Steven Stamkos blasted the game-winning goal at 2:36 of overtime as the Tampa Bay Lightning stretched their season-long winning streak to four games in a 3-2 victory over the host Nashville Predators on Saturday night.

With the scored tied at 2, Stamkos nearly scored on a breakway, but Nashville’s Mattias Ekholm went off for high sticking on the play, putting the Lightning on a deadly four-on-three power play.

After winning the draw and passing a few times around the three Predators defenders, Stamkos hammered a one-timer from the high slot — his 10th tally — to move the Lightning to 5-2-0 in their past seven games.

Nikita Kucherov, who assisted on the winning shot, scored a goal and had two helpers. Alex Killorn netted a goal, Brayden Point had two assists and goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 30 shots.

Nashville’s Filip Forsberg and Nino Niederreiter had markers. Juuse Saros allowed three goals on 39 shots as the Predators fell to 2-8-1 in their past 11 matches against Tampa Bay.

In the first matchup in Nashville since the NHL Stadium Series matchup on Feb. 26 at the Tennessee Titans’ stadium, the Predators took advantage in the first two minutes of a tripping penalty by Tampa Bay defenseman Victor Hedman.

Slotting 29th in the league on the power play, Nashville connected for the 11th time in 64 chances at 1:50. Forsberg blasted home his seventh goal from above the left circle for an early lead.

In a stellar showing over the first 20 minutes, Saros shut down all 18 shots by the Lightning. His most impressive was a point-blank try by Point, who skated in and tried to score in close with 24 seconds left. Vasilevskiy nearly equaled, stopping 11 of 12 he faced.

On the power play, Tampa Bay was able to solve Saros 4:25 into the second to knot the game at 1. Kucherov tallied for the 10th time when he took a drop pass in the neutral zone from Point, skated into the slot and beat Saros on the blocker side.

In the third, Niederreiter won a battle along the half-boards and zipped in the go-ahead marker at 5:04 for a 2-1 advantage. Killorn evened it again with his sixth tally with 3:21 remaining to create the overtime session.

–Field Level Media

Jamie Benn scored the tiebreaking goal with 11:43 remaining in regulation and had two assists to help the Dallas Stars post a 5-2 victory over the visiting New York Islanders on Saturday night.

With star forward Roope Hintz a late scratch due to a lower-body issue, Benn helped pick up the offensive slack for the Stars.

After assisting on second-period goals by Radek Faksa and Mason Marchment, Benn took a behind-the-net pass from the latter and backhanded the puck by New York netminder Semyon Varlamov to break a 2-2 tie at 8:17 of the third.

Varlamov had 30 saves.

Jason Robertson added a late insurance goal for his 12th that extended a point streak to 11 games, and Jake Oettinger made 27 saves for Dallas, which has 20 goals during its 3-0-1 stretch. Jani Hakanpaa’s empty-netter capped the three-goal third for the Stars, who are 5-2-0 at home.

Meanwhile, Mathew Barzal scored his first two goals of the season for the Islanders, who twice failed to hold a one-goal lead. New York has lost back-to-back contests and is 4-4-0 following a five-game winning streak.

New York recorded the first five shots on goal but was outshot 13-9 through the first 20 minutes.

Barzal opened the scoring just 1:30 into the second period. He deflected in Alexander Romanov’s shot for his first goal since April 23.

Dallas tied the contest at 6:57 of the middle frame. It started with Benn’s backhanded pass to Tyler Seguin, who found Faksa in front of the net to convert. For Seguin (two assists), it was the 700th point of his stellar career.

Barzal wasn’t done. He gave the Islanders the lead back on the power play with 5:41 remaining in the second, when he beat a poorly positioned Oettinger.

However, the Stars tied it just 40 seconds later when Benn found an open Marchment, who sent the puck past a partially screened Varlamov.

–Field Level Media

Alex Goligoski scored his first goal of the season 1:12 into overtime and the Minnesota Wild generated enough late-game offense to overcome the visiting Carolina Hurricanes in a 2-1 victory Saturday night in St. Paul, Minn.

Sam Steel forced overtime with a goal late in the third period and Minnesota was on the way to breaking a three-game losing streak. Steel and Frederick Gaudreau assisted on the winning goal.

