Edmonton’s Connor McDavid reached the 100-point milestone for the sixth year running with a goal and assist performance, while teammate Leon Draisaitl extended his 30-goal streak to eight seasons as the Oilers crushed the Los Angeles Kings 8-1 on Thursday evening, breaking their longest losing streak of the season at four games.
McDavid’s achievement marks his ninth career 100-point campaign, placing him third in NHL history behind Wayne Gretzky’s 15 and Mario Lemieux’s 10 such seasons.
Draisaitl contributed one goal and three assists in the dominant performance, while Zach Hyman added a goal and two helpers. Jake Walman found the net twice, Andrew Mangiapane tallied a goal and assist, and goaltender Connor Ingram turned away 21 shots for Edmonton, which was looking to bounce back from Wednesday’s 6-5 defeat to Anaheim.
Los Angeles managed just one goal from Warren Foegele as the Kings extended their slide to five straight losses (0-4-1), keeping them three points behind a playoff position. Starting goalie Darcy Kuemper was pulled after allowing four goals on 15 shots, with Anton Forsberg finishing the game by making 18 saves.
Wild 5, Avalanche 2
In Denver, Matt Boldy netted two empty-net goals and added two assists while Joel Eriksson Ek also scored twice as Minnesota defeated Colorado in a clash between two of the league’s elite teams.
Minnesota goaltender Filip Gustavsson was outstanding with 44 saves as the Wild extended their winning streak to six games, tightening the Central Division race. Mats Zuccarello contributed another goal and Kirill Kaprizov recorded two assists.
Colorado received two goals from Martin Necas, two assists from Nathan MacKinnon, and 31 saves from Mackenzie Blackwood. The Avalanche maintain their league-leading position with 85 points while Minnesota sits tied for second overall with 80 points.
Hurricanes 5, Lightning 4
Sebastian Aho’s power-play goal in the third period broke the deadlock as Carolina recovered from surrendering a three-goal advantage to defeat Tampa Bay in Raleigh, with the Eastern Conference’s top two teams squaring off.
The Hurricanes exploded early as Logan Stankoven, Taylor Hall, and Nikolaj Ehlers all scored within the first seven minutes of their return from the Olympic break. Seth Jarvis contributed a goal and assist while Andrei Svechnikov had two assists. Goalie Brandon Bussi made 24 stops.
Tampa Bay’s Brandon Point recorded a goal and assist for the Lightning, who were playing their second game since the break after beating Toronto the previous night. Brandon Hagel, Nikita Kucherov, and Dominic James also scored for Tampa Bay, which continued without head coach Jon Cooper for the second consecutive game following his father’s passing.
Red Wings 2, Senators 1 (OT)
Dylan Larkin completed his two-goal performance by scoring the overtime winner at 1:50 as Detroit prevailed over Ottawa on the road.
Red Wings netminder John Gibson stopped 26 shots as Detroit ended a rough stretch where they had won just once in five games (1-3-1) before the break. Lucas Raymond contributed two assists in the victory.
Ottawa’s Brady Tkachuk scored the lone goal for the Senators, who had been playing well with five wins in six games before the break. Linus Ullmark made 18 saves in the losing effort.
Panthers 5, Maple Leafs 1
Brad Marchand scored twice as Florida returned from the Olympic layoff with a convincing victory over Toronto in Sunrise, as both Eastern Conference teams battle for playoff positioning.
Evan Rodrigues added a goal and assist for the Panthers while Carter Verhaeghe and Matthew Tkachuk also found the net. Anton Lundell recorded two assists and Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 28 shots for Florida, which had struggled with a 1-5-0 record heading into the break.
John Tavares provided Toronto’s only goal as the Maple Leafs dropped their second straight game since returning from the break. Joseph Woll made 32 saves in defeat.
Bruins 4, Blue Jackets 2
Boston overcame an early one-goal deficit by scoring three consecutive goals and maintained their lead to defeat Columbus at home.
Viktor Arvidsson scored twice while Sean Kuraly and Morgan Geekie also lit the lamp for the Bruins, who improved to 5-0-3 over their last eight contests. Joonas Korpisalo made 36 saves, with Michael DiPietro stopping two shots after Korpisalo temporarily left with an injury in the second period.
