TORONTO — Auston Matthews scored his 35th and 36th goals to take the NHL lead and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Minnesota Wild 3-1 on Thursday night to snap a three-game losing streak.
Matthews broke a tie midway through the third period. He stripped Wild fourth-line right wing Brandon Duhaime of the puck outside the Minnesota blue line and turned the other way for a give-and-go goal with Mitch Marner.
Matthew moved a goal ahead of Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl for the NHL lead.
Alex Kerfoot added an empty-netter in the final minute.
Petr Mrazek made 29 saves for Toronto. He was given the start over the struggling Jack Campbell.
Frederick Gaudreau opened the scoring for Minnesota midway through the second, and Matthews tied it 27 seconds later.
CANUCKS 7, FLAMES 1
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — J.T. Miller scored on a penalty shot and finished with two goals and two assists as Vancouver ended Calgary’s 10-game winning streak.
Elias Pettersson had two goals and an assist, Bo Horvat scored twice and Conor Garland added a goal for Vancouver. Quinn Hughes and Brock Boeser each had two assists. Thatcher Demko made 29 saves.
Andrew Mangiapane scored for the Flames. Jacob Markstrom made 18 saves against his former team before being replaced in the third period due to an equipment issue. Dan Vladar stopped 13 of 16 shots in relief.
BLUE JACKETS 6, PANTHERS 1
SUNRISE, Fla. — Cole Sillinger and Justin Danforth scored 10 seconds apart in the third period and Columbus beat Florida.
Oliver Bjorkstrand, Gabriel Carlsson, Boone Jenner and Patrik Laine also scored to help Columbus beat the Panthers for the first time in nine games and extending their winning streak to a season-best four games.
Jakub Voracek had two assists, and J-F Berube stopped 39 shots.
Jonathan Huberdeau had a goal and an assist for Florida, and Sam Bennett and MacKenzie Weegar also scored, and Aleksander Barvov had two assists. Jonas Johansson, acquired by the Panthers from the Colorado Avalanche in December, allowed five goals on 27 shots in his Panthers debut.
Florida lost back-to-back games on home ice for only the second time this season.
PREDATORS 2, STARS 1, S0
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Mikael Granlund scored the lone goal of a four-round shootout, helping Nashville Predators cap a night to remember by beating Dalla.
The Predators began the evening by honoring longtime goaltender Pekka Rinne before the game by raising his No. 35 jersey to the rafters. A fat catfish wrapped in a Rinne shirt hit the ice before the puck dropped, and a record crowd of 17,869 came out for the celebration.
Granlund improved to 2 of 2 in shootouts this season, sending a backhander past Jake Oettinger. Goalie Juuse Saros then stopped Jacob Peterson to seal the victory after making 27 saves.
Philip Tomasino scored in regulation for Nashville, and Jason Robertson connected for Dallas.
RANGERS 4, CAPITALS 1
NEW YORK — Alexis Lafreniere and Mika Zibanejad each had a goal and an assist to help New York beat Washington.
Chris Kreider and Barclay Goodrow also scored and Igor Shesterkin stopped 36 shots. New York won for the fifth time in six games. The Rangers have won eight of their last 11 overall (8-2-1) and nine of 12 (9-1-2) at home.
Alex Ovechkin scored and Ilya Samsonov had 17 saves for Washington.
BRUINS 3, KRAKEN 2, OT
SEATTLE — Jake DeBrusk scored his second goal of the game 33 seconds into overtime to lift Boston past Seattle.
Boston opened a lengthy road trip with its third straight win and welcomed Brad Marchand back from suspension. DeBrusk scored off a fluky bounce in the first period and beat goalie Philipp Grubauer on the short side from a tight angle on the first shot of the extra period.
David Pastrnak scored his 28th goal of the season for Boston, and Linus Ullmark made 25 saves. Marchand returned after sitting the past six games, the result of roughing and high-sticking on Pittsburgh goalie Tristan Jarry.
Mark Giordano and Jordan Eberle scored for Seattle.
DEVILS 6, PENGUINS 1
PITTSBURGH — Jesper Bratt scored twice in the first six minutes, rookie Nico Daws made 37 saves and last-place New Jersey routed Pittsburgh.
Yegor Sharangovich, Dawson Mercer, Damon Severson and Nico Hischier also scored. The Devils won for the third time in 12 games.
Evgeni Malkin scored for the Penguins.
SHARKS 4, ISLANDERS 3, SO
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Logan Couture was the only scorer in the shootout and James Reimer made 44 saves as San Jose snapped a seven-game losing streak with a win over New York Islanders.
Couture also scored in regulation as San Jose let two leads slip away in regulation but managed to win for the first time since Jan. 26. Alexander Barabanov and rookie Jasper Weatherby also scored for the Sharks.
Reimer denied Anthony Beauvillier, Mathew Barzal and Brock Nelson in the shootout. Couture was San Jose’s first shooter and beat Ilya Sorokin, who made 25 saves for the Islanders.
Brock Nelson, Adam Pelech and Zach Parise scored for New York.