The Columbus Blue Jackets played their best game of the season, according to Brandon Saad. He wants to keep it going.
Boone Jenner and Ryan Murray scored within 30 seconds of each other late in the second period, and Columbus beat the San Jose Sharks 5-2 on Tuesday night.
“Any time you can score at the end of the period, it’s huge,” Murray said. “You get to go into the locker room feeling good and carrying momentum. To get two is a bonus.”
Saad, Scott Hartnell and Matt Calvert also scored for the Blue Jackets, who extended their winning streak over the Sharks to three games.
“Everybody brought their ‘A’ game,” Saad said. “Confidence was high and everybody did a good job of making good plays with the puck and not just throwing it. It was fun playing that way. We have to remember that and keep it going.”
Sergei Bobrovsky, pulled early from Columbus’ 3-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday, bounced back with 41 saves. The Blue Jackets have won three of five since opening the season with eight straight losses.
Joe Pavelski scored twice for the Sharks, who have lost six of eight after opening with four consecutive wins. Martin Jones was lifted after stopping 17 of 21 shots through the first two periods. Alex Stalock made two saves in the third.
“We were sitting on our heels a little bit,” Pavelski said. “We have to break that mold. We have to start winning games.”
Saad, acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks in a high-profile trade during the off-season, scored his fifth goal – and second in two games – midway through the first on a power play. Planting himself in front of the net, he was in position to push the rebound of a shot by Brandon Dubinsky off Jones’s arm and into the net.
Elsewhere in the NHL
New York Rangers 5, Washington Capitals 2
Kevin Hayes broke a deadlock late in the first period and Henrik Lundqvist made 32 saves as the opportunistic Rangers beat the Capitals 5-2 on Tuesday night in their first meeting since New York defeated Washington in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals last spring.
Hayes, rookie Oscar Lindberg, Kevin Klein and Derick Brassard each had a goal and an assist as the Rangers extended their points streak to seven games (5-0-2). Jarret Stoll scored his first for New York, who extended their home winning streak to five games.
Alexander Ovechkin, stopped point-blank twice by Lundqvist, and Marcus Johansson scored for the Capitals, who lost for the first time in five road games.
Edmonton Oilers 4, Philadelphia Flyers 2
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored two goals and Taylor Hall had a goal and two assists as Edmonton beat Philadelphia after top draft pick Connor McDavid was injured.
With the Flyers leading 2-1 and 1:44 remaining in the second period, McDavid had a partial, short-handed breakaway but fell awkwardly and was ridden hard into the boards by Philadelphia defencemen Michael Del Zotto and Brandon Manning, who also lost their balance on the play.
McDavid left the ice favouring his left shoulder. He was seen wearing a sling in the hallway behind the dressing room and did not return for the third period. He had 12 points in his first 12 games and was selected the NHL’s Rookie of the Month for October.
Matt Hendricks also scored for the Oilers, who outshot the Flyers 49-22.
Scott Laughton and Ryan White scored for the Flyers, who have lost five straight.
Dallas Stars 5, Boston Bruins 3
Tyler Seguin scored three goals against his former team as Dallas beat Boston.
Jyrki Jokipakka got his first NHL goal and Alex Goligoski had his first of the season for the Stars, who ended the Bruins’ four-game winning streak despite being outshot 39-19.
Jason Spezza and John Klingberg had two assists each for the Stars. Kari Lehtonen made 36 saves.
Loui Eriksson scored twice for Boston, and Colin Miller got his first career goal. Tuukka Rask allowed five goals on 19 shots and was mocked by Bruins fans when he made an easy stop late in the game.
Boston lost centre Chris Kelly 1:40 into the game with a broken leg.
Seguin’s seventh career hat trick was his sixth with the Stars, who acquired him in a trade with Boston in the summer of 2013.
Detroit Red Wings 2, Tampa Bay Lightning 1
Red Wings rookie Dylan Larkin scored to break a third-period tie against Tampa Bay.
The 19-year-old Larkin skated up the right boards and passed the puck to linemate Justin Abdelkader, who quickly returned it to Larkin. He knocked it under the arm of goalie Ben Bishop at 5:54.
Larkin has scored in consecutive games. It was Abdelkader’s first point since the second game of the season.
Riley Sheahan also scored for Detroit, and Jimmy Howard made 29 saves.
Nikita Kucherov scored with a a 5-on-3 advantage for Tampa Bay. With a minute remaining, Lightning defenceman Anton Stralman hit the crossbar.
Los Angeles Kings 3, St Louis Blues 0
Jhonas Enroth posted his sixth career shutout as Los Angeles defeated St Louis.
Jeff Carter, Tanner Pearson and Trevor Lewis scored for the Kings, who won for the eighth time in nine games. Los Angeles had a seven-game win streak snapped with a 4-2 loss to Chicago on Monday night.
Jake Allen made 31 saves for the Blues, who lost for the first time in four games and were handed their first regulation loss in six home games.
Enroth made 24 saves in his second start this season in place of Jonathan Quick. Enroth also stopped 39 shots in a 4-1 win over San Jose on October 22.
New York Islanders 2, New Jersey Devils 1
Casey Cizikas scored the tiebreaking goal with 2:12 left in the third period to lift New York over New Jersey.
Brock Nelson also scored and Jaroslav Halak stopped 23 shots for the Islanders, who had lost three straight (0-1-2) – including a shootout defeat at New Jersey on Saturday.
New York were without star centre John Tavares (flu-like symptoms) for the third straight game.
Travis Zajac had the tying power-play goal for the Devils early in the third period and Cory Schneider finished with 33 saves. New Jersey had won six of seven after an 0-3-1 start.
Ottawa Senators 2, Montreal Canadiens 1 (overtime)
Kyle Turris scored 34 seconds into overtime to lift Ottawa over Montreal.
Turris, with his eighth goal of the season, finished a 2-on-1 with Mike Hoffman after a turnover in the Montreal end. It was the Canadiens’ first experience with the new 3-on-3 overtime format.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored short-handed for Ottawa.
Dale Weise had the goal for Montreal, who dropped to 11-2-1. The Canadiens outshot Ottawa 36-27.
Mike Condon filled in for injured Canadiens goalie Carey Price for a third straight game.
Colorado Avalanche 6, Calgary Flames 3
Nathan MacKinnon and Matt Duchene scored 1:28 apart late in the third period of Colorado’s victory over Calgary.
Duchene broke out of a seven-game scoring slump with two goals, and Jarome Iginla also had a pair of goals for the Avalanche. Iginla added an assist against his former team.
The game was tied when MacKinnon scored from the slot at 13:01. Duchene scored on a tip-in to make it 5-3. Iginla added an empty-net goal at 17:11.
Johnny Gaudreau, Sam Bennett and Jiri Hudler scored for the slumping Flames. Calgary has won just twice in its last 11 games.
Semyon Varlamov made 22 saves for the Avalanche, who finished with 42 shots.
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