NHL Capsules: Lightning blank Blues 3-0 in matchup of NHL’s best

ST. LOUIS – Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point scored, Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 32 shots and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the St. Louis Blues 3-0 on Tuesday night in a matchup of the NHL’s top two teams.

Tyler Johnson added an empty-netter as Tampa Bay (22-6-2) earned its fifth straight win. It was Vasilevskiy’s third shutout this season and the seventh of his career.

Jake Allen made 22 saves for St. Louis, which had won four in a row. The Blues (21-9-2) were shut out for the third time at home this season.

Devils 5, Kings 1

NEWARK, N.J. – Taylor Hall scored twice and New Jersey ended Los Angeles’ eight-game winning streak.

Travis Zajac, Brian Boyle and Brian Gibbons also scored for the Devils, who snapped a two-game skid. Cory Schneider made 16 saves.

The Kings were beaten for the first time since losing 3-2 in overtime to Arizona on Nov. 24. Their winning streak was the longest in the NHL this season.

It was Los Angeles’ first defeat in regulation since a 2-1 loss to Winnipeg on Nov. 22.

Jonathan Quick made 21 saves for the Kings, and Torrey Mitchell’s goal with 7:56 left prevented Los Angeles from being shut out for the first time this season.

Capitals 5, Avalanche 2

WASHINGTON – John Carlson scored a tiebreaking goal in the second period and Washington defeated Colorado for its eighth win in 10 games.

Brett Connolly, Matt Niskanen and Devante Smith-Pelly added third-period goals for the Capitals, and Braden Holtby made 22 saves. Jakub Vrana scored early, and Evgeny Kuznetsov had three assists.

Colin Wilson and Tyler Jost scored for the Avalanche, who had won two in a row. Semyon Varlamov stopped 22 shots in the finale of a four-game trip.

Blackhawks 3, Panthers 2 (OT)

CHICAGO – Patrick Kane scored 2:24 into overtime and Chicago topped Florida for its third straight win.

Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews tied it at 2 with 6:02 left in the third period after a terrific pass from Brandon Saad. Toews and Saad each had a goal and an assist. Chicago rookie Alex DeBrincat added two assists.

Nick Bjugstad scored in the second and Jamie McGinn put the Panthers in front 3:53 into the third. James Reimer made 25 saves.

Corey Crawford stopped 35 shots for the Blackhawks, who had lost five in a row before their win streak.

Oilers 7, Blue Jackets 2

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Connor McDavid had a goal and three assists, and Laurent Brossoit stopped 28 shots as Edmonton routed Columbus.

Mark Letestu, Matt Benning and Jesse Puljujarvi each had a goal and an assist for the Oilers, who chased Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky at the end of the second period.

Brassoit started his seventh game since the injury to No. 1 goalie Cam Talbot last month.

Zack Kassian, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Milan Lucic also scored for Edmonton. McDavid’s four points pushed his team-leading total to 39.

Oliver Bjorkstrand and Jack Johnson scored for the Blue Jackets, who lost for only the fourth time in the last 14 games.

Sabres 3, Senators 2

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Evander Kane, Kyle Okposo and Benoit Pouliot scored in the second period to lead Buffalo past sinking Ottawa.

Rasmus Ristolainen had two assists as the Sabres extended their season-best point streak to four games at 2-0-2. Robin Lehner made 24 saves against his former team.

Cody Ceci and Derick Brassard scored for the Senators, who have lost six in a row. Mike Condon stopped 22 shots.

Ottawa dropped to 1-10-2 in its last 13 games.

Flyers 4, Maple Leafs 2

PHILADELPHIA – Sean Couturier scored the tiebreaking goal with 2:55 left and Philadelphia beat Toronto for its fourth straight victory.

Couturier and Claude Giroux each had a goal and an assist, and Travis Konecny also scored as the Flyers halted a six-game home losing streak. Scott Laughton added an empty-netter, and Brian Elliott made 20 saves.

Patrick Marleau and James van Riemsdyk scored for the Maple Leafs, whose three-game winning streak was snapped in the opener of a three-game road trip.

The Maple Leafs played without star center Auston Matthews (upper body) for the second consecutive game and dropped to 5-1 without him.

Wild 2, Flames 1 (SO)

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Mikael Granlund scored the winning goal in a shootout and Minnesota edged Calgary.

The shootout reached the fifth round before Granlund beat Mike Smith. Alex Stalock stopped Michael Ferland to give Minnesota its third straight victory, the first two coming in overtime.

Ferland and Minnesota’s Matt Cullen scored in regulation. Smith made 21 saves for the Flames, while Stalock stopped 16 shots in two periods plus overtime for the Wild. He replaced injured goalie Devan Dubnyk after the first.

Hurricanes 3, Golden Knights 2 (SO)

LAS VEGAS – Cam Ward earned his 300th career win when Phillip Di Giuseppe’s goal in the fifth round of a shootout lifted the Carolina over Vegas.

Marcus Kruger and Trevor van Riemsdyk scored for the Hurricanes in regulation. Ward, who made 22 saves, became the 32nd goalie in NHL history to reach 300 wins.

Deryk Engelland and Reilly Smith scored in the second period for Vegas.

The expansion Golden Knights fell to 7-2 in games that have gone to overtime, while the Hurricanes improved to 4-7.

In his first game back after spending nearly two months on injured reserve, goalie Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 35 shots for Vegas.