PHILADELPHIA — Mika Zibanejad became the Rangers’ all-time leader in power-play goals and his three-goal performance tied the team record for most career hat tricks in New York’s 6-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday.

The 32-year-old Swede scored with a man advantage at 5:38 of the second period, giving him 117 power-play goals and moving him past Camille Henry and Chris Kreider, who each had 116 for New York.

Zibanejad’s first-period goal at 7:26 put the Rangers ahead to stay at 2-1 and he completed his scoring at 8:25 of the second, matching Bill Cook with nine career hat tricks with the Rangers.

Artemi Panarin added two goals and an assist, and Brennan Othmann also scored for the Rangers, who snapped a five-game skid. The Rangers, whose last victory came January 2 against Florida, had lost eight of their last nine games. J.T. Miller, Alexis Lafreniere and Vincent Trocheck each had two assists. Spencer Martin made 25 saves and earned his first win of the season.

Rangers coach Mike Sullivan earned his 500th coaching win. Sullivan was a two-time Stanley Cup winner in his 10-year tenure with the Penguins. He parted ways with Pittsburgh after missing the playoffs for a third straight season and was hired by New York in May, after Peter Laviolette was fired.

Travis Konecny, Travis Sanheim and Trevor Zegras each had a goal and an assist for the Flyers, who lost their sixth straight game. Samuel Ersson made 22 stops.

Flyers center Rodrigo Abols left the game in the first period with a lower-body injury and did not return. Abols appeared to catch his right foot in an odd position while battling along the boards and struggled to put weight on his right leg as he was helped off the ice

The Flyers were without Dan Vladar, Tyson Foerster (arm injury), Bobby Brink (upper-body injury) and Rasmus Ristolainen (upper-body injury for the game.

Up next

Rangers: At Anaheim on Monday for the second game of a four-game trip.

Flyers: At Vegas on Monday in the opener of a three-game trip.

NEW YORK — The NHL and NHL Players’ Association said in a joint statement Monday they are pleased that test events at the new hockey arena for the Milan Cortina Olympics were “a good trial run and provided important insight into the current status” of construction.

League and union officials were present at Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena over the weekend, as organizers put on games to test the ice surface while the process of finishing locker rooms and other facilities continues. Play is set to begin on the women’s side Feb. 5 and the men’s side Feb. 11.

“While challenges are inherent with new ice and a still-under-construction venue, we expect that the work necessary to address all remaining issues will continue around the clock,” they said in a statement said. “The NHL and NHLPA will continue to monitor the situation, standing ready to consult and advise on the work being done to ensure that the local organizing committee, the IOC, and the IIHF deliver a tournament and playing conditions befitting the world’s best players.”

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said the the test events went OK, from the reports he received, while acknowledging there is still more to be finished.

“There are still challenges because the building is still under construction and the ice is new,” Bettman said in Buffalo, New York, where he was to announce the Sabres are hosting the draft there in June. “We’ve been assured that, or we expect, that everything that needs to be done on a timely basis will get done. But, as you know, it’s not our event. We’re invited guests. But we’ve offered to help and consult and advise as they feel they need and would be appropriate because we do have a little bit of expertise in that area.”

Officials in Milan, including International Ice Hockey Federation President Luc Tardif, recently expressed confidence that NHL players will participate next month as scheduled. Concerns were mounting given that the rink had not yet been completed less than month before the start of the Games.

Bettman believes he’ll have a better idea of where things stand in Milan once he arrives.

“It’s always been important for our players to play best on best at the Olympics,” Bettman said. “That’s why we agreed to take the break and have them go. In the final analysis, that question has to get answered by the IOC and the IIHF.”

MILAN — Olympic organizers are “100%” confident the NHL won’t pull out of the Milan Cortina Games with the new ice hockey arena finally ready. Or almost.

Construction delays and other concerns about the Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena have drawn headlines for weeks ahead of the NHL returning to the Winter Olympics for the first time since 2014 and the women’s tournament opening on Feb. 5.

The NHL has expressed concern about the construction and quality of the ice surface. NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said last month in Winnipeg that the league would not send its players if there were any safety concerns.

