UNDATED (AP) — The Pittsburgh Penguins continue to roll since a three-game losing streak in mid-November dropped them to 5-6-4.
The Pens have their second five-game winning streak in a month following a 5-2 win over the Canadiens. Evan Rodrigues scored his ninth goal of the season and added two assists in helping Pittsburgh improve to 10-2-1 in its last 13 games. Kasperi Kapanen, Mike Matheson, Brian Dumoulin and Brian Boyle also scored to back Tristan Jarry’s 28-save performance.
Elsewhere on NHL ice:
— Valeri Nichushkin’s two goals were the difference as the Avalanche doubled up the Rangers, 4-2. Cale Makar and Mikko Rantanen also scored and Nathan MacKinnon had two assists in Colorado’s fifth win in a row. Ryan Strome and Julien Gauthier scored and Alexander Georgiev made 27 saves for New York, which has dropped three of four since a seven-game winning streak.
— Third-period goals by Justin Faulk, Ryan O’Reilly and Vladimir Tarasenko pushed the Blues to a 4-1 verdict over the Stars. Colton Parayko also scored and Charlie Lindgren made 33 saves to improve to 4-0-0. Dallas had won eight straight at home.
— The Lightning pulled out a 3-2 win over the Kings on Mathieu Joseph’s goal at 3:25 of overtime. Steven Stamkos had an assist, leaving him one point from becoming the 118th player to reach 900 points. Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy made 28 saves to win his 62nd game of the calendar year, tying the mark set by Pittsburgh’s Marc-Andre Fleury in 2009.
— Max Pacioretty has a seven-game goal streak after scoring twice in the Golden Knights’ 4-1 victory at Boston. Robin Lehner made 23 saves for Vegas, which won for the fifth time in six games. Shea Theodore also scored for the Knights, and Jonathan Marchessault had a goal with 0.6 seconds left in the first period to make it 3-0.
— Josh Norris scored two goals and Anton Forsberg made 33 saves as the Senators crushed the Panthers, 8-2. Nick Brown scored two late power-play goals, and Drake Batherson had a goal and two assists. Ottawa won for the fifth time in six games and handed Florida just its second home loss of the season.
— The Flyers hammered the Devils, 6-1 as Cam Atkinson provided a hat trick and an assist. Travis Sanheim and Oskar Lindblom each had a goal and an assist in Philadelphia’s third consecutive win since a 10-game losing streak. New Jersey has lost seven of eight.
— The Islanders fell for the 12th time in 14 games by dropping a 2-1 decision to the Red Wings. Alex Nedeljkovic made 33 saves and blanked New York until Anders Lee beat him late in the third period. Dylan Larkin scored his team-high 11th goal and Michael Rasmussen also scored for the Wings.
— Auston Matthews had two goals and the Maple Leafs won their second straight game by dumping the struggling Oilers, 5-1. Wayne Simmonds, TJ Brodie and Morgan Rielly also scored for the Leafs, who improved to 8-4-1 on the road. Colton Sceviour had the Oilers’ only goal in their sixth consecutive loss.
— Ryan Donato broke a scoreless tie early in the third period of his return to San Jose as the former Shark led the Kraken to a 3-1 win. Chris Driedger made 33 saves to help Seattle snap a three-game skid. Brandon Tanev added an insurance goal that proved key when Logan Couture finally got the Sharks on the board with 2:07 remaining.
— Bo Horvat scored twice and the Canucks improved to 5-0 under head coach Bruce Boudreau by pulling out a 4-3 comeback win over the Blue Jackets. Horvat buried his second of the game on a power play with 58.8 seconds left on the clock. Eric Robinson had two goals for Columbus.
— Rasmus Dahlin scored twice and the Sabres snapped a seven-game winless streak with a 4-2 victory at Winnipeg. Anders Bjork and Jeff Skinner also scored for the Sabres, who are 1-5-2 in their last eight games. Tage Thompson and Victor Olofsson each had two assists in the win.
Hurricanes lose four to COVID protocol
UNDATED (AP) — The Carolina Hurricanes are the latest NHL club to be hit with a coronavirus outbreak. Four more players were placed in the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol. That prompted the postponement of Tuesday’s game against the Minnesota Wild.
Jordan Staal, Andrei Svechnikov Steven Lorentz and defenseman Ian Cole were placed in the protocol and must remain in Minnesota for “the time being.”
Earlier in the day, the Bruins placed forwards Brad Marchand and Craig Smith in the COVID-19 protocol, meaning they were inactive for Tuesday’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights.
