Columbus Blue Jackets forward Johnny Gaudreau infuriated the Los Angeles Kings by ending the overtime debate in a 6-5 win Sunday at Nationwide Arena.
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The man who signed a seven-year contract worth a total of $68.25 million on July 13 benefited from a generous return granted by Jonathan Quick, after a very good move by Patrik Laine.
It was a cold shower for the Kings, who had scored two unanswered goals in the third period to force overtime. Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe were the authors of these successes.
The first of these two skaters had also hit the mark in the second period. Other scorers for the Californian club were Blake Lizotte and Jared Anderson-Dolan.
Among the Jackets, Boone Jenner, Laine, Jack Roslovic (twice) and Kirill Marchenko also beat Quick. The latter scored his first career goal in the National Hockey League (NHL). The 2018 second-round pick was playing his fourth game in the top hockey league in the world.
The Kraken returns to victory
At the BB&T Center, the Seattle Kraken snapped a three-game losing streak by beating the Florida Panthers 5-2.
Matthew Beniers, Andre Burakovsky and Yanni Gourde each had a goal and an assist in the win. Jordan Eberle and Daniel Sprong were the other scorers in winning this duel.
In the crowd favorites camp, veteran Eric Staal scored his first goal in a Panthers uniform. The 38-year-old athlete was hired by the Florida club after obtaining a professional trial and missing out on the 2021-2022 season. It was the 442nd goal in 1,315 NHL games for the second-rounder selected in the 2003 draft.
Lars Eller celebrates
At Canada Life Center, Lars Eller celebrated his 900th NHL game by hitting the target in the Washington Capitals’ 5-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets.
The one who began his career with the Montreal Canadiens has now amassed 159 successes and 201 assists for 360 points in the Bettman circuit.
Alex Ovechkin, Marcus Johansson, Trevor van Riemsdyk and Evgeni Kuznetsov also scored for the “Caps”. The Jets’ cue came from the sticks of Adam Lowry and Pierre-Luc Dubois.
In the case of the Quebecer, it was his 14th goal in 27 games in 2022-2023.