Sergei Bobrovsky on Friday night made 36 saves as the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Montreal Canadiens 2-1 for their 12th straight win.
Columbus improved to 23-5-4, the best start in franchise history.
It was Bobrovsky’s NHL-best 20th win. He kept Columbus in the game, despite an apathetic third period in which the Blue Jackets took just five shots.
Sam Gagner put Columbus on the board at 17 minutes, 50 seconds of the first period, 16 seconds into a Canadiens bench minor for too many men on the ice. It was his 15th goal on the season.
Brandon Saad made it 2-0 with his 13th goal of the season just 1 minutes, 22 seconds into the second.
Montreal controlled much of the third, and Jeff Petry scored at 9 minutes, 8 seconds.
WILD 7, RANGERS 4
In New York, Mikko Koivu, Nino Niederreiter and Marco Scandella scored in a strong burst early in the second period as Minnesota earned their franchise-record 10th straight win.
Mikael Granlund, Jason Zucker, Matt Dumba and Charlie Coyle also scored for the Wild (21-8-4), who chased Henrik Lundqvist with four goals on 13 shots.
Coyle added three assists, while Koivu and Zucker had three points apiece. Eric Staal (two assists) and Granlund both finished with two points.
Minnesota’s Darcy Kuemper made 31 saves in his seventh start of the season.
Chris Kreider had two goals for the Rangers, while Ryan McDonagh and Derek Stepan also scored.
PENGUINS 4, DEVILS 1
In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Sidney Crosby scored his NHL-leading 24th goal as the Penguins rebounded nicely from their worst performance of the season.
Chad Ruhwedel got the first goal of his career for Pittsburgh. Eric Fehr and Patric Hornqvist also scored for the Penguins, while Marc-Andre Fleury made 22 saves.
The Penguins improved to 8-0-1 in their past nine home games while offering an immediate response after getting crushed 7-1 in Columbus on Thursday.
Kyle Palmieri scored for the Devils, who lost for the eighth time in nine games. Cory Schneider stopped 35 shots.
CAPITALS 4, LIGHTNING 0
In Washington, John Carlson scored two goals, Alex Ovechkin also scored and Braden Holtby stopped 23 shots for his third shutout of the season to lead Washington to the win against short-handed Tampa Bay.
Carlson beat Tampa Bay goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy 55 seconds into the game, and scored again at 15 minutes, 42 seconds of the first. The defenseman has three goals on the season.
Ovechkin scored his 15th goal midway through the second period.
The Lightning dressed just 11 forwards and seven defensemen because of injuries, and then lost left wing Jonathan Drouin and defenseman Braydon Coburn in the second period.
MAPLE LEAFS 4, COYOTES 1
In Glendale, Arizona, Coyotes captain Shane Doan scored his 400th goal in his 1,500th game and Toronto rookie Auston Matthews had an assist in his first NHL game in his hometown in the Maple Leafs’ victory over the Coyotes.
Leo Komarov scored twice, while Connor Brown and William Nylander also scored for Toronto. Frederik Andersen made 31 saves.
The Maple Leafs have won three of four, while the Coyotes have lost four straight.
In other results, it was:
‧ Sharks 3, Oilers 2, OT
‧ Stars 3, Kings 2, OT
‧ Avalanche 2, Blackhawks 1, OT
‧ Red Wings 4, Panthers 3, SO
‧ Hurricanes 3, Bruins 2, OT
‧ Islanders 5, Sabres 1
EVERY DAY A VICTORY: Players on the women’s team faced pressure from society just getting out onto the field as they prepare for their first Women’s Asian Cup game today Bangladesh’s national soccer team face daunting odds at their first-ever Women’s Asian Cup, but have already scored a major victory by qualifying. In the South Asian nation of 170 million, social stigma, family expectations, poverty and religious hardliners have long relegated women and girls to sports sidelines. The first women’s soccer league matches took place in 2011 and the squad, known to fans as the Red and Green, have kept pressing forward despite deeply embedded prejudices. “Many more girls would have joined us if the community had been even slightly supportive,” captain Afeida Khandaker told AFP ahead of her side’s March 3
Soccer officials yesterday offered “full support and assistance” to the Iranian team in Australia for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup after the US and Israel launched massive attacks on their homeland. Iran’s 26-strong squad arrived on the Gold Coast days before the strikes on Saturday killed supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as Washington and Tel Aviv seek to topple the Islamic republic. They are due to open their tournament today against South Korea. The AFC in a statement said it “continues to closely monitor the recent developments in the Middle East during this challenging period.” “The AFC’s foremost priority remains the welfare, safety and
ROAD RASH: Marc Marquez retired after a crash, marking the first time after 88 consecutive races stretching back to 2021 that a Ducati bike failed to make the podium Marco Bezzecchi yesterday won the MotoGP season-opening grand prix in Thailand from pole position as defending world champion Marc Marquez retired late with a buckled wheel. Aprilia’s Bezzecchi led from start to finish to top the podium in Buriram, with KTM’s Pedro Acosta second and Trackhouse’s Raul Fernandez third. Ducati’s Marquez is chasing a record-equaling eighth world title this season, but he exited the race in dramatic fashion while in fourth place with five laps to go. The Spaniard, who started from second on the grid, took a corner wide, with the jolt to his bike dislodging the rear tire, badly damaging his
Liverpool on Tuesday suffered an embarrassing 2-1 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers as Andre’s stoppage-time strike sealed a dramatic victory for the English Premier League’s bottom club. Arne Slot’s side fell behind to Rodrigo Gomes’ strike in the closing stages at Molineux. Mohamed Salah hauled Liverpool level with his first goal in 11 top-flight games dating back to November last year. However, Andre’s first goal for Wolves inflicted the latest humbling loss in a chastening season for Liverpool. It was the first time the Premier League’s bottom club had beaten the reigning champions since Crystal Palace defeated Chelsea in 2017. Liverpool
RSS