Dallas Stars left wing Jason Robertson (21) scores against Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Dennis Hildeby (35) and defenseman Jake McCabe (22) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)Lm Otero/The Associated Press
Jason Robertson scored his first goal in 10 career games against Toronto, the last team he had not scored against, and Jake Oettinger made 27 saves for his 16th win as the Dallas Stars beat the Maple Leafs 5-1 on Sunday night.
Sam Steel’s score early in the third period was the winning goal for the Stars, who have won four consecutive games. Jamie Benn, Mavrik Bourque and Justin Hryckowian also scored for Dallas.
Scott Laughton scored for the Leafs, who head home following an 0-3-0 road trip, the last two losses in back-to-back games.
Robertson gave Dallas a 1-0 lead late in the first period with his 23rd goal, tied for third in the league.
Oettinger is tied for the most goaltender wins in the NHL and earned his first assist this season on Bourque’s empty-net goal.
Dennis Hildeby stopped 16 shots for the Leafs, with No. 1 goalie Joseph Woll playing Saturday night in the 5-3 loss at Nashville.
Oettinger thwarted Toronto’s best early scoring chance midway through the first period after Auston Matthews poked the puck away from Thomas Harley just inside the Stars’ blue line and skated in alone. Matthews shot high glove side, and Oettinger made a swiping save.
The Leafs had three serious scoring threats in the closing seconds of the second period following another Stars turnover near their net. Oettinger stopped shots by Troy Stecher and Laughton from close range, and then Simon Benoit’s attempt was blocked by Harley.
It was Dallas’ first home win against Toronto since Jan. 31, 2017, snapping an 0-6-1 streak.
It was Robertson’s first win in six games in which his younger brother, Nick, has played for the Maple Leafs.
Toronto’s league-worst power play went 0 for 4, falling to 12 for 90 (13.3 per cent).
Up next
Maple Leafs: Host Pittsburgh on Tuesday.
Stars: Take an NHL-best 13-2-4 road record to Detroit on Tuesday.
– The Associated Press
Senators pick up fourth straight win, downing Bruins
Fabian Zetterlund scored two goals, Tim Stützle and Dylan Cozens scored 19 seconds apart in the second period and the Ottawa Senators beat the Boston Bruins 6-2 on Sunday night for their fourth straight victory.
Drake Batherson and Claude Giroux each had a goal in the first when the Senators opened a quick 3-0 edge. Batherson and Cozens each had two assists and former Bruins goalie Linus Ullmark made 17 saves in a game that ended with a few late scraps.
Bruins starting goaltender Joonas Korpisalo was pulled after giving up five goals on 17 shots. Jeremy Swayman replaced him and finished with 10 saves. It was Boston’s second loss at home in two days after falling in a shootout against Vancouver.
David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy scored for the Bruins.
Playing a day after rallying to beat Chicago at home, the Senators built their 3-0 lead in the opening 16:47.
After Pastrnak’s power-play goal late in the first period, Ottawa pushed to 5-1 just seven minutes into the second the two quick scores from Stutzle and Cozens. Boston coach Marco Sturm then lifted Korpisalo.
The Bruins were 8-1-1 following a loss their previous 10 times.
Stützle outhustled Pavel Zacha in front before pushing the puck into the net to make it 4-1 and Cozens scored on a shot from the right point.
In the opening period, Batherson fired a wrister from the slot that Korpisalo seemed to miss trying to make a glove save just 90 seconds into the game.
Batherson outworked Bruins defenceman Andrew Peeke, battling for a loose puck in front of the crease before kicking it over to Giroux, who pushed it into the net with 6:16 left in the first.
Zetterlund then scored on a shot that didn’t seem to have much of an opening before slipping between Korpisalo’s right arm and the near post with 3:13 left in the period.
Skating with a two-man advantage, Pastrnak’s one-timer beat Ullmark with 53 seconds to go in the first,
Up Next
Senators: Host Buffalo Tuesday night.
Bruins: Face Montreal Tuesday to close a five-game homestand.
– The Associated Press
Jets fall to Mammoth 4-3 with quick OT goal
Clayton Keller scored 13 seconds into overtime and the Utah Mammoth beat the Winnipeg Jets 4-3 on Sunday.
Lawson Crouse, JJ Peterka and Alexander Kerfoot also scored for Utah, and Karel Vejmelka stopped 22 shots. The Mammoth won for the second time in three games.
Kyle Connor had two goals and Morgan Barron also scored for Winnipeg, which lost its fourth straight (0-2-2) and has just three wins in their last 16 games (3-10-3). Connor Hellebuyck had 18 saves.
Keller’s blast down the middle in overtime helped the Mammoth win after allowing two late third-period goals.
Crouse got the Mammoth on the board at 5:20 of the first after slapping the puck over Hellebuyck’s shoulder. Peterka’s 14th goal of the season extended Utah’s lead at 9:31 when he tipped in the puck off Keller’s pass into the post.
