NHL roundup: Blackhawks edge Senators 8-7
Alex DeBrincat scored a hat trick as part of a five-point night to lead the Chicago Blackhawks to a wild 8-7 win over the visiting Ottawa Senators on Monday. The offensive barrage started early, as the teams combined for nine goals in the first period. It was the highest-scoring frame in the NHL this season, and the 12th-highest scoring period in league history. Starting goalies Collin Delia of Chicago (three goals on 10 shots) and Anders Nilsson of Ottawa (four goals on 12 shots) were both pulled before the first period was complete. Chicago's Patrick Kane recorded a goal and two assists to extend his points streak to 18 games, the longest streak by an NHL player this season. It was also Kane's 17th straight game with at least one assist, tying him with Wayne Gretzky and Paul Coffey for the third-longest assists streak in NHL history. Dylan Strome had a goal and two assists for Chicago. Brandon Saad and Jonathan Toews each had a goal and an assist, and Gustav Forsling also scored for the Blackhawks. Colin White and Thomas Chabot each scored twice for the Senators, with White also recording an assist. Mark Stone had a goal and an assist, and Bobby Ryan and Rudolfs Balcers produced a goal apiece. Lightning 5, Blue Jackets 1 Nikita Kucherov amassed his second five-point game this season as Tampa Bay won its sixth straight, beating host Columbus. The NHL's scoring leader with 99 points, Kucherov scored two goals and added assists on all three goals by his teammates. He has collected 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists) in his past five games. Brayden Point scored twice in the first 46 seconds of the third period -- once on the power play -- and had an assist for the Lightning, and Steven Stamkos chipped in with a power-play goal. Tampa Bay's Andrei Vasilevskiy made 39 saves, losing his shutout bid when Lukas Sedlak scored 1:45 remaining. Capitals 3, Kings 2 Alex Ovechkin scored his league-leading 41st and 42nd goals of the season as Washington won at Los Angeles. Pheonix Copley made 26 saves for his second victory in seven days against the Kings. Brett Connolly also scored, and John Carlson had two assists for the Capitals. Alex Iafallo ended Copley's bid for his second shutout of the season when he scored with 11:40 left in the third period to cut Los Angeles' deficit to 3-1. Ilya Kovalchuk scored with 28 seconds left, but the Capitals hung on. Bruins 6, Sharks 5 (OT) Charlie McAvoy scored the overtime winner as Boston recovered after blowing a three-goal, first-period lead, tying the game late in regulation and then claiming a victory at San Jose. Tuukka Rask made 33 saves for the Bruins, who have won six consecutive games. Jake DeBrusk had a goal and two assists for Boston, and David Krejci tallied three assists. Joe Thornton had a hat trick for San Jose. Joe Pavelski added a goal and two assists, and Logan Couture compiled a goal and an assist. Avalanche 3, Golden Knights 0 Semyon Varlamov made 40 saves, Andrew Agozzino scored his first NHL goal and added an assist, and Colorado beat Vegas in Denver. Tyson Jost and Matt Calvert also scored to help Colorado end a six-game home losing streak. The shutout was the second of the season for Varlamov and the 25th of his career. Malcom Subban stopped 35 shots for the Golden Knights, who have lost eight of their past 11 games. Flames 5, Coyotes 2 Mark Giordano scored a goal and added an assist to reach a career high for points in a season as host Calgary beat Arizona. Mike Smith made 27 saves for the Flames, who have won two straight games to maintain their hold on top spot in the Western Conference. Giordano, the club's 35-year-old captain and Norris Trophy contender, now has 57 points on the season, one more than he produced in 2015-16. The Flames also got goals from Derek Ryan, Austin Czarnik, Michael Frolik and Mikael Backlund, and rookie Rasmus Andersson collected a pair of assists. Conor Garland and Jordan Weal scored for the Coyotes. --Field Level Media
