TAMPA — Tampa Bay’s Victor Hedman scored the game-winning goal in the fourth round of a shootout as the Lightning stretched their winning streak to a season-high nine games with a 4-3 win over the visiting Los Angeles Kings Monday.
Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov also scored for Tampa Bay in the shootout session. Brayden Point, Anthony Cirelli and J.T. Miller netted goals in regulation for the Lightning, who are 11-0-2 in February. Stamkos had a pair of assists. Lightning netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy made 30 saves.
The Lightning (48-11-4) became the fourth team in NHL history to reach the 100-point mark in 63 games or fewer, joining the Montreal Canadiens (1976-77, 1977-78) and Boston Bruins (1971-72).
Austin Wagner had a goal and an assist, and Alex Iafallo and Jonny Brodzinski scored for the Kings, who lost their eighth straight (0-5-3). Jack Campbell stopped 31 shots.
Predators 3, Oilers 2 (SO)
Brian Boyle scored the decisive goal in the fourth round of a shootout as host Nashville skated to a victory over Edmonton and grabbed first place in the Central Division.
P.K. Subban collected a goal and an assist to reach the 400-point plateau in his career for the Predators. The victory capped a big day for Nashville, which made a splash prior to the NHL’s trade deadline by acquiring rugged forwards Wayne Simmonds from Philadelphia and Mikael Granlund from Minnesota.
Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl scored short-handed and power-play goals to extend his point streak to seven games. Mikko Koskinen turned aside 36 shots for the Oilers.
Canucks 4, Ducks 0
Bo Horvat scored twice, and Elias Pettersson supplied two assists as Vancouver blanked visiting Anaheim.
Canucks goaltender Jacob Markstrom stopped 29 shots for his first shutout of the season and just the third of his career. Markstrom earned his 23rd win of the season, matching the career-high total that he recorded last season.
Nikolay Goldobin and Alex Biega also scored for the Canucks, who ended their losing streak at three games while handing the Ducks their third consecutive loss. Ducks goaltender Kevin Boyle posted 25 saves on 29 shots.
Maple Leafs 5, Sabres 3
Frederik Gauthier notched a goal and an assist during the second period when Toronto scored four times, and the Maple Leafs held on to defeat visiting Buffalo.
Kasperi Kapanen added a short-handed goal in the third period and had an assist for Toronto. John Tavares, Auston Matthews and Tyler Ennis each scored once for the Maple Leafs, who got 31 saves from Frederik Andersen.
Jack Eichel scored twice for the Sabres while Sam Reinhart had a goal and assist. Rasmus Dahlin added two assists.
Devils 2, Canadiens 1
Nathan Bastian scored his first career goal in the first period, and Kurtis Gabriel’s second NHL goal in the second period proved to be the game-winner for New Jersey against struggling Montreal in Newark.
The Devils, who have won four of six but are in last place in the Metropolitan Division, made another trade Monday, dealing left winger Marcus Johansson to the Boston Bruins in exchange for two draft picks. Cory Schneider made 34 saves for the win.
Paul Byron scored for the Canadiens, who have lost six of eight (2-5-1). Cary Price stopped 20 shots.
Panthers 4, Avalanche 3 (OT)
Aaron Ekblad scored 26 seconds into overtime as Florida beat Colorado in Denver.
Mike Hoffman had a goal and two assists, Troy Brouwer and Evgenii Dadonov also scored, and Roberto Luongo made 36 saves for the Panthers. Luongo picked up his 485th career win to move into sole possession of third place in NHL history.
Derick Brassard scored against his former team hours after being traded to Colorado. Tyson Jost and Mikko Rantanen also had goals, and Semyon Varlamov stopped 34 shots for the Avalanche, who saw their four-game winning streak end. — Reuters
