NHL Roundup
The New York Rangers have gone from an awful start to the hottest team in the NHL, using the man advantage to help them to a season-high sixth straight win on Saturday.
New York scored two second-period power-play goals en route to a 4-2 victory against the Edmonton Oilers as the Rangers won their fifth straight at Madison Square Garden.
“We went out there tonight knowing that they are a penalty kill that is struggling,” Kevin Shattenkirk said after he extended his point streak to seven games. “We just tried to expose them the best way that we could. We worked for each other to get in the spots that were open and made some good plays.”
Rick Nash scored twice, Mats Zuccarello picked up two assists and Pavel Buchnevich had a goal for the Rangers. Henrik Lundqvist made 26 saves and Ryan McDonagh registered an assist in the fourth consecutive game.
Jesse Puljujarvi and Connor McDavid each scored as the Oilers fell to the Rangers for the fourth consecutive time.
Nash scored the eventual game winner when defenseman Brady Skjei found Nash darting toward the back post at 18:53 of the second period. McDonagh also assisted on the play.
“We kind of talked about that play before the game and we knew there’s going to be a chance it would be open,” Nash said of his power-play goal. “Brady and I talked about it and he made a great pass. You just try to build a wall with your skates and your sticks and you hope it hits something. When you get a goalie like Cam (Talbot), we know him pretty well. He challenges hard. He leaves that backdoor play open.”
New York jumped in front when Nash and Kevin Hayes completed an odd-man-rush at 12:19 of the first period. Nash extended his point streak to six games against the Oilers. Zuccarello also assisted on the play.
“I just look to see what stick the defenseman has, when it’s a lefty on lefty, you just wait for him to move his stick,” Hayes said of the two-on-one opportunity. “You just got to wait out the goalie, then make your decision from there.”
Puljujarvi, playing in his first game of the season since being recalled Friday from the AHL, tied the game at 1 at 16:26 of the first period. Skjei and Buchnevich each had difficulty clearing the puck from the defensive zone and eventually Ryan Nugent-Hopkins controlled the loose puck. He delivered a soft backhanded pass to Puljujarvi before the wrist shot. Darnell Nurse also assisted on the play.
Ottawa 4, Colorado 3: Mike Hoffman scored two goals to help the Ottawa Senators beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-3 for a sweep of their two regular-season games in Sweden.
Mark Stone and Johnny Oduya also scored for Ottawa, which trailed 3-2 after two periods. Defenseman Erik Karlsson had two assists, giving the captain 17 points in 11 games this season.
Oduya, a Stockholm native, drove a slap shot by Jonathan Bernier at 7:01 of the third, tying it at 3 and delighting the crowd of more than 13,000. Hoffman got the game-winning goal on a one-timer on a power play with 6:37 left.
Alexander Kerfoot and Sven Andrighetto each had a goal and an assist for the Avalanche, who have dropped three in a row. Bernier finished with 36 saves.
The two games in Stockholm were part of the 2017 NHL Global Series. It was the fifth time the NHL has played regular-season games in Europe, but the first since 2011.
The Senators beat the Avalanche 4-3 in overtime in the opener on Friday.
Minnesota 1, Philadelphia 0: Jason Zucker scored his sixth goal in three games and Devan Dubnyk made 32 saves for his second straight shutout to give the Minnesota Wild a 1-0 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers.
Zucker has scored Minnesota’s last six goals, extending his team record when he banked in a rebound off Brian Elliott 1:06 into the third period.
Zucker scored Minnesota’s goals in a 4-2 loss at Toronto on Wednesday night, then scored three times in the third period Thursday night in a 3-0 victory at Montreal that saw Dubnyk make a season-high 41 saves.
Dubnyk kept Minnesota in it with several strong saves through two scoreless periods and then withstood Philadelphia’s late charge with an extra skater as the Wild finished a 2-2 trip.
Elliott stopped 26 shots and the Flyers were blanked for the fourth time this season.