NHL Scores: Matthews stopped by Flames, Stamkos leads Lightning in big win over Hurricanes, and more
Anthony Scultore
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The streak is over for Auston Matthews. It was an incredible stretch of 16 games that included 18 goals and 28 total points. Matthews is the favorite to win this year’s Rocket Richard Trophy and has a 6 goal lead over Edmonton’s Connor McDavid and Vancouver’s Brock Boeser.
NHL Scores: Flames shutout Leafs
David Riitch made 34 big stops to propel the Flames (9-9-1) to a 3-0 victory over the Maple Leafs (14-4-2). He was helped by goals from Sam Bennett (3), Matthew Tkachuk (6), and Sean Monahan (3).
“I kind of thought there was a chance I was going to play, so I prepared myself yesterday to play,” Rittich said after the blanking. “I felt pretty good, and the team did a really good job helping me with the rebounds, a lot of blocked shots. You could really see the team effort.”
NHL Scores: Lightning win big matchup against Hurricanes
These divisional games are all four point swings. Had Carolina won they would have six more points than Tampa. Instead, Steven Stamkos powered the Lightning (11-4-1) to a 4-2 win over the Hurricanes (12-4-1) to closed the gap to two.
Stamkos opened the scoring Tampa in the second period, and finished with two points. When you play good teams, you’re going to get leaned on,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “I like the fact that we didn’t break.”
The win was also big because it keeps them 3 points behind the Panthers (12-3-2) for first who beat the Stars (5-4-4) by a 3-1 score. Aleksander Barkov picked up his 7th of the season in that contest for Florida.
NHL Scores: Jonathan Quick earns shutout for Kings
The Kings (8-6-3) beat the Blues (10-7-2) by a 3-0 score with Dustin Brown notching two goals (9). The real hero of the game was often rumored goalie, Jonathan Quick who made 31 saves in the effort.
“We have some confidence. Everybody is in sync. We’re structurally pretty sound. We’re making plays. We’re getting good goaltending,” Kings coach Todd McLellan said about his team.
Speaking of hot goalies, Marc-Andre Fleury continues to be stellar for Vegas this season. He stopped 34 shots and blanked an offensive powerhouse as the Knights (11-4-1) beat the Avalanche (9-5-1) 3-0.
Remaining scores:
- Islanders (9-6-3) beat the Sabres (5-8-2) 3-2
- Coyotes (8-7-3) rally past Ducks (6-10-3) 4-3
- Wild (9-6) take down Sharks (7-8-2) 6-2