Anton Lundell scored twice and Matthew Tkachuk had a goal and two assists as the Florida Panthers extended their franchise-record road winning streak to nine with a 5-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday.

Aaron Ekblad and Johan Gadjovich also had goals for the Panthers, who improved to 16-3-2 since Dec. 23 to pull within two points of Eastern Conference-leading Boston.

Tkachuk has been a key catalyst with 13 goals and 19 assists in Florida’s last 17 games.

Sergei Bobrovsky made 25 saves to win his fifth consecutive start with a 1.58 goals-against average during that span.

Bryan Rust and John Ludvig scored for the Penguins, who lost their third straight to remain seven points behind the final playoff spot in the East.

Hellebuyck shuts out Sharks

Connor Hellebuyck needed to make just 17 saves for his third shutout of the season and Morgan Barron scored in the Winnipeg Jets’ 1-0 win over the San Jose Sharks.

Hellebuyck stopped four shots in the first period, eight in the second and five in the third for his 35th career shutout.

He became the 10th goaltender in NHL history to allow three goals or fewer in 30 consecutive games in the regular season.

Barron scored with 2:13 left in the opening period and Hellebuyck made it stand up as the Jets won their second straight following a five-game skid.

Wild defeat reeling Coyotes for 4th straight win

Matt Boldy had a goal and an assist and Marc-Andre Fleury turned aside 25 shots as the Minnesota Wild won their fourth consecutive game, 3-1 over the Arizona Coyotes.

Jonas Brodin and Joel Eriksson Ek had the other goals for the Wild, who have won seven of their last nine games.

Logan Cooley scored the lone goal as Arizona lost its seventh game in a row.

Connor McDavid notched his first career six-assist game and the Edmonton Oilers won their eighth straight at home, 8-4 over the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday.

McDavid matched a career high with six points, done previously against Colorado on Nov. 14, 2019, when he had three goals and three assists.

His third assist of the game was the 600th of his career and came in his 616th game. He is the fourth-fastest to 600 assists, trailing Wayne Gretzky (416), Mario Lemieux (514) and Bobby Orr (608).

McDavid has 12 goals and 34 assists during a 19-game home point streak.

The Oilers are one victory shy of matching their franchise record of nine consecutive home wins, done in 2017 and 2022.

Alex DeBrincat, Joe Veleno, Patrick Kane and David Perron had goals for the Red Wings, who dropped to 10-3-2 since Jan. 1.

Ovechkin extends goal streak in loss

Alex Ovechkin scored in his sixth straight game, but Artturi Lehkonen had two goals and two assists as the Colorado Avalanche snapped a four-game skid with a 6-3 victory over the Washington Capitals.

Ovechkin’s goal was his 14th of the season and 836th of his career, leaving him 59 shy of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record.

Ross Colton and Miles Wood each had a goal and an assist for Colorado, which won for the first time – in the fifth game of a six-game Eastern Conference road trip.

Nathan MacKinnon had a pair of assists for the Avalanche to end a season-high three-game pointless streak.

Marchand has two assists in 1,000th game

Brad Marchand set up two goals and nearly scored in overtime, but Brayden Point scored the lone shootout goal to lift the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 3-2 win over the Boston Bruins.

Marchand became the eighth player in franchise history to reach the milestone, and the Bruins said they will honour him with a ceremony before Monday’s game against Dallas.

Andrei Vasilevskiy denied Marchand in overtime and finished with 36 saves as the Lightning concluded their road trip 2-2-0.

Charlie McAvoy and James van Riemsdyk scored for the East-leading Bruins, who dropped to 1-3-1 in their last five home games.

Connor McDavid notched his first career six-assist game and the Edmonton Oilers won their eighth straight at home, 8-4 over the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday.

McDavid matched a career high with six points, done previously against Colorado on Nov. 14, 2019, when he had three goals and three assists.