Sebastian Aho scored Carolina’s goal, but the Hurricanes were saddled with their second straight loss.

Wild goalie Filip Gustavsson made 20 saves.

Pyotr Kochetkov of the Hurricanes stopped 19 saves after appearing in good shape for a potential second shutout in less than a week.

Steel’s third goal of the season came with 2:37 remaining in regulation.

Kochetkov is 2-0-1 since joining the Hurricanes from the American Hockey League following an injury to top goalie Frederik Andersen. Kochetkov was close to posting back-to-back shutouts after blanking the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday for his first career shutout.

Aho scored at 13:47 of the first period for his ninth goal, with Martin Necas and Stefan Noesen picking up assists. Necas sent a smooth pass through the slot and Aho one-timed it past Gustavsson.

Aho has posted goals in back-to-back games for the third time this season. In 15 career games against Minnesota, he now has 15 points (6 goals, 9 assists).

The Wild weren’t overly active in the offensive zone. They took five shots on goal in the first period and eight more in the second. The teams each had one shot in the first eight minutes of the third period.

Among Kochetkov’s best stops came by denying Mats Zuccarello late in the second period.

Steel broke through for his goal. Jared Spurgeon and Kirill Kaprizov had assists.

Carolina has been stingy defensively. This was the first game since the Hurricanes allowed a season-low shot total (15) in a game against the visiting Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night.

The Wild have a nine-game home-ice points streak in games against Carolina.

–Field Level Media

Pavel Buchnevich had two goals and three assists as the St. Louis Blues routed the visiting Anaheim Ducks 6-2 Saturday for their sixth straight victory.

Robert Thomas had a goal and two assists and Jordan Kyrou had three assists for the Blues. Noel Acciari, Brayden Schenn and Torey Krug also scored and goaltender Jordan Binnington made 30 saves.

Cam Fowler and Adam Henrique each had a goal and an assist for the Ducks, who lost for the fifth time in their last six games.

Anaheim goaltender John Gibson allowed five goals on 29 shots before Anthony Stolarz relieved him for the third period.

The Blues applied pressure from the opening faceoff and built a 10-1 shot advantage through the first 10 minutes of the first period. They finally broke through to take a 1-0 lead with 7:16 left in the period.

Faulk fired a wrist shot from the center point, and Acciari redirected it past Gibson while breaking to the net.

Buchnevich made it 2-0 with 3:53 left in the first period by scoring from the slot off Thomas’ deft pass.

The Blues started fast in the second period too. Just 62 seconds in, Buchnevich took a pass from Thomas and lifted a backhand shot into the net to increase the Blues’ lead to 3-0.

Schenn made it 4-0 by racing up the right wing on an odd-man rush and scoring from the right circle.

The Ducks cut their deficit to 4-1 with a power-play goal 6:43 into the period. Fowler scored with a slap shot through Troy Terry’s screen.

But the Blues countered with Krug’s power-play slap shot to push their lead to 5-1 with 11:16 left in the second period.

Henrique’s power-play goal, on a deflection of Fowler’s slap shot, cut Anaheim’s deficit to 5-2 with 11:19 to play in the third. Thomas converted a 2-on-1 rush with Kyrou to restore the Blues’ four-goal lead with 4:32 to go.

–Field Level Media

Cole Caufield scored the tying goal with three seconds left in regulation and Nick Suzuki scored the deciding goal in the second round of the shootout as the host Montreal Canadiens earned a 5-4 victory over the slumping Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday night.

Caufield scored two tying goals, getting a power-play tally late in the first before finishing off a wild sequence with the extra attacker in the final minute of regulation.

The Flyers had three chances to clear but after Zack McEwen broke his stick, Montreal held possession for the rest of the sequence. Moments after Brendan Gallagher’s tip-in sailed wide, Caufield also missed the net with seven seconds left but Suzuki retrieved the puck.

Suzuki quickly slid the puck to Caufield, who was alone in the left circle for a one-timer that sailed by goalie Carter Hart. Caufield’s dramatic goal came one minute after his slap shot sailed over the net.

In the first round of the shootout, Caufield was denied but Suzuki won it when he switched from his forehand and sent a backhander by Hart.

