UNDATED (AP) — The Toronto Maple Leafs have taken control of second place in the NHL’s Atlantic Division, moving two points ahead of Tampa Bay and Boston by defeating the Lightning.
League goals leader Auston Matthews recorded a hat trick as the Leafs earned their fifth straight win, 6-2 in Tampa. Matthews now has 54 goals, four ahead of Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl.
Mitch Marner had a goal and three assists for the Maple Leafs, who also received tallies from Pierre Engvall and Alex Kerfoot.
The Bruins pulled even with the Bolts be defeating Columbus, 3-2 on Jake DeBrusk’s goal 63 seconds into overtime. DeBrusk scored twice, Craig Smith had a goal and Linus Ullmark stopped 20 shots in Boston’s third straight win and 17th in 21 games.
Elsewhere on NHL ice:
— The Flames extended their lead in the Pacific Division to five points over the Kings with a 3-2 victory in Los Angeles. Johnny Gaudreau had two goals and an assist, opening the scoring just 10 seconds into the game for Calgary’s quickest goal since 1987. Adrian Kempe had two goals for the Kings, who had earned at least a point in five of their previous six contests.
— Pavel Buchnevich and Vladimir Tarasenko led the Blues’ scoresheet in a 5-1 downing of the Coyotes. Tarasenko scored twice and provided the eventual game-winner while St. Louis netted four unanswered goals in the second period. Buchnevich added a goal and two assists for the Blues, who moved within three points of the Wild for second place in the Central Division.
