NHL roundup: Connor Bedard hurt as Blackhawks fall to Devils

Field Level Media|published: Sat 6th January, 02:39 2024

Jan 5, 2024; Newark, New Jersey, USA; New Jersey Devils goaltender Vitek Vanecek (41) makes a save while Chicago Blackhawks center Connor Bedard (98) looks for the rebound during the first period at Prudential Center. credits: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports

Michael McLeod scored the tiebreaking goal with 8:04 left Friday night for the host New Jersey Devils, who overcame a pair of one-goal deficits to beat the undermanned Chicago Blackhawks 4-2 in Newark, N.J.

Jason Dickinson and Boris Katchouk scored for the Blackhawks, who completed a winless five-game road trip (0-4-1) and played the last 49-plus minutes without Connor Bedard after the star rookie was leveled in the open ice by Devils defenseman Brendan Smith.

"Well, I think he obviously banged his head, but I'm not sure," Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson said. "I just got in there now and haven't heard anything other than everybody's coming home tonight, everybody's fine to come home and we'll get him checked out at home."

Holtz scored in the second, Simon Nemec scored the game-tying goal in the third and Tyler Toffoli added an empty-netter with 27 seconds left for the Devils, who have won five of six (5-1-0). Goalie Vitek Vanecek made 23 saves. Arvid Soderblom recorded 28 saves for Chicago, which has nine players on injured reserve.

Hurricanes 6, Capitals 2

Defenseman Brent Burns scored two goals and supplied an assist as the Hurricanes rallied from a two-goal deficit to defeat host Washington and extend their winning streak to five games.

Seth Jarvis and Andrei Svechnikov scored the tying and go-ahead goals for Carolina, which trailed 2-1 entering the third period. Vasily Ponomarev, who made his NHL debut, had third-period points with an assist and a goal.

Nic Dowd and Dylan Strome scored for the Capitals, who scored twice on their six first-period shots. Darcy Kuemper stopped 28 shots, but Washington has yielded 12 goals in back-to-back home defeats this week.

Jets 3, Ducks 1

Third-period goals by Nate Schmidt and Cole Perfetti broke open a tie game and league-leading Winnipeg claimed a road victory over Anaheim.

Nikolaj Ehlers also scored for the Jets, who are riding a five-game winning streak and 13-1-2 run that has rocketed them up the standings. Goaltender Laurent Brossoit made 37 saves, 16 of them in the third period, and Vladislav Namestnikov collected two assists. Winnipeg has earned points in 11 consecutive games (9-0-2).

Mason McTavish scored for the Ducks, who have managed only one win in seven games (1-5-1) during an eight-game homestand, and have only four victories in their last 23 outings (4-18-1). Goalie John Gibson stopped 24 shots in a losing cause.

-Field Level Media