His third assist of the game was the 600th of his career and came in his 616th game. He is the fourth-fastest to 600 assists, trailing Wayne Gretzky (416), Mario Lemieux (514) and Bobby Orr (608).

McDavid has 12 goals and 34 assists during a 19-game home point streak.

The Oilers are one victory shy of matching their franchise record of nine consecutive home wins, done in 2017 and 2022.

Alex DeBrincat, Joe Veleno, Patrick Kane and David Perron had goals for the Red Wings, who dropped to 10-3-2 since Jan. 1.

Ovechkin extends goal streak in loss

Alex Ovechkin scored in his sixth straight game, but Artturi Lehkonen had two goals and two assists as the Colorado Avalanche snapped a four-game skid with a 6-3 victory over the Washington Capitals.

Ovechkin’s goal was his 14th of the season and 836th of his career, leaving him 59 shy of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record.

Ross Colton and Miles Wood each had a goal and an assist for Colorado, which won for the first time – in the fifth game of a six-game Eastern Conference road trip.

Nathan MacKinnon had a pair of assists for the Avalanche to end a season-high three-game pointless streak.

Marchand has two assists in 1,000th game

Brad Marchand set up two goals and nearly scored in overtime, but Brayden Point scored the lone shootout goal to lift the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 3-2 win over the Boston Bruins.

Marchand became the eighth player in franchise history to reach the milestone, and the Bruins said they will honour him with a ceremony before Monday’s game against Dallas.

Andrei Vasilevskiy denied Marchand in overtime and finished with 36 saves as the Lightning concluded their road trip 2-2-0.

Charlie McAvoy and James van Riemsdyk scored for the East-leading Bruins, who dropped to 1-3-1 in their last five home games.

Igor Shesterkin turned back 30 shots for his first shutout of the season as the New York Rangers recorded a 2-0 victory over the Calgary Flames on Monday in a clash of teams sporting extended winning streaks.

Shesterkin out-dueled counterpart Jacob Markstrom to lead the Rangers to a fifth consecutive victory and halt Calgary's four-game winning streak. 

Markstrom was sharp in defeat, as he stopped 29 of 30 shots to keep the Flames in it until Jimmy Vesey sealed New York's win with an empty-net goal with 19 seconds remaining.

The Calgary goaltender came up with 11 saves during a scoreless first period, but his lone blemish came when Will Cuylle knocked in a rebound with 6:29 left in the second to give the Rangers a 1-0 advantage.

Shesterkin protected the lead with 13 second-period saves and 11 more in the third to finish off his 12th career shutout.

The win increased New York's lead over the second-place Carolina Hurricanes to six points in the Metropolitan Division standings. 

Flyers rally to top Coyotes, extend winning streak to four games

Travis Konecny had a goal and two assists and helped spark a third-period rally that lifted the surging Philadelphia Flyers to a 5-3 win over the Arizona Coyotes.

The Flyers trailed 3-2 after two periods before getting goals from Jamie Drysdale, Scott Laughton and Owen Tippett that kept them unbeaten since the All-Star break. Philadelphia is now 4-0-0 since the stoppage.

Laughton added an assist on Konecny's 25th goal of the season, while both of Konecny's assists came during Philadelphia's third-period comeback.

Drysdale began the rally when his shot deflected off Arizona defenseman Matt Dumba and trickled past goaltender Karel Vejmelka to tie the game at 3-3 with 6:12 elapsed in the third period.

Laughton put the Flyers ahead just over four minutes later by beating Vejmelka on a wraparound attempt, and Tippett's empty-net goal with 1:21 left put the game out of reach.

Dumba scored the lone goal of an otherwise quiet first period, but the action picked up in the second as both teams scored twice. 

Morgan Frost successfully converted a penalty shot 4:23 into the period to get the Flyers on the board, but Matias Maccelli sent the Coyotes back ahead by sneaking a shot past Philadelphia goaltender Samuel Ersson just 3:34 later.

