Carolina Scores Nine Again, Crosby Climbs to Sixth on a Wild Saturday

The Short Version

• Carolina beat Chicago 9-2 in Raleigh — seven straight goals, two each from Andrei Svechnikov and Jordan Martinook, and the fourth nine-goal game in Hurricanes history.
• Sidney Crosby scored twice in Pittsburgh’s 5-2 win at Los Angeles, reaching points No. 1,772 and 1,773 to move into sixth on the NHL’s all-time list.
• Tampa Bay rallied from 3-1 down in the third period to beat Minnesota 4-3 on Nikita Kucherov’s overtime power-play winner, and Jack Hughes scored 1:18 into overtime as New Jersey outshot the Islanders 50-23 in a 5-4 win.
• Martin Necas had two goals and two assists and Mackenzie Blackwood posted Colorado’s first shutout of the season in a 4-0 win over Detroit; Leon Draisaitl scored twice in the third as Edmonton beat Vancouver 4-2.

RALEIGH, N.C.

Carolina scored nine again, Sidney Crosby climbed to sixth on the all-time points list, and a wild 12-game Saturday still found room for two overtime finishes, a shutout built on a four-point night, and a 4-0 lead that nearly got away. Here is the whole night, final by final.

Hurricanes 9, Blackhawks 2 — Seven Straight in Raleigh

Carolina scored seven consecutive goals and buried Chicago 9-2 at Lenovo Center. Seth Jarvis opened it at 1:34 of the first period, Jackson Blake made it 2-0 at 3:21, and Jordan Martinook scored twice before the period ended — the eventual game-winner at 10:54 and a second at 19:27. Andrei Svechnikov added two of his own, Sebastian Aho finished with a goal and two assists, and eight Hurricanes recorded at least two points. It was a wave, not a game, by the middle of the second period.

The history is the fun part. According to Flashscore, it is just the fourth nine-goal game in franchise history — and the second this calendar year, after a 9-1 win over Florida on January 16. The other two came a month apart in the spring of 2009. Pyotr Kochetkov improved to 11-1-0, and Flashscore noted he is the 11th goaltender in NHL history with 11 wins through 12 appearances in a season, carrying a 1.67 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage. Connor Bedard scored one Chicago goal and set up Roman Kantserov for the other, but the Blackhawks (4-13-2) have lost six straight and have now allowed at least four goals in all but one of their losses this season. Carolina, at 14-3-2, looks every bit the team the rest of the East has to chase.

Penguins 5, Kings 2 — Crosby, Sixth All-Time

Tommy Novak scored at 1:52 and again at 5:10 of the first period, Egor Chinakhov’s power-play goal at 19:31 stood up as the game-winner, and then the captain took the night over. Sidney Crosby scored at 17:13 of the second period and added an empty-net goal at 18:44 of the third — points No. 1,772 and 1,773 of his career, moving him into sixth place on the NHL’s all-time points list, according to Flashscore. Evgeni Malkin assisted on three of Pittsburgh’s five goals.

Corey Perry and Alex Laferriere, on a power play, scored for Los Angeles, and the Kings outshot Pittsburgh 28-19 and still lost by three — the Penguins (6-9-2) simply made their chances count. It was Crosby’s second two-goal game of the season, and at this point the milestone watch is a nightly event: every point from here rearranges a list that was supposed to be finished rearranging itself years ago.

Two Comebacks, Two Power-Play Winners in Overtime

Tampa Bay trailed Minnesota 3-1 early in the third period and won anyway. Maxim Shabanov scored twice for the Wild, the second at 6:49 of the third, before Jake Guentzel’s second goal of the night at 13:44 pulled the Lightning within one and Charle-Edouard D’Astous tied it on a power play at 16:29. Nikita Kucherov ended it on a power play at 3:23 of overtime. Tampa Bay (11-3-2) has won three straight; Minnesota (12-3-4) had to settle for a point from a game it controlled for 53 minutes.

New Jersey’s comeback was louder. The Devils outshot the Islanders 50-23, trailed 4-2 after two periods, and still won 5-4 when Jack Hughes scored 1:18 into overtime. Luke Evangelista at 6:08 and Dougie Hamilton, on a power play, at 13:42 tied it in the third. Ilya Sorokin made 45 saves for the Islanders — four short of his career high, per Flashscore — and it still was not enough. The Islanders did not record a shot in overtime and did not have a single power play all night. New Jersey (12-5-0) has won four straight.

