After a slow night with just four games Wednesday, the NHL was back in full swing with 11 games and 58 goals on Thursday.
Florida Panthers v Boston Bruins
3-4
The Boston Bruins extended their point streak to 18 games with a 4-3 victory over the Florida Panthers.
The hosts scored twice in the last 37 seconds to win their fifth game in a row. The point streak ties for the second-longest in franchise history.
Patrice Bergeron scored twice, including the game-winner with seven seconds left on the clock, and Matt Grzelyck scored the tying goal at 19:23 of the third for the Bruins, who are 14-0-4 in their 18 and lead the Toronto Maple Leafs by 4pts for second in the Atlantic Division. Tuukka Rask made 22 saves.
Jonathan Huberdeau scored twice and Roberto Luongo made 24 saves for the visitors, which has lost six in a row.
Aleksander Barkov scored one and assisted another to become the third player in Panthers history to record three consecutive 70-point seasons (2017-19). He joins Olli Jokinen (2005-08) and Pavel Bure (1999-2001).
Up Next:
Wild v Panthers – Friday, March 8th (7pm – ESPN+)
Senators v Bruins – Saturday, March 9th (7pm)
Columbus Blue Jackets v Pittsburgh Penguins
0-3
Matt Murray made 25 saves and Phil Kessel ended a 16-game goal drought for the Pittsburgh Penguins in a 3-0 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Kessel scored his first goal since January 30 in the first period for Pittsburgh, who are 8-2-2 in their past 12 games. The win saw them move up to third in the Metropolitan division, two points ahead of the Carolina Hurricanes and four had of the Blue Jackets.
Nick Bjugstad and Sid Crosby also scored for the hosts, who have outscored Columbus 34-17 in eight straight wins, including 12-4 in their three wins this season.
Joonas Korpisalo made 28 saves for the visitors, who have lost four in six. They’re remain two points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the second wild card from the Eastern Conference.
Up Next:
Penguins v Blue Jackets – Saturday, March 9th (7pm – ESPN+)
New York Islanders v Ottawa Senators
4-2
The New York Islanders moved into a tie for first place in the Metro with a 4-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators.
Anthony Beauvillier broke the tie in the third period to help the Isles sweep the home-and-home series. They won 5-4 in a shootout on Tuesday.
Valtteri Filppula scored twice, Thomas Greiss made 35 saves and Casey Cizikas scored an empty netter for the visitors, who share the division lead with the Washington Capitals.
Brady Tkachuk and Oscar Lindberg scored and Anders Nilsson made 27 saves for the Sens, who lost for the ninth time in 10 games.
Up Next:
Flyers v Islanders – Saturday, March 9th (7pm)
Senators v Bruins – Saturday, March 9th (7pm)
New York Rangers v Detroit Red Wings
2-3 (SO)
The Detroit Red Wings ended their eight-game losing streak with a 3-2 shootout victory over the New York Rangers.
Andreas Athanasiou had a goal and an assist in regulation, and was the only one to score in the shootout.
Detroit were playing without defenseman Mike Green, who is out for the remainder of the season with a virus and center Dylan Larkin (back). Jimmy Howard made 32 saves.
The Rangers have lost a season-high six consecutive games and 12 of their last 17. Henrik Lundqvist made 43 saves and Pavel Buchnevich scored twice for New York, but missed in the shootout.
Up Next:
Devils v Rangers – Saturday, March 9th (7pm)
Red Wings v Lightning – Saturday, March 9th (7pm)
Minnesota Wild v Tampa Bay Lightning
3-0
Jason Zucker’s hat trick and Devan Dubnyk‘s 25 saves lifted the Minnesota Wild to a 3-0 shutout victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Zucker completed his second NHL hat trick, his first since November 2017, with an empty netter.
Minnesota, who are 6-0-2 in their last eight games, lead the Colorado Avalanche by 4pts for the second wild card from the Western Conference.
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 27 saves for the Bolts, who lost for just the second time in 14 games. Tampa lead the Boston Bruins by 15pts for top spot in the Eastern Conference.
Up Next:
Wild v Panthers – Friday, March 8th (7pm – ESPN+)
Red Wings v Lightning – Saturday, March 9th (7pm)
Buffalo Sabres v Chicago Blackhawks
4-5 (SO)
Artem Anisimov scored twice as the Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Buffalo Sabres 5-4 in a shootout.
Patrick Kane recored two assists, moving into fourth place on the Blackhawks all-time points list with 924.
Duncan Keith and Brendan Perlini also netted for the hosts, who trail the Minnesota Wild by 9pts for that second western wild card. Casey Crawford made 35 saves.
Zach Bogosian, Vladimir Sobotka, Brandon Montour and Kyle Okposo scored for Buffalo, who trail the Montreal Canadiens by 10pts for the second wild car in the east. Carter Hutton made 41 saves.
Jonathan Toews, Kane and Alex DeBrincat scored for the Blackhawks in the shootout, whilst Jack Eichel was the only Sabre to convert his shot.