Philadelphia answered on Konecny's goal midway through the second before Alex Kerfoot scored on a partial breakaway to give Arizona a 3-2 edge heading into the third. 

Vejmelka stopped 29 of 33 shots in the Coyotes' sixth consecutive loss (0-5-1), while Ersson finished with 20 saves. 

Eriksson Ek's two goals help Wild down Golden Knights

The Minnesota Wild lengthened a winning streak of their own with Monday's 5-3 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights that was sparked by a pair of goals from Joel Eriksson Ek.

Minnesota scored three times in the third period to snap a 2-2 tie and record its third consecutive win and sixth in eight games. Matt Boldy netted the eventual game-winner with 12:31 left to play and added two assists on the night.

The Wild's Marco Rossi broke the deadlock by knocking in a rebound 6:28 into the third period. Just 61 seconds later, Boldy fired a loose puck over the shoulder of Vegas goaltender Adin Hill to give Minnesota a 4-2 advantage.

Mark Stone's goal with 10:20 remaining got the Golden Knights within one, but the Wild held on before putting the game away on Eriksson Ek's empty-net tally with 22 seconds left.

Vegas started the game strong, taking a 1–0 lead just 22 seconds in when Jonathan Marchessault's chip attempt deflected off a Minnesota skater and trickled past goaltender Filip Gustavsson.

Mats Zuccarello and Eriksson Ek scored 81 seconds apart later in the first period to put the Wild on top before the Knights' Michael Amadio scored on a power play to forge a 2-2 tie. 

Gustavsson finished with 27 saves while Hill stopped 24 of 28 shots for Vegas, which was dealt just its second regulation loss in its last 10 games. The Knights entered the contest 7-1-1 over their last nine outings.

J.T. Miller scored the deciding goal with 4.8 seconds remaining in overtime as the Vancouver Canucks stopped a two-game losing streak with Sunday's 3-2 come-from-behind victory over the Washington Capitals.

Miller took advantage of a giveaway from Capitals centre Connor McMichael in the Washington zone with time winding down, as the veteran forward fired the resulting loose puck past goaltender Darcy Kuemper to enable the Western Conference leaders to avoid their first three-game skid of the season.

The Canucks twice overcame one-goal deficits to prevail, including a 2-1 hole created when Caps legend Alex Ovechkin's shot deflected off a Vancouver skater and past goaltender Thatcher Demko 7:37 into the second period.

Vancouver answered just over a minute later, however, when Nils Hoglander beat Kuemper on a backhand attempt.

The Canucks also trailed early as Nic Dowd gave Washington a quick 1-0 lead just 1:08 in, though Vancouver's Connor Garland came through with the equaliser with just under nine minutes to go in the first period.

Ovechkin now has a goal in five straight games after recording just eight over his first 40 outings of the season, though the Capitals still lost for the seventh time in eight games as Demko came up with 31 saves.

Kuemper ended with 26 saves for Washington.

Krug's five assists help Blues blow out Canadiens

The St. Louis Blues, meanwhile, continued their strong recent stretch by rolling to a 7-2 rout of the Montreal Canadiens behind Torey Krug's five assists and four points from Robert Thomas.

Thomas finished with a goal and three assists and Jordan Kyrou had two goals to help the Blues to their seventh win in eight games. St. Louis also received goals from Alexey Toropchenko, Colton Parayko, Nathan Walker and Jake Neighbours as well as 30 saves from Jordan Binnington.

The Blues led virtually from start to finish, as Toropchenko opened the scoring just 25 seconds into the game. Parayko's blast from near the blue line that got past Canadiens goaltender Jake Allen extended the lead to 2-0 with just 5:05 elapsed, and Kyrou later scored on a power play after Montreal's Nick Suzuki's goal to send St. Louis into the first intermission ahead by a 3-1 score.

Walker's second-period goal and Thomas' power-play conversion increased the margin to 5-1 just 31 seconds into the third period.

