Thursday in the NHL | Goaltender Saros makes record 64 saves in Predators win

Predators goaltender Juuse Saros made a club-record 64 saves as the Nashville squad won 5-3 against the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday.

Saros stopped all 28 shots he faced in the third period.

Mark Jankowski, Filip Forsberg, Mattias Ekholm and Cody Glass threaded the needle for the Predators, who have earned a point in four straight games. Colton Sissons scored an empty-netter and Alexandre Carrier provided two assists.

Paul Stastny, Brady Skjei and Jordan Staal scored for the Hurricanes. Brett Pesce had two assists and Pyotr Kochetkov stopped 20 shots.

Left winger Max Pacioretty played his first game for the Hurricanes and played on the fourth line. It was also his first game of the season.

Pacioretty was one of the main catches of the offseason for the Hurricanes, who acquired him from the Vegas Golden Knights. In August, he underwent surgery for a torn Achilles tendon and was expected to miss up to six months.

Associated Press

The Capitals have the upper hand over the Blue Jackets

TJ Oshie scored twice and the Washington Capitals used a four-goal second period to beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 6-2 on Thursday.

The Capitals thus clinched a seventh consecutive victory on the road, a record for the club. Washington has won 12 of its last 15 games, earning a point in eight straight meetings.

For their part, the Blue Jackets have lost nine of their last 10 games.

Oshie, Nicolas Aubé-Kubel, Martin Fehervary and Garnet Hathaway scored in the second period. Oshie and Alex Ovechkin hit the mark in the final third.

Dylan Strome had three assists, Evgeny Kuznetsov assisted with two goals and Darcy Kuemper stopped 25 shots.

Johnny Gaudreau and Gavin Bayreuther hit the target for Columbus, and Emil Bemstrom had two assists. Elvis Merzlikins stopped 31 shots in his first start since Dec. 13.

Associated Press

The Blues beat the Devils 5-3

Ivan Barbashev tied the game late in the second period and allowed Brandon Saad to score the game-winning goal early in the third period to lead the St. Louis Blues to a 5-3 win over the New Jersey Devils on Thursday .

In the win, Robert Thomas scored twice, Jordan Kyrou once and Jordan Binnington made 36 saves. The Blues have improved to 7-2-3 in their last 12 games while directing just 19 shots on the net.

Thomas confirmed the victory for his team by scoring in an empty net with 43 seconds left in the game.

Jack Hughes, who has scored six goals in his last four games, scored twice for the Devils and Nico Hishier hit the mark on a two-man advantage.

Akira Schmid, who was recalled from the Utica Comets of the American Hockey League earlier in the day due to a hand injury suffered by Mackenzie Blackwood, made 14 saves.

Associated Press

Maple Leafs beaten 5-1 by Kraken

Vince Dunn scored the game-winning goal and had two assists to lead the Seattle Kraken to a 5-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday.

Jared McCann had a goal and an assist in the Kraken’s third straight victory (21-12-4).

Eeli Tolvanen opened the scoring for the Kraken on the power play. Rookie Matty Beniers and Alex Wennberg also hit the mark.

Martin Jones stopped 26 shots for the win.

John Tavares replied for the Maple Leafs (23-9-7) on the power play.

Goaltender Matt Murray made 21 saves in his first start of 2023 for the Maple Leafs.

The Canadian Press

Philadelphia gets fourth straight win

Kevin Hayes scored one of the Flyers’ five second-period goals, Morgan Frost had four assists and the Philadelphia club won a fourth straight game, this time 6-2 against the Arizona Coyotes. Thursday.

The Flyers signed their longest winning streak since January 2021.

Travis Konecny ​​scored his 20^e goal of the season to start the Flyers’ second-period push. Joel Farabee, Wade Allison, Ivan Provorov and James van Riemsdyk also scored for the Flyers, who have scored at least three goals in eight straight games.

Carter Hart stopped 21 shots in the win.

Michael Carcone scored late in the first period to give the Coyotes a 1-0 lead, then Nick Ritchie answered Konency’s goal early in the second period to give the Coyotes a 2-1 lead.

Karel Vejmelka made 28 saves for Arizona, which lost a third straight game.

Associated Press

Oilers beat Islanders

Leon Draisaitl scored and added an assist as the Edmonton Oilers snapped a two-game losing streak by beating the New York Islanders 4-2 on Thursday.

Kailer Yamamoto, Dylan Holloway and Zach Hyman also scored for the Oilers (21-17-2), who also snapped a five-game losing streak at home.

Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins each had two assists, while Jack Campbell made 20 saves.

The 42^e McDavid’s assist of the season late in the first period allowed him to reach the 500 career mark, at his 527^e match. Only five players in NHL history have done it faster: Wayne Gretzky (352), Mario Lemieux (433), Peter Stastny (507) and Bobby Orr (522).

Mathew Barzal and Cal Clutterbuck replied for the Islanders (22-16-2), who have lost two of their last three meetings. Ilya Sorokin stopped 34 shots.

The Canadian Press