Saturday's hockey: Canucks' Zadorov suspended two games for hit on Wings' Raymond
Vancouver Canucks defenceman Nikita Zadorov was suspended two games for a hit to the head of Red Wings forward Lucas Raymond during Detroit's 4-3 overtime victory at Little Caesars Arena, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced on Saturday.
The incident occurred 4:11 into the second period with the game tied at 1-1. As Raymond was carrying the puck through the neutral zone, Zadorov made contact with Raymond right after he passed the puck.
In the announcement, the Department of Player Safety said both elements of the illegal check to the head rule were satisfied on the play. Those two elements are that the head was the first point of contact and that the head contact was avoidable.
Zadorov had never been fined or suspended in his NHL career. Raymond, who scored the opening goal on a solo effort around Tyler Myers, later returned to the game and made the pass in overtime to Jake Walman, which led to Walman's game-winning, penalty-shot goal.
More:Red Wings showing ability to rally, win no matter how big a deficit
Late in the third period, Alex DeBrincat of the Red Wings fought Ian Cole of the Canucks while Raymond, Dylan Larkin and Nils Hoglander all received roughing penalties.
The six-foot-six Zadorov has registered four assists and 60 penalty minutes in 27 games since joining the Canucks in a trade from the Calgary Flames.
Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, Zadorov will forfeit $39,062.50. The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.
Manitoba 4, Grand Rapids 3 (SO)
The Grand Rapids Griffins' seven-game winning streak was snapped with a 4-3 shootout loss against the Manitoba Moose on Saturday at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids.
Jonatan Berggren's first-period goal marked his 200th career AHL point, Simon Edvinsson had two assists and Sebastian Cossa extended his point streak to five games (4-0-1) with 29 saves.
Sweden 4, United States 3
Sweden's Anton Frondell scored with two seconds left in the third period to beat Team USA 4-3 and win the Five Nations Tournament on Saturday at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth.
Brodie Ziemer scored twice, Max Plante had a goal and an assist and Nick Kempf made 15 saves for the U.S., which outshot Sweden 45-19.
In the early game, Switzerland defeated Czechia 3-2.
Saturday's NHL games
(At) L.A. Kings 4, Edmonton 0: Quinton Byfield had two goals and an assist, David Rittich made 26 saves for his fifth career shutout and ex-Red Wings forward and assistant coach Jim Hiller won his first NHL game in his debut after replacing Todd McLellan on Feb. 2.
Stuart Skinner 22 saves for the Oilers (30-17-1), who went 1-2-0 on a three-game road trip after winning 16 straight prior to the All-Star break.
Kings assistant coach D.J. Smith was not behind the bench with his work visa still being finalized.
(At) Florida 4, Colorado 0: Sergei Bobrovsky made 35 saves in his third shutout of the season and Carter Verhaeghe, Sam Reinhart, Eetu Luostarinen and Aleksander Barkov scored for the Panthers, who won for the sixth time in seven games.
Colorado star Nathan MacKinnon departed after landing headfirst on the ice with 11:18 to go. He was held off the scoresheet for the third straight game after going pointless in just one game since Nov. 18.
Alexandar Georgiev made 39 saves for the Avalanche in their fourth straight loss.
Barkov scored his first goal since Dec. 16, snapping an 18-game drought. He notched 19 assists in that span, and then added two more on Saturday night.
(At) Ottawa 5, Toronto 3: Shane Pinto had a goal and two assists, and Ottawa beat Toronto in a game that ended with Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Reilly cross-checking Ridly Greig for firing a slap shot into an empty net.
Claude Giroux, Vladimir Tarasenko and Josh Norris also scored for Ottawa in its return from a 10-day break. Joonas Korpisalo made 31 saves.
Auston Matthews scored his NHL-leading 42nd goal for Toronto. Matthew Knies and Max Domi also scored and Martin Jones stopped 27 shots.
Greig scored with 5.1 seconds left, racing down the middle and firing a slap shot from short range into the empty net. As the Ottawa player headed back up the boards towards the bench, Reilly hit him high with the cross-check.
Toronto sent out enforcer Ryan Reaves for the final faceoff, but the officials quickly jumped in to prevent a brawl.
Washington 3, (at) Boston 0: T.J. Oshie scored his 299th career goal, Charlie Lindgren stopped 18 shots and Washington snapped a six-game losing streak.
Alex Ovechkin scored his 57th career empty-net goal with 27 seconds remaining, passing Wayne Gretzky for the most in NHL history.
Dylan Strome also scored for the Capitals, who won for the first time since beating St. Louis 5-2 on Jan. 18. It was Lindgren's third shutout of the season.
Jeremy Swayman stopped 25 shots for the Bruins, who lost for the third time in their last four home games.
(At) Nashville 5, Arizona 4 (OT): Ryan McDonagh scored 1:36 into overtime, and Nashville snapped a three-game losing streak.
Nashville's Ryan O’Reilly, Filip Forsberg, Roman Josi and Tommy Novak each had a goal and an assist. Juuse Saros made 27 saves.
Dylan Guenther, Travis Dermott, Nick Schmaltz and Juuso Valimaki scored for Arizona in its fifth consecutive loss. Jason Zucker had three assists, and Connor Ingram made 32 saves.
(At) Winnipeg 2, Pittsburgh 1: Connor Hellebuyck made 35 saves, and Winnipeg stopped a five-game losing streak.
Nino Niederreiter and Mark Scheifele scored to help Winnipeg avenge a 3-0 loss in Pittsburgh on Tuesday night.
Bryan Rust scored for Pittsburgh, and Tristan Jarry made 29 saves. Sidney Crosby’s nine-game point streak ended.
(At) Carolina 1, New Jersey 0 (OT): Sebastian Aho scored 3:40 into overtime to give Carolina the win.
Aho knocked a rebound of a Martin Necas shot out of midair and past New Jersey goalie Vitek Vanecek. It was Aho's 11th career overtime goal, extending his franchise record.
Vanecek finished with 31 saves, and Carolina’s Pyotr Kochetkov made 34 stops.
The Hurricanes have won five of their past six games. The Devils have lost seven of 10.
(At) Philadelphia 3, Seattle 2: Sean Couturier scored the go-ahead goal for Philadelphia early in the third period.
Scott Laughton and Ryan Poehling also scored for the Flyers, who have won all three of their games since the All-Star break. Philadelphia entered the break on a five-game losing streak.
Tomas Tatar and Jared McCann scored for the Kraken, who were playing their first game since Jan. 30 due to a combination of the All-Star break and the club’s bye week. Seattle lost six of eight entering the break. The Flyers held the Kraken to just two shots in the third period and 19 for the contest.
Tampa Bay 4, (at) Columbus 2: Brandon Hagel had a goal and two assists, and Tampa Bay stopped a two-game slide.
Nicholas Paul had a goal and an assist for Tampa Bay, and Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 33 shots. Anthony Cirelli and Steven Stamkos also scored.
Boone Jenner scored twice in the third period to get Columbus within a goal, both with assists from Johnny Gaudreau. Elvis Merzlikins had 33 saves for the Blue Jackets, who have dropped their last two home games.
St. Louis 3, (at) Buffalo 1: Joel Hofer stopped 33 shots, Jake Neighours scored twice and St. Louis got the win on the road.
Jordan Kyrou also scored for St. Louis in its first game since a 1-0 loss to Columbus on Jan. 30.
Kyle Okposo was credited with Buffalo’s lone goal after he was the last Sabres player to touch the puck before Blues defenseman Matthew Kessel banked his clearing attempt off the skate of teammate Oskar Sundqvist and into the net.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 23 shots and dropped to 6-5 in his past 11 starts despite allowing 19 goals over that span.
Dallas 3, (at) Montreal 2: Tyler Seguin scored twice and Matt Duchene had two assists, lifting the Stars to the win.
Thomas Harley also scored as Dallas improved to 8-2-1 in its last 11 games. Mason Marchment added two assists, and Jake Oettinger made 18 saves.
Nick Suzuki had a goal and an assist for Montreal, which had won two of three. Juraj Slafkovsky also scored, Mike Matheson had two assists and Cole Caufield extended his point streak to a career-high 11 games.
Canadiens goaltender Sam Montembeault stopped 35 shots in his second straight start.
Calgary 5, (at) N.Y. Islanders 2: MacKenzie Weegar recorded his first career hat trick, and Calgary extended its season-high win streak to four games.
Jonathan Huberdeau and Blake Coleman also scored for the Flames. Jacob Markstrom finished with 35 saves and an assist in the third game of a four-game road trip.
Semyon Varlamov made 19 saves in his 600th NHL game, but the Islanders' two-game winning streak was snapped. Brock Nelson and Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored for New York.
Michigan-area hockey this week
Saturday
▶ Red Wings 4, Canucks 3 (OT)
▶ Manitoba 4, Grand Rapids 3 (SO)
▶ Michigan State 3, Michigan 2
▶ Five Nations: Switzerland 3, Czechia 2
▶ Five Nations: Sweden 4, USA 3
▶ Nebraska at Omaha 3, Western Michigan 2 (OT)
▶ Minnesota State 4, Michigan Tech 2
Friday
▶ Grand Rapids 4, Manitoba 3 (SO)
▶ Michigan State 5, Michigan 1
▶ Five Nations: Finland 5, Switzerland 1
▶ Five Nations: USA 6, Czechia 2
▶ Western Michigan 6, Nebraska at Omaha 1
▶ Michigan Tech 3, Minnesota State 1
▶ Bermidji State 4, Northern Michigan 2
Thursday
▶ Five Nations: Sweden 6, Switzerland 5 (OT)
▶ Five Nations: Czechia 5, Finland 0
Wednesday
▶ Five Nations: USA 5, Finland 2
▶ Five Nations: Sweden 6, Czechia 5 (OT)
Tuesday
▶ Five Nations: Sweden 6, Finland 5 (OT)
▶ Five Nations: USA 7, Switzerland 1