NHL-Highlights of Saturday's NHL games

Reuters

(Adds late games) Dec 27 (The Sports Xchange) - Highlights of Saturday's National Hockey League games: - - - Rangers 3, Devils 1 Derek Stepan scored his third career hat-trick as the New York Rangers earned their eighth straight win by beating the New Jersey Devils 3-1. New York's longest winning streak since winning eight in a row 40 years ago spoiled the debut of New Jersey co-coaches Scott Stevens and Adam Oates. - - - Sabres 4, Islanders 3 (shootout) The Buffalo Sabres produced a brilliant comeback with three unanswered goals in the third period before Tyler Ennis scored the lone goal in the shootout for a 4-3 victory over the New York Islanders. The Sabres looked likely to extend their four-game losing streak when they fell behind 3-0 in the second period, but rallied for three goals in barely five minutes. - - - Predators 4, Flyers 1 Peter Laviolette's Nashville Predators scored a 4-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers, the team that fired him as coach last season. Filip Forsberg and Mike Fisher each bagged a power-play goal and an assist for Nashville (23-9-2), who have not lost consecutive games this season. - - - Stars 4, Blues 3 Power-play goals from defensemen Trevor Daley and Jason Demers in the second period carried Dallas to a 4-3 victory over the St. Louis Blues as the Stars posted their first win in 11 games against Central Division opponents this season. The loss extended the Blues' winless streak to four games (0-3-1), their longest of the season. - - - Blue Jackets 6, Bruins 2 Scott Hartnell had two goals and the Columbus Blue Jackets scored four in the second period for a 6-2 win over the Boston Bruins. Columbus continued their recent hot streak, improving to 9-1-1 in December and ended a seven-game losing streak against Boston. - - - Red Wings 3, Senators 2 (overtime) The Detroit Red Wings twice came from behind before defeating the Ottawa Senators 3-2 in overtime. Winger Gustav Nyquist held the puck for almost half a minute before sliding a low shot home for the winner. - - - Coyotes 2, Ducks 1 (SO) Shane Doan scored in a shootout despite breaking his stick on the shot to give the Arizona Coyotes a 2-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks, the first team in NHL history to get to 50 points before the holiday break. - - - Jets 4, Wild 3 (OT) Andrew Ladd scored a strange goal in overtime to lift the Winnipeg Jets to a 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Wild. Ladd's shot missed the net and hit the glass but bounced back off the top of the net and hit Minnesota goalie John Curry in the back before landing in the net to give the Jets their fourth win in five games. - - - Capitals 3, Penguins 0 Braden Holtby had his third shutout of the season and Eric Fehr scored twice as the Washington Capitals beat Pittsburgh 3-0 for their first victory over the Penguins in nearly three years. - - - Blackhawks 5, Avalanche 2 Patrick Kane had two goals and an assist as the Chicago Blackhawks beat Colorado 5-2 on the road, ending the Avalanche's three-game winning steak. - - - Lightning 2, Hurricanes 1 Goalie Ben Bishop made an emphatic return to the net after missing four games with an injury, stopping 24 shots to guide the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 2-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. - - - Kings 3, Sharks 1 Anze Kopitar had a goal and an assist and Jonathan Quick made 20 saves as the Los Angeles Kings defeated the San Jose Sharks 3-1. - - - Flames 4, Oilers 1 Rookie left winger Johnny Gaudreau scored twice to pace the Calgary Flames to a 4-1 win over the last-place Edmonton Oilers. Gaudreau, who is second among NHL rookies in goals and points, has potted six goals in a three-game spree. (Compiled by Andrew Both; Editing by Peter Rutherford)