Golden Knights center Jack Eichel celebrates his third goal of the night Thursday against the Buffalo Sabres. Vegas won, 7-4. Jeffrey T. Barnes/Associated Press
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Jack Eichel welcomed the boos in Buffalo this time by scoring three third-period goals and adding an assist in his second game against his former team as the Vegas Golden Knights routed the Sabres 7-4 on Thursday night.
After being booed each time he touched the puck, and cheered on the two times he was foiled on breakaway attempts, Eichel raised his arms and mugged for the unhappy crowd after converting a rebound to put the Golden Knights ahead 5-2 six minutes into the third period.
Traded to Vegas a little over a year ago, the former Sabres captain then pounded his chest along the boards after scoring his second goal with 5:23 remaining to send the crowd to the exits, and closed the night by scoring into an empty net.
The Golden Knights closed a five-game road trip by improving their NHL-leading record to 13-2 while extending their winning streak to nine, one short of a franchise record set in April 2021.
HURRICANES 7, OILERS 2: Andrei Svechnikov scored three goals and Carolina, with goalie Pyotr Kochetkov making his season debut, beat high-powered Edmonton in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Svechnikov’s other hat trick this season also came against Edmonton. His third goal this time came with 4:11 remaining.
Brent Burns, Jordan Staal, Jordan Martinook and Jesper Fast also scored for the Hurricanes, who snapped a two-game skid and forged a season split with Edmonton. Teuvo Teravainen and Martin Necas each had two assists.
Connor McDavid had a goal and an assist and Zach Hyman scored for the Oilers, who lost for the fourth time in five games.
Kochetkov made 20 saves. Oilers goalie Jack Campbell stopped 25 shots.
RANGERS 8, RED WINGS 2: Mika Zibanejad scored twice in his 700th career game as New York snapped a three-game skid by pulling away at Detroit.
Adam Fox had the go-ahead goal and two assists for the Rangers, who scored six unanswered goals in the third period to avenge a 3-2 overtime loss to Detroit at home Sunday.
Chris Kreider extended his point streak to a career-best seven games with a second-period goal and an assist.
Barclay Goodrow, Julien Gauthier, Libor Hajek and Jimmy Vesey also scored for New York (7-5-3), which set a season high for goals. Igor Shesterkin made 18 saves.
Joe Veleno and Lucas Raymond scored for the Red Wings (7-4-3), and Ville Husso stopped 25 shots.
BLUE JACKETS 5, FLYERS 2: Boone Jenner scored twice, Johnny Gaudreau had a goal and two assists, and Columbus won at home, ending a five-game losing streak.
Columbus (4-9-0) hadn’t won since beating the New York Rangers 5-1 on Oct. 23.
Zach Werenski and Nick Blankenberg also scored for the Blue Jackets, and Joonas Korpisalo stopped 32 shots for his first win since offseason surgery.
Ivan Provorov had a goal and an assist, and Tony DeAngelo also scored for the Flyers. Carter Hart stopped 24 shots after missing a game to illness.
DEVILS 4, SENATORS 3: Nico Hischier scored his second goal of the game at 4:27 of overtime, and New Jersey won at home for its eighth straight victory.
Miles Wood and Tomas Tatar also scored for the Devils.
Shane Pinto scored twice and Travis Hamonic added a goal for Ottawa.
NOTES
DEVILS: Hall of Fame goaltender Martin Brodeur has been named executive vice president of hockey operations and given a new multiyear contract extension by the New Jersey Devils.
Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald announced that Brodeur will be staying with the organization after spending the last 2 1/2 years serving as an adviser to hockey operations and on the business side.
Brodeur’s work will include personnel decisions, roster management, transactions, player recruitment, scouting and overseeing the goaltending development.
Brodeur, 50, was a member of three Stanley Cup champions for New Jersey before retiring in 2015, after a six-game tenure with the St. Louis Blues. He joined the Blues’ front office before returning to the Devils for the 2018-19 season, working in business development.
MEDIA: P.K. Subban has become a full-time member of ESPN’s hockey team after contributing during last season’s Stanley Cup playoff coverage.
Subban, who retired in September, has signed a three-year agreement with ESPN. He will work mainly as a studio analyst but will handle some games during the season.
Subban said the opportunities of making appearances on “First Take” and other ESPN programming during the playoffs was another factor in the decision.
Subban, 33, played 13 seasons for the Montreal Canadiens, Nashville Predators and New Jersey Devils. He scored 467 points in 824 regular-season games, including 115 goals. He won the Norris Trophy as the league’s top defenseman in 2013 with the Canadiens and reached the 2017 Stanley Cup Final with the Predators, as well as being a three-time NHL All-Star selection.
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