NHL roundup: Zacha, Khusnutdinov net hat tricks to lead Bruins to 10-2 win over Rangers

By Canadian Press on January 10, 2026.

BOSTON (AP) — Pavel Zacha recorded his first career hat trick — one of his goals coming while most of New York’s players were in the locker room at the end of the first period — and the Boston Bruins coasted past the Rangers 10-2 on Saturday.

Marat Khusnutdinov had four goals to go along with Zacha’s three, giving the Bruins their first pair with hat tricks in the same home game in club history.

The Bruins won for the fourth time in five games, avenging a 6-2 blowout loss at home against the Rangers on Nov. 28.

It’s also the first time since 1964 that two Bruins recorded a hat trick in the same game. Fraser Minten had two goals, Charlie McAvoy added one for Boston and David Pastrnak matched a team record with six assists.

Mika Zibanejad and J.T. Miller scored for the Rangers, who have lost six of seven. Coach Mike Sullivan remained one win short of 500 in his NHL career.

Elsewhere in the NHL on Saturday:

FLAMES 2 PENGUINS 1

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Matt Coronato scored in the third period to lift Calgary over Pittsburgh.

Connor Zary also scored for the Flames, who won for the first time in 2026 and snapped a four-game losing streak. Calgary was limited to one goal in each of its previous three losses.

Devin Cooley stopped 27 shots in his first start since Dec. 20.

Egor Chinakhov scored for the Penguins, who saw a season-high six-game winning streak end. Pittsburgh had won seven of eight before Saturday’s loss. Arturs Silovs made 23 saves.

Thomas Novak thought he scored the tying goal in the third period, but it was ruled that Sidney Crosby interfered with Cooley.

Evgeni Malkin got his 854th assist to pass Bryan Trottier and Anze Kopitar for the 10th most assists in NHL history with one team.

AVALANCHE 4 BLUE JACKETS 0

DENVER (AP) — Brent Burns scored twice, Trent Miner made 29 saves for his first NHL shutout and Colorado beat Columbus for its 17th straight home win.

The Avalanche move one victory away from matching their longest home win streak in franchise history, a mark that was set during the 2021-22 Stanley Cup-winning season. The longest home win streak in NHL history is 23 by Detroit in 2011-12.

Victor Olofsson and defenceman Ilya Solovyov also scored for Colorado, which improved to 19-0-2 at Ball Arena. It was Solovyov’s first NHL goal and he celebrated by jumping into Burns’ arms. The 25-year-old Solovyov was claimed off waivers from Calgary in October.

Miner, a recent call-up from the Colorado Eagles of the American Hockey League, turned in several sensational saves and helped the Avalanche withstand two penalties. He got the start to give Scott Wedgewood a day off with Mackenzie Blackwood sidelined by a lower-body injury.

The Blue Jackets dropped to 0-3 on their four-game trip. Elvis Merzlikins stopped 27 shots in his first game for Columbus since Dec. 20.

SHARKS 5 STARS 4 (OT)

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Tyler Toffoli scored twice and added an assist, including the winning goal at 1:58 of overtime as San Jose rallied from two goals down to beat Dallas.

Adam Gaudette had a goal and an assist, and Alexander Wennberg and Jeff Skinner also scored for the Sharks, who have won three straight and six of seven. Macklin Celebrini had three assists to extend his point streak to 13 games, and Alex Nedeljkovic made 16 saves.

Jason Robertson scored his 26th goal of the season and added an assist for Dallas, Mikko Rantanen also had a goal and an assist, and Justin Hryckowian and Kyle Capobianco also scored. Casey DeSmith finished with 26 saves.

In the extra period, Toffoli scored on a one-timer off a pass from William Eklund for the win. Celebrini also had an assist on the play, giving him 46 on the season and two goals and five assists in overtimes.

San Jose was 4-for-6 on the power play, including the two by Toffoli. Dallas was 0-for-2.

LIGHTNING 7 FLYERS 2

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Nikita Kucherov scored on each of his first two shots and assisted on Gage Goncalves’ two goals to help Tampa Bay win its ninth straight game, beating Philadelphia.

The teams will meet against Monday night in Philadelphia.

Kucherov extended his points streak to nine games on his first shift, one-timing Brayden Point’s pass past goalie Sam Ersson at 1:49. The Russian star beat Ersson again on his second shot, a wrister from the left circle at 6:05.

