PITTSBURGH — Jared McCann scored a pair of power-play goals, Casey DeSmith made 36 saves and the Pittsburgh Penguins extended Buffalo’s winless streak to 16 games with a 4-0 victory on Thursday night.
Radim Zohorna picked up a goal on his first shot in the NHL for the Penguins. Jake Guentzel added an empty-netter and Sidney Crosby had three assists to raise his career point total to 1,300 as Pittsburgh swept a pair from the NHL’s worst team with relative ease.
Buffalo’s bizarre season took another strange turn when General Manager Kevyn Adams found himself on the bench serving as head coach after interim coach Don Granato and assistant Matt Ellis were placed in the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol a few hours before the opening faceoff.
What he saw up close looked an awful lot like what he’s seen from afar over the last two-plus months. The Sabres are an injury-riddles mess. Buffalo has now been shut out more times (seven) than it has wins (six).
Buffalo’s 0-14-2 stretch is the worst since the Penguins went 0-17-1 from Jan. 13 to Feb. 22, 2004.
CAPITALS 4, DEVILS 3: Evgeny Kuznetsov scored twice, Alex Ovechkin kept his hot streak going with the 721st goal of his career and Washington brushed off some rust to beat visiting New Jersey.
Ovechkin has scored eight times in his last nine games. His team-leading 15th goal this season held the Capitals overcome a 2-1 deficit.
New Jersey took an early lead on a goal by Nick Merkley when Capitals goaltender Vitek Vanecek gave the puck away near his own net. After Dmitry Orlov tied it less than two minutes later on Washington’s first shot against Mackenzie Blackwood, the Devils led again in the second period on a goal by Miles Wood. Ovechkin’s goal on a one-timer off a feed from Daniel Sprong came 55 seconds after Wood scored. Kuznetsov collected a loose puck and scored the go-ahead goal later in the second.
RANGERS 8, FLYERS 3: Mika Zibanejad had three goals and three assists, Adam Fox had five assists and visiting New York routed Philadelphia.
Pavel Buchnevich added two goals, and Ryan Strome, K’Andre Miller and Filip Chytil also scored as the Rangers won their third straight and fifth in their last seven games.
HURRICANES 4, BLUE JACKETS 3: Sebastian Aho scored 1:26 into overtime to give visiting Carolina a split of a four-game series.
Oliver Bjorkstrand scored from the doorstep to tie the game for Columbus with 16 seconds left in regulation.
HURRICANES 4, BLUE JACKETS 3: Sebastian Aho scored 1:26 into overtime to give visiting Carolina a split of a four-game series.
Oliver Bjorkstrand scored from the doorstep to tie the game for Columbus with 16 seconds left in regulation.
MAPLE LEAFS 3, SENATORS 2: Justin Holl scored at 4:42 of overtime to give Toronto a victory at Ottawa.