Wyatt Johnston scored the only goal in the shootout, Jake Oettinger had 33 saves through overtime and the Dallas Stars beat the Colorado Avalanche 2-1 in Denver on Wednesday in a matchup of the NHL’s top two teams.
Jason Robertson scored in regulation for Dallas, which moved within two points of Colorado in the Central Division.
Oettinger made a shootout save on Valeri Nichushkin, and Martin Necas fired a shot over the crossbar before Johnston beat Scott Wedgewood on the Stars’ third attempt. Nathan MacKinnon had a chance to extend the shootout but was wide on his try.
The Avalanche’s Cale Makar scored in regulation and Wedgewood had 17 saves through overtime before stopping two attempts in the shootout. Colorado has lost three straight (0-2-1) to tighten the race with Dallas for the top seed in the Western Conference and in the league overall.
Hurricanes 6, Penguins 5 (OT)
Sean Walker’s goal with 28.3 seconds left in overtime gave Carolina a victory against Pittsburgh in Raleigh, N.C.
Jackson Blake posted a goal and two assists while Walker, Logan Stankoven and Taylor Hall each had a goal and assist for the Hurricanes, who got three assists from Nikolaj Ehlers and 30 saves from Frederik Andersen.
Erik Karlsson finished with two goals and an assist, while Sidney Crosby marked his return to the Penguins’ lineup after an 11-game absence with a goal and an assist. Pittsburgh goalie Stuart Skinner finished with 38 saves.
Flyers 3, Ducks 2 (OT)
Noah Cates scored at 2:17 of overtime as Philadelphia extended its road winning streak to five games by beating Anaheim.
Luke Glendening and Owen Tippett also scored for the Flyers, who moved within six points of an Eastern Conference wild-card spot. Dan Vladar made 34 saves as Philadelphia won for the fifth straight time against the Ducks.
Cutter Gauthier scored a power-play goal and had an assist and Leo Carlsson also scored for Anaheim. Lukas Dostal finished with 24 saves for the Ducks, who moved into sole possession of first place in the Pacific Division with the overtime point.
Devils 6, Rangers 3
Olympic hero Jack Hughes and Connor Brown each collected one goal and two assists, fueling visiting New Jersey to a victory over New York.
Captain Nico Hischier and Jesper Bratt each scored and set up a goal for the Devils, who have won seven of their last nine games. Jacob Markstrom stopped 15 shots for the win.
New York’s Mika Zibanejad scored his team-leading 28th goal of the season, and Conor Sheary and Vladislav Gavrikov also tallied. Jonathan Quick turned aside 33 shots for the Rangers, who have lost two straight following a season-high four-game winning streak.
Capitals 4, Senators 1
Cole Hutson scored in his NHL debut for host Washington, with his empty-net goal putting an exclamation mark on a victory over Ottawa.
Alex Ovechkin, Tom Wilson and Aliaksei Protas also scored for the Capitals, who have won two of their past three. Washington goaltender Logan Thompson was perfect for more than 57 minutes and stopped 34 shots.
Tim Stutzle scored for the Senators, who had won five of their previous six games. Linus Ullmark made 21 saves.
Flames 2, Blues 1 (SO)
Joel Farabee and Matvei Gridin scored in a shootout, giving host Calgary a victory over St. Louis.
The Flames netted two of their three attempts in the tiebreaker, while goalie Devin Cooley (26 saves) stopped both of the Blues’ shootout tries. Connor Zary tallied in regulation for the Flames.
Calgary native Dylan Holloway scored for the Blues, who are on a 7-2-2 run since the Olympic break to keep their flickering playoff hopes alive. Joel Hofer stopped 30 of 31 shots before the shootout.
