PITTSBURGH: Ilya Kovalchuk and David Clarkson scored less than two minutes apart in the second period as the New Jersey Devils beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-1 on Sunday night for their season-high fifth straight win.
It was the second time New Jersey beat Pittsburgh in as many games after the Devils ended the Penguins’ five-game winning streak in the first of installment of the home-and-home series Saturday.
Clarkson’s power-play goal at 13:20 of the second period to make it 3-0 was his second of the game and team-leading ninth goal of the season. Johan Hedberg made 23 saves and the former Penguins goalie won his first game in five starts in Pittsburgh as a member of the visiting team (1-4-1).
Tomas Vokoun made 20 saves in his first start at home and James Neal scored Pittsburgh’s only goal 15 seconds into the third period. Sidney Crosby, whose season-high six-game points streak ended Saturday, was held without a point for the second straight game.
Blackhawks 3 Predators 0: In Nashville, Tennessee, Marcus Kruger and Jonathan Toews each scored 66 seconds apart in the second period, and the Chicago Blackhawks remained the NHL’s lone undefeated team in regulation by beating the Nashville Predators.
Patrick Kane also added a goal in the third as the Blackhawks wrapped up their season-high six-game road trip with their fourth straight win and improved to 10-0-2 overall and 8-0-2 away from Chicago. Goalie Corey Crawford got Chicago’s first shutout of the season and the sixth of his career making 17 saves.
Back home to start a four-game homestand, the Predators had their 17th consecutive sold-out crowd.
Red Wings 3 Kings 2: In Detroit, Jonathan Ericsson scored with 5 seconds left to lift the Detroit Red Wings past the Los Angeles Kings.
The Kings failed to clear the puck, less than a minute after they tied the game, and Ericsson took advantage. His slap shot from above the right circle trickled through Jonathan Quick’s pads.
Los Angeles pulled Quick with a minute left to add an extra skater and forward Kyle Clifford got off the bench in time to keep the puck in the Detroit end. Clifford’s shot rebounded off Jimmy Howard and Alec Martinez scored on a putback to make it 2-all at the 19:07 mark of the third period.
Pavel Datsyuk and Damien Brunner scored on shots set up by Henrik Zetterberg in the first period and Howard made 45 saves to help the Red Wings win three straight for the first time this year.
Rangers 5 Lightning 1: In New York, Carl Hagelin had two goals and an assist, and Henrik Lundqvist made 19 saves in the New York Rangers’ victory over Tampa Bay that extended the Lightning’s losing streak to four games.
Lundqvist was sharp throughout and was helped by some early offense. Hagelin scored his first goal just 31 seconds in and then made it 3-0 in the second period. Ryan Callahan added a breakaway goal with 4:47 left in the first, and Arron Asham and Rick Nash scored in the third for the Rangers (6-5), who have won four of six.
On the flipside, the Lightning — who entered with an NHL-best 42 goals this season — have netted only six during their skid. Tampa Bay (6-5) might have been a bit weary following a long bus ride from Boston on Saturday after its game against the Bruins was postponed by the big Northeast snowstorm.
Bruins 3 Sabres 1: In Buffalo, New York, Patrice Bergeron scored the go-ahead goal on a third-period power play in leading the hot-starting Boston Bruins past the Buffalo Sabres.
Brad Marchand and Milan Lucic, into an empty net, also scored. Backup goalie Anton Khudobin made 25 saves in only his second start of the season.
The Bruins (8-1-1) are off to the team’s best start to a season by earning 17 points in their first 10 games. The team’s previous best was 16 points through 10 games, set four times, the last in 1978-79, when they opened 7-1-2.
Oilers 3 Blue Jackets 1: In Columbus, Ohio, Magnus Paajarvi scored a go-ahead short-handed goal with 3:10 remaining and Devan Dubnyk made 39 saves as the Edmonton Oilers snapped a five-game losing streak.
Sam Gagner scored into an open net and assisted on the game-winner, and Ales Hemsky scored in the first period for Edmonton, which still has earned points in four of its last six.
R.J. Umberger scored his first of the season to tie it in the third for Columbus, which lost its third straight despite outshooting the Oilers 40-14 overall and 15-3 in the third period.
Devils repeat over Penguins for fifth straight win
Devils repeat over Penguins for fifth straight win
Rajkovic excels as Al-Ittihad cruise to victory against Al-Shabab
- Al-Ittihad secure fifth Saudi Pro League win of the season with a 2-0 victory
JEDDAH: It has not been the start to the season that Al-Ittihad fans had anticipated. Nevertheless, on their return to Saudi Pro League action after a 36-day hiatus, the defending champions delivered a performance that offered renewed confidence ahead of a demanding run of seven matches in the space of 30 days.
The opening exchanges proved far from straightforward for The Tigers.
Attempting to play out from the back, they were punished within the first two minutes as Abdullah Matuq pounced on a mistake to find himself one-on-one with Predrag Rajkovic, only for the Serbian goalkeeper to produce the first of several crucial saves. Just 60 seconds later, Rajkovic was called into action again, this time denying a header from a corner.
Momentum soon shifted. Roger Fernandes began to cause problems down the left wing, his quick footwork getting the better of Al-Shabab’s defence before he delivered a low cross into the box. Ahmed Al-Ghamdi, aided by Karim Benzema’s intelligent screening of Saad Balobaid, met it to open the scoring in the 16th minute.
Al-Ittihad came close to doubling their advantage in the 28th minute. Mohannad Al-Shangeeti struck the far post with a powerful effort, before his follow-up attempt narrowly missed the target, drifting wide of Marcelo Grohe’s goal.
Grohe was later called upon to keep Al-Shabab in the contest, producing a fine save in the 58th minute to deny Benzema after the Frenchman was released by a perfectly weighted pass from Steven Bergwijn.
Al-Ittihad continued to dominate possession, though Imanol Alguacil’s side managed to limit Fernandes’ influence by committing extra defensive cover on the left flank.
That adjustment failed to account for Al-Shangeeti’s runs from deep, as he surged down the right to find Bergwijn, who finished first time to seal the contest for the hosts in the 85th minute.
Late substitute Abdulaziz Al-Bishi thought he had added a third in the closing stages, but his effort was ruled out for offside.
The win lifts Al-Ittihad into sixth place on 17 points, while Al-Shabab remain just two points above the relegation zone, extending their winless run to eight matches since their Matchday 2 victory over Al-Hazem.
