NHL roundup: Brandon Bussi makes 17 saves as Hurricanes edge Sabres 2-1

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Brandon Bussi made 17 saves for his 18th win of the season, Seth Jarvis scored the go-ahead goal on a power play early in the third period, and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Buffalo Sabres 2-1 on Monday.

Andrei Svechnikov had a goal and an assist for the Hurricanes, who have won three straight and secured at least one point for the eighth time in their past nine games. Sebastian Aho assisted on both of Carolina’s goals, giving him nine in five games.

Bussi improved to 18-3-1 and now has the most victories for a goaltender in his first 22 NHL starts. Six of his saves came on U.S. Olympian Tage Thompson, including a highlight-reel glove stop and another with two seconds remaining.

Rasmus Dahlin scored for the Sabres, who have lost back-to-back games for the first time since Dec. 5 and 8. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 26 of 28 shots as Buffalo began a five-game road trip.

The Hurricanes have a 13-game home winning streak against the Sabres, the league’s longest active streak of its kind.

Elsewhere in the NHL on Monday:

AVALANCHE 5 CAPITALS 2

DENVER (AP) — Nathan MacKinnon had two goals and an assist to reach 1,100 career points and Colorado beat Washington.

Parker Kelly, Victor Olofsson and Artturi Lehkonen also scored to help Colorado bounce back from a 7-3 loss to Nashville on Friday night — the Avalanche’s first home regulation loss of the season.

MacKinnon joined Hall of Famer Joe Sakic as the only players in franchise history to reach 1,100 points. Scott Wedgewood made 22 saves, including several big ones in the third before Colorado scored two late goals.

Jakob Chychrun and Ethen Frank scored for the Capitals in the opener of a six-game trip. Alex Ovechkin added an assist to give him 1,665 points. He’s four away from tying Wayne Gretzky for the fifth-most in NHL history by a player with one franchise (Gretzky had 1,669 with Edmonton in the NHL, and another 104 with the Oilers in the WHA). 

PENGUINS 6 KRAKEN 3

SEATTLE (AP) — Brett Kulak broke a second-period tie with his first goal of the season, and Pittsburgh beat Seattle.

Kulak, acquired from Edmonton in December as part of the trade for goalie Tristan Jarry, scored for the first time since last year’s Western Conference final. The defenceman ripped a one-timer to give the Penguins a 3-2 lead with 5:15 left in the second. 

Several other unlikely offensive contributors chipped in for the Penguins (23-14-11). Fellow defenceman Parker Witherspoon got the scoring started with a wrister from the point that slid past Seattle goalie Joey Daccord for his third of the season. 

Pittsburgh centre Connor Dewar scored short-handed in the first period and added an empty-net goal with 29.6 seconds remaining. Dewar’s first goal marked the third straight game the Kraken (21-18-9) have yielded a short-handed goal. 

SHARKS 4 PANTHERS 1

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Will Smith scored in his second consecutive game after missing a month because of injury, and San Jose spoiled Matthew Tkachuk’s season debut by beating the two-time defending champion Florida Panthers in a game highlighted by a rare goalie fight.

Florida’s Sergei Bobrovsky beelined out of his crease and all the way down the ice to take on San Jose’s Alex Nedeljkovic, who had inserted himself into a scrum in the corner with 14 minutes left. Fans chanted, “Bobby! Bobby!” and cheered the netminder nicknamed “Bob” who has backstopped the team to back-to-back Stanley Cup titles.

The second meeting between the teams this season, and first since Nov. 8, got increasingly chippy with pushing and shoving after whistles and more than a few punches thrown. 

Between the whistles, the Sharks also got goals from defencemen Vincent Desharnais and Mario Ferraro and 36 saves from Nedeljkovic. Barclay Goodrow sealed it with an empty-netter, and San Jose won hours after general manager Mike Grier signalled his team is going for it this season following a lengthy rebuild by acquiring winger Kiefer Sherwood in a trade with Vancouver.

Tkachuk skated just under 21 minutes and had three shots on goal in his first game since helping Florida repeat and hoisting the Cup in June. The 28-year-old winger, who was picked to play for the U.S. at the Olympics next month in Milan, underwent surgery last summer to deal with a sports hernia and torn adductor muscle.

Eetu Luostarinen scored the Panthers’ goal. Bobrovsky allowed three goals on 27 shots, giving up several juicy rebounds that San Jose capitalized on.

