Goaltender Matt Murray enjoyed his first shutout as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs as he saved all 44 of the Dallas Stars' shots in a strong 4-0 win on Tuesday.
Murray, who spent the past two seasons with the Ottawa Senators, tallied three total shutouts during his time there, and his 44 saves is the most he has had since December 2019 when he was with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
His best stretch of the game came late in the second period, when the Maple Leafs were tasked with killing a five-on-three power play, knocking away five shots in under a minute to protect their 3-0 lead.
Auston Matthews, who won last season's Hart Memorial Trophy winner as league MVP, scored the only unassisted goal of the four, and he made sure to credit his goalie for ensuring it was not a nervous ending.
"I don't know if there's words for [Murray's performance] – that was special," he said. "I thought at the end of the second [period] there, that penalty kill, a lot of credit obviously to 'Murs' for some absolutely incredible saves.
"He made some unbelievable saves, just special."
Matthews also gave credit to Mitchell Marner, who dished an assist to become the fourth active player in the NHL to record a 20-game point streak in their career.
"Echoing what I've been saying for the last two weeks, I guess, but it's been a lot of fun to watch," Matthews said.
"He's been driving the bus for us. He's going to continue to play, and continue to compete for us, and he's been all over it on both sides of the puck. He's a special guy, a special player."
Marner made an effort to deflect the praise away from himself, pointing to his teammates as the key to his success.
"I'm sure like anyone would say, it's not a one-man effort out there," he said. "It's a lot of work from these guys around me, a lot of help from these guys around me.
"It's been a lot of fun in this streak, because we've been winning games as well, but a lot of kudos to these guys around me helping me make plays. I'm just trying to go out there and buzz.
"[Murray was] exceptional. He made some massive saves, especially on that [penalty] kill. Throughout the whole game, just working his bag off, making backdoor plays and saves, it was fun to watch."
With the win, the Maple Leafs now own the third-best record in the Eastern Conference at 16-5-6, while the Dallas Stars remain fourth in the West at 14-7-5.
NHL: Islanders rally for overtime win, end Kings' record 11-game road winning streak to open season
Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored just 13 seconds into overtime and the New York Islanders rallied for a 3-2 victory over the Kings on Saturday, ending Los Angeles’ NHL-record season-opening 11-game road winning streak.
The Kings led 2-0 entering the third period but Islanders captain Anders Lee scored twice, including the equaliser with 4:11 left in regulation.
Pageau beat Cam Talbot on a breakaway for his first goal in 14 home games this season.
Ilya Sorokin made 34 saves, with his best coming when he denied Adrian Kempe on a breakaway late in the third period.
New York improved to 4-0-1 in its last five games and has recorded a point in 11 of its last 12 games (7-1-4).
Kempe and Vladislav Gavrikov scored for Los Angeles, which had won three straight and eight of nine overall.
Red Wings captain Larkin injured in loss
Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin was injured on a hit from behind in the first period in a 5-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators.
Larkin was face-down and motionless for about a minute after being cross-checked in the back of the head and neck by Ottawa’s Mathieu Joseph. He was eventually able to stand and was hunched over as he was assisted to the locker room.
The team released a statement during the game that Larkin was being evaluated by the medical staff.
Claude Giroux and Vladimir Tarasenko each had a goal and an assist for the Senators, who have won three of four following a three-game skid.
Patrick Kane scored his first goal with the Red Wings in his second game since joining Detroit.
Capitals spoil Laviolette’s return
Charlie Lindgren turned aside 31 shots and the Washington Capitals scored three second-period goals I a 4-0 win over the New York Rangers to spoil former coach Peter Laviolette’s return.
Sonny Milano scored in the first period and Anthony Mantha, Tom Wilson and Nicolas Aube-Kubel tallied in the second as Washington snapped a three-game skid.
Laviolette spent three seasons with the Capitals before parting ways with the team in April and joining the Rangers two months later.
New York has lost two straight for the first time this season.
NHL: Edmonton Oilers earn sixth straight win
Evan Bouchard's second goal of the game broke a tie early in the third period and sent the resurgent Edmonton Oilers to a 4-3 win over the Minnesota Wild on Friday.
Edmonton won its sixth consecutive game and improved to 8-3-0 under Kris Knoublach, who replaced Jay Woodcroft as head coach on Nov. 12 after the Oilers got off to a 3-9-1 start.
Bouchard added an assist and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had four assists to help the Oilers battle back twice from one-goal deficits. Stars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl each contributed a goal and an assist to back 17 saves from Stuart Skinner.
The Wild were outshot by a 40-20 margin but kept it close throughout behind 36 saves from Marc-Andre Fleury.
