UNDATED (AP) — The Florida Panthers continue to steamroll through their NHL schedule by winning the first of three straight meetings with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Aaron Ekblad and Alex Wennberg each had a goal and an assist as the Panthers knocked off the defending Stanley Cup champs, 5-2. Frank Vatrano, Carter Verhaeghe and Brett Connolly also scored to help Florida end Tampa Bay’s six-game winning streak.
The Panthers are 8-1-2 and one point behind the Bolts for the Central Division lead.
Elsewhere on NHL ice:
— Max Comtois scored with 7:42 left to back John Gibson’s 21-save performance in the Ducks’ 1-0 shutout of the Golden Knights. It marked just the fifth time Vegas was blanked at home in its history, and the first time the Golden Knights lost in their own building by a score of 1-0.
— Evgeni Malkin scored with 18 seconds left in regulation and Sidney Crosby provided the lone shootout tally in the Penguins’ 4-3 win over the Islanders. The Isles led the game three times, the last coming on Mat Barzal’s goal with 6:25 remaining in the third period.
— Boone Jenner, Jack Roslovic, Michael Del Zotto and Kevin Stenlund scored during a wild third period that pushed the Blue Jackets to a 6-5 win over Chicago, ending the Blackhawks’ three-game winning streak. Cam Atkinson set a franchise record with his 15th career short-handed goal and had three assists as Columbus won for the third time in four games.
— Nino Niederreiter scored the tiebreaking goal about four minutes into the third period before the Hurricanes completed a 5-3 downing of the Stars. Jordan Staal and Sebastian Aho both had a goal and an assist in Carolina’s third win over the defending Western Conference champs.
— The Predators posted a 3-2 win over the Red Wings on Dante Fabbro’s goal with 59.2 seconds remaining in regulation. Ryan Ellis and Matt Duchene also scored and Pekka Rinne made 24 saves as Nashville snapped a three-game losing streak.
— The Kings halted a five-game losing streak as Anze Kopitar, Carl Grundstrom and Jaret Anderson-Dolan each had a goal and an assist in a 6-2 rout of the Sharks. Alex Iafallo and Jeff Carter added power-play goals, Drew Doughty had three assists and Cal Petersen made 28 saves for Los Angeles.
— Mike Smith picked up his 40th career shutout by turning back 38 shots in the Oilers’ third straight win, 3-0 over the Canadiens. The start of the game was delayed an hour after Edmonton forward Jesse Puljujarvi was placed on the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol list.
— Connor Hellebuyck made 41 saves and the Jets improved to 4-0 against the Senators this season with a 5-1 victory. Paul Stastny, Dylan DeMelo and Blake Wheeler scored second-period goals after Hellebuyck stopped 18 shots in a scoreless first period.
— The Flames earned their third straight win as Mark Giordano had a goal and an assist in a 3-1 verdict over the Canucks. Jacob Markstrom had 33 saves to help Calgary deal Vancouver its sixth loss in a row.
