Panthers rally from 4-1 down to beat Caps
UNDATED (AP) — The Florida Panthers bounced back from their only home loss of the season by erasing a 4-1 lead in the third period.
Sam Reinhart scored the winning power-play goal with 14.4 seconds left to send the Cats to their 12th win in 13 home games, 5-4 over the Capitals. Eetu Luostarinen and Ryan Lomberg each had a goal and an assist for the Panthers, who fired 26 shots in the final period.
Aaron Ekblad had three assists and Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 23 shots to move to 8-0-0 at Sunrise.
Nick Jensen had a goal and an assist for the Capitals, who lost for just the third time in 12 games.
Elsewhere on NHL ice:
— Marc Staal’s first goal of the season was the tiebreaker with just over eight minutes remaining in the Red Wings’ 2-1 decision over the Bruins. Alex Nedeljkovic made 41 saves and Filip Zadina also scored as Detroit earned its third straight win.
— Roope Hintz scored his first career hat trick on an empty netter in the closing minutes, finishing off the Stars’ 4-1 verdict over the Hurricanes. Joe Pavelski had a goal and two assists for the Stars, who earned their fifth straight win despite being outshot, 40-17.
— The Blues erased an early three-goal deficit and beat the Lightning, 4-3 on Ryan O’Reilly’s tally in the shootout. O’Reilly, Logan Brown and Ivan Barbashev scored in regulation to help St. Louis beat Tampa Bay for the fifth straight time.
— Jordan Greenway had a goal and two assists for the Wild in a 5-2 win against the Coyotes. Joel Eriksson Ek, Jonas Brodin and Marcus Foligno also scored for Minnesota, which has 19 goals during its four-game winning streak.
— Kevin Shattenkirk and Trevor Zegras scored in the shootout, and the Ducks blew a three-goal lead in the third period before rallying for a 5-4 win over the Kings. Troy Terry and Shattenkirk scored unassisted goals in the second period and John Gibson made 30 saves before stopping two of Los Angeles’ three tries in the shootout.
— Filip Forsberg scored four goals and Juuse Saros made 27 saves for his first shutout of the season highlighting the Predators’ 6-0 rout of the Blue Jackets. Mikael Granlund assisted on all four of Forsberg’s goals.
— The Sharks posted a 5-2 win over the Devils as Timo Meier scored twice and James Reimer made 32 saves and San Jose defeated the New Jersey Devils 5-2 on Tuesday night. Noah Gregor, Jacob Middleton and Erik Karlsson also scored for the Sharks, who have started their five-game road trip 2-0.
Devils lock Hughes into big contract
UNDATED (AP) — It was a big day for New Jersey Devils center Jack Hughes.
The first overall pick in the 2019 NHL draft returned from a 17-game absence after accepting an eight-year, $64 million contract extension.
General manager Tom Fitzgerald announced the signing of Hughes, who had been out with a dislocated shoulder.
The big contract comes despite Hughes’ modest offensive numbers. He has 22 goals and 58 points in 122 career games.
In other NHL news:
— Kings forward Brendan Lemieux has been suspended for five games, without pay, for biting Ottawa Senators forward Brady Tkachuk during Saturday’s game. Lemieux was assessed a match penalty and will forfeit close to $39,000 of his salary.
— The Bruins say coach Bruce Cassidy has been placed in the league’s COVID-19 protocol. Cassidy is the first Bruins player or coach to be added to the protocol this season. He missed Tuesday’s game against Detroit, leaving assistant Joe Sacco to run the team.
— Two more players are in COVID-10 protocol. Blues forward Tyler Bozak and Oilers defenseman Cody Ceci were added to the list.
— Evander Kane has reported for his first day in the minors focused on doing what it will take to get back to the league. Kane’s 21-game suspension for submitting a fake COVID-19 vaccination card has ended and he is trying to work his way back into shape with the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda and prove himself worthy of another chance in the NHL.
