National Hockey League Game Capsules

New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) – Chris Kreider’s first career hat trick fueled New York’s 5-2 victory over Vancouver, spoiling John Tortorella’s return to Manhattan. Saturday’s matchup was the first between the teams since they essentially swapped head coaches in the offseason, with Alain Vigneault taking over the Blueshirts and Tortorella filling the Canucks’ vacancy after both were fired from the opposite posts. Rick Nash and Michael Del Zotto also lit the lamp, while Derek Stepan added a pair of assists for the Rangers, who have won four of their last six. Cam Talbot made 35 saves, improving to 6-1-0 on the year.

Final Score: Montreal 4, Toronto 2

Montreal, QC (SportsNetwork.com) – Max Pacioretty scored two power-play goals and Carey Price made 12 of his 34 saves in a spotless third period, lifting the Montreal Canadiens to a 4-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday. Pacioretty had one shorthanded goal and one on the power play and P.K. Subban and Tomas Plekanec also scored for the Canadiens, who bounced back from a loss to Washington in a shootout on Friday to win for the fifth time in six games. James van Riemsdyk and Mason Raymond had goals 22 seconds apart in the second period but Toronto failed to score again in its fourth straight loss and went 0-3 on a three-game road trip. Jonathan Bernier gave up four goals on 39 shots and the Maple Leafs went winless on the road in November (0-4-3). They had a three-game road winning streak against Montreal snapped.

Final Score: Boston 3, Columbus 1

Boston, MA (SportsNetwork.com) – Milan Lucic scored twice and Chad Johnson needed to make just 13 saves as Boston bested Columbus, 3-1, at TD Garden. Patrice Bergeron also tallied and David Krejci added a pair of assists for the Bruins, winners in four of their last five. Ryan Johansen provided the lone offense for the Blue Jackets, who finished 5-8-3 in the month of November. Curtis McElhinney played well in defeat, stopping 33 pucks.

Final Score: Pittsburgh 5, Florida 1

Sunrise, FL (SportsNetwork.com) – Evgeni Malkin had one goal and three assists in the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 5-1 victory over the Florida Panthers on Saturday. Malkin has four goals and 13 assists during an eight-game point streak for the Penguins, who are 6-1-1 over their last eight games. James Neal, Chris Kunitz, Joe Vitale and Jussi Jokinen also lit the lamp. Jeff Zatkoff stopped 39-of-40 shots in the victory. Scottie Upshall scored the lone goal for the Panthers, who have lost four of five. Tim Thomas was benched after turning aside 9- of-13 shots over two periods. Scott Clemmensen made eight saves in the third frame.

Final Score: New Jersey 1, Buffalo 0 (OT)

Newark, NJ (SportsNetwork.com) – Steve Bernier scored the game winner with 40.2 seconds left in overtime to lift the New Jersey Devils to a 1-0 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday at Prudential Center. Late in the extra session, Buffalo turned the puck over in the neutral zone and Bernier weaved into the offensive zone and stopped on a dime near the top of the left circle before rifling a wrister past the glove-side of Jhonas Enroth to send the Devils to their second straight victory. Cory Schneider stopped all 15 shots he faced to notch his second shutout of the season and 11th of his career. Enroth saved 23 shots in defeat for the Sabres, who have lost six of their last seven games.

Final Score: Washington 3, NY Islanders 2 (OT)

Uniondale, NY (SportsNetwork.com) – Alex Ovechkin scored the game-winner just 2:04 into overtime to lift the Washington Capitals to a 3-2 win over the New York Islanders on Saturday. Thomas Vanek put the Islanders on top on his goal with 1:51 remaining, but Nicklas Backstrom tied things up with 49 seconds to go to force the extra session. Ovechkin skated along the right side and cut back to the middle of the ice before putting a shot on goal that was turned away. Moments later Ovechkin corraled a loose disc and succesfully deposited into the back of the net. Aaron Volpatti also scored and Braden Holtby made 37 saves for the Caps, winners in two straight. Cal Clutterbuck added a goal for the Islanders, losers in six straight and 11 of their last 13 games overall. Anders Nilsson allowed all three goals on 30 shots.

