Rinne scores empty-net goal as Predators beat Blackhawks

Pekka Rinne made 29 saves and scored an empty-net goal, and the Nashville Predators beat the sloppy Chicago Blackhawks 5-2 on Thursday night for John Hynes' first win with the team. Hynes became the third coach in franchise history after Peter Laviolette was fired on Monday. Hynes dropped his debut when Nashville lost 6-2 to Boston on Tuesday night, but the Predators held off the Blackhawks in the final part of the third after nearly blowing a three-goal lead.

Matt Duchene, Viktor Arvidsson and Colin Blackwell also scored for Nashville, which had dropped five of six. Nick Bonino also picked up an empty-net goal before Rinne's shot from behind the Predators' net went in with 22 seconds left.

The 37-year-old Rinne was mobbed by his teammates after his first goal and 14th career point in the NHL.

Dominik Kubalik scored for the third straight game, but Chicago dropped to 1-2 on its four-game homestand. Alex DeBrincat added a power-play goal in the third period, and Corey Crawford finished with 25 saves.

BRUINS 5, JETS 4

BOSTON (AP) — David Pastrnak had a hat trick to extend his point streak to 12 games and Jake DeBrusk added two goals, including the go-ahead score in the third period, as Boston beat Winnipeg.

It was Pastrnak's third hat trick this season and eighth of his career. He has nine goals and 10 assists during his current point streak, and his 35 goals overall lead the NHL.

Kyle Connor, Andrew Copp, Neal Pionk and Mark Scheifele had goals for the Jets. Nikolaj Ehlers added a pair of assists.

Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck rested on the second night of the Jets' back-to-back. Backup Laurent Brossoit, who hadn't started since Dec. 23, finished with 31 saves.

Backup Jaroslav Halak also got the start for the Bruins. He stopped 17 shots.

OILERS 4, CANADIENS 2

MONTREAL (AP) — Alex Chiasson scored the go-ahead goal in the third period and the Edmonton extended its winning streak to three games, rallying to beat Montreal.

Riley Sheahan, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Josh Archibald also scored for the Oilers, who overcame a two-goal deficit by scoring four unanswered goals, including three in the third period. Mike Smith had 35 saves in his fourth consecutive start.

Phillip Danault and Jesperi Kotkaniemi scored for the Canadiens, who have dropped eight straight games for the second time this season.

Carey Price stopped 22 shots and fell to 3-9-1 against Edmonton in his career.

RANGERS 6, DEVILS 3

NEW YORK (AP) — Tony DeAngelo recorded his first career hat trick and added two assists as New York beat New Jersey.

Artemi Panarin had a goal and two assists, and Jesper Fast and Chris Kreider also scored for New York.

Kreider, Ryan Strome and Mika Zibanejad each had two-point games for the Rangers. Igor Shesterkin made 46 saves and collected his second NHL victory in as many starts.

Blake Coleman scored twice and Kevin Rooney added a goal for the Devils, who lost their third straight. Mackenzie Blackwood made 20 saves before being replaced by Louis Domingue at the start of the third period. Domingue finished with 11 saves.

PANTHERS 5, CANUCKS 2

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Noel Acciari scored two goals and Sergei Bobrovsky made 30 saves in his first start in three games to lift Florida over Vancouver.

Mike Hoffman, Evgenii Dadonov and Mark Pysyk also scored for Florida. Jonathan Huberdeau had two assists to move within one point of tying Olli Jokinen for the most in Panthers franchise history (419).

Tyler Motte and Brock Boeser scored for the Canucks. Thatcher Demko made 44 saves.

The Canucks lost their second in a row after winning seven straight, and have given up 14 goals in those two losses.

LIGHTNING 4, COYOTES 1

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Nikita Kucherov had two goals, Andrei Vasilevskiy made 25 saves and Tampa Bay beat Arizona for its ninth consecutive victory.

Alex Killorn and Mikhail Sergachev also scored for the Lightning, who are one win from tying the franchise record of 10 straight set in February 2019.

Arizona's Adin Hill, making his fourth appearance this season, stopped 30 shots as the Coyotes' four-game winning streak ended. Arizona's top goalies, Darcy Kuemper and Antti Raanta, are out with lower-body injuries.

BLUES 5, SABRES 1

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Robert Thomas and Tyler Bozak each had a goal and two assists, and St. Louis beat Buffalo.

Alexander Steen had two goals and an assist and David Perron also scored for the Blues, who won their eighth straight against the Sabres on home ice. Jordan Binnington made 18 saves, running his record to 21-7-4.

Jack Eichel scored and Linus Ullmark made 26 saves for the Sabres, who won their previous two games.