NHL roundup: Birthday boy Jared Spurgeon lifts Wild over Blackhawks

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Wild 3, Blackhawks 2

Jared Spurgeon celebrated his 35th birthday by scoring twice, including the game-winner, as the Minnesota Wild rallied to beat the Chicago Blackhawks in Saint Paul, Minn.

The Wild captain, limited to just 16 games last season due to injuries, notched his first goals since April 2023 in the eighth multi-goal game of his 15-year career. Marco Rossi added a goal, while Marc-Andre Fleury, who turned 40 on Thursday, made 20 saves for his fifth win in six starts.

Former Wild forward Ryan Donato scored both goals for Chicago, and Petr Mrazek stopped 26 shots in the loss.

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Capitals 5, Islanders 4 (OT)

Jakob Chychrun’s overtime goal completed Washington’s comeback win over the visiting New York Islanders.

Trailing 4-2 entering the third period, the Capitals equalized with goals from Dylan Strome and Tom Wilson. Wilson finished with two goals, Connor McMichael notched three assists, and Logan Thompson made 20 saves as Washington secured its third straight win.

Anders Lee had a goal and two assists for the Islanders, who also got two goals from Simon Holmstrom. Semyon Varlamov made 21 saves for New York, which has dropped six of its past eight games.


Canucks 4, Sabres 3 (OT)

Conor Garland scored his second goal of the night in overtime to lift Vancouver past Buffalo.

Garland’s game-winner extended his point streak to seven games. Quinn Hughes assisted on the goal and also contributed defensively as the Canucks secured their third win in four games.

Buffalo rallied with third-period goals from Dylan Cozens and Alex Tuch to tie the game. Bowen Byram also scored for the Sabres, who received 18 saves from Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen but suffered their second straight loss.


Blue Jackets 5, Flames 2

Kirill Marchenko tallied a goal and two assists, while Adam Fantilli recorded his first multi-goal game of the season as Columbus defeated visiting Calgary.

Zach Werenski added a goal and an assist for the Blue Jackets, whose five-game point streak (4-0-1) is their longest since 2021. Dmitri Voronkov chipped in with two assists, and Elvis Merzlikins stopped 27 shots.

Blake Coleman and Nazem Kadri scored for the Flames, who have gone 0-2-1 since a four-game win streak. Goaltender Dustin Wolf made 29 saves.

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Panthers 6, Hurricanes 3

A.J. Greer’s third-period goal broke a tie as Florida defeated Carolina in Raleigh, N.C., ending the Hurricanes’ nine-game home winning streak.

Sam Reinhart scored his NHL-leading 18th goal, and Jesper Boqvist, Carter Verhaeghe, Anton Lundell, and Sam Bennett also scored for the Panthers, who snapped a four-game skid with their second win in three days. Sergei Bobrovsky made 28 saves.

Seth Jarvis, Sean Walker, and Eric Robinson found the net for the Hurricanes, while Shayne Gostisbehere added two assists. Spencer Martin turned aside 24 shots.


Lightning 3, Predators 2 (OT)

Brayden Point’s NHL-leading ninth power-play goal of the season lifted Tampa Bay over host Nashville in overtime.

Point’s goal, just 1:01 into the extra frame, was assisted by Nikita Kucherov and Victor Hedman, who tied Martin St. Louis’ franchise record with his 588th career assist. Anthony Cirelli and Brandon Hagel also scored for Tampa Bay, which improved to 5-2-1 in its past eight games.

Roman Josi scored both goals for the Predators, and Juuse Saros stopped 25 shots as Nashville fell to 2-2-2 in its last six contests.

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Oilers 4, Utah 3 (OT)

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored 1:18 into overtime to secure Edmonton’s victory over the Utah Hockey Club in Salt Lake City.

Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl each recorded a goal and an assist, and Vasily Podkolzin also scored for the Oilers, who are 6-2-1 in their past nine games. Calvin Pickard made 28 saves for the win.

Alexander Kerfoot, Logan Cooley, and Lawson Crouse scored for Utah, which has dropped five of its last seven games (2-4-1). Karel Vejmelka made 28 saves.

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