Novak caps Penguins comeback with OT goal in 5-4 win over Bruins

By Canadian Press on March 8, 2026.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Tommy Novak scored 17 seconds into overtime to complete a wild comeback in the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 5-4 victory over the Boston Bruins on Sunday.

Anthony Mantha scored two third-period goals to help Pittsburgh — playing without franchise cornerstones Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin — snap a three-game losing streak. Second in the Metropolitan Division, Pittsburgh has points in 16 of its last 19 games.

Crosby is out a minimum of four weeks because of a lower-body injury and Malkin served the second of a five-game suspension for slashing Buffalo’s Rasmus Dahlin in the head.

Egor Chinakhov added a power-play goal, Connor Dewar also scored and Arturs Silovs stopped 22 shots. Chinakhov has 14 goals this season and 11 goals in 25 games with Pittsburgh.

Pavel Zacha had his second career hat trick, and David Pastrnak also scored for Boston. The Bruins have lost five of their last eight. They have a three-point lead for the final wild-card spot in the East.

AVALANCHE 3, WILD 2, SO

DENVER (AP) — Nathan MacKinnon scored his NHL-leading 43rd goal and scored the winning goal in a shootout, lifting Colorado to a victory over Minnesota in a matchup between two of the NHL’s top four teams in points.

MacKinnon has 70 points in 55 career games against Minnesota, his most against any opponent.

Both teams converted on one of their first three shootout opportunities before Vladimir Tarasenko was stonewalled by Scott Wedgewood, giving MacKinnon the opportunity to deliver his team a win.

Wedgewood, who leads the NHL in goals against average and is second in save percentage, had 32 saves on 34 Minnesota shots.

Trailing 1-0 entering the third period, the Wild scored two goals in a stretch of 2:44, one on a power play and one short-handed, to take the lead. The Avalanche countered with a Nicolas Roy tip-in goal with 7:21 remaining to send the game into overtime.

STARS 4, BLACKHAWKS 3, OT

DALLAS (AP) — Defenseman Miro Heiskanen scored 22 seconds into overtime to give Dallas a victory over Chicago.

Second in the Western Conference, the Stars are 11-0-1 in their last 12.

Young Chicago star Connor Bedard forced the extra period by scoring with 1:20 left in regulation with the Blackhawks playing with an extra skater.

Mavrik Bourque had a goal and an assist for Dallas. Nathan Bastian and Justin Hryckowian also scored, and Casey DeSmith made 12 saves.

Tyler Bertuzzi and rookie defenseman Sam Rinzel also scored for Chicago, and Arvid Soderblom stopped 28 shots. The Blackhawks are 2-7-4 in their last 13.

The Stars turned a 2-1 deficit going into the third period into a 3-2 lead on Bourque’s goal 42 seconds in and Hryckowian’s power-play goal at 9:40.

The Blackhawks took a 2-0 lead in the first period on a deflection by Bertuzzi at 6:59 and Rinzel’s blast from the slot fewer than two minutes later. Bastian scored Dallas’ first goal late in the period.

Soderblom made consecutive starts for the first time this season with No. 1 Blackhawks goalie Spencer Knight sidelined with an illness.

SABRES 8, LIGHTNING 7

Buffalo, N.Y. (AP) — Josh Doan opened and closed the scoring with power-play goals and Buffalo outlasted Tampa Bay in a wild and feisty showdown for the Atlantic Division lead.

Doan broke a tie with 4:17 left with his 21st goal of the season, helping the Sabres win their seventh straight and move two points ahead of the Lighting.

The teams combined for 100 penalty minutes in a game that included five fights and a postgame scrum. They’ll meet one more time in the regular season on April 6 in Buffalo.

Doan capped a two-goal, third-period comeback for Buffalo in a game the Sabres led by three goals.

Alex Tuch and Jason Zucker also scored twice for the Sabres. Sam Carrick and Rasmus Dahlin added goals, Tage Thompson had four assists and Bo Byram three. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 21 saves.

The Associated Press