Anze Kopitar had a goal and two assists as the defending Stanley Cup champions Los Angeles Kings beat the New Jersey Devils 3-1 on Monday at the start of a five-game trip.
Andrej Sekera and Tyler Toffoli also scored for the Kings, who are on the outside of the Western Conference playoff picture. Marian Gaborik added two assists, and Jonathan Quick made 19 saves as Los Angeles won for only the second time in five games.
Scott Gomez scored for the Devils, who lost their second straight game. Cory Schneider made 30 saves for New Jersey, who are in danger of missing the playoffs for the third straight season.
Photo: AFP
The game also marked the return of veteran center Mike Richards to the Kings lineup after he spent 16 games with Manchester of the AHL.
BLACKHAWKS 3, HURRICANES 1
In Raleigh, North Carolina, Andrew Shaw scored two goals as Chicago held off Carolina.
Corey Crawford made 43 saves for the Blackhawks, who have earned a point in 18 of their past 21 games and are fourth in the Western Conference. Shaw scored in the first period and added an empty-net goal with 40 seconds left.
Patrick Sharp had a goal and assist, and Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville earned his 750th NHL victory. Chicago improved to 23-0 when leading after two periods.
Victor Rask cut Carolina’s deficit in half early in the second period, and Anton Khudobin made 22 saves for the Hurricanes, who outshot Chicago 44-25.
SENATORS 5, BLACKHAWKS 2
In Ottawa, Mika Zibanejad scored twice as Ottawa moved into an Eastern Conference playoff position with a victory over San Jose.
The Senators earned their seventh straight win and jumped one point ahead of Boston for the second wild-card spot in the East with a game in hand. Ottawa are above the post-season cutoff for the first time since late November last year.
Alex Chiasson, Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Mike Hoffman, with an empty-net goal, also scored for Ottawa. Andrew Hammond, making his seventh straight start, stopped 29 shots.
Joe Pavelski and Chris Tierney scored for the Sharks. Antti Niemi made 32 saves.
WILD 2, MAPLE LEAFS 1
In Toronto, Devan Dubnyk added to his ironman streak, making his 32nd straight start as Minnesota extended its string of road wins to nine, hanging on for a victory over slumping Toronto.
The loss was the sixth straight for the Maple Leafs, who came close several times to tying it late.
Charlie Coyle and Thomas Vanek scored for Minnesota, who are 23-6-2 since acquiring Dubnyk on Jan. 14.
Toronto defenseman Jake Gardiner scored with 6 minutes and 24 minutes remaining, tapping in the puck after Joffrey Lupul’s slap shot trickled through Dubnyk’s legs.
STARS 4, SABRES 3
In Dallas, Cody Eakin scored at 16 minutes and 46 seconds of the third period as Dallas rallied to beat Buffalo.
Stars captain Jamie Benn netted his team’s first two goals and earned his 200th NHL assist on the third by Patrick Eaves, who tied it 3-3 at 12 minutes and 35 seconds of the third.
On the winner, Eakin took a pass from John Klingberg in the left circle and beat goalie Anders Lindback. Lindback finished with 35 saves.
Buffalo captain Brian Gionta scored the Sabres’ first two goals. Matt Moulson also scored for Buffalo.
FLAMES 3, AVALANCHE 2
In Calgary, Alberta, Lance Bouma and David Jones had a goal and an assist each to lead Calgary over Colorado.
Jiri Hudler also scored for the Flames, and Kari Ramo made 25 saves to earn his 15th win of the season.
Gabriel Landeskog had a goal and an assist for the Avalanche, and Semyon Varlamov finished with 23 saves. Alex Tanguay also scored, and Ryan O’Reilly added two assists.
JETS 4, OILERS 1
In Edmonton, Alberta, Lee Stempniak scored the winning goal as Winnipeg solidified their Western Conference playoff spot with a victory over Edmonton.
Drew Stafford, Tyler Myers and Michael Frolik also scored for the Jets, who have won five in a row.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had the lone goal for the Oilers, who have lost nine of 11.
Winnipeg got on the board first at 7 minutes and 32 seconds, when Stafford picked off Oscar Klefbom’s pass and raced into the Oilers zone. He beat Ben Scrivens with a wrist shot for his fourth goal and eighth point in six games.
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