Edmonton Oilers center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (93) is stopped by Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (1) during the shootout of an NHL hockey game Saturday, March 9, 2024, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) – Alex Tuch scored the decisive shootout goal and the Buffalo Sabres overcame a two-goal deficit and a disallowed overtime goal in a 3-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday.
Jacob Bryson scored the tying goal with 8:21 remaining and Tage Thompson scored 15 1/2 minutes into the first period as Buffalo snapped an 0-2-1 skid. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 30 shots through overtime, and two more in the shootout, and sealed the win by getting his stick and blocker out to stop Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on the Oilers third and final shootout attempt.
Ryan McLeod and Warren Foegele had a goal and assist each for Edmonton, which lost its second straight following a five-game winning streak. Stuart Skinner stopped 25 shots through overtime and one of three shootout attempts.
Oilers captain Connor McDavid had his points and league-best assist streak end at 13 games despite enjoying several set-up and scoring opportunities, including a shot off the post in the final minute of the first period.
Elsewhere in the NHL on Saturday:
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CANUCKS 5 JETS 0
VANCOUVER, B.C. (AP) – All-Star goalie Thatcher Demko left midway through the second period after stopping all 12 shots he faced in Vancouver’s victory over Winnipeg.
The Canucks said only that Demko would not return to the game.
Casey DeSmith turned away 10 shots in relief to help Vancouver win its fourth straight.
Elias Pettersson, Nils Hoglander and Pius Suter each had a goal and assist and J.T. Miller and Phillip Di Giuseppe also scored. Quinn Hughes had two assists.
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GOLDEN KNIGHTS 5 RED WINGS 3
LAS VEGAS (AP) – Jonathan Marchessault scored three times, including the go-ahead goal with 2:44 left, to help Vegas top Detroit and snap a four-game skid.
Marchessault completed the hat trick with an empty-netter with 1:07 left. It was the third three-goal game of the season for Marchessault and sixth of his career.
Pavel Dorofeyev and Brayden McNabb also scored for the Knights. Jack Eichel had three assists, Noah Hanifin and Ivan Barbashev each had two and Adin Hill stopped 23 shots.
Michael Rasmussen had a goal and assist and J.T. Compher and Shayne Gostisbehere also scored for Detroit, which has dropped five straight. James Reimer made 31 saves.
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PANTHERS 5 FLAMES 1
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) – Vladimir Tarasenko scored his first two goals as a Panther and Florida has won 17 of their past 20 games.
Tarasenko was acquired by the Panthers from the Ottawa Senators in a trade Wednesday.
Aleksander Barkov, Sam Bennett and Kevin Stenlund also scored for Florida while Anthony Stolarz made 34 saves.
The Panthers retain a one-point lead over the Boston Bruins for the top record in the league.
Yegor Sharangovich scored for the Flames and goalie Jacob Markstrom made 26 saves.
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BRUINS 5 PENGUINS 1
BOSTON (AP) – David Pastrnak reached 40 goals for the third consecutive season, and Boston beat the fading Pittsburgh.
Pavel Zacha had two goals and an assist for Boston. Brad Marchand and Jake DeBrusk each had a goal and an assist, and Linus Ullmark made 38 saves.
Kris Letang scored for Pittsburgh, and Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 17 shots. The Penguins have lost five of six games to drop into 13th place in the Eastern Conference, far behind the eighth and final playoff spot.
Boston defenceman Hampus Lindholm returned to the lineup after missing the previous nine games with an undisclosed injury.
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RANGERS 4 BLUES 0
NEW YORK (AP) – Igor Shesterkin made 26 saves for his 13th career shutout in his 200th career NHL game, Vincent Trocheck and Jimmy Vesey scored first-period goals and New York has won nine of its last 10 at Madison Square Garden.
Chris Kreider and Kaapo Kakko also scored for the Metropolitan Division-leading Rangers, who improved to 13-3-2 in their last 18 games. Artemi Panarin and Adam Fox each had two assists.
It was the second shutout of the season for Shesterkin, who played his first game for the Rangers in January 2020. He improved to 27-13-2 this season while helping the Rangers improve to 22-8-0 at home.
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HURRICANES 4 DEVILS 2
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) – Jesperi Kotkaniemi broke a tie with a bad-angle shot early in the third period and Pyotr Kochetkov made 24 saves to lead Carolina over New Jersey Devils.
