NHL roundup: Sabres stay hot with ninth straight win, Avs extend their win streak to eight

Updated
Avalanche's Jack Drury celebrates a goal against the Los Angeles Kings (2025)
Avalanche's Jack Drury celebrates a goal against the Los Angeles Kings (2025)Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

The Buffalo Sabres extended their winning streak to nine, while the Colorado Avalanche extended their to eight during the NHL's 11-game slate on December 29th!

Sabres 4-2 Blues

After outshooting the Blues 34-18, the Sabres came away with the win after scoring three straight between the second and third period.

The Blues got out to a 2-1 lead entering the second frame, where Buffalo's Alex Tuch (12) would tie things up and start the rally. 

Zach Benson (4) would give Buffalo the lead just under two minutes into the third period before Peyton Krebs (3) sent home the empty-netter to make it three straight goals as Buffalo improved to 19-14-8, extending their win streak to nine games. 

St. Louis dropped their 15-17-8.

Avalanche 5-2 Kings

After scoring four of the game's final five goals, the Avalanche improved to a league-best 29-2-7 as they also extended their winning streak to eight games. 

Nathan MacKinnon and Brock Nelson each recorded a goal and an assist on the night. 

Martin Necas (19), Cale Makar (12), and Jack Drury (6) also scored for the Avs. 

The Kings have now lost seven of their last nine as they fell to 16-13-9.

Panthers 5-3 Capitals

Tom Wilson (19) helped tie the game up 2-2 for the Caps with a pair of goals - his fourth multi-goal game this season. 

Teammate Dylan Strome would score his eighth of the season to give Washington a 3-2 lead, but a three-goal rally for the Panthers left them the victors in the end. 

Brad Marchand (22) would get the rally started to tie it up 3-3 before Aaron Ekblad (2) would give them the lead, and Sam Reinhart (21) would score the empty-netter, and his second goal of the game, as the Panthers improved to 21-15-2, while Washington fell to 20-14-5.

Both teams went 1-for-6 on the power play.

Hurricanes 3-2 Rangers

Vladislav Gavrikov (7) and Jonny Brodzinski (4) had the Rangers up 2-1 entering the third period. 

But Carolina's Jordan Martinook (6) scored off a deflection with almost 10 minutes left in regulation to eventually send it to overtime. 

Jackson Blake (12) took advantage of the 4-on-3 power play in OT to give the Canes the win as they improved 24-11-3. 

The Rangers fell to 19-17-5. 

Blue Jackets 4-1 Senators

Charlie Coyle, Cole Sillinger, and Damon Severson all put up two points each in the Blue Jackets' win as they improved to 17-15-6, riding a three-game win streak.

Severson scored his third goal of the season and put up an assist, as teammates Boone Jenner (6), Denton Mateychuk (7), and Kirill Marchenko (14) scored the others.

Both teams went a combined 0-for-7 on the power play (Ottawa: 0-4). The Senators fell to 18-15-2 and have now lost back-to-back games.

Oilers 4-1 Jets

Max Jones scored his first goal of the season for the Oilers, and his second in two years now to put his team up in the second period.

Jack Roslovic (11) would score after Jones to make it 2-0 before Winnipeg's Adam Lowry (2) responded just under six minutes in the third period to cut the lead in half in his 800th career game. 

But the Oilers would on as Zach Hyman (11) put home an empty-netter as the Oilers improved to 20-14-6. 

Despite Winnipeg outshooting Edmonton a whopping 42-21, going scoreless on three power play opportunities bit them in the end as they fell to 15-18-4. 

Oilers goaltender Calvin Pickard finished with 41 saves - the most in a game since March 10, 2024, when he put up a 41-save shutout against the Pittsburgh Penguins

Flames 2-1 Bruins

The Calgary Flames improved to 17-18-4 after Connor Zary (5) scored the game-winner in overtime. 

Andrew Peeke (4) put the Bruins up 1-0 early on, but a goal from Blake Coleman (12) in the second frame gave the Zary the chance he needed in OT. 

Boston fell to 20-18-2. 

Predators 4-3 Mammoth

In a back-and-forth game that saw each team score one goal each before the other, Nashville's Steven Stamkos (17) put an end to it all after scoring back-to-back goals in the third period less than two minutes apart to seal the win. 

Luke Evangelista (6) and Roman Josi (4) scored the other goals for Nashville as they improved to 17-17-4. 

Utah, on the other hand, dropped their second straight as they fell to 18-19-3. 

Minnesota Wild 5-2 Vegas Golden Knights

San Jose Sharks 5-4 Anaheim Ducks

Vancouver Canucks 3-2 Seattle Kraken