UNDATED (AP) — The Carolina Hurricanes are the new leaders in the NHL’s Central Division, moving one point ahead of Florida and staying one ahead of the Lightning.
Alex Nedeljkovic made 24 saves for his third career shutout as the Hurricanes downed the Panthers, 3-0. Vincent Trocheck scored another goal against his former team. Sebastian Aho and Martin Necas also scored for Carolina, which swept a two-game set from the Panthers.
Tampa Bay scored three times in the first six minutes before Andrei Vasilevskiy finished with 32 saves, sending the Lightning to a 6-4 win over the Blue Jackets. Blake Coleman roofed a shot 58 seconds in, and then Steven Stamkos and Barclay Goodrow scored a minute apart to put the Blue Jackets in an early hole. Ryan McDonagh tallied twice, and Ross Colton also had a goal as the Lightning stopped a three-game skid and earned a split of the two-game series with Columbus.
Elsewhere on NHL ice:
— The Islanders blew a 2-0 lead before Ilya Sorokin stopped all five Flyers shootout attempts to help New York post a 3-2 victory. Brock Nelson provided the game-winner as the Isles improved to 4-0 on their six-game homestand. Nelson and Jordan Eberle netted first-period goals 63 seconds apart for the Islanders, who are 17-1-2 at Nassau Coliseum this season.
— The Isles lead the East Division by two points over Washington following the Capitals’ 4-2 loss to the Bruins. Brad Marchand scored a shorthanded goal, Jeremy Swayman made 31 saves to win his second NHL start. Swayman allowed two power-play goals in under 20 seconds to Alex Ovechkin and T.J. Oshie but kept the Bruins ahead when the Capitals tilted the ice toward him in the second period.
— The Penguins remain four points off the East lead after Radim Zohorna and Jason Zucker each furnished a goal and an assist in their 5-2 victory over the Rangers. The game was tied at two until Kris Letang and Evan Rodrigues scored in the second period. Tristan Jarry stopped 22 shots for Pittsburgh, which surrendered 15 goals in dropping its previous two games.
— Viktor Arvidsson scored three times to lead the surging Predators to their ninth win in 10 games, a 7-1 blowout over the Red Wings. Arvidsson and Nick Cousins scored early and late in the second period to put Nashville ahead 3-1. Juuse Saros stopped 25 saves for the Predators.
— Blake Comeau scored twice and Roope Hintz had a goal and three assists as the Stars handled the Blackhawks, 5-1 to end a two-game slide. Jason Robertson and Miro Heiskanen also scored to help Dallas pull closer in the battle for the fourth place and the final playoff spot in the Central Division. Dominik Kubalik connected for the Blackhawks, who fell four points behind fourth-place Nashville in the Central.
— The Oilers completed a nine-game season sweep of the Senators as Devin Shore scored the tiebreaker with 7:02 left in Edmonton’s 3-1 victory. Mike Smith made 39 saves, Kailer Yamamoto tallied in the second period and Jesse Puljujarvi added an empty-netter. The Oilers have points in nine of their last 10 games and are within five points of the first-place Maple Leafs in the North Division.
— Connor Hellebuyck made 36 saves and the Jets began a five-game trip with a 4-2 verdict over the Canadiens. Josh Morrissey, Trevor Lewis, Nikolaj Ehlers and Andrew Copp as Winnipeg improved to 24-13-3, with only two regulation losses in their last nine games. Phillip Danault and Paul Byron scored for the Canadiens, and Jake Allen made 23 saves.
— Jesper Boqvist scored the go-ahead goal with 11:15 remaining in the Devils’ 6-3 win over the Sabres. Pavel Zacha scored two power-play goals and Jack Hughes snapped a 10-game scoring drought while adding two assists. The win snapped the Devils 0-2-2 skid, and came a day after Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac were packaged in a trade to the New York Islanders for two draft picks.