When Andrea Francisi, the chief games operations officer for Milan Cortina, was asked on Friday how confident he was that NHL players would participate, he said, “100%, 100%.”

IOC sports director Pierre Ducrey echoed his sentiments.

“I’m very confident they will be here and it’s going to be extremely exciting,” Ducrey said. “We’re very excited they’re coming back; 12 years, there was a lot of work from a lot people to make sure this happens.

“So, yeah, you will have NHL players here in February and it is going to be amazing.”

The NHL is expected to release a statement at the end of its visit to the new arena, with a delegation at a long-awaited test event over the next three days.

The first match of the test event — the final league and cup games of the domestic season — was briefly delayed to fix what organizers said was a small hole in the ice.

A spokesperson from the Milan Cortina organizing committee told The Associated Press the ice master — Don Moffatt, who works for the Colorado Avalanche — was happy with the ice and reassured them that this was a completely normal occurrence that can happen the first time the ice is skated on.

Florian Wieser, who played in the game, posted to social media: “It was a small hole that was fixed in 5 minutes. Ice was really good, I was surprised how good it was and it will only get better.”

The original test event scheduled in December didn’t happen because of the construction delays. The one scheduled this weekend is less than a month out from the women’s competition.

On Friday, the arena was obviously far from complete — in a cosmetic sense at least.

Seats were missing and there was an abundance of plastic sheeting. But organizers said those were just “the finishing touches.”

“The next two days will be really very important because they will allow us, having three matches a day, to test exactly the days as they will be in the Olympics,” Francisi said.

On Monday, International Ice Hockey Federation President Luc Tardif said parts of the arena might not be fully finished on time.

Ducrey thinks there is “no chance at all” it won’t be ready for competition.

“(Tardif) will spend the three days here, he’s going to have an opportunity to see the plans, to see the hockey going on ... but from our perspective it’s clear,” Ducrey said. “We knew exactly where the venue would be at at this stage, and we are pleased with the progress.

“A lot more progress will be done so that we are absolutely ready for Games time.”

The men’s Olympic hockey tournament is scheduled from Feb. 11-22, the women’s from Feb. 5-19.

CHICAGO — Chicago Blackhawks forward Connor Bedard is back after missing 12 games with a right shoulder injury.

Bedard has been cleared to play on Friday night against Washington. The 20-year-old center participated in the team’s morning skate ahead of the matchup with the Capitals.

“It’s obviously a huge boost,” assistant coach Mike Vellucci said. “He’s a big part of our team and he was playing really well before he got injured. We’re excited to have him back.”

While Bedard is set to return, the Blackhawks could be missing a couple key players against the Capitals because of an illness going around the team. Captain Nick Foligno, forward Ilya Mikheyev, backup goaltender Arvid Soderblom and coach Jeff Blashill missed the morning skate.

Bedard got hurt on a draw with 0.8 seconds left in a 3-2 loss at St. Louis on Dec. 12. He ranked among the NHL leaders with 19 goals and 25 assists in 31 games at the time of the injury.

“I feel good,” Bedard said. “Obviously it’s no fun kind of waiting and not being able to play. So it’s exciting.”

Bedard and fellow center Frank Nazar were shelved during a stretch of 10 losses in 12 games for Chicago. But the Blackhawks have flourished of late, winning a season-high four in a row going into the Washington game.

“It’s an exciting time and for us just to keep that rolling and obviously keep stacking wins because every game’s so important,” Bedard said.

Nazar, who turns 22 on Wednesday, is skating again, but there has been no word on when he might return to the lineup. He was hit in the face by a puck during a 6-4 loss at Ottawa on Dec. 20.

Bedard was selected by Chicago with the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft. He missed part of his rookie season with a broken jaw, but he played in all 82 games last year.

“No one wants to have anything happen, but it’s part of the game,” Bedard said. “You just got to try to take that time to get better.”

Bedard’s fast start moved him into contention for a spot on Team Canada for the Winter Olympics. But he was left off the roster when it was announced last week.

Bedard still could make the trip to Italy if he is needed as an injury replacement.

Glenn Hall, a Hockey Hall of Famer whose ironman streak of 502 starts as a goaltender remains an NHL record, has died. He was 94.

Nicknamed “Mr. Goalie,” Hall worked to stop pucks at a time when players at his position were bare-faced, before masks of any kind became commonplace. He did it as well as just about anyone of his generation, which stretched from the days of the Original Six into the expansion era.

A spokesperson for the Chicago Blackhawks confirmed the team received word of Hall’s death from his family. A league historian in touch with Hall’s son, Pat, said Hall died at a hospital in Stony Plain, Alberta, on Wednesday.

Hall backstopped Chicago to the Stanley Cup in 1961 and won the Conn Smythe Trophy as most valuable player of the playoffs in 1968 with St. Louis when the Blues reached the final before losing to Montreal. He was the second of just six Conn Smythe winners from a team that did not hoist the Cup.

His run of more than 500 games in net is one of the most untouchable records in sports, given how the position has changed in the decades since. Second in history is Alec Connell with 257 from 1924-30.

“Glenn was sturdy, dependable and a spectacular talent in net,” Commissioner Gary Bettman said. “That record, set from 1955-56 to 1962-63, still stands, probably always will, and is almost unfathomable — especially when you consider he did it all without a mask.”

Counting the postseason, Hall started 552 games in a row.

Hall won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 1956 when playing for the Detroit Red Wings. After two seasons, he was sent to the Black Hawks along with legendary forward Ted Lindsay.

Hall earned two of his three Vezina Trophy honors as the league’s top goalie with Chicago, in 1963 and ’67. The Blues took him in the expansion draft when the NHL doubled from six teams to 12, and he helped them reach the final in each of their first three years of existence, while winning the Vezina again at age 37.

Hall was in net when Boston’s Bobby Orr scored in overtime to win the Cup for the Bruins in 1970, a goal that’s among the most famous in hockey history because of the flying through the air celebration that followed. He played one more season with St. Louis before retiring in 1971.

“His influence extended far beyond the crease,” Blues chairman Tom Stillman said. “From the very beginning, he brought credibility, excellence, and heart to a new team and a new NHL market.”

A native of Humboldt, Saskatchewan, Hall was a seven-time first-team NHL All-Star who had 407 wins and 84 shutouts in 906 regular-season games. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1975, and his No. 1 was retired by Chicago in 1988.

Hall was chosen as one of the top 100 players in the league’s first 100 years.

Blackhawks chairman and CEO Danny Wirtz called Hall an innovator and “one of the greatest and most influential goaltenders in the history of our sport and a cornerstone of our franchise.”

“We are grateful for his extraordinary contributions to hockey and to our club, and we will honor his memory today and always,” Wirtz said.

The Blackhawks paid tribute to Hall and former coach and general manager Bob Pulford with a moment of silence before Wednesday night’s game against St. Louis. Pulford died Monday.

A Hall highlight video was shown on the center-ice videoboard. The lights were turned off for the moment of silence, except for a spotlight on the No. 1 banner for Hall that hangs in the rafters at the United Center.

Fellow Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur, the league’s all-time leader in wins with 691 and games played with 1,266, posted a photo of the last time he saw Hall along with a remembrance of him.

“Glenn Hall was a legend, and I was a big fan of his,” Brodeur said on social media. “He set the standard for every goaltender who followed. His toughness and consistency defined what it meant to play.”

NEW YORK — Anthony Duclair recorded a hat trick for the first time in more than six years, Ilya Sorokin stopped all 44 shots he faced in his return from injury and the New York Islanders handed the New Jersey Devils a second consecutive defeat, routing them 9-0 on Tuesday night.

Back in the lineup after being a healthy scratch the past two games, Duclair scored three goals in a row during a stretch from 4:01 into the first period to 3:29 into the second and also had two assists for a five-point game. His fourth hat trick in the NHL was his first since Dec. 14, 2019, four teams ago when he was with the Ottawa Senators.

Sorokin was exceptional, showing no rust in his first game action since Dec. 19 as he became the franchise’s career shutout leader with his 26th. He had been out with what the Islanders called a nagging lower-body injury.