After Draisaitl's power-play goal late in the second period forged a 3-3 tie, Bouchard also converted a power-play chance 1:32 into the third to put Edmonton in front.
Bouchard's first of the night gave the Oilers a 1-0 lead after one period, but Matt Boldy and Joel Eriksson Ek each scored in the opening minute of the second to send the Wild ahead.
McDavid answered just 40 seconds after Eriksson Ek's goal, but Minnesota regained the lead on Connor Dewar's one-timer with 8:02 left in the second.
The Wild have now lost two straight after winning their first four games since John Hynes replaced Dean Evason as head coach on Nov. 28.
Bobrovsky, Panthers extend Penguins' losing streak
Sergei Bobrovsky made 26 saves and Eetu Luostarinen scored the deciding goal in the third period as the Florida Panthers came through with a 3-1 win over the slumping Pittsburgh Penguins.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Aleksander Barkov also had goals to help the Panthers move to 4-1-1 over their last six games.
Pittsburgh, meanwhile, has now lost four straight (0-2-2) after failing to hold on to a 1-0 lead provided by Reilly Smith's goal 8:05 into the second period.
The Panthers drew even when Ekman-Larsson knocked in a rebound late in the second period, then took a 2-1 edge when Luostarinen sent a loose puck past Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry with 6:10 elapsed in the third.
After Florida killed off a late Pittsburgh power play, Barkov sealed the victory with an empty-net goal with 27 seconds remaining.
Jarry stopped 30 of 32 shots for the Penguins, who went 0 for 3 on the power play and have now gone 13 straight games without a man-advantage goal.
Greaves stars in NHL debut as Blue Jackets top Blues
Jet Greaves stopped 41 shots to win his first NHL game as the Columbus Blue Jackets pulled away for a 5-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues.
Yegor Chinakhov had two of three Columbus goals in the third period to support an outstanding debut from Greaves, called up from the minors Thursday after the Blue Jackets placed regular goaltender Elvis Merzlikins on injured reserve.
The 22-year-old rookie came up with 23 saves alone in the third period, during which Chinakhov scored twice in a span of under six minutes to stretch Columbus' lead to 4-1.
Chinakhov also assisted on Kirill Marchenko's goal that put the Blue Jackets ahead just 1:42 in, though Robert Thomas tied it for St. Louis later in the first period with the first of his two goals.
Adam Fantilli put Columbus back ahead with a shot past Blues goaltender Joel Hofer with 2:59 left in the opening period.
Thomas scored again with 2:22 remaining to get St. Louis within 4-2, but Alexandre Texier's empty-net goal in the final seconds ended any Blues' comeback hopes.
Columbus snapped a three-game losing streak, while the Blues have now dropped three of four. Hofer stopped 17 of 21 shots in defeat.
NHL: Kings shut out Canadiens for NHL-record 11th straight road win to open season
Cam Talbot stopped 24 shots and the Los Angeles Kings beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-0 on Thursday for their NHL-record 11th straight road win to open the season.
Quinton Byfield had two goals and an assist and Drew Doughty added a goal and an assist for the Kings, who surpassed the mark set by the 2006-07 Buffalo Sabres.
Los Angeles is one road win away from matching the NHL record of 12 consecutive road victories at any point during the season.
The Kings have won three straight and eight of nine overall.
Montreal was shut out by the Kings for the second time this season after a 4-0 loss on Nov. 25.
Sharks rally to spoil Kane’s Red Wings debut
The San Jose Sharks overcame a four-goal deficit and spoiled Patrick Kane’s debut with the Red Wings in a 6-5 overtime victory.
Mikael Granlund scored 37 seconds into overtime and Nico Sturm and Tomas Hertl each scored twice for the Sharks, who have rallied from deficits of at least three goals to win consecutive games in OT.
Kane, a nine-time All-Star, signed a one-year contract with Detroit on Nov. 28. He didn’t record a point and hit the post early in the third period.
Michael Rasmussen scored twice for the Red Wings, who had won six of seven.
San Jose has won five of seven after winning just three times in its first 20 games.
Ovechkin hits milestone in Capitals’ shootout loss
Alexander Ovechkin recorded his 1,500th regular season point, but Roope Hintz scored twice in the third period and the Dallas Stars rallied for a 5-4 shootout win over the Washington Capitals.
Ovechkin assisted on Dylan Strome’s second goal of the game midway through the third period to become the 16th player in NHL history to reach that plateau.
Jason Robertson had two assists in regulation and scored the only goal in the shootout as Dallas rebounded from consecutive losses.
Aliaksei Protas and Evgeny Kuznetsov also had goals for the Capitals, who lost their third in a row (0-2-1).
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