NHL Roundup: Sam Bennett scores in overtime as Panthers top Blue Jackets

Carter Verhaeghe had two goals on the night, Sam Bennett had four points, including the overtime winner, and the Florida Panthers topped the Columbus Blue Jackets 7-6.

SUNRISE, Fla. — Sam Bennett scored 4:56 into overtime, lifting Florida to a wild victory over Columbus Blue Jackets.

Bennett and Brad Marchand each had a goal and three assists for Florida, which trailed 4-1 midway through the second period. Carter Verhaeghe had two goals and an assist, and defenceman Seth Jones had a goal and an assist.

A streaking Bennett got a slick pass from Marchand and beat Elvis Merzlikins on the goaltender’s stick side. It was Bennett’s seventh goal of the season.

Cole Sillinger, Isac Lundestrom, Dmitri Voronkov and Miles Wood each had a goal and an assist for Columbus in the opener of a three-game trip. Damon Severson and Kirill Marchenko also scored.

Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 25 shots for Florida, and Merzlikins finished with 33 saves.

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Voronkov, Marchenko and Wood scored in the second to help Columbus open a 4-1 lead. It was No. 10 on the season for Voronkov and Marchenko.

Avalanche 3, Rangers 2

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Nathan MacKinnon scored 2:46 into overtime for his second goal of the game, helping the Colorado Avalanche top Artemi Panarin and the New York Rangers 3-2 on Saturday.

MacKinnon finished Colorado’s third win in four games when he beat Igor Shesterkin for his NHL-best 24th goal. He also batted the puck past Shesterkin at 15:26 of the third, lifting the Avalanche to a 2-1 lead.

MacKinnon has 10 goals and five assists in his last nine games.

Parker Kelly also scored for Colorado, and Martin Necas had three assists. The NHL-leading Avalanche bounced back nicely after losing 6-3 at the New York Islanders on Thursday night.

Panarin and Conor Sheary scored for New York, which had won five of six. Shesterkin made 39 saves.

Bruins 4, Devils 1

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Morgan Geekie scored his 22nd goal, Jeremy Swayman made 29 saves and Boston beat New Jersey, sending the Devils to their season-high fifth straight loss.

Fraser Minten, Casey Mittelstadt and Andrew Peeke also scored for Boston, and Elias Lindholm set up Geekie’s score early in the second period. Geekie has the second-most goals in the league, trailing Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon by two.

The Bruins were without star winger David Pastrnak, who was sidelined for the fifth straight game with an undisclosed injury.

Timo Meier scored for New Jersey and Jake Allen stopped 17 shots.

Islanders 2, Lightning 0

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Ilya Sorokin stopped all 32 shots he faced for his third shutout of the season, tying the Islanders’ franchise record for career shutouts, and New York beat Tampa Bay.

Sorokin recorded his 25th career shutout to tie Glenn “Chico” Resch for most in Islanders history.

Calum Ritchie scored in the third period and Casey Cizikas added an empty net goal with 2 seconds left.

Jonas Johansson finished with 17 saves for Tampa Bay, which lost its third consecutive game. The Lightning also lost to the Islanders in New York on Tuesday.

Hurricanes 6, Predators 3

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Jackson Blake had two goals and an assist to help Carolina beat Nashville.

Nikolaj Ehlers added a goal and two assists, and Taylor Hall, William Carrier and Sebastian Aho also scored as Carolina matched its season high for goals. The first two goals came on power plays, giving the Hurricanes multiple power-play goals for the first time this season.

Rookie goalie Brandon Bussi made 21 saves, but was denied a second consecutive shutout when allowing three third-period goals. He improved to 8-1-0, and the Hurricanes won for the third time in four games.

Michael Bunting, Matthew Wood and Filip Forsberg scored for the Predators, who were thwarted in securing their first three-game winning streak of the season. Juuse Saros made 32 saves, but he was pulled after allowing the sixth goal at 8:12 of the third. Justus Annunen made three saves the rest of the way. Nashville lost for the second time in its last six games.

Flames 2, Mammoth 0

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Dustin Wolf stopped 28 shots for his fifth career shutout and Calgary beat Utah.

Yegor Sharangovich and Connor Zary scored for Calgary in its sixth win in nine games (6-2-1).

Vitek Vanecek had 21 saves while taking his sixth straight loss (0-5-1). Utah, which came in with two straight wins, finished 2-4-0 on a six-game road trip. The Mammoth were also shut out in St. Louis on Nov. 29.

Wolf has stopped 54 of 55 shots in two straight starts after backup Devin Cooley started three in a row. Wolf turned in another sterling performance after 26 saves in Thursday’s 4-1 win over the Minnesota Wild.

Canadiens 2, Maple Leafs 1 (SO)

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Cole Caufield scored in regulation and a shootout, Alexandre Texier had the winner in the tiebreaker and Montreal beat the Toronto.

Jakub Dobes made 22 saves to help Montreal improve to 15-9-3.

Scott Laughton scored for Toronto, and Dennis Hildeby stopped 33 shots. The Maple Leafs dropped to 13-11-4. They had won three in a row.

Blues 2, Senators 1

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Joel Hofer made 41 saves, Jake Neighbours scored twice and St. Louis beat Ottawa.

Fabian Zetterlund scored, and Linus Ullmark made 18 saves for Ottawa. The Senators have lost four of five games.

The Blues also beat the Senators 4-3 on Nov. 28 in St. Louis.

Oilers 6, Jets 2

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EDMONTON, Alta.— Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard each had a goal and an assist and Edmonton raced past Winnipeg.

The Oilers scored four times in the first period to chase goalie Eric Comrie.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Matthew Savoie, Curtis Lazar and David Tomasek also scored for the Oilers. Connor McDavid had two assists, and Stuart Skinner made 19 saves. Edmonton has won three of four to improve to 13-11-5.

Gabriel Vilardi and Cole Koepke scored the Winnipeg. They have lost seven of nine to fall to 14-13-1.

Comrie allowed four goals on 16 shots in the first period. Thomas Milic came in to start the second and made 10 saves.

Canucks 4, Wild 2

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VANCOUVER, B.C. — Aatu Raty had two goals and an assist, and Vancouver beat Minnesota to snap a four-game skid.

Tom Willander and defenceman Elias Pettersson also scored for the Canucks, and Nikita Tolopilo stopped 27 shots.

Matt Boldy and Mats Zuccarello scored for the Wild. Jesper Wallstedt stopped 16 shots while losing in regulation for the first time in 11 starts (8-1-2) this season.

Red Wings 4, Kraken 3

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SEATTLE — Patrick Kane scored the tiebreaking goal with 2:29 remaining in the third period and Detroit beat Seattle.

Emmitt Finnie, Andrew Copp and James van Riemsdyk also scored for the Red Wings. Simon Edvinsson added two assists and John Gibson made 24 saves completed a sweep of the two-game season series.

Kane, now three goals shy of 500 for his career, helped the Red Wings extend their point streak to four games (2-0-2). Alex DeBrincat found Kane in the slot for his second consecutive game with a goal.

Brandon Montour, Adam Larsson, and Chandler Stephenson scored for the Kraken, who have lost five straight (0-4-1). Joey Daccord stopped 21 shots.

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