Five-star Senators reel in Sharks

MikeHoffman - Cropped

The Ottawa Senators came from behind to register their fifth NHL win in a row on Saturday, overcoming the San Jose Sharks 4-2.

Mike Hoffman struck a third-period brace, as the Senators scored three times in the final stanza to reel in the Sharks in San Jose.

But the Senators (64 points) remain unlikely to make the NHL play-offs, as they remain in sixth in the Eastern Conference's Atlantic division.

San Jose had led through Tommy Wingels and Patrick Marleau, with Ottawa's Erik Karlsson scoring between them, but the home side had no answer to Ottawa in the last period.

Mark Stone struck in the fourth minute to level the game at 2-2 before Hoffman converted a power-play goal with seven minutes, 59 seconds gone.

Hoffman wrapped up the win in the penultimate minute, flicking the puck into an empty net, as the Sharks suffered a third consecutive defeat.

San Jose (68 points) sit fifth in the Western Conference's Pacific division.

In Montreal, the Canadiens thrashed arch-rivals the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-0 to stretch their lead to five points at the top of the Atlantic division.

David Desharnais struck a double for the Canadiens in the third period, after Manny Malhotra and Tomas Plekanec both scored in the opening stanza.

Montreal (87 points), who also top the East's overall standings, head the Tampa Bay Lightning (82) and the Detroit Red Wings (81) in their division.

Detroit stunned Western Conference leaders the Nashville Predators 4-3 on Saturday.

Nashville's Central division rivals the St Louis Blues took advantage of the Predators' loss to move within five points of top spot.

The Blues rose to 84 points with a 2-1 triumph over the Edmonton Oilers.

The Arizona Coyotes were handed a ninth defeat in a row, going down 4-1 at the Boston Bruins, while the Philadelphia Flyers upset the New York Rangers 4-2 and the Carolina Hurricanes shocked the New York Islanders 5-3.

In other results, the Minnesota Wild defeated the Colorado Avalanche 3-1, the Florida Panthers prevailed against the Buffalo Sabres 5-3 and the New Jersey Devils won 2-0 over the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Author(s)