NHL roundup: Connor McDavid nears milestone as Oilers trim Flames
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored once in a three-point game, while Leon Draisaitl and Connor Brown also scored for the Oilers, who are 5-1-1 in their last seven games. Goaltender Calvin Pickard made 33 saves.
With his helpers, McDavid has 99 assists, pulling him that much closer to becoming only the fourth player in NHL history to collect 100 in a season. McDavid would join Bobby Orr, Wayne Gretzky (who did it 11 times) and Mario Lemieux.
Edmonton is three points back of the Vancouver Canucks for the top spot in the Pacific Division and holds one game in hand. Edmonton also has a six-point edge on the third-place Los Angeles Kings.
Yegor Sharangovich scored once and added an assist, while Nazem Kadri also scored for the Flames. Goalie Jacob Markstrom stopped 23 shots. Calgary has lost three straight, eight of nine and 11 of 14 outings since the trade deadline.
Penguins 5, Lightning 4
Michael Bunting tapped the puck inside the right post at 14:32 of the third period to give Pittsburgh a win over visiting Tampa Bay despite blowing a three-goal lead.
Evgeni Malkin had two goals and an assist, Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang also scored, and Erik Karlsson added three assists for the Penguins, who won their fourth straight. Goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic made 31 saves.
Steven Stamkos had two goals, Nicholas Paul and Anthony Duclair also scored, and Nikita Kucherov and Victor Hedman each had three assists for the Lightning, who had won five of six.
Bruins 3, Panthers 2 (OT)
Jesper Boqvist sniped a deciding breakaway at 2:05 of overtime as Boston earned a win over visiting Florida in a key Atlantic Division clash.
Boqvist made the winning play happen all by himself, coming away with the puck out of a defensive-zone wall battle before breaking down the left side circle. Charlie McAvoy and Charlie Coyle also scored for Boston, which has won four straight and holds a five-point lead atop the division. Linus Ullmark made 28 saves in the Bruins net.
Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov each scored a goal while Gustav Forsling dished out two assists for Florida, which is just 2-4-1 over its last seven games. Sergei Bobrovsky made 26 stops.
Devils 4, Senators 3
Brendan Smith had a goal and two assists for New Jersey in a win against host Ottawa.
Jesper Bratt had two assists, and Jake Allen made 25 saves for the Devils, who snapped a three-game losing streak.
Claude Giroux and Jake Sanderson each had a goal and an assist for the Senators, who have lost three straight. Anton Forsberg allowed three goals on nine shots before he was replaced in the first period by Joonas Korpisalo, who made 18 saves in relief.
Blackhawks 3, Stars 2
Connor Bedard, Andreas Athanasiou and Seth Jones scored second-period goals 4:03 apart and Petr Mrazek made 42 saves as host Chicago halted Dallas' franchise-best eight-game winning streak.
The Stars remained atop the Central Division, three points ahead of the idle Colorado Avalanche. The clubs are set to meet Sunday in Denver. Outshot 44-17, the hosts capitalized on their limited offensive chances to win for the second time in three games.
Roope Hintz scored his third goal in the past four games to end Mrazek's bid for a shutout at 15:37 of the second period. The Stars drew within a goal with 4:23 left in the game, with Jamie Benn redirecting a Miro Heiskanen shot for his 20th goal of the season.
See all the results from the other overnight NHL matches here
