Products You May Like
It has been an ugly season for the Buffalo Sabres, but there have been some bright spots. Sam Reinhart has been among them. He leads the team with 33 points in 46 games. Reinhart’s five multi-goal games this year ties him for second in the league.
There have also been some glimpses of light at the end of the tunnel. Injuries and trades have provided chances for the team to see Casey Mittelstadt elevate his game. Additionally, opportunities have been granted to prospects Arttu Ruotsalainen and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to see what they can bring to the table.
Elsewhere, Detroit’s Dylan Larkin and Anaheim’s Jakob Silfverberg were ruled out for the remainder of the 2020-21 campaign. Larkin, who has an upper-body injury, will be re-evaluated in two weeks, while Silfverberg is out four-to-six months following hip surgery.
Don’t forget, for everything NHL, check out NBC Sports EDGE’s Player News, and follow @NBCSEdgeHK and @CoreAbbott on Twitter.
BOSTON 4 BUFFALO 6
The Sabres concluded a five-game homestand on a winning note and ended the Bruins’ six-game win streak in the process. Boston had won the previous two games of this recently-completed three-game set versus Buffalo.
Sam Reinhart reached the 20-goal plateau with a hat trick in the contest. He scored a pair of power-play goals and halted Boston’s comeback attempt with an empty-netter. Reinhart also had a game-high seven shots on target.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 36 of 40 shots for the victory in his NHL debut.
Rasmus Dahlin notched one goal and one assist to give him 10 points in the past 12 games.
Mattias Samuelsson earned two helpers for his first career points in the NHL.
Steven Kampfer was the offensive star for the Bruins with one goal and two assists.
Nick Ritchie, Kevan Miller and Taylor Hall scored for Boston in the third period to cut the team’s deficit to 5-4. Hall also added an assist against his former team.
Casey Mittelstadt and Arttu Ruotsalainen had the other goals in the match for the Sabres.
David Krejci, Sean Kuraly. Jake DeBrusk. Charlie McAvoy, Tobias Rieder, Riley Sheahan, Dylan Cozens, Victor Olofsson and Tage Thompson picked up an assist apiece.
Tuukka Rask, who also earned a helper in the match, was pulled after he allowed four goals on 28 shots over 41:14 of game time.
Jaroslav Halak made four saves on five shots in relief in his first appearance since April 3 following a stint on the COVID protocol list.
Patrice Bergeron was a late scratch due to a lower-body injury.
PHILADELPHIA 1 NEW YORK RANGERS 4
The Rangers rebounded from a 3-2 loss to the Flyers on Thursday for a series split.
Chris Kreider and Pavel Buchnevich hit the 20-goal mark in the first period. Kreider’s 11th power-play goal of the year ties him for the league lead.
Oskar Lindblom scored Philadelphia’s lone goal in the first frame with assists going to Jakub Voracek and Sean Couturier.
Alex Lafreniere and Buchnevich registered one goal and one assist apiece, while Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad collected two helpers each.
Adam Fox and Kaapo Kakko contributed one assist apiece. Fox leads all blueliners in scoring with 43 points in 47 matches.
Alex Lyon surrendered four goals on 24 shots in the loss. It was only his second start of the season and he has lost both times.
Alexandar Georgiev turned aside 26 shots to stretch his win streak to three games.
Editor’s Note: Drafting is only half the battle! Get an edge on your competition with our NHL Season Tools – available in our EDGE+ Roto tier for $3.99/mo. (annually) or $9.99/mo. (monthly) – that are packed with rankings, projections, a trade evaluator, start/sit tools and much more. And don’t forget to use promo code WELCOME10 to get 10% off. Click here to learn more
NASHVILLE 3 CHICAGO 1
The Predators bounced back from Wednesday’s 5-4 overtime collapse against the Blackhawks. Nashville won seven of eight games versus Chicago this year.
Ryan Johansen opened the scoring at the 6:33 mark of the second period and Luke Kunin gave the Predators a 2-0 lead late in the second stanza.
Vinnie Hinostroza got the Blackhawks on the board 36 seconds after Erik Haula gave the Predators a 3-0 advantage.
Ryan Ellis provided two helpers in the contest, while Calle Jarnkrok, Nick Cousins, Eeli Tolvanen, Mikael Granlund, Wyatt Kalynuk and Nicolas Beaudin chipped in one assist each.
Nikita Zadorov was credited with a game-high seven hits, but Erik Gudbranson was close behind with six.
Malcolm Subban, who made a second straight start, stopped 25 shots in the defeat.
Juuse Saros shielded 29 shots for his 17th win of the 2020-21 campaign.
MONTREAL 2 CALGARY 4
The Flames ended a two-game losing slide with a much-needed win over the Canadiens on Friday night. Calgary trails Montreal by six points for the final playoff spot in the North Division.
Sean Monahan generated one goal and two assists in the contest. He provided the game winner at the 5:58 mark of the third period when he broke a 2-2 tie.
Andrew Mangiapane had one goal and one assist, while Dillon Dube and Elias Lindholm (empty-netter) had other goals for the Flames.
Tyler Toffoli and Joel Armia lit the lamp for the Canadiens.
Phillip Danault, Derek Ryan, Johnny Gaudreau, Joakim Nordstrom and Noah Hanifin picked up one assist each.
Jake Allen stopped 27 saves of the 30 shots he faced in the loss.
Jacob Markstrom turned aside 18 shots for his 16th victory of the year.
Josh Leivo was unavailable to play after he was placed on the COVID protocol list.
Editor’s Note: Don’t forget to download the NBC Sports EDGE app to receive real-time player news and updates. Plus, it allows you to easily track your favorite players. Get it here!
MINNESOTA 4 LOS ANGELES 2
The Wild won for a sixth straight game on Friday night. Minnesota has three consecutive victories over the team’s current four-game road trip.
Kirill Kaprizov potted a pair of goals to give him a total of 21 of the season.
Trevor Moore tied the game at 1-1 with a buzzer beater in the first period.
Anze Kopitar he cut the Kings’ deficit to 3-2 at the 15:17 mark of the third frame.
Joel Eriksson Ek sealed Minnesota’s victory with an empty-netter. He has 15 goals on the year as well as two markers and two helpers during a four-game point spree.
Nico Sturm had the other Wild goal in the match.
Nick Bonino, Kevin Fiala, Victor Rask, Ryan Suter, Carson Soucy, Jared Spurgeon, Gabriel Vilardi, Drew Doughty, Sean Walker and Tobias Bjornfot recorded one assist apiece.
Cam Talbot blocked 40 shots for his fifth straight win. He has 17 victories in 27 starts this campaign.
Cal Petersen permitted three goals on 23 shots in the loss.