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Spurred by Mats Zuccarello’s three-point game, the New York Rangers clinched at least the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with their first win at Madison Square Garden since February 19, a 4-3 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers.
Zuccarello assisted on second-period goals by Mika Zibanejad and Brendan Smith, his first as a Ranger, and a third-period tally by Oscar Lindberg.
Chris Kreider added his team-high 28th goal midway through the third period while Henrik Lundqvist made 20 saves.
Rookie Anthony Stolarz made 20 saves for the Flyers, who were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention with the loss. Valtteri Filppula scored twice and Brayden Schenn once for Philadelphia.
Blues 4, Predators 1
David Perron scored a goal and had two assists and Jake Allen made 35 saves as St Louis beat Nashville.
Vladimir Tarasenko, Alexander Steen and Joel Edmundson also scored for the Blues, who improved to 7-0-2 over their last nine games. Ryan Johansen scored and Juuse Saros made 21 saves for the Predators, who were playing their fifth game in seven days.
St. Louis is third in the Central Division with 93 points with four games left. Nashville has 91 points and is in the second Western Division wild-card slot with three games left.
Islanders 4, Sabres 2
Anders Lee scored two third-period goals as New York defeated Buffalo to keep pace in the Eastern Conference wild-card race.
Cal Clutterbuck and rookie Josh Ho-Sang also scored and Jaroslav Halak made 35 saves for the Islanders, who remained five points behind the Ottawa Senators for the eighth and final Eastern Conference wild-card spot with four games remaining.
Evander Kane and Zemgus Girgensons scored for the Sabres. Robin Lehner stopped 22 shots.
Bruins 3, Blackhawks 2
Patrice Bergeron, Ryan Spooner and Kevan Miller each scored, leading Boston over Chicago.
The outcome provided a critical boost for the Bruins, who leapfrogged the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators to move into second place in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference.
The Bruins are looking to return to the playoffs for the first time since the 2013-14 campaign.
Penguins 3, Hurricanes 2
Pittsburgh scored twice on the power play and once in each period to beat Carolina for the seventh time in a row.
Conor Sheary, Jake Guentzel and Scott Wilson scored for the Penguins while Matt Murray made 33 saves and became the 13th rookie goalie to reach 30 wins since the 1967-68 expansion.
Pittsburgh moved one point ahead of Columbus for second place in the Metropolitan Division.
Lightning 6, Stars 3
Trailing late in the second period of a must-win game, Tampa Bay rallied for four straight goals and held on for a win over Dallas, keeping its postseason hopes alive.
Rookie Adam Erne scored twice as the Lightning picked up two points in the standings, moving within three points of idle Ottawa and Toronto for third place in the Atlantic Division and the last wild card in the Eastern Conference.
Capitals 3, Blue Jackets 2
Washington scored three second-period goals and solidified its grip on the Metropolitan Division lead with a victory over Columbus.
Braden Holtby finished with 35 saves while Andre Burakovsky had a goal and an assist, T.J. Oshie produced his 33rd goal of the season and Matt Niskanen added a goal for the Capitals.
Nicklas Backstrom contributed an assist for his 17th point in the past 11 games.
Coyotes 2, Kings 1
Alexander Burmistrov and Anthony Duclair each scored their fourth goals of the season, and Arizona eliminated Los Angeles from playoff contention.
The result allowed Nashville to clinch a Western Conference playoff spot.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson had two assists, and goaltender Mike Smith made 34 saves for Arizona. Alec Martinez cut the Kings’ deficit to 2-1 early in the third period, and Los Angeles goalie Jonathan Quick made 13 saves.