In a thrilling game in Toronto, a surprising hero emerged to secure a dramatic victory for the Florida Panthers against the Maple Leafs. Sam Bennett’s late power-play goals in the first two periods proved crucial as Sergei Bobrovsky’s 23 saves helped the Panthers to a 3-2 win, their seventh victory in eight games. Despite missing key players like Matthew Tkachuk, Brad Marchand, and Aaron Ekblad, the defending champion Panthers managed to hold off the Maple Leafs, who have now lost four of their last five games. John Tavares and Max Domi scored for Toronto, while Anthony Stolarz made 22 saves.
In other NHL action, the Vegas Golden Knights shut out the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-0, with Adin Hill making 27 saves for his fourth shutout of the season. Nicolas Roy and Brandon Saad each had a goal and an assist for Vegas. The Philadelphia Flyers edged past the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3 in a shootout, with Owen Tippett and Matvei Michkov scoring the decisive goals. Bobby Brink netted two goals for the Flyers. The Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the St. Louis Blues 5-3, never trailing in the game. Jesper Bratt led the New Jersey Devils to a 3-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers, contributing a goal and two assists. The Ottawa Senators beat the Boston Bruins 6-3, with Drake Batherson shining with two goals and an assist.
Ottawa ended a 10-game drought by defeating Boston for their fifth consecutive victory. Goals from Shane Pinto, Tyler Kleven, Ridly Greig, and Claude Giroux helped Ottawa secure their position as the Eastern Conference wild-card leader. Linus Ullmark made 22 saves. David Pastrnak scored his 34th goal for Boston, while Casey Mittelstadt and Marat Khusnutdinov also added goals.
In another game, the Rangers triumphed over the Wild with a score of 3-2 in St. Paul, Minn. Braden Schneider’s overtime goal at 1:51 secured the win for New York, ending their four-game losing streak. Vincent Trocheck and Jonny Brodzinski also scored for the Rangers, with Igor Shesterkin making 26 saves. Marcus Johansson and Frederick Gaudreau scored tying power-play goals for Minnesota, with Filip Gustavsson stopping 28 shots. The Wild lead the Western Conference wild-card standings.
Los Angeles shut out Washington with a 3-0 victory. Quinton Byfield extended his goal-scoring streak to five games, while Darcy Kuemper made 21 saves for the Kings. Kevin Fiala and Warren Foegele also found the back of the net for Los Angeles. Charlie Lindgren made 24 saves for the Capitals, who had won their previous five games. The Kings’ penalty kill was instrumental in keeping Alex Ovechkin off the scoresheet.
San Jose defeated Chicago 4-2, with undrafted rookie Collin Graf scoring twice. Will Smith contributed a goal and an assist, and Alexandar Georgiev made 24 saves for the Sharks. Tyler Toffoli sealed the win with an empty-net goal. Frank Nazar and Ilya Mikheyev scored for Chicago, while Spencer Knight made 21 saves. Chicago’s Connor Bedard received a 10-minute misconduct penalty late in the game.
