Overview
- Buffalo beat Boston 4-1 for an eighth consecutive win, with Mattias Samuelsson posting a goal and two assists and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen making 21 saves as the Bruins’ slide reached five straight losses.
- The Islanders topped the Rangers 2-0 behind David Rittich’s 27-save shutout after Ilya Sorokin was placed on injured reserve earlier in the day, with Anders Lee scoring 58 seconds in and Bo Horvat returning from a lower-body injury.
- Washington edged New Jersey 4-3 in overtime on Jakob Chychrun’s winner, as Logan Thompson stopped 35 shots and Alex Ovechkin tied it in the third; the Devils dropped their third straight.
- Carolina halted a three-game skid by beating Detroit 5-2, with Shayne Gostisbehere and Andrei Svechnikov each recording a goal and two assists as John Gibson’s December win streak ended.
- Tight divisional standings in the East saw momentum swings tied to short-term streaks and key absences, with the compressed schedule before the Olympic break heightening the value of depth and goaltending choices.