike Yeo is gone and so is much of the weight off the Minnesota Wild players.
Matt Dumba, Thomas Vanek and Mikael Granlund each had a goal and an assist and Minnesota beat the Edmonton Oilers 5-2 Thursday night to win its third straight under interim coach John Torchetti.
Jason Pominville and Charlie Coyle scored for the Wild, and Darcy Kuemper made 31 saves. Minnesota had lost 13 of 14 games under former coach Yeo before his firing Saturday night.
“It’s a world of difference, it feels like,” Coyle said. “All of sudden we feel good about ourselves, our confidence is growing each game and it’s a huge road trip for us.”
Kuemper said there is a completely different feel in his team’s dressing room since Yeo’s dismissal.
“I think it’s a fresh start for everyone. A lot of guys had a lot of negative things going on and it’s almost like a new season in a sense,” he said.
Connor McDavid and Nail Yakupov scored for the Oilers, and Cam Talbot had 22 saves. Edmonton has lost three straight and six of its last seven games.
Blues 2, Kings 1 (OT)
Left-winger Jaden Schwartz scored 1:39 into overtime to lift the St. Louis Blues to a 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings.
The Blues improved to 5-0-1 in their last six games while the Kings lost their third consecutive game, equaling their longest losing streak of the season when they lost their first three games in October.
Ducks 5, Canucks 2
Center Ryan Getzlaf and defenseman Sami Vatanen both had a goal and an assist as the Anaheim Ducks continued their torrid pace with a 5-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks.
Center Rickard Rakell and defenseman Josh Manson also scored for Anaheim, as did defenseman Kevin Bieksa, who added an empty-net goal. The Ducks, who are 11-1-1 in their past 13 games, ended their lengthy road trip with 5-1-1 record.
Penguins 6, Red Wings 3
Right-winger Phil Kessel scored twice after being moved up to Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby’s top line and the Penguins broke out of a brief scoring slump with a 6-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings.
Penguins goaltender Marc Andre-Fleury made 35 saves, including three during a remarkable 12-second sequence late in the second period that included a left pad save after he was shoved into the net by Red Wings right winger Justin Abdelkader.
Capitals 3, Islanders 2 (OT)
Right-winger Justin Williams scored with 43.2 seconds left in overtime to lift the Washington Capitals to a 3-2 win over the New York Islanders at Barclays Center.
Left-winger Alex Ovechkin scored his NHL-leading 36th and 37th goals in a span of 87 seconds early in the second period for the Capitals (42-10-4), who moved seven points ahead of the Chicago Blackhawks in the race for the Presidents’ Trophy.
Senators 4, Hurricanes 2
The Ottawa Senators made their third lead of the night stick to defeat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-2 at Canadian Tire Centre.
Defenseman Cody Ceci scored the winner 3:50 into the third period when his slap shot deflected off the stick of Hurricanes center Eric Stall and fluttered past a line of bodies on its way to the back of the net.
In other games it was: Rangers 4, Maple Leafs 2; Sharks 2, Panthers 1 (SO); Lightning 6, Jets 5 (SO); Predators 2, Bruins 0; Coyotes 6, Stars 3 — Agencies
