Hockey : Bedard marque deux buts pour les Blackhawks, les Panthers battent le Lightning, les Devils remontent et Miller mène les Rangers

Connor Bedard scored his second goal of the game in overtime to propel the Chicago Blackhawks to a 2-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets.

The 18-year-old prodigy navigated at will in the neutral zone and then beat Connor Hellebuyck with a good wrist shot.

This goal is Bedard’s first career overtime goal in the NHL. Alex Vlasic and Anthony Beauvillier assisted on their teammate’s winning goal.

Bedard had himself opened the scoring in the first period. He rushed the net to jump on his own rebound and put the Hawks in command late in the first.

The first overall pick in the last draft has hit the target three times in his last two games and has scored at least one point in five straight games. Despite this, the Blackhawks have won only two of their last eight games.

Morgan Barron was the only one to beat Petr Mrazek in the Jets’ defeat. The Blackhawks goalkeeper was solid in the victory with a performance of 37 saves.

Hellebuyck made 23 saves at the other end of the rink. Winnipeg has earned a point in six straight games.

Panthers beat their rivals for Maurice

The Florida Panthers emerged victorious in the Florida battle and offered a 3-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning in coach Paul Maurice’s 1,800th career game on Wednesday.

Maurice became the third head coach in NHL history to reach this milestone, after Scotty Bowman (2,141) and Barry Trotz (1,812).

Sam Reinhart’s 20th and 21st goals of the season would have been enough for the Panthers to win at Amalie Arena. Aleksander Barkov collected three assists and surpassed Olli Jokinen for the fourth most games with more than one point by a Finnish player in NHL history.

On the other side, Nikita Kucherov scored his 300th career goal in the NHL. He became the ninth player to reach this mark in less than 700 games. The top scorer in the National Hockey League missed a few shifts in the first period after being hit in the face by a stick.

Sergei Bobrovsky was excellent with 27 saves, including a big one in the late third period at the expense of Brayden Point. The Bolts forward broke away and thought he had beaten the goalkeeper, but Bobrovsky stole it with his glove.

Defenseman Aaron Ekblad put the visitors in charge of the match by scoring his first goal of the season. He deceived Andrei Vasilevskiy with a low shot from the point.

Reinhart then doubled the lead early in the second period. He scored his second of the game on a shorthanded situation in the third period.

Michael Eyssimont widened the lead just 20 seconds later, but the Panthers defended well until the end.

Maurice’s team takes over the second position in the Atlantic Division with 42 points.

Former Montreal Canadiens Mikhail Sergachev participated in the Lightning’s morning skate, but he missed a third consecutive game after taking a shot in the left foot against the St. Louis Blues on December 19.

Late comeback for the Devils

After a frantic end to the third period, Timo Meier scored the winning goal in overtime to allow the Devils to secure a 4-3 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Trailing by a goal with less than four minutes left in the third, the Devils tied the game when Dawson Mercer managed to beat Elvis Merzlikins.

The Jackets had not said their last word. Yegor Chinakov took advantage of a turnover by Jonas Siegenthaler to break free and put the Jackets back in front with 2:26 to go in the game.

With 1:25 on the clock, Luke Hughes allowed Siegenthaler to breathe a little by sending everyone into overtime with a good wrist shot after a superb rush into the offensive zone. Meier then placed the puck between Merzlikins’ legs in overtime to give the Devils the win.

Ondrej Palat scored the other goal for the Devils. Mercer stood out with a goal and two assists. Jake Bean and Justin Danforth were the other goal scorers for Pascal Vincent’s team.

Vitek Vanecek collected the win with 26 saves. Merzlikins suffered the loss, making 31 saves.

With an assist on his brother Luke’s goal, Jack Hughes (14-26 in 28 games) became the fastest player to reach the 40-point mark in Devils history. He surpassed Zach Parise, who achieved the feat in 31 games.

Injured in the lower body, Zach Werenski was forced to leave the game after a collision with Palat in the second period.

Miller takes care of the Caps

K’Andre Miller scored two goals and added an assist to lead the New York Rangers to a 5-1 victory over the Washington Capitals on Wednesday.

Igor Shesterkin made 25 saves for the Rangers, who won a second straight game and five of their last six. The goalkeeper stood out with a spectacular save by sliding in front of Ivan Miroshnichenko in the third period.

Quebecer Alexis Lafrenière also scored, scoring his 10th goal of the season. Artemi Panarin and Braden Schneider were the other goal scorers, and Mika Zibanejad collected two assists in his 800th NHL game.

However, the Rangers lost the services of captain Jacob Trouba in this game. Trouba suffered an upper-body injury in the second period after a contact with Tom Wilson and did not return to the game.

Anthony Mantha was the only Capitals player to find the back of the net. He scored the first goal of the game, extending his streak to four games with at least one point.

Darcy Kuemper blocked 26 shots in front of the visitors’ goal.

Bruins halt a four-game losing streak

The power play favored the Boston Bruins as Jim Montgomery’s team beat the Buffalo Sabres 4-1 on Wednesday night at the KeyBank Center.

Charlie Coyle scored twice with the man advantage while Brad Marchand collected two assists to halt the Bruins’ four-game losing streak.

Jeremy Swayman made 26 saves and recorded his 10th win of the season. The goalkeeper could thank his defensive play, as Charlie McAvoy saved a goal by swatting away Dylan Cozens’ rebound as the puck was about to go into the net.

Mason Lohrei and Morgan Geekie were the other goal scorers for Boston.

The Sabres could not offer a victory to Devon Levi on his birthday. The Quebecer celebrated his 22nd birthday by making 21 saves.