Nikita Kucherov, one week after requesting a trade, scored a power-play goal 3:23 into overtime, lifting the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 4-3 win over the Minnesota Wild on Saturday in Saint Paul, Minn.
Since news broke that Kucherov wants out of Tampa Bay, he has a goal and six assists in four games. In OT on Saturday, one of the franchise’s all-time greats took the puck between the circles and fired in a shot to end a long sequence in the Minnesota end.
Jake Guentzel had two goals and an assist for Tampa Bay, which rallied from a two-goal deficit in the final six minutes of regulation. Charle-Edouard D’Astous had a goal and two assists, Kucherov added an assist and Brayden Point and John Carlson each logged two helpers. Dennis Hildeby collected 19 saves as the Lightning won their third game in a row.
Maxim Shabanov scored two goals to lead Minnesota, which earned a point for the eighth consecutive game (6-0-2). Blake Coleman also tallied, and Wild goaltender Calvin Pickard allowed four goals on 34 shots.
Devils 5, Islanders 4 (OT)
Jack Hughes scored 1:18 into overtime for New Jersey, which overcame a two-goal, third-period deficit to prevail in Elmont, N.Y.
Evan Rodrigues, Declan Chisholm, Luke Evangelista and Dougie Hamilton also scored for the Devils, who have won four straight and eight of their past nine games. Jake Allen made 19 saves. Hughes and Evangelista each finished with two points.
Anthony Duclair, Matthew Schaefer, Simon Holmstrom and Victor Eklund scored for the Islanders, who have lost three straight (0-2-1). Ilya Sorokin made 45 saves, Bo Horvat logged two assists, and Holmstrom also had two points.
Oilers 4, Canucks 2
Leon Draisaitl scored twice in a three-point performance and Connor McDavid added a trio of helpers to lead host Edmonton to a victory over league cellar dweller Vancouver.
Mattias Ekholm and Jason Dickinson also scored for the Oilers, who sit atop the Pacific Division. Goaltender Devon Levi made 20 saves after missing seven games due to an undisclosed injury. McDavid extended his assist streak to 18 games, tying him with Adam Oates (1992-93 season) for the second-longest spree in league history, behind Wayne Gretzky’s mark of 23 set in 1990-91.
Max Sasson and Brock Boeser replied for the Canucks, who have lost five straight games and have managed only one victory in their last 16 clashes (1-14-1). Goalie Leevi Merilainen stopped 26 shots.
Capitals 4, Panthers 3
Pierre-Luc Dubois and Aliaksei Protas each had a goal and an assist as Washington held on for a home win against Florida.
Jack St. Ivany scored his first career NHL goal, Alex Tuch also tallied and Logan Thompson made 27 saves for the Capitals, who snapped a two-game losing streak.
Brady Tkachuk scored twice, Sam Bennett netted a goal and Matthew Tkachuk had three assists for the Panthers, who have dropped two of their last three games. Akira Schmid stopped 27 shots.
Predators 3, Blues 1
Ross Colton scored the eventual game-winner as Nashville edged visiting St. Louis.
Steven Stamkos scored and added an assist, and Nick Perbix also scored for the Predators, extending their winning streak to four and posting points in seven of eight (5-1-2). Roman Josi chipped in a pair of assists, and Juuse Saros made 25 saves.
Jimmy Snuggerud replied for St. Louis and Joel Hofer stopped 26 shots for the Blues, who have dropped three in a row (0-2-1) and are 3-6-1 on the road this season.
Senators 4, Mammoth 2
Nick Cousins buried a late go-ahead goal as Ottawa earned back-to-back victories for the first time since Oct. 12 with a home win over Utah.
Samuel Ersson made 30 saves for his third consecutive victory in place of the injured Linus Ullmark (lower body). Fabian Zetterlund, Michael Amadio and Shane Pinto also found the back of the net for the Senators.
