Boston Bruins 4-3 Vegas Golden Knights
The Boston Bruins, who were cruising at home to the Vegas Golden Knights, ultimately held on for a 4-3 victory in crazy fashion.
A crazy sequence in the opening period saw the hosts go up 3-0 with three goals within the space of less than a minute. Charles McAvoy, Elias Lindholm, and Tanner Jeannot got the markers, and suddenly the Bruins were in command.
It was 4-0 at the 7:25 mark of the second, as David Pastrnak had seemingly put the game to bed. The Bruins were in full control, and looked set to cruise to another win. That was before Vegas woke up.
Boston received a taste of their own medicine in the last period, as the Golden Knights would score thrice. Jack Eichel got them on the board 31 seconds in, with Tomas Hertl adding a second two and a half minutes later. They then took a while to grab the third, before Pavel Dorofeyev got them to within one.
Unfortunately for Vegas fans, that was the closest they could get. They ran out of time, losing by the single goal. It is now nine wins in Boston's last 11 as they move into seventh spot in the East. The Golden Knights suffered back-to-back defeats, remaining fourth in the West.
Nashville Predators 5-3 Ottawa Senators
The Nashville Predators did what the Golden Knights could not, scoring five unanswered after going 3-0 behind, helping them beat the Ottawa Senators 5-3 at home.
It took six minutes for the Sens to go in front via Stephen Halliday, with Ridly Greig doubling the advantage with 5:41 left in the opening frame.
Things got worse for the Preds midway through the second when Dylan Cozens netted his team's third of the night. Having outshot their opponents at this point in the contest, things were looking quite good for the side from the Canadian capital.
Unfortunately for Ottawa, that was when things started to unravel. Steven Stamkos' power play goal just before the second intermission got Nashville on the board. Jonathan Marchessault cut the deficit down to one, before Stamkos scored another marker via a man advantage.
The momentum was fully with Nashville, and they made the most of it. Stamkos completed his hat-trick with less than two minutes left, putting the Preds ahead. With Ottawa trying to find an equaliser to force overtime, they pulled their goaltender in favour for a sixth attacker. That did not work, as Cole Smith added a fifth to end the game.
The Predators are now one point back of the playoff places in the West with their 17th regulation-time win. As for the Sens, they remain third from bottom in the East, six points out of the postseason places.
Other results
Carolina Hurricanes 3-4 Chicago Blackhawks (SO)
Columbus Blue Jackets 1-0 Dallas Stars
Montreal Canadiens 2-4 Buffalo Sabres
Winnipeg Jets 1-2 Florida Panthers (SO)
Edmonton Oilers 2-6 Pittsburgh Penguins
Minnesota Wild 4-3 Detroit Red Wings (OT)