BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Jack Eichel welcomed the boos in Buffalo this time by scoring three third-period goals and adding an assist in his second game against his former team as the Vegas Golden Knights routed the Sabres 7-4 on Thursday night for their ninth consecutive victory.
After being booed each time he touched the puck, and cheered on the two times he was foiled on breakaway attempts, Eichel raised his arms and mugged for the unhappy crowd after converting a rebound to put the Golden Knights ahead 5-2 six minutes into the third.
Traded to Vegas a little over a year ago, the former Sabres captain then pounded his chest along the boards after scoring his second goal with 5:23 remaining to send the crowd to the exits, and closed the night by scoring into an empty net.
The Golden Knights closed a five-game road trip by improving their NHL-leading record to 13-2. Their winning streak is one short of a franchise record set in April 2021.
Vegas rookie Paul Cotter scored the go-ahead goal and added an assist. Chandler Stephenson had a goal and three assists, defenseman Alex Pietrangelo had a goal and two assists and Phil Kessel also scored.
Logan Thompson stopped 31 shots for his sixth consecutive win, matching the NHL’s longest streak this season.
Tage Thompson scored twice and Casey Mittelstadt and Rasmus Asplund also had goals for Buffalo, which has dropped four straight. Eric Comrie stopped 29 shots.
BRUINS 3, FLAMES 1
BOSTON (AP) — Charlie McAvoy scored the go-ahead goal in his season debut and Boston remained perfect on home ice by beating skidding Calgary.
Linus Ullmark made 31 saves and Connor Clifton also scored as the Bruins improved to 8-0-0 at TD Garden. David Pastrnak added an empty-net goal for Eastern Conference-leading Boston, which is 12-2-0 overall.
Noah Hanifin scored for the Flames, who dropped their seventh straight.
McAvoy’s goal came at 18:27 of the second period with traffic in front of Calgary goalie Dan Vladar, who finished with 24 saves.
McAvoy, the Bruins’ top defenseman, was expected to be off the ice for six months after undergoing shoulder surgery in June.
BLUES 5, SHARKS 3
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Calle Rosen had a goal and an assist as St. Louis ended its eight-game losing streak — the longest in franchise history — with a win over San Jose.
Rosen’s first goal of the season broke a 3-all tie midway through the third period. Noel Acciari added an empty-netter.
Torey Krug, Jordan Kyrou and Brandon Saad also scored for the Blues, who had gone four straight games with two goals or less. Jordan Binnington made 27 saves as St. Louis won for the first time since Oct. 22.
St. Louis has won six straight against the Sharks and has points in the last eight meetings.
Timo Meier, Tomas Hertl and Logan Couture scored for the Sharks, who have lost five in a row (0-2-3). Kaapo Kahkonen made 28 saves.
DEVILS 4, SENATORS 3, OT
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Nico Hischier scored his second goal of the game at 4:27 of overtime as New Jersey beat Ottawa and extended its winning streak to eight games.
Miles Wood and Tomas Tatar also scored for the Devils.
Shane Pinto scored twice and Travis Hamonic added a goal for Ottawa. The Senators continued their road struggles, losing for the fifth time in five away games. Ottawa has won only four of 13 games overall. Anton Forsberg had 36 saves in the loss.
Devils goalie Vitek Vanecek made 17 saves before he was replaced by backup Akira Schmid midway through the third period with game tied at 3. Vanecek collided with Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot late in the second. Schmid made seven saves in relief, including five in overtime.
AVALANCHE 5, PREDATORS 3
DENVER (AP) — Logan O’Connor and Mikko Rantanen each scored twice and Colorado beat Nashville on a night when the team paid tribute to longtime color analyst Peter McNab following his death earlier this week.
O’Connor had two goals in 1:25 during a four-goal second period that helped the Avalanche take control. The team showed few signs of jet lag in its return from Finland, where Colorado recently completed a two-game sweep of Columbus as part of the NHL Global Series.
Evan Rodrigues also scored and Nathan MacKinnon had two assists for the Avalanche. Alexandar Georgiev finished with 32 saves to move to 7-1-1 this season.
Eeli Tolvanen, Ryan Johansen and Roman Josi had goals for the Predators. Kevin Lankinen stopped 30 shots.
HURRICANES 7, OILERS 2
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Andrei Svechnikov scored three goals and Carolina beat high-powered Edmonton.
Svechnikov’s other hat trick this season also came against the Oilers. He scored his third goal this time with 4:11 remaining.
Brent Burns, Jordan Staal, Jordan Martinook and Jesper Fast also scored for the Hurricanes, who snapped a two-game skid and forged a season split with Edmonton. Pyotr Kochetkov made 20 saves in his season debut for Carolina.
Connor McDavid had a goal and an assist and Zach Hyman also scored for the Oilers, who lost for the fourth time in five games.
BLUE JACKETS 5, FLYERS 2
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Boone Jenner scored twice, Johnny Gaudreau had a goal and two assists, and Columbus snapped a five-game skid.
Zach Werenski and Nick Blankenberg also scored for the Blue Jackets, and Joonas Korpisalo stopped 32 shots for his first win since offseason surgery.
Ivan Provorov had a goal and an assist, and Tony DeAngelo also scored for Philadelphia. Carter Hart stopped 24 shots after missing a game due to illness.
RANGERS 8, RED WINGS 2
DETROIT (AP) — Mika Zibanejad scored twice in his 700th career game as New York snapped a three-game skid by pulling away from Detroit.
Adam Fox had the go-ahead goal and two assists for the Rangers, who scored six unanswered goals in the third period to avenge a 3-2 overtime loss to the Red Wings at home Sunday.
Chris Kreider extended his point streak to a career-best seven games with a second-period goal and an assist.
Barclay Goodrow, Julien Gauthier, Libor Hajek and Jimmy Vesey also scored for New York (7-5-3), which set a season high for goals. Igor Shesterkin made 18 saves.
Joe Veleno and Lucas Raymond scored for the Red Wings (7-4-3), and Ville Husso stopped 25 shots.
COYOTES 2, ISLANDERS 0
NEW YORK (AP) — Karel Vejmelka made 24 saves for his first shutout of the season and Arizona blanked New York.
Travis Boyd and Jack McBain scored in the third period as the Coyotes won their third straight to begin an NHL record-tying 14-game road trip.
Ilya Sorokin stopped 26 shots for the Islanders, who lost for only the second time in nine games.
Boyd’s power-play goal early in the third from just outside the crease came off a beautiful pass from Clayton Keller. Arizona defenseman J.J. Moser also assisted.
McBain scored an empty-net goal in the final minute.
KINGS 2, BLACKHAWKS 1, OT
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kevin Fiala scored with 1.4 seconds left in overtime, Jonathan Quick made 31 saves and Los Angeles stunned Chicago.
Fiala scored into an open net off a no-look pass from Phillip Danault to give the Kings their third straight win.
Danault also had a goal for the Kings, who have won four straight at home.
Taylor Raddysh scored on the power play and Petr Mrazek stopped 33 shots in his first start since injuring his groin Oct. 21, but the Blackhawks lost for the sixth time in seven games.
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The Associated Press