Adam Fantilli tallied a goal and assist while Kirill Marchenko also scored and Mason Marchment assisted on both goals for Columbus, whose seven-game winning streak came to an end. Elvis Merzlikins turned away 19 shots.
Islanders 4, Canadiens 3 (OT)
Jean-Gabriel Pageau netted the game-winner at 1:46 of overtime as New York completed a comeback victory in Montreal.
Matthew Schaefer scored twice, Anders Lee tied the contest late, and Simon Holmstrom recorded two assists for the Islanders, who have now won three straight games. Ilya Sorokin made 21 saves in the victory.
Noah Dobson scored twice against his former club, Cole Caufield added a goal, and Samuel Montembeault made 22 saves for Montreal, which has lost two of three (1-0-2) but extended their point streak to six games (4-0-2).
Penguins 4, Devils 1
Connor Clifton and Egor Chinakhov scored 50 seconds apart during a three-goal third period as Pittsburgh, playing without superstar Sidney Crosby, broke open a close game to defeat New Jersey at home.
Tommy Novak opened the scoring, Evgeni Malkin recorded two assists, Blake Lizotte added an empty-net goal, and Arturs Silovs was solid with 28 saves for Pittsburgh. Crosby will be sidelined for at least four weeks with a lower-body injury sustained while representing Canada at the Milan Cortina Games.
Paul Cotter scored for New Jersey, which sits second-to-last in the Eastern Conference and matched a season-high with their fifth straight loss, part of a dismal 1-7-0 stretch. Jacob Markstrom made 31 saves.
Predators 4, Blackhawks 2
Ryan O’Reilly scored the decisive goal late in the third period to lift Nashville past Chicago at home.
Roman Josi delivered a perfect pass to O’Reilly, who tipped the game-winner past Spencer Knight with 3:16 remaining to secure the victory for Nashville. Filip Forsberg, Steven Stamkos, and Matthew Wood also scored, while Justus Annunen remained perfect at 4-0 in his career against Chicago with a 21-save performance.
Connor Bedard was impressive in defeat, scoring for the Blackhawks, and Tyler Bertuzzi also found the net. Spencer Knight finished with 22 saves for Chicago.
Flyers 3, Rangers 2 (OT)
Matvei Michkov scored twice, including the overtime winner, as Philadelphia rallied to edge New York at Madison Square Garden and extend the Rangers’ struggles.
Michkov skated around J.T. Miller and fired a shot through Igor Shesterkin’s five-hole at 2:10 of overtime for his 15th goal of the season. Trevor Zegras scored the other Philadelphia goal as the Flyers overcame a 2-0 midgame deficit.
Samuel Ersson made 23 saves as Philadelphia won for just the fourth time in 11 games (4-4-3). Sam Carrick and Alexis Lafreniere scored for New York, which has now lost five straight (0-4-1) and posted a 2-11-2 record since their Winter Classic victory over Florida on January 2.
Flames 4, Sharks 1
Nazem Kadri scored twice and goaltender Dustin Wolf continued his dominance against his childhood team as Calgary defeated San Jose on the road. The Flames have now won 50 consecutive games when scoring four or more goals.
Connor Zary and Mikael Backlund each contributed one goal and one assist for Calgary, which secured their second straight victory. Wolf, a native of nearby Gilroy, California, made 34 saves to improve his record to 10-2 in 12 career games against the Sharks.
Tyler Toffoli scored the opening goal for San Jose, which has dropped five consecutive games (0-4-1). Yaroslav Askarov stopped 25 shots in the loss.
Blues 5, Kraken 1
Dylan Holloway returned from injury to score three goals and add an assist, leading St. Louis past Seattle at home.
Pius Suter contributed a goal and two assists for the Blues, who won just their second game in 10 contests (2-7-1) in their first action following the three-week Olympic break. Jordan Kyrou also scored while Jonatan Berggren and Justin Faulk each recorded two assists. Joel Hofer made 23 saves.
Kaapo Kakko scored for Seattle, which has lost both games since returning from the break. Philipp Grubauer made 27 saves in defeat.
