The Edmonton Oilers finally ended their ugly 11-game losing skid, the Ottawa Senators rallied against the Vancouver Canucks, while the Winnipeg Jets lost a tough overtime contest to the Anaheim Ducks.
Here are three stories from Sunday night:
Oilers win at last
After enduring an 11-game losing streak (0-7-4) that dates all the way back to Nov. 11, the Oilers finally found their way back into the win column after a 2-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks.
The win stops the bleeding for the time being after what has been a very tumultuous season for the Oilers and their fans. The atmosphere surrounding the team became especially tense on Friday when general manager Craig MacTavish spoke at a press conference to point a finger squarely at his players and to deflect blame away from himself and coach Dallas Eakins.
In eight of those losses (four of which were decided in overtime) Edmonton was defeated by just one goal. At least on paper, that seems to point to some encouraging signs. On Sunday, the Oilers were finally on the right side of a one-goal game.
The Oilers also steered clear of some recent records for futility. The 2009 Columbus Blue Jackets went without a win in 14 consecutive games (0-10-4) as did the New York Islanders (0-11-3) in 2010.
Nail Yakupov opened the scoring on a power play with less than eight minutes into the second period. But less than two minutes later, Tye McGinn provided an equalizer for the Sharks.
David Perron, who has been critical of his team and also the subject of recent trade rumours, may have done himself a favour by delivering the game winner midway through the third period.
To some fans, the victory just seemed to good to be true.
And while Eakins was quick to express his relief over snapping the streak, netminder Ben Scrivens, who made 20 saves, was there to provide the voice of reason.
Edmonton's next game is against the Sharks in San Jose on Tuesday.
Senators rally against Canucks
The Canucks touched down in the nation's capital on Sunday to skate through the sixth game of their season-high, seven-game road trip.
Both the Canucks and Senators were attempting to bounce back from losses the previous night. Vancouver dropped a 5-2 decision in Toronto, while the Senators fell 3-2 to the Penguins in Pittsburgh. But it was the Senators who emerged victorious, producing a 4-3 OT win to snap a five-game winless streak.
In the early going, it appeared to be the Canucks who would get back on track. First-period goals by Radim Vrbata and Kevin Bieksa, along with a marker by Brad Richardson five minutes into the second staked Vancouver to a commanding 3-0 advantage.
But on a night when he was honoured by the NHL and his teammates for appearing in his 1,000th game, David Legwand helped swing the momentum back in Ottawa's favour with his fifth of the season when the Senators had a 5-on-3 advantage at the 10:53 mark of the second period.
Prior to Legwand's goal, Derek Dorsett and Senators bruiser Chris Neil were involved in a dust-up, one that didn't go well for the Canucks forward. The fight appeared to give the Senators of boost of energy.
From that point on, the Senators looked like a team on a mission. A pair of goals by Mika Zibanejad pulled the Senators even at 3-3 heading in the final 20 minutes.
With neither side able to pull ahead in the third period, it was Senators defenceman Erik Karlsson who provided the decisive marker just over a minute into the extra frame.
Kane thrown out in Jets' loss
The Jets salvaged a point from their afternoon meeting with the Ducks at MTS Centre, wrapping up their three-game homestand. The Ducks' Kyle Palmieri scored just 53 seconds into overtime to lift Anaheim to a 4-3 victory.
Perhaps the Jets would have benefited from the services of forward Evander Kane, who was ejected just before the end of the second period for checking Clayton Stoner from behind.
Tempers flared after the hit and even Stoner picked up a roughing penalty for his retaliation on Kane.
Kane has struggled this season, tallying four goals and six assists in 20 games.
After the Jets jumped out in front early in the second period, Jakob Silverberg and Ryan Kessler each found the net to give Anaheim a 3-2 lead.
Thanks to Jacob Trouba's fourth goal of the season, the Jets were able to force overtime, but from there, the final result was decided rather quickly.
Are you optimistic about the Oilers?
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