Joel Armia got Montreal a bit closer when he redirected teammate David Savard's shot past Binnington 3:06 into the third, but Neighbours scored on a power play just over four minutes later for a 6-2 St. Louis advantage.

Krug's fifth assist came on Kyrou's goal with 4:27 left to play. The defenseman tied a franchise single-game record most recently achieved by Thomas on April 14, 2022.

Allen recorded 29 saves in Montreal's sixth loss in its last eight games, while Suzuki's goal extended his point streak to seven games.

Alex Ovechkin passed Wayne Gretzky with his NHL-record 57th empty-net goal and the Washington Capitals snapped a six-game losing streak with a 3-0 win over the Boston Bruins on Saturday.

T.J. Oshie scored his 299th career goal and Charlie Lindgren made 18 saves for his third shutout of the season as the Capitals won for the first time since defeating St. Louis on Jan. 18.

Ovechkin’s goal was his 12th of the season and 834th of his career, leaving him 61 shy of surpassing Gretzky’s NHL record.

The Bruins were outshot 27-7 through two periods and lost for the third time in their last four home games.

Red Wings win on penalty shot in overtime

Jake Walman scored on a penalty shot in overtime to complete the Detroit Red Wings’ comeback 4-3 victory over the Vancouver Canucks.

Detroit trailed 3-1 entering the third period, but Daniel Sprong scored on a power play at 2:34 and Michael Rasmussen scored the tying goal five minutes later.

The Red Wings improved to 3-0-1 in their last four games and won for the seventh time when trailing after two periods.

Patrick Kane had an assist in his 1,200th career game in his return after missing the last seven games with a lower-body injury.

Filip Hronek and Elias Pettersson each had a goal and two assists for the league-leading Canucks, who had a 12-game point streak snapped with a 4-0 loss to Boston on Thursday.

Senators beat Leafs before wild ending

Shane Pinto scored one goal and set up two others to lead the Ottawa Senators to a 5-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs in a game that ended with Toronto defenseman Morgan Rielly cross-checking Ridly Greig for using a slap shot to score into an empty net.

Claude Giroux, Vladimir Tarasenko and Josh Norris also scored as the Senators matched a season high with their third straight victory.

Greig decided to use a slap shot to score from short range and Rielly took exception. As Greig headed back up the boards toward the bench, Rielly hit him high with a cross-check.

He was given a five-minute major for cross-checking and a game misconduct.

Marc-Andre Fleury made 32 saves after he was honoured for a milestone victory and Kirill Kaprizov scored the tiebreaking goal to lift the Minnesota Wild to a 3-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday.

Fleury, who earned his 553rd career win, was honoured in a pregame ceremony nearly a month after passing Patrick Roy (551) for second place in NHL history.

Fleury beat his former team in his return after missing five games due to an upper-body injury.

Matt Boldy and Jonas Brodin scored for Minnesota before Kaprizov banged home a rebound at 9:34 of the third period to put the Wild ahead 3-2.

Reilly Smith and Sidney Crosby scored for the Penguins, who dropped to 0-3-1 in their last four road games.

Oilers rally for 17th win in 18 games

Evander Kane had a hat trick and Connor McDavid set up three third-period goals as the Edmonton Oilers rallied for their 17th win in 18 games, 5-3 over the Anaheim Ducks.

Leon Draisaitl added a goal and an assist and Zach Hyman also scored as the Oilers rebounded after their 16-game winning streak – tied for the second-longest in NHL history – was snapped Tuesday at Vegas.

The Ducks had a four-game point streak halted despite getting two goals from Ryan Strome.

Rangers win in overtime after blowing lead

Mika Zibanejad scored at 2:36 of overtime and the New York Rangers topped the league-worst Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 after squandering a two-goal lead.

Chris Kreider, Alexis Lafreniere and Jonny Brodzinski had the other goals for the Rangers, who have won four straight.

