Montreal's Thomas Fleischmann contributed two goals and an assist as the Canadiens continued their strong start to the NHL season by beating Winnipeg 5-1 Sunday. The Canadiens improved to 12-2 and, at this early part of the season, they are already eight points clear atop the Atlantic Division, ahead of Tampa Bay, which ended a four-game skid with a narrow win at Carolina. Paul Byron, David Desharnais and Lars Eller also scored for the Canadiens, who have a perfect record from five home games. Chris Thorburn scored for sole goal for Winnipeg. Jets goaltender Michael Hutchison lasted less than half the game after giving up four goals on just nine shots. Lightning 4, Hurricanes 3: A rare offensive outburst carried the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 4-3 victory against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena. Steven Stamkos, Ryan Callahan, J.T. Brown and Tyler Johnson scored for the Lightning, who snapped a four-game winless streak. Tampa Bay goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, who joined the Lightning for the first time this season after September surgery for a blood clot, made 32 saves in his first NHL appearance of the season. Sharks 4, Avalanche 3: Brent Burns had two goals, including the game winner with 1:39 remaining, and San Jose beat Colorado. Martin Jones stopped 23 shots and Joel Ward and Joe Pavelski also scored for the Sharks, who won for just the second time in the last seven games. Dennis Everberg, Francois Beauchemin and Jarome Iginla also scored for the Avalanche. Sabres 2, Islanders 1: Sam Reinhart scored with 6:16 remaining in the third period to lift Buffalo to a come-from-behind victory against the New York Islanders at Barclays Center. Trailing 1-0 entering the third period, Matt Moulson and Reinhart scored to give the Sabres their third win in four games. Linus Ullmark stopped 28 shots for his second win of the season. Calvin de Haan scored for the Islanders, who were without leading scorer John Tavares for the second straight game. Thomas Greiss turned aside 20 shots in a losing effort. Ducks 4, Predators 2: An early three-goal outburst led Anaheim to a win over Nashville. Chris Stewart accumulated a goal and two assists as the Ducks broke a five-game losing streak. Rickard Rakell and Sami Vatanen each added a goal and an assist, and Frederik Andersen made 40 saves for his first win of the season. Shea Weber and Calle Jarnkrok scored for the Predators, who lost for the third time in four games after winning six of their first seven. — Agencies
