NHL Results: Slovaks in Action, Draisaitl’s Milestone & More

The Montreal Canadiens fell to the Philadelphia Flyers 4-1 in NHL action Tuesday night. Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovský did not register a point and finished with a pair of minus ratings.

Elsewhere, the Washington Capitals were defeated by the Minnesota Wild 5-0, with Slovakian defenseman Martin Fehérváry logging over 17 minutes of ice time and receiving a minor penalty for hooking.

Montreal jumped out to an early lead with a goal from forward Alexandre Texier at the 19-minute mark, but couldn’t sustain the momentum.

“We needed to create more offensively, especially in the second period,” said Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis. “I felt we lacked execution on our chances. We lost the puck too many times in the offensive zone because we weren’t using our defensemen.”

“We were playing against a team that plays very compactly in front of their net, and if you don’t utilize your defensemen, you’re playing three against five,” St. Louis added.

The Flyers rallied to secure the win, snapping a three-game losing streak. Philadelphia also defeated Montreal earlier this season, winning 5-4 in a shootout.

“We’re not a perfect team, but there’s a lot of support within the group,” Flyers coach Rick Tocchet said according to nhl.com. “Our defense was very good tonight. We still have a lot to learn, but I feel like we’re progressing. We had few turnovers tonight, and that helped us win.”

Slafkovský skated on a line with Oliver Kapanen and Ivan Demidov, playing 16:14 and recording one shot on goal.

Flyers forward Trevor Zegras played in his 300th career NHL game and extended his goal-scoring streak to four games.

Midway through the first period, Slafkovský took a hit from Rasmus Ristolainen, prompting a response from Demidov.

VIDEO: Hit on Slafkovský and Demidov’s reaction

Gustavsson Earns Third Shutout

The Minnesota Wild continued their strong form with a 5-0 victory over Washington, marking their fifth consecutive win.

“I think we’re gaining confidence,” said Wild head coach John Hynes. “We were missing some players, but we played very collectively tonight, and everyone who was in the lineup contributed to the win. We play hard and collectively. I think when you do that, you have a chance to win most games.”

Goaltender Filip Gustavsson was instrumental in the win, stopping all 25 shots he faced for his third shutout of the season. Defenseman Quinn Hughes played over 29 minutes and recorded a point in his second game since arriving from Vancouver.

Hughes assisted on a Kirill Kaprizov power-play goal in the 33rd minute, while Fehérváry was serving a penalty. The Slovakian defenseman played 17:29 and registered one shot on goal.

Capitals coach Spencer Carbery paired Fehérváry with John Carlson on the top defensive pairing. Washington has now lost three straight games and hasn’t won in Minnesota since March 2020.

“We came out flat and couldn’t recover from it. We all need to be better than that tonight,” said Capitals forward Dylan Strome.

Draisaitl Reaches 1,000 Career Points

In a busy night of action, a matchup between Pittsburgh and Edmonton drew significant attention, as the teams recently swapped goaltenders.

Stuart Skinner made his second start for Pittsburgh, while Tristan Jarry also made his second appearance with the Oilers. The game featured ten goals and a 6-4 victory for Edmonton.

Edmonton’s star forwards Connor McDavid (2+2) and Leon Draisaitl (0+4) each recorded four points. Draisaitl also reached the 1,000-point milestone in his NHL career.

VIDEO: Draisaitl’s 1,000th Point

Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby had an assist on one of his team’s goals and is now just one point away from tying Mario Lemieux’s franchise record of 1,723 career points. The Penguins have lost six consecutive games.

Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski contributed two goals and an assist in a 4-3 overtime win against Anaheim. Forward Adam Fantilli scored the game-winning goal, ending Columbus’ five-game losing streak.

Two Goals for DeBrincat

The Detroit Red Wings defeated the New York Islanders 3-2, with forward Alex DeBrincat scoring twice. Detroit played without veteran forward Patrick Kane, who is expected to miss the next two games with a minor injury.

Detroit has won five of its last six games. The Islanders lost for the first time in four games.

Boston Bruins forward Morgan Geekie scored two goals in a 4-1 win over Utah, bringing his season total to 24.

“Of course, I’m very proud of that, but it’s not something I focus too much on,” Geekie said. “We have a lot of good players on our team who are capable of scoring goals, and we can rely on them. I try to work hard at both ends of the ice and take advantage of special teams.” Boston has won five of its last six games.

Zibanejad Returns to Rangers Lineup

The New York Rangers struggled at home again, falling to the league’s worst team, the Vancouver Canucks, 3-0. Goaltender Thatcher Demko recorded his first shutout of the season.

The Rangers have won only four of 17 games played at Madison Square Garden this season, scoring just 30 goals in those contests.

Forward Mika Zibanejad returned to the Rangers lineup after being a healthy scratch for the previous game due to missing a practice.

The Canucks won both games on their Eastern Conference road trip, following up their 2-1 victory in New Jersey.

Vancouver’s second goal was scored by Swedish forward Liam Öhgren, who opened his account with his new team in his second game after being traded from Minnesota. He had not registered a point in 18 games with the Wild earlier this season.

The Chicago Blackhawks led 2-0 against Toronto in the 50th minute but ultimately lost 3-2, with Dakota Joshua scoring the game-winning goal in the 57th minute.

Auston Matthews scored a power-play goal just eight seconds before Joshua’s winner.

The Blackhawks were again without their leading scorer, Connor Bedard, who is expected to be sidelined for at least the remainder of December with an injury. Chicago has lost three straight and five of its last six.

