CHICAGO — Phillip Danault’s first career NHL goal proved to be the game-winner as the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Buffalo Sabres 3-1 at the United Center Friday.
Danault broke a 1-1 tie at 15:01 of the third period after skating with speed into the left circle and shooting the puck into the left side of the net.
Bruins 4, Devils 1: Ryan Spooner and Kevin Hayes scored in the second period to lead the Boston Bruins to a 4-1 win over the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center.
Frank Vatrano and Colin Miller also scored for Boston, who won for the first time since Dec. 29. Goaltender Jonas Gustavsson made 19 saves for the Bruins (21-14-4), who improved to 12-3-2 away home.
Hurricanes 4, Blue Jackets 1: Elias Lindholm scored the clinching goal late in the game as the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-1 on Friday at PNC Arena.
Jordan Staal scored earlier on a power play for the Hurricanes (17-18-7), who won for the first time in four games. Chris Terry tallied in the third period for the Hurricanes before Lindholm’s empty-net goal with 1:01 to play.
Avalanche 5, Predators 3: Tyson Barrie scored a power-play goal midway through the third period and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Nashville Predators 5-3 to spoil the debut of Ryan Johansen.
Jarome Iginla and Gabriel Landeskog also scored for the Avalanche, who tied the Predators with 45 points for the second wild card in the Western Conference.
Lightning 3, Oilers 2: The Tampa Bay Lightning scored three third-period goals, all of them going in off Edmonton players, to post a 3-2 win on Friday, their first at Rexall Place since 2007.
Ducks 4, Blues 3: Ryan Getzlaf scored the winning goal in a shootout to give the Anaheim Ducks a 4-3 win over the St. Louis Blues at the Honda Center.
Ryan Kesler scored twice and Corey Perry added his 15th goal for the Ducks (17-16-7), who saw goalie John Gibson return to action. Gibson, who stopped 25 shots, left Wednesday’s game against Toronto in the third period after colliding with Leafs center Nazem Kadri. — Reuters
