Rangers, Devils and Islanders win; Buffalo salvages a shootout point

Alexis Lafrenière and Kyle Palmieri each scored twice, Jack Hughes delivered an overtime winner, and Buffalo took a point from a night spent defending far more shots than it generated. The Rangers, Devils and Islanders won Tuesday. The Sabres lost in a shootout. Together, the four regional clubs collected seven of eight available standings points.

The results were Rangers 4, Lightning 1; Devils 5, Red Wings 4 in overtime; Islanders 3, Canucks 2; and Canadiens 4, Sabres 3 in a shootout. Those scores do not describe four versions of the same game. New York won both of its games in regulation. New Jersey needed an extra-period goal. Buffalo needed its goaltender to keep a 21-shot deficit from becoming a regulation loss.

Two-goal nights give New York its margin

Lafrenière's two goals supplied half the Rangers' offense. Will Cuylle and Mika Zibanejad scored the others, and Dylan Garand stopped 25 of 26 shots. Tampa Bay outshot the Rangers 26-23, yet finished three goals behind. That is a useful reminder to separate shot volume from finishing and saves, not evidence by itself that one team owned every important chance.

The Islanders had the opposite shot pattern: a 38-26 advantage over Vancouver. Palmieri scored twice, Matias Maccelli added a goal and an assist, and Matthew Schaefer recorded two assists. Ilya Sorokin saved 24 of 26 shots. New York's larger shot total translated into a one-goal regulation win, with Palmieri accounting for two-thirds of the goals.

An overtime answer, a shootout escape

New Jersey outshot Detroit 37-27 but needed Hughes' overtime goal to secure its second point. Hughes finished with a goal and two assists. Jesper Bratt also had three points, a goal and two assists. The Devils scored five a night after Ottawa held them to one. That is a verified offensive rebound, not yet proof that one game has resolved their consistency questions.

Buffalo was outshot 38-17 in Montreal. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 35 saves through regulation and overtime, while Olen Zellweger scored twice and Josh Norris added the Sabres' other goal. The NHL's 4-3 final includes Montreal's deciding shootout goal. Luukkonen's regulation-and-overtime line remains three goals allowed on 38 shots; the shootout does not turn that into four on 39.

The shared takeaway is points, not a blanket claim of regional dominance. The Rangers and Islanders earned the full two without overtime. The Devils found their extra-period winner. Buffalo preserved one point despite the night's widest regional shot deficit. The original comparison keeps all four outcomes visible without treating a shootout result as an ordinary fourth goal.