Vegas clinches playoff berth, Calgary now mathematically eliminated
LOS ANGELES — Anze Kopitar tied a career high with his 34th goal, Jonathan Quick made 23 saves and the Los Angeles Kings moved back into playoff position with a 3-0 win over the Calgary Flames on Monday night. Calgary was eliminated from playoff contention with the loss.
Dion Phaneuf had a goal and an assist for the Kings, who tied Anaheim for third place in the Pacific Division at 91 points. They also passed Colorado (90 points) and St. Louis (89) in the Western Conference wild-card race. Jeff Carter also had a power-play goal. Mike Smith stopped 26 shots for the Flames, who have been outscored 28-7 during a sixgame losing streak. Johnny Gaudreau was not in Calgary’s lineup after his father had a cardiac event on Monday.
GOLDEN KNIGHTS 4, AVALANCHE 1
LAS VEGAS — William Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault each scored to help the expansion Vegas Golden Knights clinch a playoff spot with a 4-1 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Monday night.
The Golden Knights became the first team to reach the playoffs in its inaugural season since the league expanded for the 1967-68 season.
It was also the 200th career victory for coach Gerard Gallant.
Alex Tuch and Shea Theodore also scored for Vegas, and Marc-Andre Fleury improved to 28-11-4 after stopping 28 shots.
The Golden Knights host San Jose on Saturday and are six points in front of the Sharks in the Pacific Division. San Jose beat Chicago in overtime earlier Monday.
CANADIENS 4, RED WINGS 2
MONTREAL — Brendan Gallagher scored twice, including his 30th goal of the season, and Carey Price snapped a seven-game losing streak as Montreal defeated skidding Detroit. Paul Byron and Alex Galchenyuk also scored for the Canadiens in a matchup of Original Six franchises already eliminated from playoff contention.
Price made 26 saves for his first win since Feb. 4. He had been 0-5-2 since then.
Gustav Nyquist and Tyler Bertuzzi scored for Detroit, and Jared Coreau stopped 27 shots in his fifth game of the season. He is 0-4-0.
The Red Wings have won just once in their last 14 games (1-12-1), hitting the skids after falling out of the playoff race.
SABRES 3, MAPLE LEAFS 2
TORONTO — Jack Eichel scored his second goal of the game midway through the third period to help last-place Buffalo end Toronto’s club-record home winning streak at 13 games.
Casey Nelson had the other goal for Buffalo, which got 39 saves from Chad Johnson to end a four-game slide. Zemgus Girgensons added two assists.
Patrick Marleau had a goal and an assist, and Nazem Kadri scored for Toronto. Frederik Andersen made 24 stops for the Leafs, who were also looking to set a franchise mark for victories in a season with 46.
Elsewhere on Monday, Alex Ovechkin scored his NHL-leading 45th goal as the Washington Capitals beat the Rangers 4-2.