Zibanejad’s goal was his franchise-record eighth in OT, breaking a tie with Brian Leetch, Cecil Dillon and Butch Keeling.

Alex Vlasic scored in the first period and Nick Foligno and Jason Dickinson had third-period goals as Chicago’s winless streak reached six games (0-5-1).

The Eastern Conference's top team made quick work of the best team from the West.

Brad Marchand and Danton Heinen each scored short-handed goals in the first period, and the Boston Bruins beat the Vancouver Canucks 4-0 on Thursday in a showdown between the NHL's top two teams.

Charlie Coyle set up both short-handed goals and Boston extended the lead to 4-0 in the opening minute of the second period when Morgan Geekie and Pavel Zacha scored 15 seconds apart.

Linus Ullmark only needed to make 17 saves to register his first shutout of the season.

Boston (32-10-9) won for the eighth time in 10 games to move into a tie with Vancouver (34-12-5) for the most points in the NHL with 73.

The Canucks lost for the first time in regulation since January 4, after going 10-0-2 over their previous 12 games.

Thatcher Demko's nine-game winning streak ended with the Vancouver goaltender stopping just 21 of 25 shots.

The Canucks managed just four shots on goal in both the first and third period and were held without a score for the first time since October 17 - just their third game of the season.

Necas' first career hat trick helps Hurricanes beat Avalanche

Martin Necas recorded his first career hat trick in style.

Playing in his 330th career game, Necas registered a natural hat trick in the first 17 minutes of the Carolina Hurricanes' 5-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche.

His hat trick marked the second-fastest to begin a game in Carolina franchise history.

The Hurricanes won despite an odd goaltending situation.

Pyotr Kochetkov allowed two goals in the final 30 seconds of the first period and was pulled in favor of Antii Raanta.

Raanta stopped all nine shots he faced but suffered a lower-body injury and lasted just one period.

Kochetkov then re-entered for the final period and turned aside all 10 shots he faced in the third. He finished with 16 saves for the Hurricanes (29-16-5), who improved to 12-3-1 in their last 16 games.

Colorado netminder Alexandar Georgiev permitted the hat trick on just four shots before rebounding. He ended up with 23 saves.

Zach Parise and Samuel Girard scored seven seconds apart for the Avalanche (32-16-4), who lost their third in a row after entering the All-Star break on a 13-3-1 stretch.

Panthers pull away to beat Capitals

Ryan Lomberg scored the go-ahead goal with 6:52 remaining in the third period to lift the Florida Panthers to a 4-2 win over the Washington Capitals.

Lomberg's goal was just his third of the season, and ended a 35-game stretch without one dating to November 14.

Sam Reinhart scored his team-leading 38th goal on a power play, while Matthew Tkachuk added a goal and two assists to give him 12 goals and 18 assists in his last 17 games.

Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 21 shots for Florida (32-15-4), which won for the fifth time in six games.

Washington (22-20-7), meanwhile, has lost six straight games.

Alex Ovechkin opened the scoring with a power-play goal - the 833rd goal of his career.

He has now scored in three straight games after failing to score in his previous eight contests.

Jimmy Vesey scored twice and Jonathan Quick stopped 19 shots to lead the New York Rangers to a 3-1 win on Wednesday over the Tampa Bay Lightning, who lost defenseman Mikhail Sergachev to a leg injury.

Jonny Brodzinski had the other goal to help the Rangers win their third straight and second in three days after the All-Star break.

Quick has won his last three starts with a .952 save percentage and is 12-4-2 this season with a 2.27 goals-against average.

Sergachev had to leave the ice on a stretcher after his leg bent at an awkward angle on a play along the boards in the second period. He became tangled with Rangers forward Alexis Lafreniere and his left skate appeared to stick in the ice as his knee twisted unnaturally.

Maple Leafs hold off Stars

William Nylander had two goals and an assist and Auston Matthews scored his league-leading 41st goal in the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 5-4 win over the Dallas Stars on Wednesday.

