BUFFALO (AP) — Benoit Pouliot and Kyle Okposo scored on consecutive shots in the first period and the Buffalo Sabres beat retooled Boston 4-1 on Sunday in forward Rick Nash’s Bruins debut.
Evan Rodrigues and Marco Scandella also scored, and Chad Johnson stopped 34 shots. The Sabres snapped an 0-5-2 home skid against the Bruins.
Charlie McAvoy scored for the Bruins, who were coming off a 4-3 loss at Toronto on Saturday night. Boston had gone 22-4-3 since last losing consecutive games Dec. 14-16. Anton Khudobin was not sharp in goal, allowing four goals on 24 shots, including being beaten through the legs on Scandella’s goal from the right boards that put Buffalo up 4-1 in the opening minutes of the third period.
Nash’s addition failed to provide Boston a lift against the Eastern Conference’s last-place team. The Bruins squandered an opportunity to jump into second place in the Atlantic Division standings, a point ahead of the idle Maple Leafs.
The Bruins acquired the 33-year-old Nash in trade with the New York Rangers on Sunday morning. Boston gave up three players, including forward Ryan Spooner and prospect defenseman Ryan Lindgren, and its first-round pick in this year’s draft in a deal reached a day before the NHL’s trading deadline
Red Wings 3, Rangers 2, OT
NEW YORK — Trevor Daley scored on a tip-in with 5.6 seconds to go in overtime to lift Detroit Red past rebuilding New York.
Andreas Athanasiou and Darren Helm also scored for the Red Wings, and Jimmy Howard stopped 36 shots. Detroit improved to 5-3-2 in its last 10 games and pulled into a tie with Florida, five points behind Columbus for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
J.T. Miller and Jesper Fast scored for the Rangers, and Henrik Lundqvist made 31 saves.
Wild 3, Sharks 2, OT
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Jared Spurgeon scored with 12 seconds left in overtime to lift Minnesota.
Spurgeon added an assist, and Jason Zucker had two assists, setting up Spurgeon in the extra session as Minnesota tied a season-high with its fourth straight victory.
Matt Cullen and Eric Staal also scored for the Wild, who have earned points in 23 of their past 25 home games. Devan Dubnyk made 26 saves for Minnesota. Joakim Ryan and Chris Tierney scored for San Jose.
Predators 4, Blues 0
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Pekka Rinne made 27 saves for his sixth shutout of the season and Nashville beat St. Louis to regain sole possession of the Central Division lead.
Austin Watson, Colton Sissons, Kevin Fiala and Scott Hartnell scored for the Predators. They have won four in a row. St. Louis has lost six straight.
Oilers 6, Ducks 5, SO
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Ryan Strome scored twice and Edmonton recovered to beat Anaheim in a shootout after giving up two goals in the final 21 seconds of regulation.
Leon Draisaitl scored in his third straight game and the Oilers have won three in a row and four of five. Al Montoya made 41 saves, and Anton Slepyshev and Iiro Pakarinen also scored. Connor McDavid had three assists. Draisaitl and McDavid scored in the shootout.
Canucks 3, Coyotes 1
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Daniel Sedin broke a tie with 8:17 to play with his second goal of the game and Vancouver beat Arizona.
