Wednesday's hockey: Edvinsson scores Griffins' OT goal; Stars acquire Tanev
Red Wings' first-round draft pick Simon Edvinsson scored in overtime to extend the Grand Rapids Griffins' point streak to 16 games on Wednesday.
The Griffins edged the Iowa Wild, 3-2, on Edvinsson's eighth goal of the season with six seconds remaning in OT at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids.
The 6-6, 215-pound defenseman from Sweden is second on the team in scoring with 27 points in 46 games, tying his 27-point production in 52 games last year.
Zach Aston-Reese and Marco Kasper (ninth goal) had the other goals and goalie Sebastian Cossa made 26 saves for Grand Rapids, which had a 19-game point streak in 2015.
Iowa goalie Jesper Wallstedt, who the Wings bypassed with the 15th selection in the first round of the 2021 draft in order to select Cossa, made 35 saves.
Wednesday's NHL games
(At) Edmonton 3, St. Louis 2 (OT): Connor McDavid scored 4:34 into overtime and also had two assists to rally the Oilers.
Zach Hyman (Michigan) scored twice to give him 40 for the season as Edmonton won its second straight. Stuart Skinner finished with 30 saves.
Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich scored for the Blues, who have lost three straight and five of six. Jordan Binnington had 31 saves.
Late in the extra period, McDavid danced past a couple of defenders before chipping a shot past Binnington for his 22nd of the season to snap a 10-game goal-scoring drought.
(At) N.Y. Rangers 4, Columbus 1: Artemi Panarin had two goals and an assist, Igor Shesterkin stopped 30 shots, Chris Kreider had a goal and an assist and Adam Fox also scored as the Rangers won their sixth-straight at home game and 11th in the last 12 games.
New York, first in the Eastern Conference, improved to 12-2-1 in the last 15 games – three nights after having a 10-game winning streak snapped at Columbus on Sunday.
Kreider and Panarin scored empty-netters 41 seconds apart in the final minute. Kreider got his 30th and Panarin increased his career-best total to 35.
Cole Sillinger scored for Columbus and Elvis Merzlikins finished with 26 saves. Columbus, last in the East, has lost five of its last eight.
Stars acquire Flames' Tanev
The Dallas Stars acquired defenseman Chris Tanev from the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night, the latest addition by a Stanley Cup contender in the Western Conference ahead of the March 8 NHL trade deadline.
Dallas sent a 2024 second-round pick, 20-year-old defense prospect Artem Grushnikov and a 2026 conditional third-rounder to Calgary for Tanev, who was considered one of the top trade candidates available.
The Flames are retaining half and New Jersey another quarter of Tanev's $4.5 million salary as part of the deal, which also includes the Stars flipping a '26 fourth-round pick to the Devils for unsigned goaltending prospect Cole Brady.
“We are fortunate to have the opportunity to add a player of Chris’ caliber to our team,” Stars general manager Jim Nill said. “He is a proven defenseman with postseason experience that is comfortable in all situations on the ice. Chris is one of the best penalty killers in the NHL and will be a tremendous asset to our special teams play.”
Tanev, 34, gives the Stars some much-needed depth not only on the penalty kill but defensively 5-on-5 to try to get through the gauntlet that is the playoffs in the West.
The league-leading Vancouver Canucks already got the top center available by trading with Calgary for Elias Lindholm, and the Central Division first-place Winnipeg Jets followed suit by acquiring Sean Monahan from Montreal.
The Stars, who are second in the Central after losing to eventual champion Vegas in the West final last season, are adding the 6-foot-2, 193-pound Tanev to a blue line that's headlined by Miro Heiskanen and also includes veteran Ryan Suter and defensive stalwarts Esa Lindell and Jani Hakanpaa.
Tanev, in the final season of a four-year $18 million contract, is averaging nearly 20 minutes of ice time this season and has a goal and 13 assists in 56 games.
Pinto drives Senators' resurgence
Shane Pinto brushed off his three-point game in Washington, which came in a 6-3 Ottawa Senators loss to the Capitals and ended their two-game winning streak.