McDavid’s four-point night briefly put him atop the NHL scoring leaderboard, but Nathan MacKinnon of Colorado ultimately reclaimed the top spot. The Avalanche rallied from a 1-2 and 2-3 deficit to defeat Seattle 5-3.

MacKinnon Leads League with 58 Points

MacKinnon recorded three points with two goals and an assist, giving him 58 points on the season, surpassing McDavid’s 56. The Avalanche have won seven of their last nine games, solidifying their position as the top team in the league. Seattle has won only one of its last ten.

Calgary Flames were without injured Slovakian forwards Martin Pospíšil and Samuel Honzek. The Flames couldn’t build on their win in Los Angeles, falling to San Jose 6-3.

Sharks forward Macklin Celebrini had a breakout performance with four points, including two goals and two assists.

VIDEO: Celebrini’s First Goal of the Game

Sharks forward Tyler Toffoli also scored, marking his 300th career NHL goal. San Jose ended a seven-game losing streak.

NHL – December 17 – Results:

Boston Bruins – Utah Mammoth 4:1 (1:1, 1:0, 2:0)

Goals: 17. Geekie (Pastrňák, E. Lindholm), 21. Geekie (Pastrňák, Zadorov), 51. Mittelstadt (Zacha, Chusnutdinov), 57. Eyssimont – 9. Hayton (Durzi, But).

Goalies: Swayman – Vaněček, shots on goal: 23:21.

Columbus Blue Jackets – Anaheim Ducks 4:3 (1:0, 2:2, 0:1 – 1:0)

Goals: 9. Werenski (Jenner, Činachov), 24. Werenski (Gaunce, Johnson), 25. Jenner (Provorov), 64. Fantilli (Johnson, Werenski) – 24. Strome (Poehling, Moore), 26. Granlund (Vatrano), 57. Lacombe (Poehling, Granlund).

Goalies: Greaves – Husso, shots on goal: 28:27.

Detroit Red Wings – New York Islanders 3:2 (0:1, 0:0, 3:1)

Goals: 43. Sandin-Pellikka (Raymond), 44. DeBrincat (Seider, Raymond), 58. DeBrincat (Seider, Raymond) – 5. Heineman (Barzal, Drouin), 52. Mayfield (Pageau, Lee).

Goalies: Gibson – Sorokin, shots on goal: 21:18.

Montreal Canadiens – Philadelphia Flyers 1:4 (1:1, 0:2, 0:1)

Goals: 19. Texier (Evans, Anderson) – 20. Grundström (Tippett, Couturier), 27. Zegras (Konecny, Andrae), 40. Brink (Mičkov), 59. Konecny (Dvorak, Couturier).

Goalies: Fowler – Vladař, shots on goal: 22:21.

New York Rangers – Vancouver Canucks 0:3 (0:1, 0:1, 0:1)

Goals: 2. Kane (Boeser, E. Pettersson II.), 24. Öhgren (Karlsson), 57. Garland (Hronek).

Goalies: Quick – Demko, shots on goal: 23:17.

Toronto Maple Leafs – Chicago Blackhawks 3:2 (0:2, 0:0, 3:0)

Goals: 50. Ekman-Larsson (Matthews, Nylander), 57. Matthews (Nylander), 57. Joshua (Stecher, McCabe) – 11. Kaiser (Toninato), 15. Dickinson (Michejev, Crevier).

Goalies: Woll – Knight, shots on goal: 27:25.

Pittsburgh Penguins – Edmonton Oilers 4:6 (1:2, 1:2, 2:2)

Goals: 20. Novak (Mantha), 27. Karlsson (Crosby, Rakell), 57. Rust (Mantha, Karlsson), 60. Heinen (Novak, Shea) – 12. Hyman (McDavid, Draisaitl), 12. McDavid (Draisaitl, Bouchard), 25. Savoie (Regula, Janmark), 30. Bouchard (McDavid, Draisaitl), 47. Podkolzin (Draisaitl, Ekholm), 59. McDavid (Hyman).

Goalies: Skinner – Jarry, shots on goal: 31:23.

Minnesota Wild – Washington Capitals 5:0 (1:0, 1:0, 3:0)

Goals: 2. Tarasenko (Jurov, Faber), 33. Kaprizov (Eriksson Ek, Hughes), 45. Tarasenko (Jurov), 49. Jurov (Tarasenko), 55. Boldy (Kiersted).

Goalies: Gustavsson – Lindgren, shots on goal: 32:25.

San Jose Sharks – Calgary Flames 6:3 (3:2, 0:0, 3:1)

Goals: 2. Klingberg (Celebrini), 6. Goodrow (Ostapchuk, Iorio), 20. Goodrow (Celebrini, Dellandrea), 43. Celebrini (Graf, Černyšev), 53. Toffoli (Eklund, Wennberg), 59. Celebrini (Orlov, Goodrow) – 12. Coleman (Weegar, Zary), 15. Lomberg (Klapka), 54. Kadri (Huberdeau).

Goalies: Askarov – Wolf, shots on goal: 26:30.

Seattle Kraken – Colorado Avalanche 3:5 (0:1, 3:1, 0:3)

Goals: 24. Wright (Nyman, Kakko), 26. Eberle (Larsson, Beniers), 40. Stephenson (Tolvanen, Dunn) – 13. Lehkonen (Nečas, Manson), 34. Girard (Ničuškin, Burns), 43. MacKinnon (Makar, Nečas), 49. Nelson (MacKinnon, Makar), 60. MacKinnon (Ničuškin, Landeskog).

Goalies: Grubauer – Blackwood, shots on goal: 37:38.

NHL – December 17 – Results: