National Hockey

TORONTO — Curtis McElhinney was doing the usual work of a backup goalie at the end of the Toronto Maple Leafs bench midway through the second period Wednesday. Moments later — and to almost everyone's surprise — he was in the middle of the action.

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota Wild defenceman Jared Spurgeon will miss a minimum of four weeks due to a partial tear of his right hamstring, a big blow to a team trying to maintain control of a playoff spot with 12 regular-season games to go.

DENVER — Nathan MacKinnon's name frequently gets mentioned among the best players in the game this season.

DETROIT — The Vegas Golden Knights turned their expansion season into a special one by making a lot of good decisions. Like the addition of goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Adin Hill found out via text message on his way to Gila River Arena that he was starting in net Tuesday night. Hours later, he finished his day on a high note.

RALEIGH, N.C. — David Pastrnak scored three of Boston's five goals in the final 10 minutes for his first career hat trick, and the Bruins stunned the Carolina Hurricanes by rallying for a 6-4 victory Tuesday night.

CALGARY — After challenging his team to be better, Mike Smith went out and led by example.

TAMPA, Fla. — On a Florida road trip against two streaking teams, the Ottawa Senators have been no pushovers at all.

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Nathan MacKinnon and the Colorado Avalanche will be sorry not to see the Minnesota Wild on the schedule anymore during the regular season. MacKinnon scored his 33rd goal of the season, J.T.

MONTREAL — A high-intensity hockey game between the Dallas Stars and Montreal Canadiens took a turn for the worse in the third period when Andrew Shaw left the game with an injury.