John Tavares added a goal and two assists and Mitchell Marner also scored as the Leafs won their fourth in five games.

Marner and Nylander scored 20 seconds apart midway through the third period to give Toronto a 5-3 lead with 8:03 remaining.

Evgenii Dadonov had a pair of goals for Dallas, which had a four-game win streak stopped.

Wild beat Blackhawks again

Marcus Foligno scored a tiebreaking goal midway through the third period and Filip Gustavsson made 20 saves as the Minnesota Wild made it 11 straight wins over the Chicago Blackhawks, 2-1.

Jacob Lucchini scored his first goal of the season for Minnesota, which has limited Chicago to 16 goals during an 11-0-0 run in the series since a 5-3 loss on Dec. 15, 2019.

Nick Foligno had the lone goal as the league-worst Blackhawks lost their fifth in a row.

Chandler Stephenson snapped a tie in the third period and the Vegas Golden Knights ended the Edmonton Oilers’ 16-game winning streak, 3-1 on Tuesday.

The Oilers fell one win shy of matching the NHL record of 17 straight wins, held by the Mario Lemieux-led 1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins.

Edmonton’s 16-game streak is tied with the 2016-17 Columbus Blue Jackets for the second-longest in league history.

Nicolas Roy scored in the first period and William Karlsson added an empty-net goal as Vegas improved to 6-1-1 in its last eight games.

Adin Hill stopped 30 shots and is 3-0-0 with a .955 save percentage in three starts since returning from an injury that sidelined him over a month.

Connor McDavid scored a short-handed goal for the Oilers, who lost for the first time since Dec. 19 against the New York Islanders and dropped to 24-4-0 in their last 28 games.

Lindholm shines in Canucks debut

Elias Lindholm scored a pair of power-play goals in his Canucks debut and J.T. Miller snapped a third-period tie as Vancouver extended its point streak to 12 games with a 3-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes.

Lindholm, who began his career with Carolina, scored in each of the first two periods in his first game since he was acquired from Calgary last week.

Quinn Hughes and Brock Boeser each had two assists and Thatcher Demko stopped 22 shots as the NHL-leading Canucks improved to 10-0-2 in their last 12 games.

Demko won his ninth straight start to set a franchise record, breaking a tie with Dan Cloutier (2002).

Jordan Martinook and Sebastian Aho scored for the Hurricanes, who had won three straight.

Jarry earns NHL-best sixth shutout

Tristan Jarry turned away 24 shots for his NHL-leading sixth shutout to lead the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 3-0 win over the slumping Winnipeg Jets.

Jarry stopped eight shots in each of the first two periods and seven more in the third for his 19th career shutout. He is 5-0 lifetime against the Jets.

Bryan Rust, Jeff Carter and Kris Letang scored to help the Penguins win their second straight following a three-game skid.

Winnipeg has dropped four in a row after winning 10 of 11.

Alexis Lafreniere's goal 1:53 into overtime lifted the New York Rangers to a 2-1 come-from-behind win over the Colorado Avalanche on Monday in a matchup of division leaders that started up the NHL's post-All-Star break schedule.

The Metropolitan Division-leading Rangers trailed 1-0 in the third period before rallying behind goals from Lafreniere and Artemi Panarin that supported a sharp 32-save effort from Jonathan Quick.

Former Ranger Alexandar Georgiev shut out his ex-team for over 2 1/2 periods until Panarin's wrist shot bounced off Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon and deflected past the Colorado goaltender to tie the game at 1-1 with 8:43 left in regulation.

Lafreniere later ripped the puck by Georgiev on the Rangers' lone shot attempt in overtime to end the Central Division-leading Avalanche's three-game winning streak. Quick was credited with a secondary assist on the goal.

MacKinnon extended his point streak to 14 games when he rushed up the ice and fired a shot that beat Quick to the glove side with 1:46 remaining in the first period.

Georgiev finished with 29 saves, including 11 in the first period.