WILD 6 MAPLE LEAFS 3

TORONTO (AP) — Marcus Foligno had his first NHL hat trick to double his season goals total, Vladimir Tarasenko scored twice and Minnesota beat Toronto.

The 34-year-old Foligno in the second period at even strength and on a power play, then into an empty net in the third.

Ryan Hartman added a goal and an assist, and Kirill Kaprizov and defencemen Quinn Hughes and Brock Faber each had two assists. Hughes has two goals and 18 assists in 18 games with the Wild since being acquired from Vancouver on Dec. 12.

Filip Gustavsson stopped 27 shots. The Wild have won two straight to open a three-game trip after being swept on a three-game homestand. They beat Buffalo 5-4 in overtime Saturday.

Auston Matthews scored his 25th goal of the season and had an assist for Toronto. John Tavares and Nicholas Robertson also scored. Joseph Woll allowed five goals on 29 shots in two period. Dennis Hildeby stopped nine shots in the third.

FLYERS 2 GOLDEN KNIGHTS 1

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Travis Konecny scored twice for his first multigoal game this season and Philadelphia defeated Vegas.

Philadelphia stopped a six-game slide and ended Vegas’ seven-game winning streak.

The Flyers improved to 6-8-2 since opening the season 17-9-6. They had lost six of their previous seven meetings with the Golden Knights.

Konecny has 17 goals this season. He scored 3:46 into the first period, and his short-handed goal at 7:22 of the third gave Philadelphia a 2-1 lead. Both goals were unassisted.

Tomas Hertl scored a power-play goal for Vegas late in the second, and Adin Hill turned aside 15 shots.

BLACKHAWKS 2 JETS 0

CHICAGO (AP) — Spencer Knight made 32 saves, Jason Dickinson scored and Chicago beat Jonathan Toews and Winnipeg.

Connor Bedard added an empty-net goal as the Blackhawks stopped a three-game slide. It was Bedard’s first goal since returning from a right shoulder injury.

Knight recorded his third shutout this season and the eighth of his career.

Toews played his first game in Chicago since signing with Winnipeg on July 1. The 37-year-old centre played for the Blackhawks for 15 seasons, winning three Stanley Cup titles.

Toews was cheered all night long in his return to his first NHL home. The Blackhawks showed a video of Toews’ highlights in the first period, and the crowd of 19,894 responded with a long standing ovation.

Connor Hellebuyck made 22 saves for Winnipeg, which dropped to 5-11-5 in its last 21 games. The Jets went 0-for-2 on the power play.

DEVILS 2 FLAMES 1 (OT)

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Simon Nemec scored at 1:18 of overtime to give New Jersey a victory over Calgary.

Nemec took a backhand pass from Jack Hughes and beat goalie Devin Cooley from close range.

Jacob Markstrom made 21 saves to help New Jersey rebound from a 4-1 home loss to Carolina on Saturday night for its third victory in four games.

Dawson Mercer opened the scoring for New Jersey at 7:51 of the second period, and Nazem Kadri tied it at 9:44 of the period. Rookie Matvei Gridin got his first NHL assist on Kadri’s goal.

ISLANDERS 4 CANUCKS 3

VANCOUVER, B.C. (AP) — Anthony Duclair scored twice and New York beat Vancouver, handing the Canucks their 11th consecutive defeat.

Tony DeAngelo had a goal and an assist for the Islanders (27-17-5). Ryan Pulock’s second goal of the season put New York ahead for good with 4:02 remaining in the second period.

Rookie defenceman Matthew Schaefer and British Columbia product Mathew Barzal each had two assists. Ilya Sorokin stopped 29 shots.

Duclair has seven goals in his last seven games after scoring four in his first 38 appearances this season.

Max Sasson, Evander Kane and Drew O’Connor scored for the NHL-worst Canucks (16-28-5), who have lost eight straight games in regulation. They are 0-9-2 during the losing streak, and still winless in 2026.

DUCKS 5 RANGERS 3

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Alex Killorn broke a second-period tie, rugged newcomer Jeffrey Viel scored his first goal of the season and Anaheim beat New York.

Cutter Gauthier scored twice on his 22nd birthday — the second into an empty net in the final minute — to push his season total to 22. Mason McTavish also scored to help Anaheim to its fourth victory in a row following a nine-game losing streak.

Lukas Dostal made 19 saves, surviving a wild scramble on a late 21-second two-man advantage.

Matthew Robertson, Artemi Panarin and Vladislav Gavrikov scored for New York, and Spencer Martin stopped 21 shots in his fourth NHL game of the season.