(The Sports Xchange) – Highlights from National Hockey League games on Thursday:
Lightning 2, Blue Jackets 0
Mikhail Sergachev scored the first two goals of his NHL career, and the Tampa Bay Lightning cruised to a 2-0 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets in an early season battle of Eastern Conference front-runners Thursday night.
Andrei Vasilevskiy posted his first shutout of the season with 43 saves for the Lightning.
Nikita Kucherov finished with two assists but failed to score a goal for the first time this season, ending his seven-game streak. Steven Stamkos, who entered the game tied with Kucherov for the NHL lead with 12 points, added an assist.
Devils 5, Senators 4 (overtime)
John Moore scored at 1:20 of overtime to give New Jersey a come-from-behind victory over Ottawa.
Nico Hischier scored the first two goals of his NHL career by the 4:21 mark of the opening period, and Kyle Palmierei and Marcus Johansson scored for the Devils in the third period. Taylor Hall added four assists. Kyle Turris, Derick Brassard, Alex Burrows and Tom Pyatt scored for the Senators, while Erik Karlsson added three assists.
Islanders 4, Rangers 3 (shootout)
John Tavares scored the deciding goal in a shootout to give the Islanders a victory against the Rangers.
David Desharnais, Mats Zuccarello and Kevin Hayes scored in regulation time for the Rangers, who received 35 saves from Henrik Lundqvist.
Anders Lee, Brock Nelson and Mathew Barzal scored for the Islanders. Jaroslav Halak turned aside 38 shots.
Bruins 6, Canucks 3
Patrice Bergeron celebrated his return to the ice with a goal and three assists, and rookie linemate Anders Bjork had two goals and an assist to power Boston over Vancouver.
Brad Marchand added a goal and two assists, and David Krejci and David Pastrnak both posted a goal and an assist for the Bruins.
Predators 1, Flyers 0
Colton Sissons netted the only goal 3:49 into the third period to lead Nashville over Philadelphia.
Pekka Rinne stopped all 28 shots he faced to earn his first shutout of the season and the 44th of his 12-year career, all with the Predators.
Blues 4, Avalanche 3
Jaden Schwartz and Vince Dunn scored goals 52 seconds apart in the second period, and St. Louis survived a late flurry to beat Colorado.
Paul Stastny had a goal and an assist, Robert Bortuzzo also scored, and Carter Hutton made 38 saves for the Blues. Alex Pietrangelo and Vladimir Sobotka had two assists each for the Blues.
Hurricanes 2, Flames 1
Jeff Skinner had a goal and an assist to lead Carolina over Calgary.
Justin Williams scored the game-winning goal on a third-period power play for the Hurricanes, who have won two games in a row. Carolina goalie Scott Darling made 25 saves to record his second win of the season.
Oilers 2, Blackhawks 1 (OT)
Mark Letestu scored a power-play goal with 16 seconds left in overtime, and Cam Talbot made 30 saves as Edmonton snapped a four-game losing streak with a victory over Chicago.
Patrick Kane scored a goal and Anton Forsberg made 40 saves for the Blackhawks, who dropped two straight and three of four.
Stars 5, Coyotes 4
Tyler Seguin scored twice in the third period as Dallas beat still-winless Arizona.
Jamie Benn scored his third of the season and assisted on both Seguin goals as Dallas won for the first time in three road games. Radek Faksa and Stephen Johns also scored for the Stars.