Engvall's late goal puts Islanders over Maple Leafs

Former Maple Leaf Pierre Engvall scored the tie-breaking goal in his return to Toronto to send the New York Islanders to a 3-2 victory over his ex-team.

Engvall knocked in a rebound of teammate Brock Nelson's shot with 2:02 left in the third period to snap a 2-2 deadlock and help stop New York's three-game losing streak. The forward was making his first appearance at Scotiabank Arena since being traded by the Maple Leafs to the Islanders on Feb. 28, 2023.

Mathew Barzal and Kyle MacLean also scored for New York to back 35 saves from Ilya Sorokin.

Former Islanders captain John Tavares had a goal and an assist for Toronto and briefly tied the game at 2-2 with a power-play tally with 4:48 remaining.

After Barzal recorded the lone goal of the first period, Mitchell Marner scored just 50 seconds into the second to pull the Maple Leafs even. The tied score lasted only two minutes, however, as MacLean beat Toronto goaltender Ilya Samsonov on a breakaway for his first NHL goal.

MacLean's father, John, is an Islanders' assistant coach.

Samsonov registered 26 saves for the Maple Leafs, who had a three-game winning streak halted.

The Los Angeles Kings fired head coach Todd McLellan on Friday following an extended slump that has put their post-season chances in question.

Though the Kings entered the NHL's All-Star break holding the first of two wild-card spots in the Western Conference, their lead over the ninth-place Nashville Predators is just two points and they've lost 14 of their last 17 games (3-8-6). 

Los Angeles began the season with a 20-7-4 start, with its 44 points tied for the most in franchise history after 31 games, and set an NHL record by winning its first 11 road games. 

“We want to thank Todd for his hard work and dedication to the organisation,” Kings vice president and general manager Rob Blake said in a statement. “He has done a tremendous job in moving us forward and making a positive impact on our group and in our community. This was not an easy decision, but we felt the change was necessary at this time."

Assistant Jim Hiller will serve as interim head coach for the remainder of the season.

McLellan was in his fifth season behind the Kings' bench and led Los Angeles to the play-offs in each of the past two campaigns, though the team was ousted in the opening round both times. He compiled a 164-130-44 overall record in regular-season play.

The 56-year-old has gone 598-412-134 overall as an NHL head coach and ranks 23rd in league history in regular-season wins. McLellan previously spent seven seasons as the head coach of the San Jose Sharks from 2008-15 and guided that team to a pair of appearances in the Western Conference finals. He later coached the Edmonton Oilers for three-plus seasons from 2015-18.

A dramatic offensive decline has played a large role in the Kings' struggles over the past five weeks, as their average of 2.35 goals per game since Dec. 28 ranks 30th of 32 teams over that period. Los Angeles ranked third in the league with an average of 3.58 goals per game during its 20-7-4 start.

Hiller has spent the last two seasons on the Kings' coaching staff and previously worked as an assistant coach for the New York Islanders (2019-22), Toronto Maple Leafs (2015-19) and Detroit Red Wings (2014-15). The 54-year-old has never been a head coach at the NHL level, but was the head coach of the Tri-City Americans in the junior ranks for five seasons from 2009-14.

"Jim is a well-respected member of our staff who is familiar with our players," Blake said. "We are confident in his ability to lead our team effectively during this pivotal time.”

The Kings are the sixth team to make an in-season coaching change in 2023-24, joining the Edmonton Oilers (Jay Woodcroft), Minnesota Wild (Dean Evason), St. Louis Blues (Craig Berube), Ottawa Senators (D.J. Smith) and New York Islanders (Lane Lambert).

Alex Turcotte scored his first NHL goal and assist and the Los Angeles Kings snapped a four-game skid with a 4-2 victory over the Nashville Predators on Wednesday.

Turcotte – the fifth overall pick in 2019 – extended the Kings’ lead to 2-0 in the second period and assisted on Trevor Lewis’ goal with 6:40 remaining. He was playing in his second NHL game of the season and 14th overall.

