Saturday in the NHL | Red Wings win 5-2 over Canucks

Doubles from Larkin and Berggren secure victory for Red Wings

Dylan Larkin and Jonatan Berggren each scored two goals as the Detroit Red Wings defeated the Vancouver Canucks 5-2 on Saturday afternoon.

Filip Hronek scored the other goal for the Red Wings, who took a 2-0 lead in the first three minutes of play.

Defenders Ben Chiarot and Moritz Seider had two assists each while goaltender Ville Husso made 32 saves.

Anthony Beauvillier and Elias Petterson netted for the Canucks. Goaltender Spencer Martin blocked 20 pucks.

The two clubs were playing the first game of a home and away series. They will face off Monday in Vancouver.

Dana Gauruder, Associated Press

Minnesota Wild win 3-2 in shootout over New Jersey Devils

Mats Zuccarello and Frederick Gaudreau scored in the shootout as the Minnesota Wild beat the New Jersey Devils 3-2 on Saturday.

Joel Eriksson Ek and Ryan Hartman scored in regulation time for the Wild, while Filip Gustavsson made 27 saves. The win ended a three-game losing streak for the team.

Tomas Tatar scored both goals for the Devils, who were two straight wins. Vitek Vanecek stopped 22 shots.

It was the striker’s first two-goal game since April 12, 2021, when he played for the Canadiens. Tatar’s two goals had given the Devils the lead in the game.

Tatar had 15 goals and 15 assists, in addition to having a -22 differential last season, which was his first with the Devils. This year, the former Canadian has 30 points, including 12 goals, and has a differential of +28.

The game was the first of four in a row for the Devils, who lead the league with a 19-3-3 road record.

Zuccarello scored on the Wild’s first attempt at the shootout, while Tatar couldn’t do the same. After a second missed shot on each side, Gaudreau calmly approached the net and beat the goalkeeper with a shot on the side of the glove.

The victory brings the Wild’s record this season to 5-2 when the game is decided in a shootout.

Mike Cook, Associated Press

Jackets spoil Woll’s home debut, win 4-3 over Leafs

Kent Johnson scored the game-winning goal in the third period and the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 on Saturday.

Boone Jenner and Kirill Marchenko both had a goal and an assist, while Sean Kuraly also scored. Elvis Merzlikins made 26 saves in the win.

For the Maple Leafs, William Nylander, Michael Bunting and Morgan Rielly scored, while Mitchell Marner had two assists.

Joseph Woll blocked 36 shots for the Maple Leafs in his first start of the season and his first career NHL home game.

The 24-year-old Woll was recalled from the minors after Matt Murray suffered an ankle injury ahead of the All-Star weekend break.

The Maple Leafs were leading 2-0 after the first period and yet seemed to be heading for an easy win. The second period, however, was one of their worst of the season, allowing Jenner and Marchenko to even the score.

The home side pulled Woll in favor of an extra forward with less than three minutes left, but the Blue Jackets held on. It is only their second victory in regulation time in the last 11 games.

Nylander reached 60 points for the fourth time in his career.

Associated Press

MacKinnon scores twice as Avalanche win 5-3 over Panthers

Nathan MacKinnon scored two goals and an assist as the Colorado Avalanche won 5-3 against the Florida Panthers on Saturday.

Logan O’Connor, Matt Nieto and Devon Toews also scored for Colorado.

Alexandrar Georgiev stopped 42 shots.

Aaron Ekblad, Sam Bennett and Aleksander Barkov scored for the Panthers, who couldn’t extend their winning streak to four games. Sergei Bobrovsky made 45 saves.

The Avalanche took a 2-0 lead in the first 10 minutes of the game thanks to goals from O’Connor and Nieto.

It wasn’t until the second period that Ekblad beat Georgiev and put the Panthers on the mark.

Just a minute later, Bennett tied the game with his 14^e goal of the season, with a wrist shot from the right circle.

Toews and MacKinnon, however, restored a two-goal lead shortly after. MacKinnon scored his second of the game in an empty net, his 16^e of the season.

George Richards, Associated Press

Four goals for Panarin as they help Rangers earn a 5^e straight game

Artemi Panarin had four goals as the New York Rangers won their fifth straight game on Saturday, beating the Carolina Hurricanes 6-2.

