Thursday in the NHL | Patrik Laine scores hat trick in Blue Jackets win

The Blue Jackets triumph over the Blackhawks

Patrik Laine scored a hat trick for the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night in a 7-4 win over the Chicago Blackhawks.

Boone Jenner, Yegor Chinakhov and Max Domi each had a goal and an assist to help the Jackets win three of their last four games. The Blue Jackets (24-23-1) climb just above the .500 mark. Oliver Bjorkstrand also scored.

This productive night for Laine allowed him to extend his streak to eight games with at least one point. This is the second longest streak of his career. The Finn has 10 goals and six assists since the start of this streak.

Elvis Merzlikins stopped 28 shots.

Philipp Kurashev and Ryan Carpenter each had a goal and an assist for the Blackhawks as they snapped a six-game winning streak over the Blue Jackets. Alex DeBrincat scored his 29th goal of the season and MacKenzie Entwistle also found the back of the net.

Arvid Soderblom blocked 30 shots in net for the Blackhawks in his second NHL start.

Garnet Hathaway crowns Capitals comeback

Garnet Hathaway scored twice within two minutes late in the third period as the Washington Capitals completed a comeback victory to defeat the Philadelphia Flyers 5-3 on Thursday night.

Joe Snively, Michal Kempny and John Carlson were the other scorers for the Caps, who have won their last five road meetings. Their record away from home is now 16-5-4.

In the Flyers’ camp, Gerry Mayhew also scored two goals while Travis Sanheim collected a goal and an assist. The Flyers suffered their fourth straight loss.

Mayhew’s second goal of the game gave the Flyers a 3-2 lead with 3:51 left in the third before the Capitals orchestrated their irresistible comeback.

Hathaway first tied the game 54 seconds later by deflecting a Carlson shot past goaltender Martin Jones.

Then, Hathaway did it again to put the Capitals up 4-3 with 1:12 to play. Carlson completed the scoring by scoring into an empty net.

Aaron Bracy, Associated Press

Maple Leafs win 4-1 over Penguins

Morgan Rielly and Auston Matthews each had a goal and an assist on Thursday to help the Toronto Maple Leafs win 4-1 over the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Jack Campbell stopped 45 shots for the Penguins, who had won four straight.

David Kampf and Michael Bunting were the other scorers for the Leafs, who have won eight of their last 10 games.

For the Penguins, Evgeni Malkin converted a rebound and Tristan Jarry made 25 saves.

Matthews scored a 33rd goal in the 21st second of the match, during a breakaway.

He scored at least one point in a ninth straight game.

Following an easing of restrictions in Ontario, the match could be played in front of 8,139 people, at Scotiabank Arena.

Tim Wharnsby, The Canadian Press

Bruins lose 4-1 in New York

Noah Dobson, Mathew Barzal and Brock Nelson each had a goal and an assist to lead the New York Islanders to a 4-1 win over the Boston Bruins to end a three-game losing streak.

Ilya Sorokin made 26 saves to earn the win. Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored the Islanders’ other goal. Brock Nelson’s was scored in an empty net.

Taylor Hall replied for the Bruins as Linus Ullmark blocked 25 shots. The Bruins suffered their fourth loss in five games.

Dobson put the Isles ahead at 5:50 in the third period. His wrist shot from the point hit the post before ricocheting off goalkeeper Ullmark’s pad before entering the net.

Barzal then widened the gap by making it 3-1 by jumping on a rebound at 13:32 of the third period.

Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron returned to action after missing three games with a head injury. Zdeno Chara played his 1649th career game. He’s just two more to join Chris Chelios on the list of most games played by a defenseman in the NHL.

Scott Charles, Associated Press

Austin Watson scores decisive goal in Senators win

Austin Watson broke the tie in the third period to give the Ottawa Senators a 3-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres. Zach Sanford and Brady Tkachuk netted the Sens’ other goals.

Nick Holden had two assists in the win and Anton Forsberg stopped 23 shots. The win brings the Senators to 5-2-1 in their last eight road games.

Kyle Okposo scored the only goal for the Sabers who relied on former Senator Craig Anderson in net. The latter stopped 25 of his former team’s 27 shots.

Before taking this loss, the Sabers had won two games and obtained at least one point in their last three meetings.

After the game, Sabers head coach Don Granato pointed out that hungrier Senators simply put in more effort than his players, especially in the third period.

In the third period, the Sabers didn’t take a shot on goal in the first 15 minutes. They were only able to shoot twice before withdrawing their goalkeeper and adding two more shots with an extra player.

Tkachuk scored the Sens’ insurance goal into an empty net.

Jonah Bronstein, Associated Press

The Jets too strong for the Kraken

Winnipeg Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey played heroes Thursday night, leading his teammates to a 5-3 victory over the Seattle Kraken.

Morrissey broke a 3-3 tie with 6:10 left in the game. Forward Kyle Connor got an assist on the play before scoring the insurance goal in an empty net.

Dominic Toninato, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Blake Wheeler scored the other goals for the Jets, whose record is now 22-18-8. Goaltender Eric Comrie stopped 20 of the 23 shots he faced to earn the win. Dylan DeMelo had two assists.

Vince Dunn, Marcus Johansson and Jordan Eberle shone the red light for the Kraken (16-30-4), which saw its record register a thirtieth defeat. Goaltender Philip Grubauer blocked 24 of the 28 shots he faced.

On the winning goal, Morrissey took advantage of a perfect pass from Connor to easily beat Grubauer. Kristian Reichel also had an assist on the goal.

Shortly before, the Kraken had managed to tie the game 3-3 at 7:02 in the third period. Eberle had then deflected a pass from Johansson to the back of the net.

The Canadian Press

Oilers remain perfect under Woodcroft

Leon Draisaitl found the back of the net twice and the Edmonton Oilers went a perfect 4-0 since new head coach Jay Woodcroft took over with a 7-3 win over the Ducks from Anaheim.

Evander Kane, Derek Ryan, Jesse Puljujarvi, Warren Foegele and Zach Hyman also scored for the Oilers (27-18-3) who have won nine of their last 12 games.

Oilers goaltender Mike Smith stopped 27 shots. Connor McDavid and Ryan McLeod each had two assists.

Adam Henrique, Sonny Milano and Trevor Zegras replied for the Ducks (23-19-9) who suffered four straight losses. Goaltender John Gibson gave up seven times on 41 shots.

Both teams will be back in action on Saturday with the Oilers in Winnipeg and the Ducks in Vancouver.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins passed the great Wayne Gretzky for ninth on the list of most games played in an Oilers uniform with 697.

The Canadian Press