Bryan Rust’s tiebreaking goal in the third period capped the Pittsburgh Penguins’ comeback from an early three-goal deficit Sunday to give them a 4-3 victory over the visiting Boston Bruins.
At 12:35 of the third period, Rust, from 12 feet, converted a pass from behind the net from Evgeni Malkin, who picked up his 50th point on the assist.
Dominik Simon, Teddy Blueger and Jack Johnson also scored, and Sidney Crosby had two assists for Pittsburgh, which picked up its NHL-leading 18th home win while playing in front of the 600th consecutive home sellout, including playoffs. Penguins goaltender Matt Murray made 34 saves.
David Pastrnak had a goal and an assist, and Patrice Bergeron and Anders Bjork also scored, all in the first period, for the Bruins, who have lost three of four. The lone victory in the stretch was a 4-1 decision against the Penguins on Thursday at home. Goalie Jaroslav Halak made 18 saves for Boston.
Hurricanes 2, Islanders 1 (SO)
Justin Williams made a storybook return to the lineup by scoring in the eighth round of the shootout to give Carolina a victory against visiting New York.
Williams, the former team captain, was making his season debut. The 38-year-old signed 11 days earlier as a free agent, ending an abbreviated retirement that began last summer after he helped the Hurricanes reach the Eastern Conference finals.
Andrei Svechnikov and Teuvo Teravainen also produced in the shootout for the Hurricanes, while New York’s Mathew Barzal and Anthony Beauvillier were good for the Islanders.
Blackhawks 5, Jets 2
Patrick Kane recorded a late assist for his 1,000th career point, helping Chicago to a season-high fifth consecutive victory with a win over visiting Winnipeg.
Kane, in his 13th season, became the 90th player in NHL history to reach the milestone. It came when he dished a pass from behind the net to Ryan Carpenter, who delivered the puck across the slot to Brandon Saad for a goal with 5:46 left in the game to give Chicago a 4-2 lead.
With the assist, Kane extended his point streak to 10 games (four goals, 11 assists) for the Blackhawks, who also got a goal and assist each from Alex Nylander and defenseman Erik Gustafsson. David Kampf also scored, Dominik Kubalik added an empty-netter and Robin Lehner made 36 saves for his third straight win as Chicago won for the 11th time in 15 games to draw even on points (54) with Winnipeg.
Blue Jackets 2, Rangers 1
Oliver Bjorkstrand scored his second goal of the game with 27 seconds remaining as visiting Columbus rallied for a victory over New York at Madison Square Garden.
The Blue Jackets tied a season high with their fifth straight win thanks to Bjorkstrand, who returned after missing nearly a month due to a back injury. Bjorkstrand recorded his seventh career two-goal game as the Blue Jackets also posted their sixth victory when trailing after two periods.
Bjorkstrand’s clutch third-period goals helped Matiss Kivlenieks win his NHL debut. Kivlenieks made 31 saves, including 14 in the final 20 minutes. His best save of the night occurred about midway through the second, when he slid across the crease to make a stick save on former Blue Jacket Artemi Panarin.
–Field Level Media
