The Canucks gave themselves a scare, but they held off the Devils’ comeback to win the game 6-4 in what should have been the second edition of the “Hughes Game”.
Defeated 6 to 5 on December 5 in the first game where the three Hughes brothers faced each other, the Canucks took the necessary means to take their revenge. The Canadian team scored three goals in less than five minutes at the start of the second period to take a comfortable three-goal lead. Elias Pettersson preceded two goals from JT Miller to give his team the lead.
Colin Miller stopped the bleeding with his first of the season a little more than two minutes after the second from the other Miller. Erik Haula reduced the Canucks’ lead to a single goal with 23 seconds left in the period, but Conor Garland took advantage of his speed to round the net and give his team two priority goals just 12 seconds later.
Pettersson seemed to have put the match out of reach with his 17e of the season – its 2e of the match – which was then 5 to 2 at the start of the third. Midway through the period, Colin Miller and Brendan Smith each scored in less than two minutes to make it 5-4 and put pressure on the Canucks.
Dakota Joshua opened the door late in the game by taking a penalty with 4:31 to play, but the Canucks’ penalty kill and Thatcher Demko held on. Joshua made up for his mistake by scoring the insurance goal with a good effort into an empty net.
The game should have been the second edition of the “Hughes Game,” but an injury to Jack, suffered Friday against the Blackhawks, kept him out of the game. In his absence, Quinn delivered a three-assist performance while Luke was limited to one assist.
In addition to their two goals, JT Miller and Pettersson added an assist. In the victory Demko turned aside 21 pucks to score his 19the victory of the season. Nico Daws made 36 saves.
California smiles on the Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs controlled the game throughout the game to easily defeat the Sharks 4-1 at the SAP Center in San Jose and sign their third victory in as many games during their California trip.
Mitchell Marner opened the scoring on the power play in the first period and the Leafs never looked back after that.
Calle Jarnkrok then doubled the lead with his 10e of the season at the very end of the second period.
The third period was all about William Nylander who found the back of the net twice. Mikael Granlund responded for the Sharks to save the honor.
This is an 11e straight defeat for the Sharks. The two teams will meet again on Tuesday in Toronto.
A double from Frederic in the domination of the Bruins
Trent Frederic scored twice, David Pastrnak scored his 24th goal of the season and the Boston Bruins defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 7-3.
Charlie McAvoy, Morgan Geekie, Charlie Coyle and Jake DeBrusk also lit the red light for the Bruins, who have won five of their last six meetings.
Hampus Lindholm and Matthew Poitras added two assists each and Linus Ullmark made 23 saves.
Lightning head coach Jon Cooper will have to wait before reaching 500 career victories, with 499 wins. He received a misconduct penalty after accidentally hitting a player’s hand. official.
Brayden Point scored twice for the Lightning, who suffered a fourth loss in six games. Nikita Kucherov finished the game with a goal and two assists, while Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 20 shots.
Girgensons slices late in the third against Pittsburgh
Zemgus Girgensons scored on a loose puck near Tristan Jarry late in the third period to give the Buffalo Sabers the lead, who defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-1.
The Penguins tied the game earlier in the third when Rickard Rakell scored his fourth goal of the campaign on a power play.
The Sabers responded when Girgensons drove to the Penguins net before putting a backhand shot with 4:38 to play. Rasmus Dahlin added the insurance goal in an empty cage.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 41 saves for the Sabres. Alex Tuch also scored for the Sabres, who recorded their third victory in four games.
Jarry stopped 29 pucks for the Penguins, who saw two goals canceled in the first period.
A Drew O’Connor net was ruled out on video review for offside, then officials ruled Jake Guentzel was obstructing Luukkonen when he deflected a shot a few minutes moments later.