Final Score: Philadelphia 3, Nashville 2 (SO)

Nashville, TN (SportsNetwork.com) – Vincent Lecavalier notched the lone goal in the shootout and Steve Mason came up with 34 saves, as Philadelphia halted a 13-plus-year winless streak in Nashville with a 3-2 victory at Bridgestone Arena. Lecavalier finished the first round by scoring on the forehand, then Mason halted tries from Matt Hendricks and Matt Cullen to end the contest. It was the club’s first win in the Music City since a 2-0 result on March 21, 2000, snapping a five-game winless string. Claude Giroux and Sean Couturier scored in regulation for the Flyers, who kicked off a six- game road trip with their second straight win and fifth in the last seven overall. Mike Fisher and Colin Wilson lit the lamp for the Predators, losers for just the third time in their last eight outings. Marek Mazanec took the loss despite 22 stops.

Final Score: Chicago 5, Phoenix 2

Glendale, AZ (SportsNetwork.com) – Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa both had a goal and an assist Saturday and the Chicago Blackhawks pushed their winning streak to six games with a 5-2 decision over the Phoenix Coyotes. Andrew Shaw, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Brandon Bollig also scored and Antti Raanta made 32 saves in his second career start while Corey Crawford got the night off. The Blackhawks went 6-1 on a seven-game road trip, winning out after a loss to Colorado on Nov. 19. They have an NHL-best 44 points. Rob Klinkhammer and Martin Hanzal scored for the Coyotes, who have lost three straight at home but still own a 9-2-2 record in their building. Mike Smith gave up four goals on 35 shots. Kane redirected Hossa’s slap shot from the high left side for a power play goal 2:34 into the game. The Blackhawks built a 3-0 lead in the first period after goals by Shaw on a backhand at 9:18 and Hjalmarsson from the high slot 1:46 later. Phoenix rebounded with a pair of goals in the second period, but any thought of a comeback was squashed by two Blackhawks goals in the third.

Final Score: Colorado 3, Minnesota 2 (SO)

Denver, CO (SportsNetwork.com) – Ryan O’Reilly beat Josh Harding through the legs in the shootout and Semyon Varlamov sealed the Colorado Avalanche’s 3-2 win over the Minnesota Wild on Saturday with a snappy glove save at the other end. In the second game of a home-and-home, the Avalanche bounced back after giving up two goals in the last 3:27 of the third period, including Mikko Koivu’s tying goal with 5.7 seconds left. The Avalanche won the opener 3-1 in St. Paul on Friday. Koivu was one of three Minnesota skaters to be denied by Varlamov in the Avs’ first shootout of the season. Varlamov’s glove save on Jason Pominville came after O’Reilly scored the shootout’s only goal in the third round. Gabriel Landeskog and Nathan MacKinnon scored in regulation for Colorado, which has won five of six. Varlamov had 35 saves in his last game before he appears in court Monday on a misdemeanor assault charge. Three of the Avs’ last five games have gone past regulation. They have won all three.

Final Score: Calgary 2, Los Angeles 1

Los Angeles, CA (SportsNetwork.com) – Mike Cammalleri’s backhander with 23 seconds left lifted the Calgary Flames to a 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday. Cammalleri took a pass from Mikael Backlund in front of the net and managed to shovel a backhander past Ben Scrivens as he fell to the ice. Karri Ramo was able to hold strong the rest of the way to seal the win. Blair Jones also scored and Ramo made 21 saves in the win, Calgary’s first in three tries. Justin Williams notched the lone goal for the Kings, losers in four of their last five.

Final Score: San Jose 4, Anaheim 3 (SO)

San Jose, CA (SportsNetwork.com) – Joe Pavelski scored in the second round of the shootout to lift the San Jose Sharks over the Anaheim Ducks, 4-3, in a battle for first place in the Pacific Division. Both teams came into Saturday’s game with 39 points. Patrick Marleau had a goal and an assist for the Sharks, who went 5-0-0 on a five-game homestand. Marty Havlat and Logan Couture also lit the lamp. Antti Niemi stopped 28-of-31 shots in the victory. Corey Perry, Alex Grant and Ben Lovejoy scored for the Ducks, who had won three of four coming in. Jonas Hiller turned aside 32-of-35 shots.

Categorized in: NHL