The Vegas Golden Knights remained one of the hottest teams in the NHL with Saturday's 4-3 overtime win on the road, despite dealing with a string of injuries.

Vegas' victory over the Edmonton Oilers was their eighth win in nine, pulling them clear atop the Pacific Division in the process.

The close-fought battle saw the Oilers equalise on three separate occasions after falling behind to goals from Jack Eichel, Pavel Dorofeyev and Jonathan Marchessault, before Nicholas Roy put home the winner 2:26 into overtime.

Vegas were missing goaltender Logan Thompson and veteran winger Reilly Smith through recent injuries, adding to a longer list of unavailable players, but they figured out how to keep getting it done, becoming the first team in NHL history to win four games in a row with four different goaltenders.

Head coach Bruce Cassidy pointed to his team's "next man up" mentality, calling it a "good road win", while veteran defenseman Brayden McNabb added it was even better to get it done against a close division rival.

"It's a big win, a big road trip. They were sneaking up on us [in the standings]," he said, with the Oilers having won their previous five games.

"It felt a little bit like a playoff game, for sure. They're a great team, they've got a lot of dangerous skill, for sure, but for the most part we played pretty well and buried some chances.

"We've had injuries throughout the year, but guys are prepared and ready to step in. We've got great depth and great goaltending, and it showed tonight."

The result leaves Vegas on 98 points for the season, also leading the Western Conference ahead of the Los Angeles Kings (94), the Minnesota Wild (93), the Dallas Stars (92) and the Oilers (91) with nine games remaining.

Boston Bruins coach Jim Montgomery hailed his side for rising to the challenge of a tough schedule to beat the Montreal Canadiens.

A 4-2 win at TD Garden marked a fifth consecutive victory for the Bruins and saw the team hit the 55-win mark, their second-highest all-time total behind only the 57 wins secured by the 1970-71 side.

The Bruins' fine run has highlighted their resilience, having endured a two-game skid prior to their current streak, with no side in the NHL currently having a longer win streak.

Having already secured their playoff berth, the Bruins are looking to maintain their momentum heading into the postseason and Montgomery was delighted by the result, though admitting his team were not at their best.

"Happy that we got the two points. It's a tough league to win in," he told reporters after Thursday's win. "I know we've won a lot this year, but it really is.

"With the schedule as challenging as it is right now – we're playing four games a week, and it's four in six nights consecutively for five weeks – we're not going to have the most energy we usually do have.

"I don't think we skated very well tonight, but it's understandable at times. You've got to give credit to those guys. We find a way to win hockey games.

"It's not an easy league to win in, and we find ways to do it. That's the positive side of things."

David Pastrnak was again on form for the Bruins, hitting his 49th goal of the season to represent his best campaign and tie him with Ken Hodge for eighth-highest scorer all-time for the Bruins with 289.

The 26-year-old was not focused on his display, however, and simply enjoyed the rivalry clash against the Canadiens.

"This is the kind of game where the only thing you think about is getting the win," Pastrnak said.

"These games against Montreal never get old. It doesn't really matter where in the standings each team is. It brings so much history.JI

"It's a big win. When Montreal and the Bruins play, both teams are gonna play hard."

The Carolina Hurricanes secured their first back-to-back 100-point seasons in franchise history on Tuesday as they scored three in the third period to defeat the New York Rangers 3-2 on the road.

With the victory, the Hurricanes improved their record to 46-15-8 – trailing only the 54-11-5 Boston Bruins for the league's top mark – and 69 games is the fewest needed to reach 100 points in franchise history.

Adding to their historic night, Carolina set another franchise record with their 10th third-period comeback of the season.

Despite the action-packed finish, it was a defensive grind through two periods as an early goal from New York's Tyler Motte was the only score heading into the last.

Jalen Chatfield equalised nine minutes into the third period, but Kaapo Kakko put the Rangers back in front 2-1 just 31 seconds later.

The hectic scoring sequence was not over, as Stefan Noesen made it 2-2 only 18 seconds after the restart, setting up Teuvo Teravainen for the Hurricanes' winner with 2:33 remaining.

Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind'Amour said he was inspired by the way his team refused to drop their heads after going down.

"I thought it was a great effort, right from the start," he told reporters. "We didn't come off of it. We had a game plan and the guys knew what we needed to do. 

"They've got a high-offense team, so we were trying to limit their chances. Everybody – all 20 guys – contributed in this win. 

"Even though it wasn't looking good for most of the game, we were down, then we tied it up and they got another right away, I just loved the way we [shook it off], next shift. 

"It was great to tie it up and then get the late one. We got what we deserved tonight, for sure."

Offseason acquisition Brent Burns also got in on the history-making fun, adding to his franchise record for points by a defenseman (53) with the game-winning assist, and he pointed to Brind'Amour's system as the catalyst for his terrific year.

"The system has been great," he said. "We play with a deep team and we just roll. It's been a lot of fun. 

"I've said it before, but it's a great group, and a special group. It's been a lot of fun to try and come in and find a place."

Chatfield pointed to how previous comebacks have given the Hurricanes "more confidence" when faced with difficult situations, and they trust what they are doing as a unit.

"We know what we've got in this locker room, and we know how we want to play every night," he said.

"To be able to match up against these guys, another great team, [is great]. We lost the first two to them, so to be able to get this one feels nice. We just have to keep going from there."

Evander Kane underlined his value to the Edmonton Oilers with a hat-trick in their 6-4 win over the Seattle Kraken but he was more pre-occupied with what the victory meant to their playoffs hopes.

The Western Conference playoff chase is tight, with the Oilers edging ahead of the Kraken into third in the Pacific Division with Saturday's victory where they scored twice in every period in Seattle.

Edmonton are 39-23-8 on the back of three straight wins, just ahead of the Kraken (38-24-7) in the final automatic playoff spot from the Pacific Division. The Las Vegas Golden Knights (42-21-6) and Los Angeles Kings (40-20-9) lead the division.

Kane's hat-trick came from only three shots, marking his second three-goal performance of the season and fifth in his past 49 appearances.

"It's nice to help contribute to an important win," Kane said. "Big points with the division so tight.

"This is probably the tightest I've seen it with respect to the entire conference, both divisions, where you can literally be in first place in the Western Conference, or you could be in a Wild Card spot within a matter of a week. It's still tight.

"There are still very important games down the stretch left to be played, and I think it's a great opportunity for our group to enjoy that type of challenge and get you ready for the post-season."

"I've been in and out of the line-up with injuries all year, so just trying to get into some rhythm heading into the playoffs, and tonight definitely helps that."

Kane has only played in 29 of the Oilers' 70 games this campaign due to injuries, with coach Jay Woodcroft delighted to see him back at close to his best.

"Happy for him," Woodcroft said. "He's a warrior. He plays through injuries. He's just getting up and running again just because of his injuries and whatnot.

"It's kind of been a start-and-stop season for him, but he's been all around the puck in any game that he's played and for three to go in for him tonight, I was happy for him."

Kane's return to form and fitness has aided star man Connor McDavid, who had a goal and two assists, bringing up 134 points for the season.

"That's part of my job is to be productive for this group," Kane said. "Obviously we have two of the best players in the world, but they can't carry a team and win a championship. You need everyone pulling their weight.

"I've been in and out of the line-up with injuries all year, so just trying to get into some rhythm heading into the playoffs, and tonight definitely helps that."

McDavid's 134 points are the seventh-most points by a player in the past 30 years, while his performance was his 20th three-point game of the season.

Zach Hyman also added a goal and an assist, recording his first 30-goal season. He is the fourth Oilers player to reach that mark this season, the first time the franchise has achieved that since 1989-90.

Dallas Stars coach Peter DeBoer was thrilled with his team's efforts after Monday's 5-2 victory saw them sweep their two-game road series against the Seattle Kraken.

It took less than six minutes for the Stars to jump ahead by two, with Evgenii Dadonov's early opener followed shortly after by Jamie Benn's power-play goal.

The power-play unit consisting of Benn, Joe Pavelski and Jason Robertson were dynamic, as Pavelski and Robertson assisted Benn's goal, before Benn turned provider for Pavelski early in the second period, and Benn nabbed another assist when he set up Robertson for the third power-play goal of the night to seal things.

