NHL Roundup: Rangers’ Artemi Panarin (Hat Trick) Lights up Lightning

New York Rangers left wing Artemi Panarin (10) celebrates his goal against the Buffalo Sabres during the first period at Madison Square Garden in New York on Dec. 23, 2023. Dennis Schneidler/USA TODAY Sports via Field Level Media

Artemi Panarin recorded his sixth career hat trick, Vincent Trocheck notched a goal and three assists and the New York Rangers whipped the host Tampa Bay Lightning 5–1 on Saturday night.

In tying his career high with four points, Trocheck had helpers on two of Panarin’s goals and Chris Kreider’s marker. Trocheck’s tally marked his third game-winner of the season for the Rangers, who went 9–5–0 in December. Alexis Lafreniere recorded two assists, while goaltender Igor Shesterkin had 34 saves and recorded his fifth consecutive win.

As the NHL’s first club to reach 25 wins, the Eastern Conference-leading Rangers moved to 6–0–0 in the second game of a back-to-back set and 9–1–0 after a loss.

Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov produced his team-high 25th goal. Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 15 shots in his ninth straight start.

Oilers 3, Kings 2 (SO)

Connor McDavid had a goal and an assist and Derek Ryan netted the winner in a shootout to give visiting Edmonton a comeback victory over Los Angeles.

Leon Draisaitl also scored for the Oilers, who are riding a four-game winning streak and have won 12 of 15 games. Goaltender Stuart Skinner made 26 saves through regulation and overtime, and he was beaten twice on four shootout attempts. McDavid played his 600th regular-season game, and he collected his 316th goal and 581st assist (897 points).

Adrian Kempe netted one goal and one assist and Kevin Fiala also scored for the Kings, who have dropped two straight games and have won only four of 10 games (4–4–2).

Jets 4, Wild 2

Nino Niederreiter scored twice and Winnipeg defeated visiting Minnesota to extend its point streak to seven games.

Alex Iafallo and Axel Jonsson-Fjallby also scored for the Jets, who are amid a 5–0–2 stretch. Niederreiter, meanwhile, recorded his second multi-point effort in three games for the Jets, who improved to 6–0–1 at home this month.

Ryan Hartman scored in his fourth straight contest for Minnesota, which had its four-game winning streak end. Filip Gustavsson stopped 19 of 22 shots through two periods, but did not come out for the third, with no official word given for the move. He was replaced by Marc-Andre Fleury, who saved 9 of 10 in career-game 999.

Sabres 3, Blue Jackets 2 (OT)

Jeff Skinner scored at 1:20 of overtime to lift Buffalo over visiting Columbus.

Jack Quinn and Casey Mittelstadt also scored and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 18 saves for the Sabres, who have lost four of five.

Damon Severson and Adam Fantilli scored and Daniil Tarasov made 39 saves for the Blue Jackets, who had lost three of four.

Penguins 4, Blues 2

Evgeni Malkin had a goal and an assist to help Pittsburgh top visiting St. Louis.

Drew O'Connor, Jeff Carter and Sidney Crosby also scored, and Jake Guentzel had two assists for the Penguins, who are 6–1–1 in their past eight.

Robert Thomas and Kasperi Kapanen scored for the Blues, who lost their second straight.

Hurricanes 3, Maple Leafs 2

Sebastian Aho had a goal and two assists and visiting Carolina defeated Toronto.

Michael Bunting and Seth Jarvis also scored for the Hurricanes, and Andrei Svechnikov added two assists. Aho has 11 points (two goals, nine assists) in his past three games.

Timothy Liljegren had a goal and an assist and Nicholas Robertson also scored for Toronto, which has lost three in a row (0–2–1). Max Domi added two assists, and Martin Jones stopped 25 shots.

Predators 3, Capitals 2 (SO)

Yaroslav Askarov made 27 saves and also stopped both shootout attempts he faced as Nashville snapped a three-game losing streak and beat host Washington.

Nashville’s Luke Evangelista and Roman Josi scored in regulation before Gustav Nyquist and Ryan O'Reilly converted their attempts in the shootout.

Alex Ovechkin and Beck Malenstyn scored for Washington, which lost its fourth straight game (0–2–2).

Bruins 5, Devils 2

A four-goal run in the second period helped Boston come from behind for a win over visiting New Jersey.

David Pastrnak had a three-point night to lead the Bruins en route to their second straight win after a four-game skid (0–2–2), scoring the tying and winning goals in the middle frame and adding an assist. Kevin Shattenkirk also scored twice to surpass the 100-goal mark for his career, while Jake DeBrusk posted a goal and an assist.

Nico Hischier and Luke Hughes scored for the Devils, who lost a 2–0 lead and saw their three-game win streak snapped.