Kerfoot put the Mammoth up 3-0 at 3:01 of the second on a one-timer past Hellebuyck’s outstretched glove. It was his first of the season in just his second game back on the ice after missing Utah’s first 35 games with an injury.
Winnipeg finally got on board when Connor scored a power-play goal with 8:42 remaining in the second. He then blasted a one-timer with 4:37 left in the third to cut the deficit to one.
Barron came up with the equalizer 25 seconds later when he sneaked behind Utah’s defence and beat Vejmelka glove side.
Up Next
Jets: Host the Minnesota Wild on Saturday.
Mammoth: Visit the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday.
– The Associated Press
Penguins defeat Canadiens 4-3 in shootout
Sidney Crosby broke Mario Lemieux’s franchise scoring record and Rickard Rakell had the deciding goal in the shootout as the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-3 on Sunday night to snap an eight-game losing streak.
Crosby, who began the night one point behind Lemieux, broke the mark in the first period with a goal and an assist and now has 645 goals and 1,079 assists for 1,724 points in 1,387 games. He also moved past Lemieux for the eighth-most points in NHL history.
Crosby, who has 20 goals this season, achieved his 18th 20-goal season. Only six players in NHL history have more.
Rakell had a goal and an assist in regulation and Noel Acciari also scored for the Penguins. Arturs Silovs had 23 saves for his first win since Nov. six against Washington.
Oliver Kapanen, Ivan Demidov and Noah Dobson scored for the Canadiens, who saw a brief two-game win streak end. Montreal is 4-1-2 since a 6-1 loss against Tampa Bay on Dec. 9. Jakub Dobes had 28 saves.
Kevin Hayes also scored for the Penguins in the shootout and Cole Caulfield tallied for the Canadiens. After Rakell gave Pittsburgh the lead in the third round, Silovs denied Nick Suzuki on Montreal’s final attempt.
Pittsburgh, which is 1-4-4 in its last nine games, rebounded from consecutive shutout losses at Ottawa on Thursday and Montreal on Saturday. The Penguins won their first shootout this season.
Phillip Danault, who was traded to Montreal from Los Angeles on Friday, didn’t play on Sunday and is expected to play Tuesday at Boston.
Pittsburgh led 3-2 entering the third period, but Dobson tied it with a backhand from the slot.
Crosby tipped Erik Karlsson’s point shot at 7:58 of the first period for a goal to tie the game and the record. Crosby then broke the mark with 7:20 left in the period when his shot on a power play hit Bryan Rust and Rakell tapped the rebound behind Dobes.
Crosby also passed Phil Esposito 449 for sole possession of the ninth-most even-strength goals in NHL history. He also tied Adam Oates for the eighth-most assists in NHL history in the first period.
Up Next
Canadiens: Visit the Boston Bruins on Tuesday.
Penguins: Visit the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday.
– The Associated Press
Oilers held on for a 4-3 victory over Golden Knights
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had two goals and an assist and Connor McDavid had a goal and two helpers as the Edmonton Oilers held on for a 4-3 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday.
Zach Hyman also scored and had an assist and Leon Draisaitl had two assists for the Oilers (18-13-6) who have won three of their last four and have gone 7-2-1 in their last 10 games. Edmonton is now 15-1-3 when scoring first this season.
Tomas Hertl, Pavel Dorofeyev and Mitch Marner replied for the Golden Knights (16-8-10) who have lost three straight. Noah Hanifin had three assists for the visitors.
Connor Ingram made 26 saves for the win in his Oilers debut and first NHL game of the season, while Carter Hart managed 17 stops in the loss for Vegas.
Golden Knights’ veteran forward Mark Stone, who has 27 points in just 18 games this season and had at least one point in each of his first 14 outings this season, was held without a point for just the second time this season – the second pointless game in his last four outings.
Edmonton’s dynamic duo is on fire at the moment as the two top point-getters in the league in December. McDavid extended his points streak to 10 games with 26 points (12G, 14A) during that span. Draisaitl has points in nine of his last 10 games, scoring an uncharacteristically low two goals, but with 19 assists for 21 points during the recent run.
The Oilers went up 4-0 with 12:15 to play in the middle frame as Darnell Nurse dropped it back to Hyman in the slot and he lifted a backhand past Hart for his ninth goal of the season.
Both starting goalies are veterans whose NHL futures have been very much in doubt in recent months. Ingram played for Utah last season before entering the NHL/NHLPA Players Assistance Program in March of 2025. He has been attempting a comeback and has been with Edmonton’s AHL affiliate in Bakersfield, where he has an underwhelming 4-5-2 record with a 4.04 GAA and .856 save percentage. Hart, from the Edmonton suburb of Sherwood Park, became the first of the five Team Canada players – who were facing sexual assault charges from the 2018 World Junior Championships before being acquitted – to play a game in Canada. His NHL suspension was lifted in December, and he entered the game with a 3-0-2 record with Vegas.
Up Next
Golden Knights: Host the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday.
Oilers: Host the Calgary Flames on Tuesday.
– The Canadian Press