Michigan State’s Trey Augustine and Western Michigan’s Hampton Slukynsky combined to make 16 saves in Team USA’s 5-2 victory over Finland on Monday in the final pre-tournament game at the world junior hockey championship at the Cornwall Civic Complex in Cornwall, Ontario.
Augustine (South Lyon) played the first two periods and allowed one goal with 10 saves while Slukynsky allowed one goal with six saves in the third period.
Gabe Perreault and James Hagens each had three assists for the U.S. team, which will open preliminary-round play against Germany on Thursday at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa (2:30 p.m./NHL Network).
Buffalo 7, (at) N.Y. Islanders 1: Rasmus Dahlin had four assists and Buffalo stopped a 13-game slide by routing the New York Islanders.
It was Buffalo’s first win since Nov. 23 at San Jose. The Sabres went 0-10-3 during the losing streak.
Jiri Kulich had two goals and an assist, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 27 saves. Jack Quinn had a goal and an assist, and Tage Thompson, Beck Malenstyn, Jason Zucker and Zach Benson also scored.
Kyle Palmieri for New York with 55 seconds left in the second period. It was Palmieri’s 12th goal of the season.
(At) New Jersey 5, N.Y. Rangers 0: Jack Hughes had his second two-goal game of the season against the Rangers and Jacob Markstrom had his second straight 12-save shutout.
Timo Meier, Stefan Noesen and Dawson Mercer also scored for New Jersey, which is 7-2-1 in December. Hughes added an assist on the last goal to post a three-point game.
Jonathan Quick made 25 saves for the Rangers, who have lost 13 of 17 games. Chris Kreider was a healthy scratch.
Winnipeg 5, (at) Toronto 2: Mark Scheifele scored a hat trick and an assist while Kyle Connor (Shelby Township/University of Michigan) collected two goals and an assist to spark the NHL-leading Winnipeg to a win over Toronto.
The Jets enter the Christmas break with back-to-back wins, while the Maple Leafs dropped their second in a row at Scotiabank Arena without wounded captain Auston Matthews, out with an upper-body injury. Gabriel Vilardi added three assists. Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck (Commerce Township) made 23 saves.
John Tavares scored twice for the Maple Leafs, and Joseph Woll stopped 22 shots. Maple Leafs forward William Nylander extended his point streak to seven games with assists on both of Tavares’ goals.
(At) Pittsburgh 7, Philadelphia 3: Sidney Crosby scored a goal and added three assists to tie Mario Lemieux’s franchise record for most assists in team history and Pittsburgh beat the Philadelphia.
Crosby scored a third-period empty-net goal and helped on three of Pittsburgh’s four first-period goals as the Penguins jumped out to a 4-1 lead. Crosby and Lemieux both have 1,033 assists, which ranks 12th all-time in NHL history.
Philip Tomasino finished Crosby’s backhand pass for a power-play goal at 17:44 of the first period to equal Lemieux’s mark. Michael Bunting scored twice, Bryan Rust scored his seventh goal in eight games, while Rickard Rakell and Blake Lizotte also scored for Pittsburgh.
Noah Cates scored his fourth goal in as many games, while Sean Couturier and Egor Zamula also scored for the Flyers.
(At) Boston 4, Washington 1: Elias Lindholm scored with 6:19 left to break a third-period tie, and Boston killed a five-minute penalty without allowing a shot on goal to beat Washington.
Jeremy Swayman made 10 saves for the Bruins, who won for the fourth time in five games and improved to 11-4-1 since Joe Sacco replaced Jim Montgomery on the bench.
Jakub Vrana scored and Lindgren stopped 18 shots for the Capitals, who came into the day leading the Eastern Conference, and have lost three of their last six games.
Tampa Bay 4, (at) Florida 0: Nikita Kucherov scored before he was ejected for kneeing Matthew Tkachuk, and Tampa Bay beat Florida.
Jake Guentzel and Mitchell Chaffee also scored for Tampa Bay in its fifth win in six games. Brandon Hagel had an empty-netter, and Anthony Cirelli and Victor Hedman collected two assists apiece. Jonas Johansson made 36 saves in his first shutout of the season and No. 4 for his career.
Tkachuk had to be helped off the ice and to the dressing room after Kucherov crashed into his right leg late in the first period. Kucherov was given a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct for the hit, and Tkahcuk returned a couple minutes into the second.
(At) Columbus 5, Montreal 4: Kirill Marchenko scored with 2:12 left in regulation, and Columbus Blue beat Montreal for their second straight home win.
Dmitri Vorokov scored twice to extend his point streak to five games, and Kent Johnson added a goal. Jordan Harris netted his first goal for Columbus, while Zach Werenski and Sean Monahan each had three assists. Marchenko also had two assists.
David Savard and Jake Evans each had a goal and an assist for the Canadiens, and Lane Hutson scored to stretch his point streak to six games. Joel Armia also scored, Cole Caufield contributed two assists, and Sam Montembeault made 27 saves. Montreal had won three straight.
Monday
Blues 4, Red Wings 0
Thursday
World junior championship
Sweden vs. Slovakia, TD Place, noon
Germany vs. United States, Canadian Tire Centre, 2:30
Switzerland vs. Czechia, TD Place, 5
Canada vs. Finland, Canadian Tire Centre, 7:30
Friday
Maple Leafs at Red Wings, 7
NTDP U17 at Chicago Steel, 8
World junior championship
Slovakia vs. Switzerland, TD Place, 1
Finland vs. Germany, Canadian Tire Centre, 3:30
Kazakhstan vs. Sweden, TD Place, 5
Canada vs. Latvia, Canadian Tire Centre, 7:30
Saturday, Dec. 28
Grand Rapids at Cleveland, 7
Wisconsin at Ferris State, 6
NTDP U18 at Arizona State, 4
NTDP U17 at Chicago Steel, 7
World junior championship
Czechia vs. Kazakhstan, TD Place, 1
United States vs. Latvia, Canadian Tire Centre, 3:30
Sunday, Dec. 29
Capitals at Red Wings, 5
Michigan Tech vs. Western Michigan in Grand Rapids, 3:30
Michigan State vs. Northern Michigan in Grand Rapids, 7 p.m.
NTDP U18 at Arizona State, 4
World junior championship
Sweden vs. Switzerland, TD Place, noon
Finland vs. United States, Canadian Tire Centre, 2:30
Slovakia vs. Czechia, TD Place, 5
Germany vs. Canada, Canadian Tire Centre, 7:30
Monday, Dec. 30
GLA third-place game in Grand Rapids, 3:30
GLA championship game in Grand Rapids, 7
World junior championship
Kazakhstan vs. Slovakia, TD Place, 1
Latvia vs. Germany, Canadian Tire Centre, 3:30
Tuesday, Dec. 31
Penguins at Red Wings, 8
Cleveland at Grand Rapids, 6
Word junior championship
Switzerland vs. Kazakhstan, TD Place, noon
Latvia vs. Finland, Canadian Tire Centre, 2:30
Czechia vs. Sweden, TD Place, 5
United States vs. Canada, Canadian Tire Centre, 7:30
