Vladimir Tarasenko scored his first two goals in the uniform of the Florida Panthers, who beat the Calgary Flames 5-1.
Tarasenko, acquired from the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday, scored his first goal by intercepting Jonathan Huberdeau’s pass, before beating Jacob Markstrom with a wrist shot 23 seconds into the second.
The forward, who also collected an assist, scored his second goal late in the second.
Aleksander Barkov, Sam Bennett and Kevin Stenlund also scored for the Panthers, who benefited from Anthony Stolarz’s 34 saves. Yegor Sharangovich was the only one to thwart him in this meeting.
Markstrom stopped 26 shots.
The Panthers have now won 17 of their last 20 games and remain in first place in the overall standings, one point ahead of the Boston Bruins, who defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-1 on Saturday.
With a 672nd game in a Panthers uniform, Aaron Ekblad overtook Huberdeau (671) for second place in club history.
Ekblad, however, left the game due to a leg injury following contact with Tarasenko late in the first and did not return to the game.
Panthers forward Evan Rodrigues also left the game after blocking a shot with his ankle late in the second. He also did not return to the game.
KK finally finds the back of the net
Jesperi Kotkaniemi broke a tie with a shot from a tight angle in the third period to lead the Carolina Hurricanes to a 4-2 victory over the New Jersey Devils.
This is a first goal after a seven-game drought for the former Montreal Canadiens. He hadn’t hit the target since February 19 and his second in his last 31 games.
Martin Necas scored the first goal for the Hurricanes, who swept this season’s three-game series against the Devils. Pyotr Kochetkov made 23 saves.
Andrei Svechnikov and Teuvo Teravainen also scored in an empty net. Teravainen totaled three points in the game.
Nico Hischier and Timo Meier responded for the Devils, who are 1-2-0 since the debut of interim head coach Travis Green. Nico Daws stopped 22 pucks.
Evgeny Kuznetsov played his first game with the Hurricanes. He played center for Kotkaniemi and Jesper Fast after being acquired from the Washington Capitals for a third-round selection in the 2025 National Hockey League draft.
The Bruins take care of the poor Penguins
David Pastrnak reached the 40-goal mark for a third consecutive season and the Boston Bruins won 5-1 against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday at TD Garden.
It was the first time since January 20 and 22 that the Bruins won two games in a row in regulation.
Pavel Zacha scored two goals and had an assist. Brad Marchand and Jake DeBrusk both scored and added an assist, while Linus Ullmark stopped 38 shots.
Kristopher Letang scored the Penguins goal and Alex Nedeljkovic blocked 17 shots. The Penguins have lost five of their last six games. Sidney Crosby and his teammates played their first game since the transaction sending Jake Guentzel to the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday.
Michael Bunting was making his debut with the Penguins. He finished the game with three shots on goal and three hits.
Pastrnak continued to score. The Czech became the fourth Bruins player to record four 40-plus goal seasons with Boston. Brad Marchand will be able to reach an interesting plateau from the next confrontation. Marchand entered the 399e goal of his career at the end of the second. He could be the fifth member of the Bruins to pass 400 goals behind Johnny Bucyk (545), Phil Esposito (459), Patrice Bergeron (427) and Rick Middleton (402).
Bruins defenseman Hampus Lindholm was back in the lineup after missing the last nine games due to injury.
Tarasov’s 47 rulings change nothing
Luke Evangelista broke the tie in the third period and the Nashville Predators earned their 10th victory in 11 games by defeating the Columbus Blue Jackets 2-1.
Kiefer Sherwood also scored and Kevin Lankinen made 32 saves for the Predators, whose only loss since February 15 came in overtime at the hands of the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday.
The Blue Jackets were unable to take advantage of the excellent performance of goaltender Daniil Tarasov, who stopped 47 pucks. This is a personal high for him.
Alexandre Texier was the only scorer for the Ohio team, ranked last in the Metropolitan section.
Sherwood scored with 7:41 left in the first period. At that point, the Predators had fired 15 shots on target compared to none for the local favorites.
Boone Jenner could have given the Blue Jackets the lead in the second, but his goal was disallowed as his stick was over the crossbar when he hit the puck in flight.
The Blue Jackets will be at the Bell Center to face the Canadian on Tuesday.
Buffalo slows its three-game losing streak
Alex Tuch scored the deciding shootout goal and the Buffalo Sabers erased a two-goal deficit to defeat the Edmonton Oilers 3-2.
Tage Thompson and Jacob Bryson allowed the local favorites to tie the game. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 30 pucks and stopped the Oilers’ third and final attempt in the shootout.
The Sabers thus ended a three-game losing streak.
Ryan McLeod and Warren Foegele each had a goal and an assist for the Oilers, who lost a second straight game. Stuart Skinner made 25 saves.
The Oilers captain saw his streak with at least one point end at 13 games. During it, he scored two goals and amassed 29 points.
Owen Power flashed the red light in extra time and both teams were already in their respective dressing rooms when the referees announced that the video review showed an offside.
