National Hockey League Game Capsules

New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) – Alex Tanguay scored the decisive shootout goal as the visiting Colorado Avalanche topped the New York Rangers 4-3 on Thursday night. Tanguay hit the post late in overtime, but he wasn’t denied in the tiebreaker. The third shooter for Colorado, Tanguay faked a shot to get New York goaltender Henrik Lundqvist down and roofed the puck. Semyon Varlamov, who made two saves in the final three seconds of regulation, then stopped Lee Stempniak as Colorado celebrated just its fifth win of the season. Nathan MacKinnon tied the game with a power-play goal in the third period for the Avalanche, who rebounded from Tuesday’s 6-0 road loss to the New York Islanders. Matt Duchene scored and assisted on Tanguay’s goal, while Varlamov finished with 30 saves. All three Rangers goals came in the second period with Derek Stepan, Dan Girardi and Kevin Hayes each scoring. Lundqvist made 26 saves for New York, which was coming off an impressive 5-0 home win over Pittsburgh on Tuesday. The loss was the fifth in the last seven games for the Manhattanites.

Final Score: Winnipeg 3, Carolina 1

Raleigh, NC (SportsNetwork.com) – Blake Wheeler’s two goals and 22 saves from Michael Hutchinson enabled the Winnipeg Jets to halt the Carolina Hurricanes’ recent surge with a 3-1 victory at PNC Arena. Michael Frolik tacked on an empty-net goal, while Mark Scheifele and Mark Stuart each recorded two assists as the Jets dealt Carolina its first regulation loss in November. The Hurricanes began the month on a 5-0-1 tear after going winless in October. Elias Lindholm had the lone goal for Carolina on a second-period power play. Cam Ward stopped 34-of-36 shots in defeat.

Final Score: Montreal 5, Boston 1

Montreal, QC (SportsNetwork.com) – Max Pacioretty potted a pair of goals as the Montreal Canadiens bested the Boston Bruins by a 5-1 count at Bell Centre. Dale Weise scored on a penalty shot, with Lars Eller and Jiri Sekac adding a tally each for the Canadiens, who tied a season high by winning their fourth straight game. Carey Price came up with 21 saves for the win, as Montreal took both home contests in the season series against their bitter rivals. Dougie Hamilton picked up the lone score for the Bruins, who failed both ends of their eastern Canadian road trip. Niklas Svedberg was on the hook for all five goals on 34 shots.

Final Score: San Jose 2, Tampa Bay 1

Tampa, FL (SportsNetwork.com) – Antti Niemi held down the NHL’s top scoring team with 32 saves as the San Jose Sharks topped the Tampa Bay Lightning, 2-1, on Thursday. Tyler Kennedy and Joe Thornton provided goals for the Sharks, who improved to 2-2-0 on their seven-game road trip. Ben Bishop made 37 saves and Steven Stamkos scored the lone goal for the Lightning, who were edged by the Blackhawks in a shootout on Tuesday but had not lost in regulation since Oct. 25 in Minnesota.

Final Score: St. Louis 4, Nashville 3

St. Louis, MO (SportsNetwork.com) – Paul Stastny broke a tie with 5:54 remaining in the third period, and the St. Louis Blues beat the Nashville Predators 4-3 at Scottrade Center. Stastny won a faceoff and then deflected Kevin Shattenkirk’s shot from the right point past Pekka Rinne for the go- ahead tally. T.J. Oshie returned to the lineup after missing the last seven St. Louis games with a concussion and scored his first goal of the season. Vladimir Tarasenko and Carl Gunnarsson both registered a goal and an assist and Jake Allen made 22 saves for the Blues, who have won nine of their last 10 games. The lone loss was to the same visiting Predators last Saturday. Filip Forsberg scored in his sixth straight game and picked up two assists for Nashville, which had its win streak snapped at three games. Roman Josi joined Forsberg with three points, while Rinne stopped 23 shots.

Final Score: Minnesota 6, Buffalo 3

St. Paul, MN (SportsNetwork.com) – Nino Niederreiter recorded his first career hat trick as Minnesota rode a four-goal first period to a 6-3 triumph over Buffalo at Xcel Energy Center. Kyle Brodziak, Ryan Carter and Jared Spurgeon also lit the lamp for the Wild, who put a four-game losing streak to rest. Charlie Coyle and Justin Fontaine each chipped in a pair of assists. Darcy Kuemper was yanked 6:24 into the contest after allowing goals on the only two shots he faced. Niklas Backstrom picked up the win in relief by making 25 stops the rest of the way. Rasmus Ristolainen, Zemgus Girgensons and Torrey Mitchell scored for the Sabres, losers in five straight and eight of nine. Jhonas Enroth allowed five goals on 38 shots in defeat.

Final Score: Calgary 5, Arizona 3

Calgary, AB (SportsNetwork.com) – Paul Byron tallied twice and Sven Baertschi added two assists as Calgary dropped Arizona by a 5-3 count at the Saddledome on Thursday. Mark Giordano, David Jones and Sean Monahan provided supplemental offense for the Flames, winners in five of their last seven outings. Jonas Hiller improved to 8-4-1 thanks to a 20-save effort. Shane Doan and Antoine Vermette registered a goal and helper each for the Coyotes, losers of three straight and six of nine. Joe Vitale also scored, but Mike Smith was beaten five times on just 25 shots in the setback.

Final Score: Ottawa 4, Edmonton 3 (OT)

Edmonton, AB (SportsNetwork.com) – Mike Hoffman scored at 2:39 of overtime to lift the Ottawa Senators to a 4-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers at Rexall Place. It was the second goal for Hoffman, who scored along with Alex Chiasson and Milan Michalek during a dominant first period for the Senators. The Oilers battled back with a goal in the second period and a pair in the third. They had a power play late in regulation, but couldn’t convert. On the game-winner, Hoffman buried a wrist shot from the high slot. Craig Anderson made 34 saves for the Senators, who snapped a three-game slide (0-1-2). Rookie Leon Draisaitl, Jordan Eberle and Jeff Petry scored for the Oilers, who have dropped six of eight. Ben Scrivens stopped 26 shots in the setback.

Final Score: Dallas 2, Los Angeles 0

Los Angeles, CA (SportsNetwork.com) – Kari Lehtonen posted 27 stops for his first shutout of the year to lead the Dallas Stars in a 2-0 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday. Ryan Garbutt and Jason Spezza scored for the Stars, who have won their past two after dropping seven in a row. Martin Jones allowed both goals on 27 shots for the Kings, who have lost seven of their last nine games.

Categorized in: NHL