Cam Talbot made 27 saves to help the Minnesota Wild beat the Los Angeles Kings 3-1 on Friday night in Minneapolis.
Talbot was making his first appearance since Feb. 2, as he spent 2 1/2 weeks on the COVID-19 list before he was cleared last week.
Kirill Kaprizov, Nick Bjugstad and Joel Eriksson Ek scored on three straight shots in the first period for the Wild, who have won five in a row, combining for 23 goals in that streak.
Jeff Carter scored and Jonathan Quick made 27 saves for the Kings, who had their six-game winning streak snapped.
Rangers 6, Bruins 2
Colin Blackwell and Chris Kreider scored 12 seconds apart late in the second period and host New York rolled to a victory over Boston. Fans were in attendance at Madison Square Garden for the first time in nearly a year.
Ryan Strome had a goal and two assists for the Rangers, and Phillip Di Giuseppe, Jonny Brodzinski and Pavel Buchnevich also scored for New York. Alexandar Georgiev made 31 saves as the Rangers won for the third time in four games.
Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand scored for Boston, which followed up a 7-2 road loss to the New York Islanders on Thursday with its fourth defeat in five games. Tuukka Rask allowed a season-high six goals on 34 shots.
Avalanche 3, Coyotes 2
Goaltender Hunter Miska earned his first NHL victory, making 16 saves as Colorado defeated host Arizona in Glendale, Ariz.
Nazem Kadri had a goal and two assists for Colorado, which snapped its season-high two-game losing streak. Mikko Rantanen added a goal and an assist and Andre Burakovsky also scored for the Avalanche, who continue their four-game trip with the second half of a back-to-back at Arizona on Saturday.
Miska’s shutout bid ended with Phil Kessel’s backhanded goal with 1:36 remaining. Drake Caggiula scored with 52.9 seconds to go and it appeared the Coyotes might rally from a 3-0 deficit for the third consecutive game. But Miska was able to hold on for the victory, if not the shutout.
–Field Level Media