Kucherov had his third four-point game of the month and the season. He has multiple points in all nine games during the points streak to run his season total to 23. In his last 21 games, Kucherov has 13 goals and 33 assists.

Nick Paul, Brandon Hagel and Yanni Gourde also scored for the Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 18 saves for his seventh consecutive victory.

SABRES 5 DUCKS 3

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Jack Quinn scored twice, Tage Thompson had a goal and an assist, and Buffalo beat Anaheim for its 13th win in 14 games.

Buffalo’s 14-game run is the best in franchise history. The stretch has elevated the Sabres from last place in the Eastern Conference into a playoff position as the team tries to end the longest post-season drought in NHL history at 14 seasons.

Bowen Byram and Josh Norris also scored in Buffalo’s third consecutive victory and sixth in a row at home. Peyton Krebs and Zach Benson each had two assists, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 31 saves in winning for the fifth time in six starts.

Olen Zellweger, Leo Carlsson and Mason McTavish scored for the Ducks late in the third period after the Sabres twice established three-goal leads. Lukas Dostal had 27 saves as Anaheim closed out a four-game trip by losing its ninth in a row.

HURRICANES 3 KRAKEN 2

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Jaccob Slavin’s first assist of the season on William Carrier’s goal lifted Carolina to a win over Seattle.

Jordan Martinook and Logan Stankoven also scored for the Hurricanes, who won their fourth straight game. Carrier deflected in a shot by Slavin with 6:10 left in the third period. Jordan Staal assisted on the final two goals.

Berkly Catton and Matty Beniers scored for the Kraken and Joey Daccord stopped 31 shots. Seattle lost in regulation for the first time in 11 games (8-1-2).

Slavin missed the previous 10 games with an upper-body injury he suffered in a 4-3 shootout loss at Florida on Dec. 19. He missed 29 games earlier in the season with a lower-body injury. It was only the sixth time Carolina had their top defenceman in the lineup and they improved to 5-0-1 in those games. The assist was Slavin’s 300th career point.

Brandon Bussi made 10 saves for his 16th win in 19 starts this season. The rookie goalie inadvertently helped Catton give Seattle a 2-1 lead at 5:56 in the third period. Ryan Winterton stole Bussi’s failed clearing attempt and found Catton alone in the slot for the goal.

MAPLE LEAFS 5 CANUCKS 0

TORONTO (AP) — William Nylander had a goal and two assists in his return from an injury, Joseph Woll made 29 saves for his second shutout of the season and Toronto beat Vancouver.

Nylander missed six games because of a lower-body injury.

Matias Maccelli, Max Domi, John Tavares and Nick Robertson also scored for Toronto. The Maple Leafs improved to 22-15-7. They have won three straight and seven in a row at home.

Thatcher Demko was pulled after giving up three first-period goals on six shots for Vancouver. Kevin Lankinen stopped 16 shots in relief as the Canucks dropped to 16-23-5 with their sixth loss in a row.

Maccelli opened the scoring on the Maple Leafs’ second shot 8:03 into the first period. Nylander and Auston Matthews had a give-and-go before Nylander sent a centring pass in front for Maccelli to tip in.

RED WINGS 4 CANADIENS 0

MONTREAL (AP) — Detroit took over first place in the Atlantic Division from Montreal, blanking its Original Six rival.

Detroit, which has won three in a row, is now two points ahead of Montreal, although the Canadiens have a game in hand.

Lucas Raymond, Dylan Larkin, Alex DeBrincat and Andrew Copp scored for the Red Wings. John Gibson stopped 27 shots as he recorded his third shutout of the season and the first of his career against the Canadiens. The 32-year-old has won 12 of his last 14 starts dating back to Dec. 2.

Montreal saw its winning streak halted at three games. The Canadiens lost at home for the first time in five games.

Jacob Fowler made 20 saves for Montreal in the losing effort.

PANTHERS 3 SENATORS 2

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Gustav Forsling and Carter Verhaeghe each had a goal and an assist, and Florida beat Ottawa.

Evan Rodrigues also scored for the Panthers, and Sergei Bobrovsky had 18 saves. Florida snapped a two-game skid and got its second win in six games (2-3-1).

Fabian Zetterlund and Claude Giroux scored for Ottawa, which has lost four straight. Leevi Merilainen finished with 18 saves while allowing three goals for the fourth straight game.