At the other end of the rink, Devils goaltender Jacob Markstrom allowed goals on the first two shots he faced — from Mathew Barzal and Duclair — and three on five, finishing with nine on 24. His teammates had little bounce back after losing at home to Carolina on Sunday in a game in which young defenseman Luke Hughes twice put the puck into his own net.

New Jersey has lost six of its past eight games. The Islanders have won two in a row and five of seven to keep pace with the Metropolitan Division-leading Hurricanes.

No. 1 pick and rookie of the year frontrunner Matthew Schaefer has points in four consecutive games. Schaefer, still playing sick after scoring the overtime winner Saturday night while battling the flu, had an assist on Barzal’s goal 62 seconds in.

Simon Holmstrom, Casey Cizikas, Tony DeAngelo and Cal Ritchie also scored for New York.

Up next

Devils: Visit Pittsburgh on Thursday night.

Islanders: Begin a seven-game road trip Thursday night at Nashville.

WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Winnipeg Jets defenseman Haydn Fleury was alert and moving his extremities after he was taken off the ice on a stretcher after a violent collision with the boards.

Fleury was checked in the chest by Vegas Golden Knights forward Keegan Kolesar in the first period Tuesday night and his back took the brunt of the hit behind the net.

Winnipeg’s bench emptied onto the ice in a show of support for Fleury as he was taken in an ambulance to a hospital.

After the game resumed, Winnipeg’s Adam Lowry fought Kolesar.

Fleury, a 29-year-old Canadian, is in his second season with the Jets. He previously played for Tampa Bay, Seattle, Anaheim and Carolina. Fleury has 10 career goals and 44 points.

FRISCO, Texas — Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn got stitches in his nose and isn’t expected to be with the team for its next couple of games after hitting his face on the ice in the last game.

Coach Glen Gulutzan said Benn was still being evaluated after he fell following contact with a Montreal player early in the third period of the Stars’ 4-3 overtime loss. Benn was bleeding while being helped off the ice and to the locker room, and he didn’t return to the game.

The Stars, who have a five-game losing streak, play their next six on the road.

Gulutzan said he didn’t expect Benn for the first part of that trip, at Carolina and the following night at Washington. But Gulutzan said the captain could join them for the West Coast portion of the stretch, which starts at San Jose.

Benn is one of only four NHL veteran players who don’t wear visors. They are grandfathered in from an NHL rule that went into place before the 2013-14 season requiring the facial protection.

The 36-year-old Benn, in his 17th NHL season and all with the Stars, has seven goals and seven assists in 23 games this season. He missed the first 19 games while recovering from a punctured lung he sustained in preseason.

MIAMI (AP) — Have a day, Mika Zibanejad.

He made Sweden’s Olympic team, had a hat trick and put together the first five-point NHL outdoor game in history, all in the span of a few hours, to help the New York Rangers beat the Florida Panthers 5-1 on Friday night in the Winter Classic — the first outdoor game played in the Sunshine State.

Artemi Panarin scored twice, Alexis Lafrenière had three assists and Igor Shesterkin stopped 36 shots for the Rangers, who improved to 6-0-0 when playing outdoors.

“I think it’s hard to grasp the whole day,” Zibanejad said. “But yeah, a great 12, 16 hours. It’s been a fun day.”

Sam Reinhart scored for Florida, which was playing outdoors for the first time and lost for the fourth time in its last six contests overall. The Panthers gave up goals to Zibanejad and Panarin 64 seconds apart late in the first period, giving New York a 2-0 lead, and the Rangers kept control the rest of the way.

Panthers coach Paul Maurice said the NHL deserved enormous credit for pulling off an event he called “spectacular.”

“A Southern setting (and) the ice was fine,” Maurice said. “The spectacle was incredible. It was just brilliant, the entire kind of weekend. ... I would imagine the Rangers really loved it. But for the losing coach, it was an incredible memory.”

Florida outshot New York 37-20 and had 38 hits to New York’s 20, but watched the Rangers block of its 27 shot attempts.

The star of the night was Zibanejad, who reached five points in a game for the fourth time.

“He’s one of our core players,” Rangers coach Mike Sullivan said. “We rely on him in so many circumstances out there on both sides of the puck.”