Martin Necas also scored, and Andrei Svechnikov and Teuvo Teravainen added empty-net goals as the Hurricanes swept the three-game season series with New Jersey and improved to 8-2-1 in their last 11 games.
Nico Hischier and Timo Meier scored for the Devils, who are 1-2 under interim coach Travis Green. Nico Daws made 23 saves.
Evgeny Kuznetsov, who was acquired from Washington this week for a 2025 draft pick, made his debut for the Hurricanes, centring a line with Jesper Fast and Kotkaniemi on his wings.
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STARS 4 KINGS 1
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Radek Faksa and Jason Robertson scored 18 seconds apart in the second period, Joe Pavelski had a goal and an assist, and Dallas extended its winning streak to a season-high five games with a win over Los Angeles.
Wyatt Johnston added a power-play goal nearly seven minutes into the third period. Scott Wedgewood stopped 24 shots in his first game since Feb. 26. The win keeps Dallas atop the Central Division with 89 points.
The Kings got off to a great start when Kevin Fiala scored 26 seconds into the game, but they weren’t able to sustain the momentum. Cam Talbot made 31 saves.
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MAPLE LEAFS 3 CANADIENS 2
MONTREAL (AP) – John Tavares broke a tie with 6:46 left with his 20th goal of the season and Toronto defeated Montreal.
Max Domi and Bobby McMann also scored and Ilya Samsonov made 29 saves.
Mike Matheson had a goal and assist for Montreal. Alex Newhook also scored and Sam Montembeault stopped 24 shots.
Defenceman Joel Edmundson – who played three seasons for the Canadiens from 2020 to 2023 – and forward Connor Deward made their Maple Leafs debuts after being acquired before the trade deadline.
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PREDATORS 2 BLUE JACKETS 1
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Luke Evangelista scored a tiebreaking goal in the third period, Kevin Lankinen made 32 stops and Nashville beat Columbus for its 10th win in 11 games.
Kiefer Sherwood also scored for Nashville, whose only loss since Feb. 15 was in overtime to Montreal on Tuesday. The Predators have moved up into the top wild card playoff spot in the Western Conference.
The Blue Jackets wasted an outstanding game by goaltender Daniil Tarasov, whose 47 saves tied his career high. Alexandre Texier scored the only goal for Columbus. The last-place team in the Metropolitan Division entered the game having won three of the last four.
Nashville scored before Columbus could manage a shot on goal.
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LIGHTNING 7 FLYERS 0
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – Defenceman Darren Raddysh had five assists and Tampa Bay beat Philadelphia in a game that saw irate Flyers coach John Tortorella reluctantly leave the bench after he was ejected in the first period.
On a night that the 2004 Stanley Cup-winning Lightning team that Tortorella coached was honoured, he lasted just 10:49 into the game when he received a bench minor and game misconduct after Philadelphia fell behind 4-0.
Victor Hedman scored twice and added an assist for Tampa Bay. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 25 saves for his second shutout of the season and 34th overall. Nicholas Paul, Conor Sheary, Brayden Point, Anthony Duclair and Brandon Hagel also scored for the Lightning. Raddysh became the first Lightning defencemen to have three assists in the first period.
Flyers goalie Samuel Ersson was pulled after allowing four goals on 15 shots and was replaced by Felix Sandstrom.
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CAPITALS 4 BLACKHAWKS 1
WASHINGTON (AP) – Tom Wilson scored for a second consecutive game, Charlie Lindgren robbed Connor Bedard among his 29 saves, and Washington beat Chicago to keep pace in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
Hendrix Lapierre, Michael Sgarbossa and Sonny Milano also scored for Washington, which is 7-2-1 in its last 10. The Capitals moved five points back of Philadelphia for third place in the Metropolitan Division. They also are within striking distance of Tampa Bay and Detroit for wild-card spots.
Tyler Johnson scored for the Blackhawks, and goalie Petr Mrazek allowed four goals on 26 shots.
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SHARKS 2 SENATORS 1
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) – Thomas Bordeleau scored two power-play goals, Magnus Chrona made 31 saves for his first NHL win and San Jose beat Ottawa to snap a nine-game losing streak.
It was Bordeleau’s first career multigoal game.
Mikael Granlund had two assists and William Eklund added an assist to extend his point streak to a career-long five games.
Tim Stutzle scored a power-play goal for Ottawa, which lost its seventh straight game despite outshooting San Jose 34-21. Joonas Korpisalo made 19 saves in the loss.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