Carl Grundstrom and Kevin Fiala also scored for the Kings, who head into the All-Star break on a 3-8-6 stretch.

David Rittich made 38 saves and is 5-1-3 as a starter this season.

Filip Forsberg and Philip Tomasino tallied for Nashville, which has one win in six games (1-4-1).

Senators edge Red Wings in overtime  

Shane Pinto scored on a lunging tip-in at 2:05 of overtime to lift the Ottawa Senators to a 3-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings.

Brady Tkachuk and Mark Kastelic also scored and Joonas Korpisalo made 22 saves as Ottawa improved to 5-1-2 in its last eight games.

Daniel Sprong and Dylan Larkin had goals for the Red Wings, who finished January with a 9-2-2 record.

Larkin’s team-best 23rd goal extended his point streak to 12 games. He has 10 goals and six assists during that span.

Vatrano propels Ducks in overtime

Frank Vatrano scored with 53 seconds left in overtime and the Anaheim Ducks defeated the San Jose Sharks, 3-2.

Isaac Lundestrom scored in the first period and Troy Terry netted the equaliser with 61 seconds to play in regulation as Anaheim improved to 3-0-1 in its last four games.

San Jose got goals from Anthony Duclair and Marc-Edouard Vlasic and notched at least a point for the sixth time in seven games (4-1-2).

Elvis Merzlikins stopped 21 shots and Dmitri Voronkov scored in the third period as the Columbus Blue Jackets snapped the St. Louis Blues’ five-game winning streak, 1-0 on Tuesday.

Merzlikins and Jordan Binnington hooked up in a scoreless duel until Voronkov buried a one-timer off a Zach Werenski pass on an odd-man rush at 4:11 of the third.

Merzlikins’ shutout was the 10th of his career and his first since blanking Carolina on Jan. 13, 2022, ending a 94-game span between shutouts.

Binnington finished with 21 saves as St. Louis was shut out for the second time this season.

Blackwood stops 32 in shutout of Kraken

MacKenzie Blackwood turned aside 32 shots for his first shutout in over two years as the San Jose Sharks defeated the Seattle Kraken, 2-0.

Blackwood earned his first shutout since December 2021 with New Jersey.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic opened the scoring 7:27 into the third period and Jan Rutta added an empty-net goal with 21 seconds remaining as last-place San Jose won for the fourth time in five games.  

Seattle got 20 saves from Joey Daccord and has lost six of eight following a nine-game winning streak. 

Claude Giroux's goal with 1:24 remaining in overtime completed a furious rally as the Ottawa Senators overcame a three-goal deficit to earn a 4-3 win over the Nashville Predators in Monday's lone game of the NHL schedule.

Ottawa trailed 3-0 after one period before goals from Drake Batherson, Tim Stuetzle and Brady Tkachuk in the second tied the game, and the Senators received a superb relief effort from goaltender Joonas Korpisalo to help spur the comeback.

Korpisalo stopped all 17 shots he faced after taking over for Mads Sogaard, who was pulled after one period after allowing three goals on 11 shots.

After the Predators failed on a 2-on-1 attempt late in overtime, the Senators countered with an odd-man rush of their own. Stuetzle worked a give-and-go with Giroux, who blasted his teammate's pass over Nashville goaltender Juuse Saros for the game-winner.

Ottawa, tied for last in the Eastern Conference with 40 points, had lost two in a row coming in but improved to 4-1-2 over its last seven games.

The Predators lost for the fourth time in five games despite a solid performance from Saros, who made 14 saves in the third period to force overtime and finished with 31.

Michael McCarron staked Nashville to an early lead when he rocketed a loose puck past Sogaard 8:26 in. Philip Tomasino and Yakov Trenin then scored 2:30 apart before the end of the first period to give the Predators a seemingly comfortable 3-0 advantage.