Christian Dvorak and Mike Matheson scored for Montreal, which avoided its second three-game losing streak this season after falling behind 2-0 in the opening 2:55.

Suzuki collected two assists and Caufield produced a three-point night.

Travis Sanheim scored 39 seconds into the first period and Owen Tippett scored twice before Kevin Hayes tallied midway through the third, but the Flyers dropped their sixth straight (0-5-1).

Montreal goalie Jake Allen made 25 saves and denied Tippett and Hayes in the shootout.

Hart finished with 28 stops.

Philadelphia sped out to a two-goal lead when Sanheim swept in a loose puck and Tippett blasted a wrister from above the circle.

Dvorak swept in a loose puck at 4:07 of the first and Caufield blasted a one-timer from the right faceoff dot during a power play late in the first.

Matheson gave Montreal a 3-2 lead midway through the second with a wrister from the slot but Tippett flicked a shot in from the right faceoff circle after winning a draw from Sean Monahan late in the second.

The Flyers seemingly had the game won when Hayes scored on a 55-foot wrist shot with 11:43 remaining.

–Field Level Media

Filip Hronek had the first two-goal game of his career, Dylan Larkin supplied a goal and two assists and the visiting Detroit Red Wings beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 6-1 on Saturday.

Ben Chiarot, Dominik Kubalik and Tyler Bertuzzi also scored for Detroit, which has won two straight following a four-game winless streak. Moritz Seider contributed three assists, while Ville Husso made 27 saves as the Red Wings wrapped a four-game road trip.

Detroit scored six or more goals in back-to-back games for the first time since December 2008.

Emil Bemstrom scored the lone Columbus goal and Joonas Korpisalo recorded 31 saves. The Blue Jackets lost in regulation for the first time in five games.

Detroit cashed in on its first power play after Mathieu Olivier was penalized for cross checking. Larkin scored his eighth goal in front off a feed from David Perron, as Larkin’s shot trickled past Korpisalo’s pads. Seider picked up the second assist.

Columbus tied it during the opening minute of the second period. Boone Jenner skated into the Red Wings zone along the left side, then sent a pass across the crease to Bemstrom, who banged it home for his second goal. Johnny Gaudreau had the other assist.

Hronek put Detroit back on top with a shot from the slot after a battle for the puck behind the Blue Jackets’ net.

Chiarot made it 3-1 midway through the period with a slapshot from the left point off a pass from Lucas Raymond. Andrew Copp also collected an assist.

Hronek’s second goal of the period was set up by a Larkin pass. Hronek lifted a shot over Korpisalo’s left shoulder and the puck was lodged inside the crossbar. Seider notched the second assist.

With Olivier in the penalty box for elbowing Hronek, the Wings scored again early in the third period. Kubalik one-timed a shot from the right circle with Seider and Larkin once again collecting the assists.

Midway through the period, Bertuzzi scored his first goal of the season with assists from Copp and Raymond.

–Field Level Media

Alexandar Georgiev had 32 saves for his first shutout of the season and ninth of his career, Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and an assist and the visiting Colorado Avalanche beat the Washington Capitals 4-0 on Saturday night.

Artturi Lehkonen had a goal and an assist and Cale Makar and Andrew Cogliano also scored for Colorado, which has won the first two games of its three-game road trip.

Darcy Kuemper turned away 25 shots against his former team. Kuemper was in net when the Avalanche won the Stanley Cup in June.

The Capitals outshot Colorado 14-3 through most of the first period but took two minor penalties 34 seconds apart near the end of the frame. The Avalanche capitalized on the five-on-three advantage when Makar’s one-timer from the left circle beat Kuemper at 19:39.

It was his fourth goal of the season.

Washington continued to put pressure on Georgiev but he made a couple of big saves to keep Colorado in the lead. MacKinnon added to the advantage when he got the puck near the point along the left boards, stickhandled down to the left circle and wristed a shot through traffic that beat Kuemper under the crossbar on the far side at 13:14 of the second.

It was his fifth of the season.

The Capitals had a few prime scoring chances early in the third period. Georgiev made a glove save on Evgeny Kuznetsov on an odd-man rush at 2:33, and a few minutes later Anthony Mantha had a clear shot that was stopped by Georgiev.

