Around the NHL

Around the NHL

Thursday’s games

Hurricanes 4, Rangers 3

RALEIGH, N.C.

Rookie Sebastian Aho scored the go-ahead power-play goal with 7:32 remaining, and Carolina rallied to beat New York. Aho also scored the tying goal with 10:56 to play and added an assist to help the last-place Hurricanes. Jeff Skinner also scored, Valentin Zykov had a goal in his first NHL game and Cam Ward made a season-best 40 saves. Carolina trailed 3-2 entering the third before earning just its fifth win when trailing after 40 minutes. Mika Zibanejad scored two power-play goals, Chris Kreider added a power-play goal and an assist for the short-handed Rangers, who were without injured goalie Henrik Lundqvist and winger Rick Nash. Backup Antti Raanta made 26 saves for the Rangers, who sat Lundqvist with an upper-body injury and Nash with a lower-body injury.

Maple Leafs 4, Flyers 2

TORONTO

Frederik Andersen made 36 saves, Tyler Bozak had a goal and an assist and Toronto beat Philadelphia. William Nylander, Mitch Marner and Nazem Kadri also scored for the Leafs (30-22-14), who have won two straight after dropping five in a row. Philadelphia (31-27-8) had won three of four. Wayne Simmonds and Shayne Gostisbehere scored for the Flyers, and Michal Neuvirth made 29 saves. Toronto, which outshot Philadelphia 14-11 in the second, came into the night with a 23-1-9 record when leading after 40 minutes. It narrowly escaped with a 3-2 win over Detroit on Tuesday after racing out to a 3-0 lead.

Lightning 4, Wild 1

TAMPA, FLA.

Nikita Kucherov scored two goals, the first on a power play less than seven minutes into the game, and Tampa Bay beat Minnesota. Kucherov assisted a goal by Andrej Sustr (Youngstown Phantoms), giving him nine goals and eight assists in his last eight games. Andrei Vasilevskiy had 32 saves for the Lightning. He’s 4-0-1 since the trade of Ben Bishop to Los Angeles, and the Lightning are 9-2-3 in their last 14 games. Marco Scandella scored for Minnesota with 3:58 remaining, only the Wild’s second goal in regulation in their last three games. Western Conference-leading Minnesota has lost three of four for the first time since early December. The loss also broke the Wild’s streak of 10 straight wins after a loss. “We’re going to need more efforts like this one to get in [the playoffs],” Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman said, “but obviously it’s a step in the right direction.”

Ducks 1, Blackhawks 0

CHICAGO

Jonathan Bernier made 43 saves for his 100th NHL win, and Anaheim cooled off Chicago. Corey Perry scored in the second as Anaheim ended Chicago’s seven-game winning streak despite being outshot 43-26 on the night. Corey Crawford blocked 25 shots as the Blackhawks lost for only the second time in their last 14. Bernier’s second shutout this season and 14th of his career helped the Ducks pull ahead of idle Edmonton for second place in the Pacific Division. Bernier made his sixth straight start with John Gibson sidelined a lower-body injury. Perry stopped a 10-game scoring drought with his 12th goal at 17:44. He hadn’t connected since scoring twice on Feb. 9 at Buffalo.

Avalanche 3, Devils 2

DENVER

Francois Beauchemin scored with 1:14 left in the third period, and Colorado handed New Jersey their fifth straight loss. Nathan MacKinnon and Rene Bourque also scored for Colorado, and Calvin Pickard had 25 saves. The Avalanche picked up their second straight win for just the fourth time this season. The Devils avoided a third straight shutout but fell to 1-7-2 in their last 10 games. Taylor Hall and Stefan Noesen scored for New Jersey, and Cory Schneider stopped 19 shots. Beauchemin broke a tie when he scored off his own rebound for his third goal of the season.

Flames 5, Canadiens 0

CALGARY, ALBERTA

Johnny Gaudreau had a goal and three assists, and Calgary beat Montreal night for their eighth consecutive victory. Brian Elliott had 24 saves for his first shutout of the season. After assisting on all three second-period goals as the Flames blew open a 1-0 game, Gaudreau added his 14th goal at 16:12 of the third period. Gaudreau has 13 points (three goals, 10 assists) during the Flames’ win streak. It’s the longest streak for Calgary since it also won eight in a row in November 2005.

Associated Press