Right winger Cal Clutterbuck scored in the second period as the New York Islanders concluded one of the best Novembers in franchise history with a 3-1 win over the New Jersey Devils in front of a sellout crowd at Nassau Coliseum on Saturday.
Left winger Nikolai Kulemin also scored for the Islanders, who went 11-3-0 last month to surge into a tie for first place in the Metropolitan Division with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Only the 1980-81 Islanders team that won the second of the franchise’s four successive Stanley Cups recorded more wins in November (12-1-2).
Islanders goalie Jaroslav Halak made 34 saves and was particularly brilliant in the third period, when the Devils did not score despite outshooting the Islanders 16-2.
PENGUINS 3, HURRICANES 2
Pittsburgh tied a franchise record with their 10th win in the month, getting goals from left winger Chris Kunitz and defenseman Robert Bortuzzo less than two minutes apart in the first period in their victory over Carolina.
The Penguins also won 10 games in November in 1995 and 2010, and improved to 9-2-1 on the road — the best mark in the Eastern Conference.
MAPLE LEAFS 6, CAPITALS 2
Center Tyler Bozak scored two goals as Toronto defeated Washington.
Defensemen Morgan Rielly and Cody Franson, right winger David Clarkson and left winger Joffrey Lupul also scored for the Maple Leafs, while tight winger Phil Kessel added two assists.
BLACKHAWKS 4, KINGS 1
Two goals by center Brad Richards sparked the Chicago Blackhawks to a victory over Los Angeles Kings before a sellout crowd of 18,471 at Staples Center.
In their first meeting since the Kings defeated the Blackhawks in seven games in last season’s Western Conference Final, Chicago dictated from the start, winning their sixth contest in seven to finish 5-1-0 on their six-game road trip.
PREDATORS 2, BLUE JACKETS 1
Colin Wilson backhanded the rebound of center Craig Smith’s shot past goalkeeper Curtis McElhinney at 17:48 of the third period to give Nashville a win over Columbus.
McElhinney stopped 40 of the first 41 shots, but he was in no position to deny Wilson’s game-winner, his fourth goal of the season.
In other games, it was:
‧ Blues 3, Wild 2 (SO)
‧ Avalanche 5, Stars 2
‧ Flames 3, Coyotes 0
‧ Lightning 4, Senators 1
‧ Sabres 4, Canadiens 3 (SO)
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