Second-period goals by Steven Stamkos and Yanni Gourde led the Tampa Bay Lightning to a comeback 2-1 road victory over the Dallas Stars on Tuesday.
Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy only needed to stop 16 shots for the Lightning to win their fifth straight game. The defending Stanley Cup champions are on a 14-2-1 run that has put them atop the league standings.
Though Vasilevskiy was not counted on for a huge number of saves, he was at his best in the final 10 minutes of the clash, especially while holding the Stars from converting during a 5-on-3 power play.
Roope Hintz tallied for the struggling Stars, who benefited from Anton Khudobin’s 24-save performance to keep it close. Dallas has just two wins in its past eight games (2-3-3). Tampa Bay, which beat the Stars in last season’s Stanley Cup Final, has won all four clashes this season.
Coyotes 5, Avalanche 4 (SO)
Nick Schmaltz, Conor Garland and Christian Dvorak scored in the shootout, and Arizona beat Colorado in Glendale, Ariz.
Alex Goligoski, Lawson Crouse and Phil Kessel had a goal and an assist each for the Coyotes, who overcame a 4-2, third-period deficit. Arizona’s Jakob Chychrun also scored and Adin Hill made 35 saves through regulation and overtime, then added another in the shootout.
Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and two assists, Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog had a goal and an assist apiece and Valeri Nichushkin had a goal for the Avalanche, whose seven-game winning streak ended.
Blackhawks 3, Panthers 2
Kevin Lankinen made 33 saves, Patrick Kane netted two assists, and Dominik Kubalik extended his point streak to six games to help host Chicago snap a four-game skid with a win over Florida.
The Blackhawks raced to a 3-0 lead before holding off the Panthers to take the opener of a six-game homestand. Kane tallied his 1,066th point to move into fourth place among American-born NHL players.
Anton Stralman and Alex Wennberg scored for the Panthers, Noel Acciari had two assists and Chris Driedger stopped 29 shots.
Devils 4, Flyers 3
Yegor Sharangovich and Travis Zajac each had one goal and one assist to help lift New Jersey past host Philadelphia. The Devils beat the Flyers for the first time in three tries this season.
Michael McLeod and Kyle Palmieri added one goal apiece while Janne Kuokkanen and Ty Smith contributed two assists each for the Devils, who have won four of five. Devils goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood made 30 saves, including a couple of spectacular stops in the waning seconds.
Sean Couturier scored two goals and Joel Farabee added one goal for the struggling Flyers, who have lost four of five (1-3-1). Jakub Voracek and James van Riemsdyk had two assists apiece. Flyers goaltender Carter Hart stopped 28 shots.
Predators 2, Red Wings 0
Juuse Saros made 31 saves to notch his first shutout of the season as host Nashville topped Detroit.
Saros earned the 12th shutout of his career. Mikael Granlund and Mathieu Olivier scored goals for the Predators, who recorded their fourth victory in five games. Nashville was playing its first home game since March 6 after an eight-game road trip.
The Red Wings were blanked for the fifth time this season and the second consecutive game. Dallas silenced them 3-0 on Saturday. Detroit has scored two or fewer goals in 21 of 33 games.
–Field Level Media