He'd trade all his production victories.
“I’m not too worried about that," Pinto said. "I just want to win games. It’s a big part of the year. We’ve got to start winning games if we want to get in this race, and that’s all I care about right now.”
It's too late realistically for the Senators to make the playoffs this year, but that hasn't stopped Pinto and his teammates from setting their sights on an improbable, long shot run.
More than anything, his play since returning from a half-season suspension for violating the NHL's gambling policy has provided a glimpse into what the future could hold for the team in Canada's capital.
Pinto has five goals and eight assists for 13 points in 16 games since making his season debut on Jan. 21. Ottawa has gone 9-5-2 during this stretch and has won seven of eight games when he gets on the scoresheet.
“He’s huge," defenseman Jake Sanderson. “We missed him very much the first half of the year. He kind of came in and sparked us.”
The 23-year-old center from Franklin Square, New York, on Long Island was in line for a potentially lucrative contract last summer as a restricted free agent. Then came the league's investigation that led to the 41-game ban – the first for a modern hockey player – for the vaguely announced “activities relating to sports wagering.”
The NHL said only that there was no evidence Pinto bet on hockey. After practicing for the first time this season with the Senators, he was unwilling to go into details.
Pinto signed a prorated contract for the league-minimum $775,000, got back into game action on Jan. 21 at Philadelphia and has been a key reason for the Senators' recent success, playing alongside captain Brady Tkachuk. Teammate Josh Norris (Oxford) said Pinto brought a lot of stability to the lineup.
“He’s been playing some great hockey,” Norris said. "He missed a lot of time, but it doesn’t really seem to me like he’s missed any time at all.
"He kind of just stepped right in and (is) just being a really solid player for us and has contributed a lot offensively, too. He’s a big part of our team and definitely a big part of our core and the future, so we’re happy to have him back.”
The Senators lost 25 of their first 41 games without Pinto, a tumultuous stretch under new ownership that included the firings of general manager Pierre Dorion, who was replaced by Steve Staios, and coach D.J. Smith, replaced by Jacques Martin.
Before back-to-back road defeats this week, they had won seven of their past 10, the product of better structure and defense.
“Everybody is clicking right now,” Tkachuk said. “Top to bottom, everybody has had some pretty good efforts.”
Playoff tracker
Atlantic
▶ Bruins (82)
▶ Panthers (82)
▶ Maple Leafs (74)
Metropolitan
▶ Rangers (83)
▶ Hurricanes (76)
▶ Flyers (69)
Wild card
▶ Red Wings (72)
▶ Lightning (69)
(Top two wild-card teams make the playoffs)
▶ Devils (64)
▶ Capitals (63)
▶ Islanders (62)
▶ Sabres (58)
Michigan-area hockey this week
Wednesday
▶ Grand Rapids 3, Iowa 2 (OT)
Thursday
▶ N.Y. Islanders at Red Wings, 7 (BSD/97.1)
Friday
▶ Iowa at Grand Rapids, 7 (AHL/106.9/1300)
▶ Michigan State at Wisconsin, 8 (Big Ten+/1240)
▶ Michigan at Minnesota, 7:30 (Big Ten)
▶ Western Michigan at North Dakota, 8
▶ St. Thomas at Michigan Tech, 7
▶ Bowling Green at Northern Michigan, 7
▶ Ferris State at Lake Superior State, 7
▶ Waterloo at NTDP U18s, 7
▶ NTDP U17s at Cedar Rapids, 8
Saturday
▶ Florida at Red Wings, 3 (ABC/97.1)
▶ Rockford at Grand Rapids, 7 (AHL/106.9/1300)
▶ Michigan State at Wisconsin, 8 (Big Ten+/730)
▶ Michigan at Minnesota, 7:30 (Big Ten)
▶ Western Michigan at North Dakota, 7
▶ St. Thomas at Michigan Tech, 6
▶ Bowling Green at Northern Michigan, 6
▶ Madison at NTDP U18s, 7
▶ NTDP U17s at Cedar Rapids, 8
Tuesday
▶ Red Wings 8, Capitals 3