UNDATED (AP) — The Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes continue to share first place in the NHL’s Central Division after both won on Tuesday.
The Panthers picked up a 5-1 win over the Blue Jackets as Sam Bennett scored twice and Spencer Knight made 33 saves in his NHL debut. Jonathan Huberdeau had a goal and two assists, and Anthony Duclair set up three scores to help Florida improve to 7-0-1 against the Jackets this season. Duclair has five assists in his last two games.
Nino Niederreiter, Jordan Staal and Steven Lorentz scored second-period goals to lead the Hurricanes to a 4-1 victory over the Lightning. Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 26 shots for the victory, allowing only a goal by Brayden Point.
Andrei Vasilevskiy finished with 32 saves for the Bolts, who are three points off the Central lead with 10 games remaining.
Elsewhere on NHL ice:
— The Islanders rolled to a 6-1 win over the Rangers after scoring just 11 times over their previous eight games. Josh Bailey scored twice and Anthony Beauvillier had a goal and three assists as the Isles reclaimed a share of the East Division lead. Jordan Eberle and JG Pageau each had a goal and an assist in the Islanders’ seventh win in 10 games.
— The Penguins are within one point of the East lead after building a 6-0 lead before holding off the Devils, 7-6. Jeff Carter, Bryan Rust, Mike Matheson and Brian Dumoulin tallied in Pittsburgh’s four-goal first period. Rust, Sidney Crosby and Evan Rodrigues each finished with a goal and an assist as the Pens bounced back from an ugly loss to Buffalo.
— Tuukka Rask recorded his first shutout of the season and the Bruins extended their winning streak to five games with a 2-0 victory over the Sabres. Rask made 32 saves including a highlight-reel save on Sabres rookie Dylan Cozens in the first period that helped give the Bruins their seventh win in nine games. Brad Marchand and Connor Clifton scored for Boston.
— Rookie Jason Robertson had a goal and an assist in the first period of the Stars’ fourth win in a row, 5-2 versus Detroit. Joe Pavelski, Tanner Kero, Blake Comeau and Jamie Oleksiak also scored for Dallas, which finished a 4-0-1 homestand and extended its season-best point streak to eight games at 6-0-2. The Stars are one point behind fourth-place Nashville for the Central Division’s last playoff spot with two games in hand.
— The Canucks doubled up the slumping Maple Leafs, 6-3 as Tanner Pearson and Brandon Sutter each scored twice. Braden Holtby stopped 37 shots in the Canucks return from a massive COVID-19 outbreak. John Tavares had two goals for the Maple Leafs, who lost their fifth straight but remain atop the North Division.
— Andreas Athanasiou and Blake Lizotte each had a goal and two assists for the Kings in a 4-1 victory against the Ducks. Anze Kopitar and Carl Grundstrom also scored for the Kings, who had gone 14 games since their last win by at least three goals.