Stars center Wyatt Johnson – who assisted the opener and scored his side's fourth goal – highlighted the impact of getting such incredible production from their power-plays.

"It's huge," he said. "Especially when you're on the road – just getting like three goals on the power play, it's always, always a big help."

Coach DeBoer called it "an important four points" as the Stars hold onto a three-point buffer atop the Central division, and sit one point behind the Vegas Golden Knights in the race for the top seed in the Western Conference.

"You look at the standings and we're in a fight for first in the division, first in the conference," he said. "[Seattle are] in a battle for playoff positioning. 

"They've been playing great all year, so this was a real test for us coming in here for two games and I thought our group really responded."

On the other side, the Kraken blew a golden opportunity to establish themselves as one of the West's top sides, getting leapfrogged by Dallas, the Minnesota Wild and the Los Angeles Kings during their current three-game losing streak.

"Bottom line, we didn't get job done," Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said. "At the end of the day that's what matters.

"We've been a group that's been able to turn the page and go back to the next job at hand. This group has to be able to do that again."

Vegas Golden Knights center Jonathan Marchessault hailed goaltender Jonathan Quick after recording his first shutout for his new side in Saturday's 4-0 win over the Carolina Hurricanes.

Quick only joined VGK earlier this month via trade from the Columbus Blue Jackets, making 33 saves in the win where they scored in every period from Marchessault, Reilly Smith, Paul Cotter and Brett Howden goals.

The veteran goaltender is 3-0-0 since joining the Golden Knights, playing his part as the Hurricanes were shut out for the first time since November 23.

"Quick was unbelievable tonight," Marchessault told reporters. "We're able to get him the shutout. That's something the team should be really proud to do for him.

"It's easy to get a guy like that going in your locker room. He's such a good veteran. He's been around for a long time and we're lucky to have him."

The win was 40-20-6 Vegas' fifth from their past six games, while it snapped the Hurricanes' four-game winning streak, leaving them 43-13-8.

Marchessault added: "I thought we were pretty good. They had a strong first period but I thought we kept a lot of their chances to the outside. Definitely a lot of positives today."

The result sees VGK improve their record to 40-20-6 to remain top of the Pacific Division, clinching their second win in the third game of their five-game road trip.

The Golden Knights won 4-3 in overtime at the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday, having lost 2-1 to the Florida Panthers on Tuesday, with games against the St Louis Blues and Philadelphia Flyers to come.

"That's a pretty tough road trip," Marchessault said. "To get two wins out of those three teams is really good for our group.

"We've got a few guys down so we need guys to step up which is what we're doing now.

"We've got to be ready to go back out there tomorrow and do the same thing."

The Colorado Avalanche failed another test against an NHL playoff contender, losing 5-2 to the Los Angeles Kings to leave head coach Jared Bednar frustrated.

The Kings recorded their fifth straight win, improving their record to 38-20-8 to sit second in the Pacific Division.

But the Avs are third in the Central Division with a 35-21-6 record, having lost four of their past five games, all against sides in the playoffs contention.

"There's another level of determination and passion that we can play with, if we want to win against the good teams," Bednar told reporters.

"It's deflating, because you feel like you're right there and you know they're a difficult team to score against."

Adrian Kempe opened the scoring in the first period and Gabriel Vilardi doubled their advantage at 17:10.

Evan Rodrigues halved the deficit, deflecting in Samuel Girard's point shot at 14:59 of the second period. But Kempe restored the Kings' two-goal lead early in the third.

Nathan MacKinnon made it 3-2 with a snap shot at 4:24 on the power play, only for Phillip Danault to score twice to seal victory for the Kings, the latter into an empty net.

Avs defenseman Cale Makar reiterated Bednar's sentiment, with Colorado's postseason hopes getting tight.

"We should have approached this like a playoff game tonight," Makar said. "Felt like we knew the type of team they are.

"We know that they're so systematically sound that it tends to frustrate teams when they sit back and don't allow you to get in their zone."

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