Saturday in the NHL | Penguins beat Lightning 5-4, referee Steve Kozari leaves on stretcher

Michael Bunting gives Penguins victory

Michael Bunting broke the deadlock with 5:28 remaining in the third period on Saturday, leading the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 5-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Bunting also had two assists.

Evgeni Malkin provided two goals before setting up Bunting’s net.

Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang also scored for the winners.

Making an eighth straight start, Alex Nedeljkovic blocked 31 shots.

Steven Stamkos beat him twice on the power play, while the Lightning’s other goals came from Nick Paul and Anthony Duclair.

Undefeated in their last four games, the Penguins occupy the second additional place giving access to the playoffs in the East.

Referee Steve Kozari left on a stretcher after a collision with the Lightning’s Haydn Fleury in the seventh minute of the third period.

Kozari was able to move his arms. Fleury did not return to the match.

Wes Crosby, Associated Press

The Blackhawks win 3-2 against the Stars

Connor Bedard scored a 22^e goal and the Chicago Blackhawks defeated Dallas 3-2 on Saturday, ending the Stars’ eight-game winning streak.

Bedard hit the mark on the power play early in the second period.

The star rookie has 59 points this season in 62 games.

His teammates Andreas Athanasiou and Seth Jones added goals in the second period.

Jones has eight goals this season, including seven in his last 14 games.

Petr Mrazek shined with 42 saves, only beaten by Roope Hintz and Jamie Benn.

Although last in their section, the Hawks have a respectable record of 8-6-0 in their last 14 games.

First round pick of the Stars in 2020, Mavrik Bourque played his first game in the National League.

The 22-year-old from Plessisville played for 10:56, getting two shots.

Bourque worked for four seasons with the Shawinigan Cataractes.

The Canadian Press

Namestnikov excels with three points in a 4-2 Jets win

Vladislav Namestnikov provided a goal and three points as the Winnipeg Jets posted their third straight victory on Tuesday, winning 4-2 against the Minnesota Wild.

Alex Iafallo, Kyle Connor and Morgan Barron were the other scorers for the Jets, who began a four-game road trip.

Connor Hellebuyck blocked 25 shots, being beaten twice by Kirill Kaprizov.

The Jets have won all four of their games against the Wild this season.

Their record against Central Section clubs is 17-5-1.

When the Jets lead after two periods, their performance is 34-1-1.

Marc-André Fleury stopped 21 shots for the Wild.

The Jets will play their next meeting Tuesday evening in Nashville.

Mike Cook, Associated Press

Jesper Boqvist decides in favor of the Bruins at 2:05 in overtime

Jesper Boqvist scored at 2:05 in overtime and the Boston Bruins collected their fourth straight victory on Saturday, winning 3-2 over the Florida Panthers.

Leaders in the Atlantic Division, the Bruins have a five-point cushion ahead of the Panthers, in second place.

Charlie McAvoy and Charlie Coyle generated the other goals for the Bruins.

Boston is 5-1-0 since coach Jim Montgomery raised his voice during practice on March 25, dissatisfied with his team’s performance.

Linus Ullmark made 28 saves, being beaten by Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov.

Sergei Bobrovsky blocked 26 shots.

Last spring, Florida dismissed the Bruins in the first round, after the latter set NHL records with 65 wins and 135 points.

The Panthers will host the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday, kicking off a four-game losing streak at Sunrise.

Ken Powtak, Associated Press

William Eklund completes hat-trick in overtime, giving Sharks 3-2 victory

William Eklund completed a hat trick in overtime on Saturday, allowing the San Jose Sharks to win 3-2 at the expense of the St. Louis Blues.

Eklund scored with a wrist shot at 3:56, during a two-on-one.

The Blues had overcome a 2-0 deficit thanks to goals from Jordan Kyrou and Brayden Schenn in the third period.

Schenn tied the game at 17:31 with Joel Hofer having retired to the bench in favor of one more attacker. Hofer blocked 22 shots.

Devin Cooley made 34 saves, getting his first National League victory.

Cooley is a native of Los Gatos, south of San Jose. He was making his third career start.

Eric He, Associated Press

Severson and Werenski total four goals in a Blue Jackets victory

Damon Severson and Zach Werenski scored two goals each on Saturday, propelling the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 6-2 victory against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Erik Gudbranson and Nick Blankenburg also scored for Columbus.

Jet Greaves blocked 37 shots and the Jackets extended the Flyers’ losing streak to seven.

The Blue Jackets are heavily injury-plagued: Saturday’s roster included seven players who played with Cleveland in the AHL last month.

Olle Lycksell and Adam Ginning scored for the Flyers, while Samuel Errson made 28 saves.

Despite their current woes, the Flyers are fighting to reach the playoffs in the East, via the last of the two additional spots.

They will play again Tuesday evening in Montreal.

Mitch Stacy, Associated Press

Varlamov stops 40 shots in Islanders’ 2-0 win over Nashville

Semyon Varlamov made a career-high 40 saves this season, helping the New York Islanders win 2-0 against the Nashville Predators on Saturday.

Varlamov recorded his third shutout this season.

Noah Dobson and Kyle Palmieri scored for the Islanders, who deserved their fourth straight victory.

Third in their section, the Islanders also have a two-point priority ahead of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, who are lurking behind.

Their next match will take place on Tuesday at home, against the Rangers.

Aged 35, Varlamov has 41 career shutouts. It was his first since November 2, against the Washington Capitals.

Kevin Lankinen stopped 28 shots for the Predators, who have lost four of their last five games.

Scott Charles, Associated Press

The Devils return to winning ways and beat the Senators 4-3

Brendan Smith scored a goal and two assists to help the New Jersey Devils defeat the Senators 4-3 on Saturday night in Ottawa.

The Devils ended a three-game losing streak.

Senators forward Brady Tkachuk set a record for hits in a game with 16. Defenseman Nikita Zadorov had 15 in a game during the 2017-18 season.

Erik Haula, Ondrej Palat and Nico Hischier also found the back of the net in the victory. Jake Allen stopped 25 shots.

Jake Sanderson, Claude Giroux and Tkachuk scored the goals for the Senators, who have lost their last three games.

Anton Forsberg started the game for the Senators, but gave way to Joonas Korpisalo in the first period, after allowing three goals on 10 shots.

Korpisalo allowed one goal on 18 shots.

The Senators trailed 4-1 at the start of the third period, before seeing Giroux reduce the gap to two goals with a power play goal at 3:37 of play.

Tkachuk brought his team within a goal of the Devils with 5:43 remaining in regulation. The Senators forward took advantage of a loose puck, after seeing it roll along the boards following a missed shot from Hischier. Tkachuk sped towards Allen alone and scored his 34^e goal of the campaign.

Sanderson scored the Senators’ first goal just 33 seconds into the second period.

The Devils scored three times in the first period and led 3-0 after 20 minutes.

Lisa Wallace, The Canadian Press