PITTSBURGH — A goal at 3:15 of overtime by Phil Kessel gave the Pittsburgh Penguins a win over the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3 at PPG Paints Arena on Friday.
Working on the lone power play of the contest, Kessel dealt a pass from the high slot to defenseman Kris Letang in the right circle. Letang swatted a one-timer, which was blocked by Blue Jackets center Boone Jenner. The puck deflected to Kessel low in the right circle. He was able to chip a wrister past the glove hand of Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.
The goal was Kessel’s second of the game. Nick Bonino and Patric Hornqvist also scored for the Penguins (32-13-5) while Matt Murray made 28 saves.
Flames 4, Devils 3 (OT): Mikael Backlund’s goal 1:13 into overtime lifted Calgary to a victory over New Jersey at the Prudential Center.
The Devils carried a 3-2 lead into the third period, but Calgary forged a tie on Matt Stajan’s goal at 7:22.
T.J. Brodie assisted on all four goals and Brian Elliott finished with 26 saves for the Flames (27-24-3), who have won three in a row.
Hurricanes 2, Oilers 1: Sebastian Aho scored 1:48 into the third period on a power play as Carolina defeated Edmonton at PNC Arena.
Aho took defenseman Justin Faulk’s pass and converted on a one-timer from the right side.
Aho has four goals in a two-game stretch, coming off a hat trick Tuesday night against Philadelphia. He has 16 goals this season, just two behind Jeff Skinner for the team lead.
Panthers 2, Ducks 1: Jonathan Huberdeau scored the winning goal off an assist from Aleksander Barkov — both players fresh off the injured list — to lead Florida past Anaheim at the BB&T Center.
Skating four-on-four, Barkov got control of the puck on the left wing after a Keith Yandle stretch pass. Barkov centered the puck to Huberdeau, who didn’t look rusty at all, elevating the puck and getting it past Anaheim goalie John Gibson’s glove with 4:58 left in the second period.
This was the season debut for Huberdeau, who severed an Achilles tendon in Florida’s final exhibition game. Barkov hadn’t played since suffering a back injury on Dec. 28. Last season, Barkov had career highs in goals (28) and assists (31). Huberdeau had career highs in goals (20) and points (59).
Red Wings 5, Islanders 4: The Red Wings started slowly but they finished with a bang.
A point shot by Detroit defenseman Danny DeKeyser pinballed off the legs of New York Islanders defensemen Nick Leddy and Thomas Hickey and into the net with 27.9 seconds left in regulation time, giving the Red Wings a victory.
It was DeKeyser’s first goal in 21 games, since he scored the overtime winner at New York against the Islanders in a 4-3 win on Dec 4. — Reuters
