Read the reports of the games played Friday in the NHL.
The Bruins have the upper hand over the Devils
David Pastrnak scored two of the team’s four goals in the second period as the Boston Bruins beat the New Jersey Devils 4-3 on Friday.
Patrice Bergeron and Jake DeBrusk also scored for the Bruins, while Linus Ullmark stopped 36 shots for 19e victory on his record, an NHL high. David Krejci and Pavel Zacha each had two assists.
The Bruins have won their fourth straight game.
Jack Hughes, Tomas Tatar and Yegor Sharangovich replied for the Devils. Mackenzie Blackwood made 14 saves before being forced out of the net after two periods.
The Devils have lost seven of their last eight games (1-6-1) and fell to 3-6-2 in December.
The Bruins improved to 9-4-1 when they allow the first goal this season. A three-goal push in the first 10 minutes of the second period helped them take control of the game.
Pat Pickens, Associated Press
A four-point night for Bo Horvat in a 5-2 Canucks win
PHOTO JEFF MCINTOSH, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Bo Horvat and Ilya Mikheyev of the Vancouver Canucks
Bo Horvat provided two goals and two assists on Friday to help the Vancouver Canucks win 5-2 at the expense of the Edmonton Oilers.
JT Miller also scored a brace for the visitors.
The Canucks’ other goal came from Ilya Mikheyev, while Collin Delia made 31 saves.
In the other clan, Connor McDavid signed a 30e goal and Derek Ryan a fifth.
McDavid has scored at least one point in his last 15 games.
Stuart Skinner stopped 25 shots for the Oilers, who have lost four of their last five meetings.
The ceremonial puck drop was made by soccer star Alphonso Davies, an Edmonton native.
Shane Jones, The Canadian Press
A first win in nine games for the Hawks, 5-2 against Columbus
PHOTO PAUL BEATY, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Blackhawks’ Jonathan Toews (19) is hailed by teammates for his goal against the Blue Jackets.
Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane each had a goal and two assists on Friday as the Chicago Blackhawks prevailed 5-2 over the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Hawks were ending an eight-game losing streak.
The club had lost their last 11 home games.
Max Domi, Andreas Athanasiou and Taylor Raddysh were the other scorers for the winners.
Alex Stalock made 27 saves for Chicago, returning from a concussion.
The Jackets’ losing streak is now six games. During this period, the team scored only nine times.
Marcus Bjork and Kirill Marchenko were their scorers on Friday.
Daniil Tarasov allowed four goals on 20 shots, then gave way to Joonas Korpisalo. The latter had not played for six games, injured in the lower body.
Matt Carlson, Associated Press
Girard gives the Avs the win by scoring at 4:17 in overtime
PHOTO CHRISTOPHER HANEWINCKEL, USA TODAY SPORTS
Quebecer Samuel Girard (49) celebrates the victory with goaltender Alexandar Georgiev (40) and his other Avalanche teammates.
Samuel Girard scored at 4:17 in overtime and the Colorado Avalanche defeated the Nashville Predators 3-2 on Friday.
The 24-year-old defender converted Evan Rodrigues’ pass in a two-on-one. He scored his second goal this season.
Mikko Rantanen got a goal and an assist. In 20 career games against Nashville, he has 10 goals and 21 points.
JT Compher also scored for Colorado, which deserved a third straight victory.
Alexandar Georgiev made 37 saves.
Ryan Johansen and Matt Duchene had the goals for the Preds, while Juuse Saros blocked 43 shots.
Jim Diamond, Associated Press
Aatu Raty scores in his first NHL game
PHOTO DENNIS SCHNEIDLER, USA TODAY SPORTS
Aatu Raty (16) celebrates his first NHL goal, against the Florida Panthers.
Aatu Raty scored in his first-ever National League game on Friday, helping the New York Islanders win 5-1 over the Florida Panthers.
Raty took a pass from Anders Lee and hit the target with a wrist shot from the left circle at 7:10 into the third period.
The 20-year-old Finn was recalled earlier in the day from Bridgeport, AHL.
Anthony Beauvillier completed a double in an empty net.
Ryan Pulock and Zach Parise also scored for the Islanders, backing up a 22-save outing from Ilya Sorokin.
The Islanders had lost their last five games against the Panthers.
Matthew Tkachuk netted for the Panthers, who dropped for a third straight game. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 38 shots.
Florida won’t play again until Dec. 29; the Montreal Canadiens will then meet at Sunrise.
Allan Kreda, Associated Press
An eighth straight win for the Hurricanes, 6-5 against the Flyers
PHOTO KARL B DEBLAKER, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Flyers goalkeeper Travis Konecny (11)
Jesper Fast scored twice in the first period on Friday to guide the Carolina Hurricanes to a 6-5 win over the Philadelphia Flyers.
Carolina is undefeated for eight games; the club also set an organizational record with 14 consecutive games with at least one point.
Stefan Noesen, Andrei Svechnikov, Jordan Martinook and Jesperi Kotkaniemi were the other Hurricanes scorers.
Jordan Staal was instrumental in three goals.
Martinook, Martin Necas and Brett Pesce had two assists each, while Antti Raanta made 27 saves.
Sebastian Aho was back after missing seven games with a lower body injury.
He is the team’s third in scorer, with 11 goals and 16 assists.
Travis Sanheim, Tony DeAngelo, Nick Seeler, Scott Laughton and Travis Konecny replied for the Flyers.
Philadelphia has only one win in four games.
Bob Sutton, Associated Press