UNDATED (AP) — The Pittsburgh Penguins are owners of a 10-game winning streak for the sixth time in franchise history.
Jake Guentzel and Bryan Rust each scored twice for the Penguins in a 6-2 thumping of the Flyers. Rust has keyed the recent surge with seven goals in the last three games since he returned from an 11-game absence with an undisclosed injury. Evan Rodrigues scored his 15th goal in the third and Brian Boyle also scored a short-handed goal in the period to turn this one into a rout.
The Penguins won the second game of a back-to-back and haven’t lost since Dec. 1 against Edmonton.
Elsewhere on NHL ice:
— The Avalanche rolled over the Jets, 7-1 as Gabriel Landeskog notched his fourth career hat trick and had an assist. Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and four assists, and Mikko Rantanen added a goal and two assists to give Colorado’s top line 12 points on the night.
— Nikita Kucherov had a pair of nifty assists in his return from a lengthy injury, sparking the Lightning’s three-goal third period in a 4-1 verdict over the Flames. Corey Perry, Brayden Point, Ondrej Palat and Alex Killorn scored to help Tampa Bay become the first NHL team to reach 50 points for the fourth time in the last five seasons.
— Kirill Kaprizov scored for the fourth straight game and the Wild halted a five-game skid by defeating the Bruins, 3-2. Matt Boldy got a goal in his NHL debut as the Boston College alum made it 3-1 midway through the second period.
— Filip Forsberg had a goal and an assist for his third straight multi-point outing, sending the Predators to a 4-2 win at Los Angeles. Forsberg has a league leading 12 goals since Nov. 30 as Nashville has gone 11-2-1 in its last 14 games to grab the lead in the Central Division.
— Jonathan Marchessault scored twice and Robin Lehner made 18 saves as the Golden Knights whipped the Rangers, 5-1 to end a two-game slide. Mark Stone, Mattias Janmark and Brett Howden also tallied for Vegas.
— Jamie Benn had a goal and an assist two days after coming out of COVID-19 protocols, guiding the Stars to a 6-5 shootout win against the Panthers. Joe Pavelski and Jason Robertson scored on the only two shots in the shootout for the Stars while Braden Holtby stopped both Florida shots to end the game.
— Johan Larsson scored his first three goals of the season for his first career hat trick as the Coyotes dealt the Blackhawks their sixth consecutive loss, 6-4. Dysin Mayo, Travis Boyd and Clayton Keller also scored in Arizona’s league-low seventh win.
— The Sharks ended a two-game skid as Adin Hill made 37 saves in a 3-2 decision over the Sabres. Tomas Hertl had a goal and an assist for San Jose, which also received tallies by Matt Neito and Timo Meier.
— The Devils won for the fourth time in five games as Jesper Bratt furnished the go-ahead goal in the third period of their 3-1 win against the Blue Jackets. Jack Hughes had a goal and two assists to back MacKenzie Blackwood’s 31-save effort.
— Anaheim’s game against visiting Detroit was postponed to Sunday because of COVID-19-related issues affecting the Ducks. Anaheim placed center Sam Carrick, goaltender John Gibson, defenseman Hampus Lindholm and right wing Vinni Lettieri into the NHL’s COVID-19 protocols.
Rask close to return with Bruins, signs with Providence
BOSTON (AP) — Goalkeeper Tuukka Rask is getting closer to returning to the Boston Bruins after signing a professional tryout agreement with Providence of the American Hockey League.
Rask is currently a free agent, but he has spent 14 seasons with the Bruins and is the franchise’s leader in wins. He is coming back from offseason labrum surgery on his hip.
He says he expects to play two games in Providence before working out a deal to join the Bruins.
Elsewhere around the NHL:
— The Kraken will be without forward Jaden Schwartz for at least a month due to a hand injury that will require surgery. Schwartz has not played since being injured on Dec. 29 against Philadelphia. He has six goals and 14 assists in 29 games for Seattle.