The Panthers took a 3-1 lead at 3:43 of the third when Forsling stepped into the faceoff circle and wired a shot high glove side.

Giroux pulled the Senators back within one as he scored from a sharp angle with 1:42 remaining. Ottawa couldn’t beat Bobrovsky again.

BLACKHAWKS 3 PREDATORS 0

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Drew Commesso made 37 saves for his first NHL shutout and victory, Connor Bedard set up the first two goals and Chicago beat Nashville.

Called up from Rockford of the American Hockey League on Friday with Spencer Knight and Arvid Soderblom fighting illnesses, Commesso made his first NHL start of the season that night in a 5-1 home loss to Washington. The 23-year-old former Boston University star rebounded against the Predators in his fourth career NHL appearance.

Bedard played his second game after missing 12 because of a shoulder injury.

Tyler Bertuzzi scored his team-leading 23rd goal and had an assist, and Nick Lardis and Ryan Greene added goals to help Chicago — playing its lone road game in an eight-game stretch — win for the fourth time in five games.

Bertuzzi connected on a power play at 6:41 of the second period, knocking the puck into the open right side off Bedard’s nifty cross-crease feed. Chicago got the man advantage when Roman Josi was called for holding Oliver Moore.

Lardis scored with 8:59 left in the third, taking a pass from Bedard in the high slot and firing a wrister past goalie Juuse Saros. Bertuzzi then set up Greene’s empty-netter.

ISLANDERS 4 WILD 3 (OT)

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Simon Holmstrom scored his second goal of the game 1:34 into overtime and New York beat Minnesota.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Casey Cizikas also scored for the Islanders, who improved to 3-0-1 in their last four games. Ilya Sorokin made 32 saves, including 17 in a scoreless third period.

Matt Boldy, Kirill Kaprizov and Ben Jones scored for Minnesota in its third loss in four games (1-1-2). Quinn Hughes assisted on all three Wild goals and Filip. Gustavsson stopped 23 shots.

In the extra period, Holmstrom circled into the slot and fired a backhander that beat Gustavsson to give the Islanders the win.

Minnesota took a one-goal lead three times in the first two periods, including Jones’ first NHL goal to open the scoring early in the first. But the Islanders answered each time to even the score.

Cizikas scored a short-handed goal to tie it 3-3 late in the second period, completing a 2-on-1 rush with Holmstrom by slipping the puck between Gustavsson’s pads.

GOLDEN KNIGHTS 4 BLUES 2

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Mitch Marner had a goal and an assist in his 700th career game, Mark Stone tied the Golden Knights’ record with a goal in his seventh straight game, and Vegas defeated St. Louis for its third straight win.

Jack Eichel and Shea Theodore, who had been out since Dec. 13 because of an upper-body injury, also scored goals for the Golden Knights. Akira Schmid stopped 17 shots.

Robert Thomas had a goal and assist for the Blues, and Jake Neighbours scored the other goal on a power play. Jordan Binnington finished with 21 saves as St. Louis lost its third straight.

Stone kept his scoring streak alive with an empty-net goal with 2:24 left to tie the club record set by Max Pacioretty in 2021.

Blues defenceman Philip Broberg, who earlier in the day signed to a six-year, $48 million contract extension, suffered an upper-body injury just 1:35 into the game and did not return. He was hurt after Stone’s check near the boards.

KINGS 4 OILERS 3 (SO)

EDMONTON, Alta. (AP) — Adrian Kempe scored the lone goal in a shootout and Los Angeles beat Edmonton in its first meeting since the first-round of the playoffs.

Edmonton has eliminated Los Angeles in the opening round of the playoff the last four seasons.

Connor McDavid scored his 30th goal of the season to tie it at 3 for Edmonton on a power play with 9:20 to go. He extended his points streak to a career-high 18 games.

Corey Perry, Andre Lee and Alex Laferriere scored in regulation, and Anton Forsberg made 21 saves to help Los Angeles rebound from a 5-1 loss in Winnipeg on Friday night. The 40-year-old Perry spent the previous two seasons with Edmonton.

Leon Draisaitl scored twice for Edmonton, and Connor Ingram stopped 27 shots. McDavid, Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins failed on their shootout attempts for the Oilers.

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The Associated Press