New York’s Vladimir Tarasenko scored his first goal 2:49 into his debut for his new team as the host Rangers recorded a 6-3 victory over the slumping Seattle Kraken on Friday.
Tarasenko was placed on the top line with Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad after being obtained from the St. Louis Blues on Thursday afternoon. He meshed seamlessly with New York’s stars and scored on his second shift.
Kaapo Kakko and Vincent Trocheck also scored in the three-goal opening period as the Rangers improved to 5-0-1 since revamping their lines. Ryan Lindgren, Jacob Trouba and Zibanejad added goals for New York, and Igor Shesterkin made 26 saves.
Oliver Bjorkstrand scored in the second period while Jared McCann and Tanev tallied 22 seconds apart in the third as the Kraken dropped to 3-6-1 since winning eight straight Jan. 1-14. Martin Jones allowed five goals on 27 shots.
Maple Leafs 3, Blue Jackets 0
John Tavares scored two goals and Ilya Samsonov made 30 saves to fuel Toronto to a victory at Columbus in the opener of a home-and-home series.
Pierre Engvall also scored and Mitchell Marner notched two assists for the Maple Leafs, who returned from the All-Star break by recording their fourth win in six outings. Samsonov turned aside all nine shots he faced in the third period to preserve his third shutout of the season and the ninth of his career.
Joonas Korpisalo finished with 38 saves for the Blue Jackets, who will look to snap a four-game winless skid (0-3-1) when the teams reconvene in Toronto on Saturday.
Blackhawks 4, Coyotes 3 (OT)
Caleb Jones scored on a rebound with 1:23 remaining in overtime as Chicago rallied from an early two-goal deficit to defeat visiting Arizona.
Andreas Athanasiou finished with a goal and two assists, Colin Blackwell and Seth Jones also scored goals and Sam Lafferty added two assists for the Blackhawks. Jaxson Stauber finished with 23 saves to improve to 3-0-0 and become the first goalie in franchise history to win his first three NHL starts.
The Coyotes’ Clayton Keller had a goal and two assists, giving him 301 points in his career. Nick Schmaltz added a goal and an assist, and Nick Bjugstad also scored for Arizona, which fell to 6-20-5 on the road. Connor Ingram stopped 40 of 44 shots.
Penguins 6, Ducks 3
Rookie Pierre-Olivier Joseph scored twice in a three-point game and Evgeni Malkin collected his 1,200th career point as visiting Pittsburgh beat Anaheim.
Kasperi Kapanen and Bryan Rust both netted one goal and one assist, while Jeff Carter and Jake Guentzel also scored for the Penguins. Casey DeSmith made 28 saves. Pittsburgh’s 59 shots set a franchise record for a road game.
Mason McTavish scored in a two-point game and Trevor Zegras and John Klingberg added a goal apiece for the Ducks. John Gibson stopped 53 shots, a franchise record for a regular-season game.
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