Zibanejad’s third goal was an empty-netter with 1:28 left. Rangers fans tried throwing hats to no avail; the seats were too far from the ice for any of them to get even close to the playing surface.

“We have amazing support wherever we go,” Zibanejad said.

The roof was open, as were the huge window panels behind what typically is left field at loanDepot Park — home of Major League Baseball’s Miami Marlins. There was some snow falling from the edges of the stadium, there were blasts of fire and after years of planning, there was hockey on a baseball field.

“Awesome experience,” Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad said. “Really happy I was able to able to experience something like this. Would have loved to get the win, but at the end of the day, a true first-class experience.”

Did it work? Outdoor ice typically doesn’t hold up with temperatures in the 60s, and there were some player complaints that the surface wasn’t conducive to speedy play. But it worked well enough for the Rangers, who were 4-6-3 in their last 13 games coming into Friday.

“These events are a lot more fun and a lot more memorable when you win,” Zibanejad said.

The temperature of 63 degrees Fahrenheit (17 Celsius) at game time was the second-warmest of any of the NHL’s 44 outdoor games that have counted in the standings. It was 2 degrees cooler than on Feb. 27, 2016, when Detroit beat Colorado at Denver’s Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies.

The Rangers — with a snow effect around their walkway — were called to the ice at 8:13 p.m. The Panthers — as fire shot skyward along their path — came out about a minute later. And that’s about when snowflakes began falling from the top of the stadium, as the roof continued opening.

There was another celebration before faceoff, when Rangers and Panthers players who will be part of the U.S. Olympic hockey team at the Milan Cortina Games next month were introduced. Panthers defenseman Seth Jones made the team earlier Friday, as did injured Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk.

Tkachuk placed an American flag over Jones’ shoulders and the crowd roared.

It was a spectacle, as expected. The Rangers showed up in all-white outfits, as if it was a beach day. The Panthers came with a “Miami Vice” theme, wearing white suits, pastel shirts and even showing up in Ferraris instead of a bus.

“If you would have asked me 25 years ago ... this might be the last place that I thought it would take place,” Sullivan said. “So, I just think it speaks volumes for technology and its advancements and the ability to put a sheet of ice down in this type of environment.”

Up next

Rangers: Host Utah on Monday.

Panthers: Host Colorado on Sunday.

DENVER — Nathan MacKinnon scored twice, including his 400th career goal, and Valeri Nichushkin netted his second NHL hat trick as the Colorado Avalanche beat the St. Louis Blues 6-1 on Wednesday night for their ninth straight win.

MacKinnon became the third player in franchise history to reach 400 goals and first to score them all for the Avalanche. Joe Sakic had 625 goals, the first 233 coming with the Quebec Nordiques before the team moved to Colorado. Michel Goulet is second in club history with 456, all for Quebec.

MacKinnon, who added two assists, leads the NHL with 34 goals. His 70 points were tied with Edmonton star Connor McDavid for most in the league.

Nichushkin scored twice during a four-goal barrage in the first 4:39 of the game and finished with three goals. Brock Nelson scored later on a power play for Colorado, and Mackenzie Blackwood turned away 12 shots.

Colorado has won 15 straight at home, where it is 17-0-2, and has just two regulation losses (30-2-7) this season. The Avalanche’s 69 points tied the 1929-30 Boston Bruins for the most through 39 games.

Jordan Binnington allowed four goals on the first eight shots he faced and finished with 37 saves. Dalibor Dvorsky scored for St. Louis, which has dropped two straight. The Blues’ 13 shots on goal were a season low.

Nichushkin made it 1-0 a minute in, and MacKinnon scored his first of the game at 3:13. Nichushkin got his second of the night 13 seconds later, and MacKinnon’s slap shot 1:13 after that capped the early scoring.

It was the fastest four goals to start a game in franchise history and third in NHL history.

Nelson, who got his 300th career assist on Nichushkin’s first goal, scored midway through the game. Nichushkin scored 1:34 after Dvorsky spoiled Blackwood’s shutout bid with his sixth of the season.

Up next

Blues: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday night.

Avalanche: At the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night.