Clayton Keller and Barrett Hayton buried for the Mammoth, while Karel Vejmelka finished with 17 saves as he dropped his third straight decision.
Rangers 4, Kraken 3
Tye Kartye scored against his former team and goaltender Joonas Korpisalo won his season debut as New York built a four-goal lead and held on to win at Seattle.
Gabe Perreault, Jaroslav Chmelar and Pavel Dorofeyev also scored while Alexis Lafreniere and Mika Zibanejad contributed two assists apiece for the Rangers, who won their third in a row. Korpisalo, back from a lower-body injury, made 25 saves.
Kaapo Kakko, Vince Dunn and Jordan Eberle scored third-period goals and Berkly Catton had two assists for the Kraken. Joey Daccord was pulled in the first period after allowing three goals on 10 shots. Philipp Grubauer stopped 15 of 16 attempts the rest of the way.
Canadiens 4, Maple Leafs 2
Alex Newhook scored two goals as visiting Montreal held on to top Toronto.
Trailing 3-0 after two periods, William Nylander and Gavin McKenna scored in a 55-second span to cut the gap to 3-2 with 12:46 remaining in regulation. But Zachary Bolduc responded with a power-play goal five minutes later as the Canadiens won for the seventh time in eight games.
Chris Kreider scored his third as a Canadien while Jacob Fowler (8-1-1) turned away 26 shots for his eighth win of the season. Toronto’s Sergei Bobrovsky made 24 saves and has now allowed three goals or more in 11 of 12 starts.
Hurricanes 9, Blackhawks 2
Jordan Martinook scored two first-period goals and Andrei Svechnikov also had two goals as Carolina built a 7-0 lead through two periods in crushing Chicago in Raleigh, N.C.
Seth Jarvis, Jackson Blake, Sebastian Aho, Alexander Nikishin and Shayne Gostisbehere also scored for the Hurricanes. The nine goals tied the Carolina record since the franchise relocated from Hartford, Conn., in 1997. Goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov bounced back from his first loss of the season with 18 saves. He won his first 10 starts to set a franchise record.
The Blackhawks, completing a three-game road trip, lost their sixth consecutive game and have dropped nine of their last 10. Chicago’s Roman Kantserov and Connor Bedard scored in the third period, with Alex Vlasic assisting on both goals. Goaltender Spencer Knight allowed six goals on 17 shots before Arvid Soderblom replaced
Stars 4, Sharks 3
Thomas Harley scored the eventual game-winner and added two assists as host Dallas held off San Jose.
Roope Hintz recorded a goal and an assist while Jamie Benn and Jason Robertson also scored for the Stars, who went 3-for-5 on the power play. Wyatt Johnston and Mikko Rantanen each had two assists, and Jake Oettinger made 20 saves.
Will Smith had a goal and an assist for the Sharks, who lost their fifth consecutive game. Michael Misa and Ivar Stenberg also scored, Macklin Celebrini recorded three assists, and Alex Nedeljkovic turned aside 26 shots.
Penguins 5, Kings 2
Tommy Novak and Sidney Crosby scored two goals each to help Pittsburgh end a four-game losing streak with a win at Los Angeles.
Egor Chinakhov added a goal, Evgeni Malkin had three assists, Kris Letang contributed two assists and Sergei Murashov made 26 saves for the Penguins.
Corey Perry and Alex Laferriere scored and Darcy Kuemper made 14 saves for the Kings, who have dropped two of three.
Avalanche 4, Red Wings 0
Martin Necas scored twice and added two assists, Mackenzie Blackwood made 27 saves for his first shutout of the season, and Colorado defeated Detroit in Denver.
Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar had a goal and two assists each for the Avalanche, who recorded the victory in coach Jared Bednar’s 800th game behind the bench.
Daniil Tarasov turned away 25 shots for the Red Wings, who started their four-game road trip with a loss. Detroit has dropped three in a row and four of its past five games.