Winnipeg netminder Connor Hellebuyck emerged victorious in a stellar goaltending duel Thursday night, backstopping the Jets to a 4-1 triumph over the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning.
The matchup featured two of just five active Vezina Trophy recipients, with Hellebuyck turning away 26 shots while Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy matched that total with 26 saves of his own.
Hellebuyck, who captured three Vezina awards and recently helped Team USA claim gold with a 2-1 overtime win against Canada, now holds an 8-2-1 record in direct confrontations with Vasilevskiy, the 2019 Vezina recipient.
Morgan Barron and Mark Scheifele provided the crucial second-period scoring for Winnipeg. Gustav Nyquist netted his debut goal as a Jet, while Kyle Connor sealed the victory with an empty-net tally. The win pushed the Jets to 5-2-3 over their past 10 contests.
Brayden Point registered Tampa Bay’s lone goal. The Lightning have now dropped four consecutive games following an impressive 20-1-1 stretch from December 20 through February 25.
Rangers 6, Maple Leafs 2
Alexis Lafreniere netted the decisive goal on a deflection during the third period as New York dominated Toronto at home.
Will Cuylle opened the scoring in the first period and added an empty-netter with 2:51 remaining. Vladislav Gavrikov converted during a power play for the second equalizer in the middle frame. Jaroslav Chmelar and Mika Zibanejad contributed additional goals for New York.
Matias Maccelli struck just 13 seconds into the game and rookie Easton Cowan scored in the second period for Toronto, but the Maple Leafs surrendered five consecutive goals and extended their losing streak to six games, tying their season-high skid.
Senators 4, Flames 1
Dylan Cozens snapped a third-period deadlock to propel Ottawa past Calgary in a vital road victory.
Lars Eller, Tim Stutzle and Shane Pinto also found the net for Ottawa, which has compiled a 7-1-2 record recently to maintain playoff hopes. Goaltender Linus Ullmark stopped 19 shots and extended his personal streak to 8-0-3. The Senators trail Boston by four points for the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card position.
Martin Pospisil scored for Calgary, which has lost four straight (0-3-1) and managed just three wins in 13 outings (3-7-3), leaving them 12 points out of Western Conference playoff contention.
Kings 5, Islanders 3
Artemi Panarin recorded his first goal as a King, powering Los Angeles to victory over the visiting New York Islanders.
Panarin, Adrian Kempe and Mikey Anderson each contributed one goal and one assist. Samuel Helenius and Alex Laferriere also scored, Brandt Clarke added two assists, and Darcy Kuemper made 31 saves for Los Angeles, which had dropped six of seven previous games (1-5-1).
Bo Horvat, Adam Pelech and Emil Heineman scored for the Islanders, Jean-Gabriel Pageau recorded two assists, and Ilya Sorokin made 30 saves. New York entered following a 5-1 road defeat to Anaheim that ended a five-game winning streak.
Blue Jackets 4, Panthers 2
Ivan Provorov tallied one goal and two assists while Mathieu Olivier scored twice as Columbus captured its third consecutive victory at home.
Boone Jenner also scored and Jet Greaves made 26 saves for the Blue Jackets, who are 14-2-1 since January 11 and positioned just outside Eastern Conference playoff spots. Columbus remained unbeaten during star Zach Werenski’s three-game absence due to illness and ended a 0-6-3 slide against Florida despite nearly surrendering a 3-0 advantage.
Florida finally scored with 10:52 left in the third period. Daniil Tarasov made 24 saves for the Panthers, whose playoff chances continue diminishing after a fourth straight loss during their 2-9-0 slump.
Utah 3, Flyers 0
Nick Schmaltz and Clayton Keller scored second-period goals while Vitek Vanecek made 16 saves as Utah earned a shutout road win over Philadelphia.
Dylan Guenther recorded two assists and Michael Carcone also scored for Utah, which has won five of seven recent games. Vanecek, making his first start since January 27, achieved the 100th victory and 11th shutout of his career.
Dan Vladar stopped 20 shots for Philadelphia, which saw its three-game winning streak end. The Flyers played without leading scorer Travis Konecny (upper-body injury) for the second straight contest.
Sabres 5, Penguins 1
Josh Norris and Owen Power each recorded one goal and one assist as Buffalo extended its winning streak against Pittsburgh to five games.
Ryan McLeod, Alex Tuch and Mattias Samuelsson also scored for the Sabres. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 27 saves.
Bryan Rust scored and Arturs Silovs made 21 saves for Pittsburgh, which has lost three of four games (1-2-1).
Predators 6, Bruins 3
Nashville scored three straight goals to close the second period, breaking open a tight contest en route to defeating visiting Boston.
Filip Forsberg registered one goal and two assists while Matthew Wood scored twice during Nashville’s four-goal middle period. Nicolas Hague, Erik Haula and Luke Evangelista also tallied, Steven Stamkos contributed two assists, and Juuse Saros made 20 saves to help the Predators snap a three-game slide (0-2-1).
Charlie McAvoy and Viktor Arvidsson each had one goal and one assist, Morgan Geekie also scored, and Pavel Zacha added two assists for Boston, which extended its road losing streak to six games (0-3-3). Joonas Korpisalo stopped 23 shots.
