Stamkos leads Lightning past Avalanche 5—2

Steven Stamkos (Photo by Lisa Gansky – Flickr: IMG_6043, CC BY-SA 2.0)

TAMPA, Fla. — Steven Stamkos had a goal and two assists, and the Tampa Bay Lightning became the first NHL team with 20 wins by defeating the Colorado Avalanche 5-2 on Thursday night.

Stamkos, who entered with one goal and two assists over his previous eight games, got his 12th goal early in the first. He also assisted on Vladislav Namestnikov’s tiebreaking goal at 8:09 of the second and Alex Killorn’s third of the season 4:57 into the third.

Chris Kunitz and Brayden Point also scored for the Lightning, and backup Peter Budaj made 28 saves in his fifth game this season.

Colorado left wing Gabriel Landeskog, back in the lineup after serving a four-game suspension for cross-checking Calgary’s Matthew Tkachuk in the head on Nov. 25, eluded Nikita Kucherov and scored on his first shift 1:21 into the game.

Erik Johnson also scored for the Avalanche, who were coming off a 1-4 homestand. Semyon Varlamov stopped 27 shots.

KINGS 4, SENATORS 3, OT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Drew Doughty scored 32 seconds into overtime, lifting the Kings to their seventh consecutive victory.

Dustin Brown, Alex Iafallo and Tanner Pearson also scored for Los Angeles, and Darcy Kuemper stopped 35 shots.

The Kings appeared to be on their way to a regulation win, but Ottawa’s Ryan Dzingel tied the game with his ninth of the season in the final seconds of the third.

Jean-Gabriel Dumont and Matt Duchene also scored for the Senators, who have lost 10 of 11. Mike Condon had 36 stops.

FLYERS 4, CANUCKS 1

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Shayne Gostisbehere and Claude Giroux each had a goal and an assist, helping Philadelphia to the road win.

Michael Raffl and Wayne Simmonds also scored for the Flyers, who have won three in a row after a 10-game losing streak. Jakub Voracek had three assists.

Philadelphia’s Brian Elliot made 36 saves for his 200th NHL victory.

Brock Boeser scored for the Canucks, who had won three in a row. Jacob Markstrom, coming off his first career NHL shutout, stopped 22 shots.

BRUINS 6, COYOTES 1

BOSTON (AP) — David Backes scored his first two goals of the season, powering the Bruins to the runaway win.

It was Backes’ fourth game back after he missed 12 straight following surgery to remove part of his colon. The veteran forward scored his first goal with Boston on a tip-in 13:54 into the second period and then added another goal with 54 seconds left in the period.

Brad Marchand scored 15 seconds into the game for the Bruins, who won for the seventh time in nine games. David Krejci, Danton Heinen and Anders Bjork also scored, and Tuukka Rask made 20 saves.

Christian Dvorak had an unassisted goal for Arizona, and Scott Wedgewood made 26 stops.

BLUES 3, STARS 0

1. LOUIS (AP) — Jake Allen made 29 saves and Brayden Schenn continued his strong play, leading St. Louis to the victory.

Schenn got his team-leading 14th goal two days after netting a hat trick against Montreal. Colton Parayko and Vladimir Tarasenko also scored.

Allen got his first shutout of the season. He was briefly backed up by local vending machine worker Tyler Stewart after regular backup Carter Hutton was injured at the morning skate.

Dallas has lost two in a row since a season-high five game winning streak. Kari Lehtonen stopped 24 shots.

PENGUINS 4, ISLANDERS 3

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Matt Hunwick scored 1:29 into overtime, lifting the Penguins to the win.

Pittsburgh led 3-1 in the third period, but the Islanders tied it with goals in the final 4:53. Hunwick ended the game with his third of the season, pushing one in during a scramble in front of the net.

Phil Kessel got his team-leading 14th goal on a power play, and Jake Guentzel and Riley Sheahan also scored for Pittsburgh. Rookie Tristan Jarry made 23 saves.

Pittsburgh has won five of six since a three-game losing streak.

Jordan Eberle got his 12th goal for New York, and Mathew Barzal and Brock Nelson each got their eighth in the third period. Jaroslav Halak stopped 28 shots.

SHARKS 5, HURRICANES 4, OT

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Brent Burns scored 22 seconds into overtime, giving San Jose the victory.

Barclay Goodrow scored a short-handed goal with just over eight minutes to play in regulation, tying it at 4 and completing the Sharks’ rally from a three-goal deficit.

Melker Karlsson also had a short-handed goal for San Jose, and Logan Couture and Joe Thornton each scored on the power play.

Sebastian Aho scored twice for Carolina within a five-minute span of the first period. Victor Rask and Jeff Skinner also scored for the Hurricanes, who have lost three of four.

Martin Jones stopped 21 shots for the Sharks. Cam Ward had 28 saves for Carolina.

PANTHERS 6, JETS 4

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Micheal Haley scored a tiebreaking goal midway through the third period, and Florida snapped a three-game skid.

Vincent Trocheck had two goals for the Panthers, and Denis Malgin, Mark Pysyk and Aaron Ekblad also scored. James Reimer made 35 saves.

Patrik Laine had a goal and two assists for the Jets. Blake Wheeler, Adam Lowry and Nikolaj Ehlers also scored. Eric Comrie stopped 30 shots in his second career start.

FLAMES 3, CANADIENS 2, OT

MONTREAL (AP) — Sean Monahan scored his second goal of the game 1:14 into overtime, lifting the Flames to the road win.

Monahan finished a 2-on-1 break by taking a feed from Johnny Gaudreau and beating Carey Price from the slot.

Garnet Hathaway also scored for Calgary (15-12-2), which was coming off a shootout loss in Toronto on Wednesday night. David Rittich made 35 saves in his second career start.

Daniel Carr and Phillip Danault scored for Montreal (13-13-4). Price stopped 34 shots.