The Dallas Stars scored three times in the first period before adding three more in the middle period to chase goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy en route to an easy 8-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.
Vasilevskiy was removed from the game after allowing six goals on 25 shots in 40 minutes. Jonas Johansson relieved him in the third period and he was the victim of the Stars’ last two goals.
This is the second time this season that the Stars have scored eight goals. The first time came against the Minnesota Wild on November 12.
The Lightning (10-10-5) suffered a loss in a fourth straight game, a first this season.
Vasilevskiy (1-3-0) was making his fourth start of the season after undergoing back pain surgery during the off-season. Vasilevskiy, already a Vezina and Conn Smythe Trophy winner, entered the game with a career record of 13-2-3 and a 1.76 goals-against average against Dallas in the regular season.
Jason Robertson scored two goals in the victory while Joe Pavelski had three points, including two assists.
Robertson has eight goals in 22 games after scoring 18 last season, when he led Dallas with 46 goals.
Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, Mason Marchment, Thomas Harley and Sam Steel were the other scorers in the victory.
Roope Hintz and Jani Hakanpaa had two assists each. Jake Oettinger made 32 saves in front of the Stars cage (14-5-3).
For Tampa Bay, the timid reply came from Victor Hedman’s stick during a power play in the first period. On the sequence, Nikita Kucherov collected his 25th assist of the season.
The two teams will meet again on Monday, but in Tampa this time.
A goal from Bedard is not enough
Morgan Barron scored the goal that made the difference in the second period and the Winnipeg Jets got the better of the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday afternoon.
Barron took advantage of a pass from Nikolaj Ehlers to get alone in front of Arvid Soderblom. The Jets forward beat the Hawks netminder to give the Manitoba team the lead for the first time in the match.
Connor Bedard had opened the scoring in the first period. The young prodigy jumped on a return throw from Philipp Kurashev to score his 11e net of the countryside. The rookie still sits at the top of the rookie scoring charts with 19 points in 22 games.
Acquired from the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday, Quebecer Anthony Beauvillier played his first game with the Blackhawks. Used in the first line with Bedard and Kurashev, he had two shots on goal in 16:55 on the ice.
Mark Scheifele and Cole Perfetti scored the Jets’ other two goals, which ended a three-game losing streak. Winnipeg had won five in a row before its three-game slide.
Connor Hellebuyck was solid in front of the Jets cage with 21 saves in front of 14,189 fans at the Canada Life Centre, the biggest crowd of the season in Winnipeg. Soderblom stopped 25 pucks in the loss.
Trocheck leads the charge against the Predators
Vincent Trocheck scored a goal and added two assists to help the New York Rangers defeat the Nashville Predators 4-3.
Trailing 2-0 after 20 minutes of play, the Rangers opened the floodgates by scoring three goals in the middle period. Jacob Trouba first reduced the gap to one goal, but Colton Sissons responded with a shorthanded goal.
Chris Kreider and Trocheck scored two goals in a span of 19 seconds to tie the duel 3-3. Kreider deftly redirected Trocheck’s throw past Kevin Lankinen to score his Rangers-high 14th of the campaign.
At the start of the third, Ryan Lindgren found a good moment to score his first goal of the season. The defender saw his shot deflected off an opposing player and ended up in the net. Adam Fox amassed his third assist of the game on the streak. It was Fox’s 10th three-assist game in the NHL.
Igor Shesterkin took his game up a notch to help the Rangers score a 17th victory this season, a record in the Bettman circuit. He stopped 36 shots, including all 13 he faced in the third.
Ryan O’Reilly continued his good start to the season in the country city by adding a goal and an assist. Roman Josi scored the other goal for the Preds.
The Panthers come up against Sorokin
Ilya Sorokin shined in net for the New York Islanders with 43 saves to help his team beat the Florida Panthers 4-3.
The Russian goalkeeper had to stand out in the final third when the Panthers increased the pressure in the Islanders zone. Sorokin stopped 18 of 19 shots to secure the victory for New York.
Julien Gauthier, with his first goal in an Islanders uniform, scored the winning goal at the start of the third period. Bo Horvat won a faceoff in offensive territory and Gauthier quickly drew to surprise Anthony Stolarz.
Gauthier also added an assist in the victory. Horvat and Brock Nelson each had two assists, while Pierre Engvall, Anders Lee and Simon Holmstrom found the back of the net.
Sam Reinhart added a 16th goal this season in the first period. Matthew Tkachuk ended a 10-game goalless streak with a good wrist shot from the right circle. Carter Verhaeghe was the third scorer for the Panthers, who were back home after a three-game trip to Canada.
