Flames shutout Jets; Senators defeat Avalanche
WINNIPEG, Manitoba: Brian Elliott made 31 saves for his second consecutive shutout as the Calgary Flames extended their winning streak to nine games with a 3-0 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday.
Mikael Backlund and Michael Frolik each scored on the power play as the victory also gave Calgary points in 11 straight games.
The Flames also jumped in the NHL standings. Their 80 points tied them with Anaheim, but Calgary moves into second place in the Pacific Division because they have three more wins than the idle Ducks.
Alex Chiasson also scored, while Frolik added one assist and Dougie Hamilton, a game-time decision, had three assists.
Senators 4, Avalanche 2: Craig Anderson made 14 saves to set the franchise wins mark as Ottawa defeated Colorado for its sixth consecutive victory.
Alex Burrows and Mike Hoffman each had a goal and an assist for Ottawa, which tied Montreal atop the Atlantic Division with 84 points.
Anderson earned win No. 147 with Ottawa and passed Patrick Lalime for the top spot.
Kings 4, Capitals 2: Adrian Kempe scored his first NHL goal with 11:14 to play and captain Anze Kopitar had a goal and an assist in Los Angeles’ victory over NHL-leading Washington.
Marian Gaborik also scored and Jonathan Quick made 17 saves in a big win for the Kings, who have won three of four as they fight to stay in the playoff race. Jeff Carter added an empty-net goal as Los Angeles won back-to-back games for the first time since early February.
Penguins 3, Canucks 0: Matt Murray made 27 saves as Pittsburgh beat Vancouver.
Jake Guentzel, Ian Cole and Conor Sheary scored for the Penguins, who have won five straight and are in sole possession of second place in the Metropolitan Division ahead of Columbus.
The Canucks took another hit to their already bleak playoff outlook, slipping 10 points back for the second wild card in the Western Conference.
Bruins 2, Flyers 1: Drew Stafford scored with 5.6 seconds left in the third period when his dump-in shot tipped off Philadelphia defenseman Brandon Manning’s stick, lifting Boston to the win.
David Pastrnak had a powerplay goal, and Tuukka Rask made 26 saves for Boston, which improved to 10-3 under interim coach Bruce Cassidy, who replaced fired Claude Julien on Feb. 7.
Predators 3, Sharks 1: Ryan Johansen and James Neal scored goals to help Nashville snap a fourgame losing streak with a victory over San Jose.
After starting their California swing with a shootout loss in Anaheim and an overtime defeat in Los Angeles, the Predators head home on a high note by beating the defending Western Conference champions. Backup goalie Juuse Saros made 25 saves for the win.
Maple Leafs 3, Hurricanes 2, OT: Morgan Rielly scored 2:13 into overtime to lift Toronto over the Carolina.
Rielly’s wrist shot past Cam Ward gave Toronto its third straight victory and moved them one point ahead of the New York Islanders for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Sabres 5, Blue Jackets 3: Evander Kane scored a power-play goal with 2:29 remaining as Buffalo rallied from a three-goal deficit to beat Columbus.
Sam Reinhart, Matt Moulson and Jake McCabe scored to tie it and Jack Eichel added an emptynetter for Buffalo. Robin Lehner stopped all 24 shots he faced after taking over for Anders Nilsson to start the second period.
Lightning 3, Panthers 2: Ondrej Palat scored with 2:23 left to give Tampa Bay a victory over Florida.
Palat redirected Andrej Sustr’s shot to complete Tampa Bay’s comeback from a two-goal deficit.
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 32 saves and Nikita Kucherov and Yanni Gourde also scored for the Lightning. Jaromir Jagr and Mark Pysyk scored for Florida while James Reimer stopped 31 shots.
Coyotes 5, Devils 4: Tobias Reider and Anthony DeAngelo each had a goal and an assist as Arizona handed New Jersey its 10th consecutive loss.
The Coyotes led 4-0 early in the second period but needed the goal from the rookie DeAngelo with 6:29 to play for what proved to be the winning margin.
Blues 4, Islanders 3: Vladimir Tarasenko scored twice to lead St. Louis over New York.
Alexander Steen and Patrik Berglund also scored as the Blues won their fourth straight game. Carter Hutton stopped 21 of 24 shots.