The Avalanche took advantage of the good goaltending and expanded their lead moments later. Kuemper made a save on Jacob MacDonald’s slapshot from the left circle but couldn’t glove the puck. Instead, it bounced off Cogliano’s skate and trickled through the crease and in at 8:57.

It was his second goal of the season.

Lehkonen sealed it when he scored on a one-timer at 16:12, his sixth goal of the season and third in as many games.

–Field Level Media

David Pastrnak scored twice and Charlie McAvoy had a career-high four points, all assists, as the Boston Bruins defeated the visiting Chicago Blackhawks 6-1 on Saturday night.

Patrice Bergeron had a goal and an assist to move within one point of 1,000 in his career, while longtime linemate Brad Marchand added three assists.

Jake DeBrusk, David Krejci and Taylor Hall also scored for the Bruins, who have won their last six games and matched the NHL record with their 11-0-0 home-opening winning streak.

Boston, which had a 43-18 shots advantage and scored two power-play goals, led 1-0 after one period before scoring three times in the second and twice in the third.

Tomas Nosek is on a career-long point streak of five games after adding an assist.

Jeremy Swayman made 17 saves in his first start since a seven-game absence due to a lower-body injury.

Jonathan Toews scored Chicago’s goal and Petr Mrazek stopped 37 shots.

Pastrnak finished off a tenacious power-play sequence with the opening goal just 4:53 in, slipping home Marchand’s cross-ice feed through Mrazek’s five-hole from the right circle.

The Blackhawks did not have a shot until the 9:34 mark. Boston led 15-3 in shots in the period and could have had more than a 1-0 lead as Marchand and Pavel Zacha both hit the post.

Boston’s lead doubled when Bergeron whipped in McAvoy’s pass 4:28 into the second.

A power play just past the halfway mark helped Chicago get within 2-1 at 10:37. Toews was credited with a final redirect on Max Domi’s point shot. The goal originally belonged to Taylor Raddysh.

Boston then took command with two goals in the final minutes of the middle period.

With 1:50 to play, DeBrusk redirected Marchand’s pass in the goal crease for another power-play tally.

Krejci made it 4-1 when he finished off a tic-tac-toe exchange with A.J. Greer and McAvoy 1:08 later.

Pastrnak scored on a 2-on-1 with Nick Foligno with 8:48 left in the third.

Hall netted Boston’s final goal from just inside the blue line 2:03 before the buzzer.

–Field Level Media

William Nylander scored two goals, John Tavares had a goal and two assists, and the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the visiting Buffalo Sabres 5-2 Saturday night.

Calle Jarnkrok and Mark Giordano also scored for the Maple Leafs. Mitchell Marner added two assists. Matt Murray made 32 saves in his third consecutive start.

Alex Tuch and Casey Mittelstadt scored for the Sabres, who have lost eight in a row.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, making his first start this season, stopped 18 shots for Buffalo.

Toronto led 3-0 after the first period.

Tavares scored his 10th goal of the season on a power play at 12:58. It came on a deflection of a shot by Marner, who extended his points streak to 12 games with the assist. Morgan Rielly also assisted. Riley Sheahan was off for hooking.

Jarnkrok scored his fourth goal of the season at 17:27 on a 27-foot shot. Pierre Engvall and Rasmus Sandin assisted.

Giordano scored his first goal of the season at 18:21 while Toronto was short-handed. Marner set up the play and David Kampf also got an assist. The net was knocked off its moorings and the goal was initially disallowed, a call overturned by video review.

Toronto had a 12-8 advantage in shots on goal after one period.

Tuch scored his ninth goal of the season at 10:01 of the second period on a deflection during a power play. Dylan Cozens and Rasmus Dahlin earned assists. Auston Matthews was off for a check to the head.

Nylander knocked in a loose puck during a power play at 14:52 of the second. Tavares and Matthews had assists. Henri Jokiharju was off for slashing.

Buffalo led 20-17 in shots on goal after two periods.

Nylander scored his 10th goal of the season at 10:37 of the third period on a 10-foot backhand shot. Tavares picked up the assist.

Mittelstadt scored his fifth goal of the season on a power play at 15:07 of the third. Victor Olofsson and Owen Power had assists. Timothy Liljegren was off for boarding.

–Field Level Media