SHOOTOUT
** Winning Shot
Up Next:
Sabres v Avalanche – Saturday, March 9th (3pm – ESPN+)
Blackhawks v Stars – Saturday, March 9th (8pm – ESPN+)
Colorado Avalanche v Dallas Stars
0-4
Alexander Radulov got his first NHL hat trick in his return to the Dallas Stars lineup in their 4-0 win against the Colorado Avalanche.
Jamie Benn had a goal and an assist, and Ben Bishop made 31 saves for his second straight shutout for Dallas, who have won four in a row and are 6-2-0 in their past eight.
The hosts hold the first wild card spot in the Western Conference, 1pt ahead of the Minnesota wild and three behind the St Louis Blues for third in the Central Division.
Semyon Varlamov made 26 saves for Colorado, who have lost three of their last four. They are now four points behind the Wild for the second western wild card.
Varlamov had to leave the game briefly to go to the locker room to get his skate blade adjusted. Phillip Grubauer made three saves in relief.
Up Next:
Sabres v Avalanche – Saturday, March 9th (3pm – ESPN+)
Blackhawks v Stars – Saturday, March 9th (8pm – ESPN+)
Vancouver Canucks v Edmonton Oilers
2-3
Leon Draisaitl registered an assist, extending his point streak to 12 games as the Edmonton Oilers defeated the Vancouver Canucks 3-2.
Alex Chiasson, Zack Kassian and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored, Connor McDavid had two assists and Mikko Koskinen made 35 saves for the Oilers, who are 7pts behind the Minnesota Wild for the second wild card spot in the West.
Jay Beagle and Alexander Edler scored and Thatcher Demko made 31 saves for Vancouver, who are nine points behind Minnesota.
Up Next:
Knights v Canucks – Saturday, March 9th (10pm – ESPN+)
Leafs v Oilers – Saturday, March 9th (7pm)
Calgary Flames v Arizona Coyotes
0-2
Darcy Kuemper made 30 saves and Jakob Chychrun had a goal and an assist for the Arizona Coyotes, who defeated the Calgary Flames 2-0.
Kuemper is 8-1-0 with two shutouts in his last nine starts, and Clayton Keller also scored for the hosts, who have won seven of their last eight and are 3pts behind Minnesota for the second wild card spot in the Western Conference.
Mike Smith made 23 saves for Calgary, who have lost four in succession and lead the San Jose Sharks by 3pts at the top of the Pacific Division.
Up Next:
Knights v Flames – Sunday, March 10th (9:30pm)
Kings v Coyotes – Saturday, March 9th (8pm)
St Louis Blues v Los Angeles Kings
4-0
Jake Allen made 28 saves for his 19th career shutout, as the St Louis Blues defeated the L.A. Kings 4-0.
Vladimir Tarasenko had a goal and an assist for the Blues, getting his second consecutive multipoint game and 14th of the season. He has 37pts (19,g, 18a) in 34 road games and had four points (1g,3a) against the Ducks and Kings. His goal was his 35th game-winning goal, tying Alexander Steen for fourth place in Blues history.
Tyler Bozak and Ryan O’Reilly also scored and Ivan Barbashev ended his 11-game goal drought.
St Louis trail the Winnipeg Jets by four points for second place in the Central Division. They have a 3pt lead over the Dallas Stars, who hold the first western wild card, for third place in the Central.
Jonathan Quick made 28 saves for the hosts, who are 1-8-4 in their last 13 games. They are 18pts behind the Minnesota Wild for that second wild card spot.
Up Next:
Blues v Sharks – Saturday, March 9th (4pm)
Kings v Coyotes – Saturday, March 9th (8pm)
Montreal Canadiens v San Jose Sharks
2-5
The San Jose Sharks moved to within a point of first place in the Pacific Division with their 12th consecutive victory against the Montreal Canadiens, with a 5-2 scoreline on Thursday.
The Sharks, who haven’t lost to the Canadiens at home since November 23rd, 1999, trail the Calgary Flames by 1pt and lead the Vegas Golden Knights by 9pts for second place in their division.
Tomas Hertl scored his 30th goal of the season, Marcus Sorensen had a goal and an assist, Joe Thornton, Timo Meier and Gustav Nyquist scored, and Martin Jones made 37 saves for the Sharks, who have won three games in succession.
Thornton played his 1,551st NHL game, passing Alex Delvecchio for 14th in league history. It was also Jones‘ 150th NHL win.
Artturi Lehkonen and Andrew Shaw scored for Montreal, who are 3-2-0 in their last five games. Antti Niemi, who made 20 saves against his former team, started in place of Carey Price, due to it being the first of back-to-back games for the Canadiens, they play in Anaheim on Friday.
The Habs hold the second wild card in the Eastern Conference, staying two points ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets, who lost to Pittsburgh, and are tied in points with the Carolina Hurricanes, who hold the first wild card.
Up Next:
Canadiens v Ducks – Friday, March 8th (10pm – ESPN+)
Blues v Sharks – Saturday, March 9th (4pm)
KEY
ALL TIMES U.S. EASTERN
Artistry of Sport 
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