Panarin threaded the needle three times in the third period, finishing the game with 16 goals this season.

Mika Zibanejad scored from the superiority and Kaapo Kakko managed an empty-net goal.

Vincent Trocheck provided two assists and Jaroslav Halak made 27 saves.

The Rangers’ next game is Wednesday in Vancouver.

Teuvo Teravainen and Jesperi Kotkaniemi scored for Carolina, which was undefeated for seven games.

The team had drawn at least one point in 10 straight games.

Jesper Fast was racing a 600^e National League game.

Aaron Beard, Associated Press

Capitals beat Bruins in Boston to win 2-1

Nicklas Backstrom and Garnet Hathaway scored for the Washington Capitals and the visitors won 2-1 against the Boston Bruins, inflicting only a second loss in regulation at home to the NHL’s top team.

The Bruins are 22-2-3 at home. Their other regulation-time loss to Boston came on January 12, as the Kraken won 3-0.

Darcy Kuemper stopped 27 shots in front of the net for the Capitals, who have won three of their last four games.

Nick Foligno scored the home side’s goal and Jeremy Swayman blocked 21 pucks.

For the third straight game, Capitals star Alexander Ovechkin was scoreless, tying his longest streak this season.

At his 11^e game only this season after having hip surgery this summer, Backstrom went 1-0 when he picked up a loose puck that Swayman couldn’t stop. The forward scored on the power play five-on-three early in the game.

Swayman fended off several quality Capitals chances following Backstrom’s goal. Kuemper then made an important pad save against David Krejci.

Capitals coach Peter Laviolette was at his 1402^e game behind the bench of an NHL team, passing Ron Wilson at 11^e rank in history.

The 58-year-old Boston-area native, Laviolette is the fifth-winningest active head coach in the NHL.

He won the Stanley Cup with the Hurricanes in 2006.

Ken Powtak, Associated Press

Tampa Bay wins 3-1 in Dallas, thanks in particular to a brace from Cirelli

Anthony Cirelli scored twice to help the Tampa Bay Lightning win 3-1 against the Dallas Stars on Saturday.

Cirelli broke the 1-1 deadlock at 19:16 in the third period with his fifth goal of the season.

Brandon Hagel completed in an empty net.

Tampa Bay had a 16-5 shots advantage in the third period.

Alex Killorn provided two assists for the Lightning, which is 5-1-1 since Jan. 24.

Accomplice of the last goal, Nikita Kucherov collected a 57^e help statement. He’s the NHL leader in that regard.

Andrei Vasilevskiy blocked 28 shots, yielding only to Jamie Benn.

Lary Bump, Associated Press

Oilers stop Senators momentum with 6-3 win

Connor McDavid and Zach Hyman each had a goal and an assist on Saturday to help the Edmonton Oilers win 6-3 over the Ottawa Senators.

Brett Kulak had two assists in a third period where Jesse Puljujarvi broke the tie 3-3 at 3:05.

Ryan McLeod and Derek Ryan scored shorthanded.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was the Oilers’ other scorer, while Jack Campbell made 26 saves.

McDavid scored at least one point in a 17^e away match.

Hyman’s assist earned him a 300^e career point.

Jake Sanderson, Erik Brannstrom and Claude Giroux fought back for the Senators, who had won four straight games.

Ottawa will host the Flames on Monday.

The Oilers will visit the Canadiens on Sunday afternoon.

Darren Desaulniers, The Canadian Press

The intractable Flames at the expense of the Sabers

Dillon Dube had a goal and four points as the Calgary Flames outscored the Buffalo Sabers 7-2 on Saturday.

Tyler Toffoli added two goals and an assist for the Flames, who scored four goals in 5:22 in the middle period.

Drafted 26^e in 2019, Jakob Pelletier scored his first goal in the National League. He started the flurry of four goals at 2:17.

Pelletier scored a great goal by completing a two-on-one with Nazem Kadri.

Mikael Backlund, Nazem Kadri and Dennis Gilbert also scored for the Flames, while Jacob Markstrom blocked 21 shots.

Gilbert is a Buffalo native.

Tage Thompson and Casey Mittelstadt scored for the Sabers, who lost their third straight game.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 33 saves.

After 40 minutes, the Flames had a 34-8 shot advantage.

Mark Lukwiczak, Associated Press