Avalanche 4, Red Wings 0 — Necas Does Everything

Martin Necas scored twice and assisted on Colorado’s other two goals in a 4-0 shutout of Detroit at Ball Arena. His power-play goal at 9:46 of the second period was the winner; Nathan MacKinnon scored on a power play at 12:30, Necas added his second at 7:15 of the third, and Cale Makar closed it with a power-play goal at 9:45. Makar and MacKinnon each finished with a goal and two assists, so Colorado’s three best skaters combined for 10 points. Mackenzie Blackwood recorded his first shutout in 33 games and Colorado’s first of the season. Detroit (7-8-3) has lost four straight and has been shut out three times this season.

Oilers 4, Canucks 2 — Draisaitl’s Third Period

Edmonton and Vancouver were tied 1-1 after one — Mattias Ekholm for the Oilers, Max Sasson late in the period for the Canucks — and the game sat there until the third. Jason Dickinson put Edmonton ahead 49 seconds into the period, Leon Draisaitl scored the power-play winner at 4:00 and an empty-net goal at 19:15, and Connor McDavid assisted on three of the four Oilers goals. Brock Boeser’s goal at 17:25 gave Vancouver a brief hope it could not keep. Edmonton improved to 11-3-3, while Vancouver (3-14-1) has lost five straight and owns the league’s worst record.

Around the Rink

Capitals 4, Panthers 3. Brady Tkachuk scored twice for Florida, both assisted by his brother Matthew, and Jack St. Ivany’s first career goal opened the scoring for Washington. Alex Tuch, Aliaksei Protas and Pierre-Luc Dubois — the winner at 4:42 of the third — scored three straight for the Capitals, who won despite being outhit 31-8. Tom Wilson received a five-minute boarding major and a game misconduct for a hit on Sandis Vilmanis.

Predators 3, Blues 1. Jimmy Snuggerud’s power-play goal put St. Louis ahead before Steven Stamkos tied it on a power play and finished with a goal and an assist. Ross Colton scored the winner in the second and Nick Perbix added an empty-net goal; Juuse Saros made 25 saves and Roman Josi had two assists. Nashville, debuting its Hometown Remix uniforms with a patch honoring Dolly Parton, has won four straight.

Rangers 4, Kraken 3. New York built a 4-0 lead on goals from Gabe Perreault, Tye Kartye on a power play, Jaroslav Chmelar — his first of the season — and Pavel Dorofeyev, then survived Seattle’s three-goal third period from Kaapo Kakko, Jordan Eberle and Vince Dunn. Adam Fox recorded his 20th assist of the season, tied for the league lead among defensemen, per Flashscore.

Senators 4, Mammoth 2. Four of the game’s six goals came in the third period. Nick Cousins scored the winner with 2:18 remaining and Shane Pinto added an empty-net goal with 16 seconds left; Ottawa scored three third-period goals on just five shots despite being outshot 32-21 on the night.

Canadiens 4, Maple Leafs 2. Alex Newhook scored Montreal’s first two goals and Chris Kreider added an unassisted winner in the second. William Nylander and Gavin McKenna scored 55 seconds apart in the third to make it close, and Zachary Bolduc’s power-play goal closed it out. Montreal has beaten Toronto in five straight meetings dating back to November 22, 2025.

Stars 4, Sharks 3. Michael Misa opened the scoring for San Jose, and Dallas answered with three first-period goals — Roope Hintz and Jason Robertson on power plays, Jamie Benn at even strength. Thomas Harley’s power-play goal at 14:30 of the second stood as the winner, and Harley finished with three points. Macklin Celebrini assisted on all three Sharks goals in the loss.

Saturday’s Finals

Washington 4, Florida 3 · Nashville 3, St. Louis 1 · New York Rangers 4, Seattle 3 · Montreal 4, Toronto 2 · Ottawa 4, Utah 2 · New Jersey 5, New York Islanders 4 (OT) · Carolina 9, Chicago 2 · Dallas 4, San Jose 3 · Tampa Bay 4, Minnesota 3 (OT) · Colorado 4, Detroit 0 · Pittsburgh 5, Los Angeles 2 · Edmonton 4, Vancouver 2.

The Golden Knights were idle on Saturday — no game among the 12 — so the night belonged to everybody else. The full scoring picture from a 12-game Saturday lives in the Stats Hub, and Friday’s stars are still warm in last night’s roundup. Carolina gets the last word here, though: nine goals is a statement in November, and doing it for the second time in a calendar year is starting to look like a habit.