Fabbri scores 2, Red Wings snap 12-game winless streak
DETROIT (AP) — Robby Fabbri scored twice on fortuitous bounces off the same Winnipeg player, and the Detroit Red Wings snapped a 12-game winless streak with a 5-2 victory over the Jets on Thursday night.
Both off Fabbri’s goals went in off the body of defenseman Neal Pionk, and it was that kind of night for the Red Wings, who had been 0-10-2 in their previous 12 and had dropped 10 in a row in regulation. Darren Helm, Filip Zadina and Filip Hronek also scored for Detroit.
Kyle Connor scored twice for the Jets.
Helm opened the scoring on a breakaway after a messy sequence of blunders by Winnipeg defenseman Nathan Beaulieu. First, Beaulieu let the puck get past him at the Detroit blue line. Then, after chasing it down in the neutral zone, he let the puck slip away from his control — right into the path of Helm.
While trying to recover, Beaulieu skated right into linesman Greg Devorski, and at that point, Helm was gone. He beat goalie Connor Hellebuyck with a wrist shot to make it 1-0.
Detroit scored on the power play later in the first period when Fabbri’s backhanded pass attempt bounced off Pionk’s right leg and past Hellebuyck.
The goals were fluky, but the Red Wings fully deserved the lead after outshooting Winnipeg 14-5 in the first. The bounces kept going Detroit’s way.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Steven Stamkos had two goals to extend his recent tear and Tampa Bay beat suddenly slumping Boston.
Stamkos has scored six times during a four-game goal streak.
Tampa Bay, which had dropped four of five at home, also got a goal from Brayden Point. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 27 saves for the win.
Patrice Bergeron and John Moore scored for the Bruins, who have lost four straight in regulation and five in a row overall (0-4-1). Tuukka Rask stopped 28 shots.
The Bruins, coming off an intense 3-2 loss Wednesday night at Washington in a matchup of the NHL’s top two teams, hadn’t dropped four consecutive games in regulation since March 2017. The five-game losing streak is their longest since an 0-5-0 stretch in March 2016.
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Devon Toews and Mathew Barzal had power-plays goals in a 3:51 span early in the second period and Thomas Greiss made 32 saves to help New York beat Florida.
The Islanders swept the three-game, regular-season series with the Panthers for the first time since 2013.
Anders Lee added an empty-net goal for New York,
Mike Hoffman scored for Florida, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 27 saves.
PENGUINS 1, BLUE JACKETS 0
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Bryan Rust scored a power-play goal at 3:02 of overtime and Pittsburgh beat Columbus.
Rust controlled a bouncing puck at the top of the crease and fired it past Joonas Korpisalo for the winner and his 10th goal of the year.
Tristan Jarry stopped 17 shots for his third shutout in his last four appearances. Jarry, who has five career shutouts, and three this season, established a franchise-record 177-minute, 15-second shutout streak before the run ended during Tuesday’s home loss to Montreal.
Korpisalo, who beat Pittsburgh on Nov. 29, made 31 saves. Columbus has lost four of five and six of nine.
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Jack Eichel had two goals and extended his NHL-leading point streak to 15 games, Victor Oloffson scored in the third period, and Buffalo beat Nashville.
Jimmy Vesey also scored and Linus Ullmark made 36 saves as the Sabres won their third in a row.
Matt Duchene, Colton Sissons and Ryan Johansen had goals for the Predators, who had a two-game win streak snapped. Juuse Saros stopped 28 shots.
