COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Zac Werenski and Dmitri Voronkov each had a goal and an assist, Elvis Merzlikins made 23 saves and the Columbus Blue Jackets snapped a six-game skid with a 6-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night.
Zach Aston-Reese, Mathieu Olivier, Damon Severson and Cole Sillinger also scored for the Blue Jackets. They improved to 6-8-2 with their first victory since Oct. 30.
Anthony Beauvillier and Michael Bunting scored for Pittsburgh. Tristan Jarry, starting for the first time since Oct. 16, made 34 saves. The Penguins have lost five of six to fall to 6-10-3.
Sean Monahan got the 300th assist of his career on Voronkov’s goal. He had two on the night. Merzlikins played the 200th game of his NHL career.
CAPITALS 5, AVALANCHE 2
DENVER (AP) — Connor McMichael had two goals and Washington scored four times on their first 10 shots in a victory over Colorado.
Jakub Vrana, Jakob Chychrun and Rasmus Sandin also scored and Charlie Lindgren made 17 saves to spoil the return of three key forwards for Colorado.
Valeri Nichushkin was added to the active roster after a six-month suspension under the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program and had one shot in 19:27 of ice time.
Colorado also got back wingers Jonathan Drouin and Miles Wood from upper-body injuries. Drouin had not played since opening night, and Wood was on the injured list since Oct. 28.
Parker Kelly gave the Avalanche a 1-0 lead two minutes into the game but Vrana and McMichael scored on the next two shots to put Washington ahead.
Nikolai Kovalenko cut it to 3-2 early in the second, but Chychrun answered midway through the second.
GOLDEN KNIGHTS 4, UTAH 2
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — William Karlsson tipped-in the go-ahead goal with 1:13 left, and Vegas rallied past Utah.
Karlsson scored twice in the final 73 seconds, adding an empty-netter with 28.2 seconds left. Tomas Hertl had a pair of power-play goals to help Vegas erase a two-goal deficit. Adin Hill made 32 saves for the Golden Knights.
Logan Cooley and Mikhail Sergachev scored for Utah. Karel Vejmelka made 25 saves.
Cooley blasted in a 30-foot slap shot in the first period and Sergachev scored on a second-period power play to put Utah ahead 2-0.
Hertl got Vegas on the board when he tapped in the puck later in the second and then tied it in the third on another close-range blast.
FLAMES 2, PREDATORS 0
CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Rookie Dustin Wolf made 29 saves for his first career shutout, Daniil Miromanov scored his first goal of the season, and Calgary beat Nashville.
Blake Coleman added an empty-netter for Calgary. The Flames have earned points in five of six games after a stretch of five losses in six.
The Predators were shut out for the third time this season and have one win in their last seven games. Juuse Saros stopped 31 shots for Nashville.
Both goaltenders made stops on short-handed breakaways. Wolf turned aside Cole Smith in the first period, and Saros kept it a one-goal game in the third when he jabbed out a pad to deny Coleman on a two-man rush.
DUCKS 6, RED WINGS 4
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Cutter Gauthier scored his first NHL goal to put the Ducks ahead with 8:51 to play, and Anaheim rallied from a two-goal deficit for a victory over Detroit.
Ross Johnston scored Anaheim’s fourth consecutive goal 38 seconds after Gauthier’s goal, and Ryan Strome added an empty-netter after Alex deBrincat scored for Detroit on a power play with 3:44 left.
Olen Zellweger had a goal and two assists, and Trevor Zegras and Troy Terry scored power-play goals for Anaheim.
John Gibson stopped 21 shots for Anaheim, which won twice on its six-game homestand.
Austrian rookie Marco Kasper scored his first career goal for Detroit, which has lost three of four. Jonatan Berggren scored on a two-man advantage for Detroit, and Lucas Raymond also scored.
Alex Lyon made 23 saves.
The Associated Press
