March 8, 2026; Buffalo, New York, USA; Buffalo Sabers right winger Josh Doan (91) attempts a pass during the third quarter of the game against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Key Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Image Josh Doan’s second power-play goal capped a frenzied third period as the Buffalo Sabers rallied from a two-goal deficit to beat visiting Tampa Bay 8-7 on Sunday and take first place in the Atlantic Division.
The Sabers, on an NHL-high seven-game winning streak, allowed five unanswered goals to turn a 4-1 lead into a 6-4 deficit six minutes into the final period. After the two teams traded goals, Buffalo scored three goals in a span of 4 minutes and 40 seconds to take a 2-0-1 lead over the Lightning and lead the visitors 84-82 in the division standings.
Alex Tuch and Jason Zucker also scored twice, while Sam Carrick and Rasmus Dahlin found the net for the Sabres. Bowen Byram had three assists. Tage Thompson had four assists, extending his point streak to 11 games (six goals, nine assists).
Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov had two goals and one assist, and JJ Moser had one goal and two assists. Corey Perry, Zemgus Girgensons, Brayden Point and Brandon Hagel scored goals. Darren Raddysh posted three helpers.
Penguins 5, Bruins 4 (OT)
Tommy Novak scored 17 seconds into overtime to help Pittsburgh overcome visiting Boston from a 3-0 deficit.
On the opening shift of overtime, Egor Chinakhov forced a turnover and won the puck battle by driving toward the net, while Novak charged into the slot, leaping over a loose puck to bury the decisive goal. Anthony Mantha scored twice in the third period, Novak had a goal and an assist, and Chinakhov and Connor Dewar also scored for the Penguins.
The Bruins fell despite Pavel Zacha’s second hat trick of the season and a 34-save effort from Joonas Korpisalo. David Pastrnak also broke his eight-game scoring drought, and Viktor Arvidsson and Jonathan Aspirot each had two assists.
Avalanche 3, Wild 2 (SO)
Nathan MacKinnon beat Jesper Wallstedt in a fourth-round shootout to lead Colorado past Minnesota in Denver. The Avalanche have won five straight to move 10 points ahead of the Wild in third place in the Central Division.
MacKinnon and Nicolas Roy scored in regulation, Val Nichushkin added a goal in the shootout and Scott Wedgewood stopped 32 shots in 65 minutes and two in the shootout for Colorado.
Kirill Kaprizov and Nico Sturm scored, Matt Boldy scored in the shootout and Wallstedt made 34 saves in overtime for Minnesota. He also made two more stops in shootouts.
Stars 4, Blackhawks 3 (OT)
Miro Heiskanen scored 22 seconds into overtime after Mavrik Bourque had a goal and an assist in the third period, outlasting Dallas’ visit to Chicago.
In the opening seconds of the extra session, Heiskanen received a pass from Matt Duchene and thumped the puck past Blackhawks netminder Arvid Soderblom. Dallas bounced back after having its club-record 10-game winning streak ended with a 5-4 loss to Colorado on Friday.
Chicago took a 2-0 lead 9 minutes into the game, but eventually fell behind 3-2 just 1 minute after the game ended. With 1:20 left and Soderblom (27 saves) drawing an extra skater, Blackhawks star Connor Bedard released his wrist through traffic to glance over Dallas defenseman Tyler Myers and former netminder Casey DeSmith (16 saves) to tie the contest.
Red Wings 3, Devils 0
John Gibson and Cam Talbot combined for a walk-off victory and Detroit defeated host New Jersey in Newark, New Jersey.
Gibson stopped all 21 shots he faced through the first two periods. But the Devils’ Timo Meier pushed the Red Wings’ Lucas Raymond into Gibson late in the second period. Cam Talbot relieved Gibson (undisclosed injury) to start the third quarter and made 10 saves. It was Detroit’s first combined shutout since March 2019 (Jonathan Bernier and Jimmy Howard).
Defenseman Moritz Seider had a goal and two assists, James van Riemsdyk had a goal each and Dominik Shine scored his first career goal for the Red Wings, who snapped a two-game losing streak. Patrick Kane had two assists. Jacob Markstrom stopped 27 shots for New Jersey, which had its four-game winning streak snapped.
Blues 4, Ducks 0
Joel Hofer made 22 saves in his fifth shutout of the season, and a three-goal second period helped St. Louis close out a perfect four-game road trip with a win over Anaheim.
Jimmy Snuggerud had a goal and an assist for the second straight game. Forward Jonathan Drouin, acquired from the New York Islanders as part of the Brayden Shen trade on Friday, scored for the Blues, as did Jordan Kyrou and Pius Suter.
Defenseman Justin Hall, whom St. Louis acquired from Detroit in the Justin Polk trade, added an assist in his NHL season debut with his new team. Ville Husso stopped 31 shots for the Ducks, who finished a nine-game homestand with a 7-2 record.
Oilers 4, Golden Knights 2
Connor Ingram made 24 saves and Connor McDavid had two assists to lead Edmonton away from a down-and-out loss in Las Vegas.
Trent Frederic, Vasily Podkolzin, Leon Draisaitl and Kasperi Kapanen scored for the Oilers, who moved to within three points of Pacific Division leader Anaheim with the win.
Jack Eichel had a short-handed goal, Mitch Marner had two assists and Noah Hanifin also scored for the Golden Knights, who lost for the fifth time in their last six games. Ardinhill blocked 15 out of 18 shots.
–Field level media
