Devan Dubnyk stopped 18 shots for his 10th career shutout in his Minnesota debut, while Jason Pominville had three assists against his former team as the Wild snapped a six-game skid with a 7-0 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night.
The Sabres extended their losing streak to nine — all decided in regulation. No team has done that since the Edmonton Oilers lost nine straight in regulation from Feb. 25 to March 15, 2007, according to STATS.
Zach Parise, Kyle Brodziak and Erik Haula had a goal and assist each in a game in which the Wild scored five times on their first 25 shots, and before the second period was over. Thomas Vanek, another ex-Sabres star, also had a goal and assist for Minnesota, which had its largest margin of victory in franchise history.
Matt Cooke, Matt Dumba and Jared Spurgeon also scored for the Wild, who rebounded from a 7-2 loss at Pittsburgh on Tuesday.
CANUCKS 4, FLYERS 0
Henrik Sedin had a goal and an assist, while Ryan Miller made 29 saves to lead the Vancouver Canucks over the Philadelphia Flyers.
Nick Bonino, Radim Vrbata and Jannik Hansen also scored for Vancouver, who snapped a three-game losing streak and broke out of a scoring slump. The Canucks tallied just two goals during their skid.
It was Miller’s fourth shutout this season and 33rd of his NHL career. He returned to the net after missing two games due to illness.
Philadelphia dropped their second straight and fell further out of playoff contention. The Flyers entered Thursday 11 points out of a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
BRUINS 3, RANGERS 0
Tuukka Rask stopped 30 shots for his second shutout, while Patrice Bergeron scored a first-period goal as the Boston Bruins won their fifth straight by beating the New York Rangers.
The Rangers have lost 3-0 in consecutive games after winning five straight and 13 of 14.
David Krejci and Loui Eriksson also scored for Boston, who have earned points in nine consecutive games (6-0-3). Torey Krug added two assists. It was Rask’s 25th NHL shutout.
Cam Talbot made 29 saves for the Rangers, with top goalie Henrik Lundqvist getting the night off.
SENATORS 4, CANADIENS 1
Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored his first goal of the season to help lead the Ottawa Senators past the Montreal Canadiens.
Mika Zibanejad, Erik Karlsson and Erik Condra also scored for the Senators. Craig Anderson stopped 25 shots in his 399th game and has allowed two goals or less in eight of his last 10 starts.
Max Pacioretty scored the lone goal for the Canadiens as Dustin Tokarski turned away 31 of 34 shots.
It marked the Senators’ first home game since returning from a four-game road trip, where Ottawa went 1-2-1 and they looked motivated from the start right through to the final buzzer.
LIGHTNING 3, OILERS 2
Ondrej Palat scored a pair of third-period goals as the Eastern Conference-leading Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Edmonton Oilers.
Steven Stamkos also scored in his fourth straight game for the Lightning, who overtook the idle New York Islanders atop the East.
Tampa Bay finished a run of 21 games that included a 6-0-1 record against Edmonton, Buffalo and Carolina, the NHL’s worst three teams. The Lightning went 5-8-1 against other opponents during that stretch.
Edmonton, who have lost 14 consecutive road games, got two goals from Benoit Pouliot. He has scored the last five Oilers goals.
In other results, it was:
‧ Red Wings 3, Blues 2, OT
‧ Avalanche 4, Panthers 2
‧ Jets 2, Stars 1
‧ Flames 4, Coyotes 1
‧ Sharks 3, Maple Leafs 1
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