Shesterkin makes 27 saves in Rangers’ victory over Panthers
NEW YORK (AP) — Adam Sykora broke a scoreless tie early in the third period and Igor Shesterkin made 26 saves and the New York Rangers defeated the Florida Panthers 3-1 on Sunday.
Sykora, a rookie who was a second-round pick in 2022, scored his second goal of the season at 5:10, tipping Adam Fox’s shot past Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.
Conor Sheary then scored his fifth of the season — on a short-handed breakaway — at 11:14 before Fox added an empty-netter at 16:06.
Sykora also scored in the Rangers’ 6-1 win against Chicago on Friday. The Rangers are just 11-18-7 at home this season.
Florida’s Mackie Samoskevich scored with 40.2 seconds left to end Shesterkin’s shutout bid.
LIGHTNING 3, PREDATORS 2
NASHVILLE (AP) — Jake Guentzel had a goal and two assists while Corey Perry broke a third-period tie to give Tampa Bay a victory against Nashville to move into first place in the Atlantic Division.
Brandon Hagel also scored for the Lightning, who improved to 6-0-2 in the past eight games. Guentzel has scored in four consecutive games.
Jonas Johansson finished with 29 saves.
Joakim Kemell and Filip Forsberg scored for the Predators who hold the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference despite three consecutive losses. Justus Annunen finished with 25 saves.
CANADIENS 3, HURRICANES 1
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Nick Suzuki scored two goals and had an assist to lead Montreal to a win over Carolina.
Suzuki fueled a three-goal second period for the Canadiens, who have won five straight and won all three regular-season games against the Eastern Conference-leading Hurricanes.
Cole Caufield added a goal and assist for Montreal and goalie Jakub Dobes made 34 saves in his third win of the season over the Hurricanes.
Andrei Svechnikov scored for the Hurricanes, and Frederik Andersen stopped 15 shots.
BRUINS 4, BLUE JACKETS 3, SO
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Viktor Arvidsson scored the decisive goal in the shootout and had three assists in the third period as Boston rallied from a three-goal, third-period deficit to defeat Columbus.
It is the ninth time in franchise history the Bruins have posted a three-goal, third-period comeback, and the first since March 13, 2018, when they defeated Carolina 6-4.
Fraser Minten also scored in the shootout for the Bruins, who have won three straight and five of six. The victory also kept Boston in the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with 92 points.
Pavel Zacha had two power-play goals — including the tying score with 11 seconds remaining — and an assist while Charlie McAvoy had a goal and an assist. Jeremy Swayman stopped 21 shots.
DEVILS 5, BLACKHAWKS 3
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Dougie Hamilton and Jack Hughes scored 19 seconds apart late in the third period and Jake Allen made 28 saves as New Jersey rallied to defeat Chicago.
With New Jersey trailing 3-2, Hamilton scored at 14:32 before Hughes scored at 14:51 to put the home team ahead and electrify the Prudential Center crowd. Hughes — who also had two assists — added his 22nd goal of the season into an empty net with 31 seconds left.
Connor Brown and Simon Nemec also scored for New Jersey, which has won six of its last eight games.
With the Blackhawks on a 5-on-3 advantage, Frank Nazar rifled a pass from Connor Bedard past Allen at 10:51 of the third for his second goal of the night. Ilya Mikheyev also scored for Chicago, which ended its four-game trip with a third-straight loss after resounding defeats to the Flyers and Rangers.
FLYERS 2, STARS 1, OT
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Trevor Zegras wristed a sharp-angle shot past Casey DeSmith with 1:33 remaining in overtime, leading hard-charging Philadelphia to a victory over slumping Dallas.
Travis Konecny scored in regulation for the Flyers, who are 8-1-1 in their last 10 games. With 86 points, they pulled within two of both Columbus — which is in the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference — and Pittsburgh — which is in third place in the Metropolitan Division. Samuel Ersson made 17 saves.
Rookie Arttu Hyry, playing his sixth game since being recalled from Dallas’ AHL affiliate, scored the lone goal for the Stars, who are in second place in the Central Division but have lost five of their last six. DeSmith finished with 28 saves.