Backstrom leads Capitals to shootout win over Flames

Nicklas Backstrom scored the shootout winner, and goalie Pheonix Copley recorded his first career NHL victory as the visiting Washington Capitals claimed a 4-3 win over the Calgary Flames on Saturday afternoon. Backstrom converted in the fourth round of the shootout for the difference-maker, while Copley made 27 saves through overtime and stopped three of four players he faced in the showdown. Calgary’s Sean Monahan and Washington’s Evgeny Kuznetsov traded goals in the second round of the shootout. Flames goalie Mike Smith stopped 24 shots through overtime.Wild 3, Avalanche 2Eric Staal scored a tiebreaking goal midway through the third period, and streaking Minnesota beat visiting Colorado for its fifth win in a row. Staal also had an assist, Mikael Granlund had a goal and an assist and Devan Dubnyk stopped 30 shots for the Wild.Jonas Brodin scored short-handed on an empty net with 2:43 remaining for what stood as the game-winner after Gabriel Landeskog tallied for the Avalanche with 42 seconds left. Mark Barberio also scored for Colorado, and Semyon Varlamov had 25 saves.Landeskog’s goal was his 10th of the season, which leads the team. Mikko Rantanen added his league-leading 16th assist.Penguins 5, Canucks 0Evgeni Malkin had two goals and an assist, and Sidney Crosby also scored two goals to lead Pittsburgh over host Vancouver. Phil Kessel finished with a goal and an assist, and Jake Guentzel added two assists for the Penguins, who won their fourth straight game dating back to a 3-2 overtime loss to the Canucks on Oct. 16 in Pittsburgh.Casey DeSmith, playing in his 18th career game and making his 15th start, had 29 saves to garner his second career shutout as Pittsburgh swept its four-game Canadian road trip that also included stops at Toronto, Edmonton and Calgary, outscoring its opponents, 23-6.Oilers 5, Predators 3Backup goalie Mikko Koskinen recorded the win in his first NHL game in more than seven years, and Leon Draisaitl and Drake Caggiula both scored twice to lead visiting Edmonton over Nashville. Koskinen, who last played in the NHL with the New York Islanders in 2010-11 and spent the last five seasons in the KHL before signing with the Oilers in the summer, stopped 24 shots in the victory.The win also snapped Nashville’s 13-game winning streak against Edmonton.Maple Leafs 3, Jets 2Jake Gardiner and Kasperi Kapanen scored late in regulation as Toronto rallied for three third-period goals to defeat visiting Winnipeg. Nazem Kadri also scored for the Maple Leafs, who had defeated the Jets 4-2 in Winnipeg on Wednesday.Mitch Marner added two assists. Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews suffered a shoulder injury early in the second period and did not return. Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele gave the Jets a 2-0 lead. Connor Hellebuyck had 28 saves in defeat.Canadiens 3, Bruins 0Carey Price made 33 saves as Montreal blanked host Boston. Price earned his second career shutout of the Bruins. Brendan Gallagher, Max Domi and Jordie Benn scored for the Canadiens, with Benn capping the victory with an empty-netter with 29 seconds remaining.Price improved to 25-11-5 against Boston as the Bruins suffered their first loss in five home games and lost to the Canadiens for the first time since the 2016-17 season.Islanders 6, Flyers 1Brock Nelson scored two goals as New York routed host Philadelphia. Leo Komarov, Anthony Beauvillier, Adam Pelech and Anders Lee also scored for the Islanders, who snapped a two-game losing streak.Robin Lehner made 22 saves to earn the win, improving his record to 3-2-1. Jori Lehtera picked up a loose puck and scored unassisted for the Flyers, who have lost three straight games, including two of those at home.Blue Jackets 5, SabresArtemi Panarin scored 31 seconds into overtime, his second goal of the night, to lead host Columbus past Buffalo. The Blue Jackets won the faceoff to start overtime, and Panarin fired his second overtime game-winner from the left circle.He also tallied in the extra session in the club’s season-opening 3-2 win in Detroit. Panarin and Cam Atkinson each scored twice and had an assist, while Pierre-Luc Dubois had a goal and two assists for Columbus, which won its second straight.