March 6, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; Colorado Avalanche right winger Valery Nichushkin (13) scores against Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Ottinger (29) during an overtime penalty shootout at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Image In a battle of the NHL’s top two teams, Valeri Nichushkin scored in the game-winning shootout for the visiting Colorado Avalanche after forcing overtime in the final minute of regulation, ending the Dallas Stars’ 10-game winning streak with a 5-4 win on Friday night.
Martin Necas, who had one goal and three assists in regulation, defeated Jake Oettinger to advance to the penalty shootout final. Nathan MacKinnon added a league-leading 42nd goal and two assists, and Cale Makar finished with a goal and an assist.
Scott Wedgewood was flawless in relief, stopping 10 shots and stopping two more in the shootout to give the Avalanche their fourth straight win. He replaced Mackenzie Blackwood and made 11 shots, but left the game less than two minutes into the second quarter.
Miro Heiskanen, Wyatt Johnston and Justin Hryckowian each scored a goal and added an assist for Dallas. Jamie Benn also scored, while Jason Robertson and Mavrik Bourque each had two assists. Jake Oettinger made 25 saves, but his personal winning streak ended at eight.
Panthers 3, Red Wings 1
Matthew Tskachuk recorded his sixth career hat trick as Florida ended its four-game losing streak with a win in Detroit.
Tkachuk’s three-goal game was his first since Jan. 9, 2024, against St. Louis. Sergei Bobrovsky, whose name was prominently mentioned in trade rumors but remained with the Panthers until Friday’s deadline, made 28 saves in the victory.
Alex DeBrincat scored his team-leading 33rd goal for Detroit and John Gibson stopped 20 shots. Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin suffered a leg injury when he lost his balance while skating into the Florida zone during the third period. He didn’t come back.
Canucks 6, Blackhawks 3
Brock Boeser scored the tying goal on one of two goals in the third period to help Vancouver snap a seven-game losing streak with a win in Chicago.
Jake DeBrusk had a goal and an assist, Drew O’Connor and Teddy Blueger also scored and Max Sasson added an empty-netter for the Canucks. The Canucks overcame a 3-1 first period lead to earn their third win in 24 games (3-17-4).
Ilya Mikheyev and Frank Nazar each had a goal and an assist for Chicago, which was in a 2-7-3 rut. Vancouver broke a 3-3 tie on a power play with 2:40 to play and advanced to the third. On a somewhat awkward rebound where Arvid Soderblom saved Linus Karlsson’s puck into the net, Boeser was able to slot the ball home.
Ducks 6, Canada 5 (SO)
Chris Kreider scored the tying goal in the final minute of regulation and had three assists for host Anaheim. Anaheim recovered after blowing a 4-2 lead with less than 12 minutes left in the third to earn a penalty shootout victory over Montreal.
Cutter Gauthier, Leo Carlson and Jackson Lacombe each had a goal and an assist, while Alex Killorn scored the decisive goal in the sixth round of the shootout for the Ducks, who are 7-1-0 in their last eight games.
Cole Caufield had two goals and an assist and Lane Hutson had a goal and two assists for the Canadiens, who have lost three of four goals (1-1-2). Samuel Montembo stopped 28 shots.
Hurricanes 6, Oilers 3
Jackson Blake scored twice in the third period and Carolina won in Edmonton.
Nikolaj Ehlers scored his fifth goal in three games and added an assist for the Hurricanes, who have won seven of their last eight games. Jordan Martinook, Jordan Staal and Shayne Gostisbehere also scored, K’Andre Miller had three assists and Frederik Andersen made 13 saves.
Zach Hyman scored twice and Vasily Podkolzin had one goal for the Oilers, who have lost six of their last eight games. Tristan Jarry stopped 26 shots.
Blues 3, Sharks 2 (OT)
Robert Thomas scored the second goal in overtime to lead St. Louis to its third straight win over host San Jose.
Jimmy Snuggerud had one goal and one assist and Dylan Holloway had three assists for the Blues, who responded to seeing captain Brayden Schenn and stalwart defenseman Justin Faulk traded earlier in the day. St. Louis goalie Jordan Binnington made 23 saves.
Macklin Celebrini and Kiefer Sherwood ended the Sharks’ three-game winning streak, but they still finished two points behind the Seattle Kraken for the Western Conference’s second wild card spot. San Jose also has one game ahead.
Wild 4, Golden Knights 2
Filip Gustavsson made 29 saves and Michael McCarron had a goal and an assist in his Minnesota debut in the Wild’s win in Las Vegas.
Mats Zuccarello, Zach Bogosian and Vladimir Tarasenko also scored for Minnesota, which completed a three-game winning streak in the regular season series with the Golden Knights. The Wild have won their second straight overall and eight of their last 10 games.
Pavel Dorofeev scored his 30th goal and had an assist, becoming the first player in Las Vegas history to have back-to-back 30-goal seasons, while Mitch Marner also scored for Las Vegas. Akira Schmid made 20 saves for the Golden Knights.
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