NHL Scores: Max Pacioretty lifts Golden Knights in OT, Martin Necas goes NHL94 style celly for Hurricanes, and more
Anthony Scultore
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The NHL had seven games on tap for last night with three in the West and North Divisions. Two of the games went to OT and we begin in Vegas where nine goals were scored.
NHL Scores: Pacioretty wins it in OT for Golden Knights
Mark Stone assisted on every goal and Max Pacioretty scored twice (9,10) and lifted the Golden Knights (13-4-1) over the Wild (12-6-1) for a 5-4 victory. Marcus Foligno scored twice (5,6) for Minnesota to build up a 4-2 lead heading into the third. That’s when Vegas with their golden helmets turned it on and rallied to tie and finally win it in OT.
“Those were some old legs chasing the rookie for a while. I thought I might have puked if I had to skate up the ice again,” Pacioretty said after scoring the game winner. “I think all the goals, guys were getting into good spots,” said Stone after his impressive performance.
The Knights lead the West with 27 points in just 18 games and hold four games in hand on second place St. Louis with 26 points. The Blues (12-8-2) beat the Ducks (6-11-5) last night 5-4 with Zach Sanford scoring twice to keep pace with Vegas.
In other West Division action the Sharks (8-9-2) surprised the Avalanche (11-7-1) with a 6-2 romp.
NHL Scores: Martin Necas gives the Hurricanes the extra point against Panthers
The Central Division race for first place is separated by 1 point among three teams. That’s thanks to Martin Necas (3) who scored in OT to give the Hurricanes (14-6-1) a 3-2 win over the Panthers (13-4-4). The best part of the goal was the NHL94 video game style celly by Necas.
“It’s always good to win no matter how you do it,” Canes bench boss Rod Brind’Amour said afterwards. “But I love how our guys are digging in. They seem to never quit. It looked like that was going to go the other way tonight, and we bounce back. It’s two points, and we’ll take them.”
NHL Scores: Maple Leafs sans Matthews keep winning
The Maple Leafs (17-4-2) increased their lead to 8 points after shutting out the Oilers (14-10-1) by a 3-0 score. Michael Hutchinson made 31 stops as starting goalie Freddie Andersen remains injured. William Nylander has picked up some of the slack with Auston Matthews out. He scored his 9th of the season and added an assist in the victory.
“I think our goalies played outstanding in both games, which helped,” Nylander said after another shutout. “We’ve been working on our defense, and it shows a little bit in these games, which is great.”
The Canucks (9-14-2) picked up a shutout of their own thanks to Thatcher Demko 27 saves. They blanked the Jets (13-7-1) by a 4-0 score with Elias Pettersson picking up a goal and an assist.
Finally, the Senators (8-15-1) beat a struggling Flames (10-11-2) team by a 5-1 score. Matt Murray picked up the victory in net for Ottawa.