Avs delay Knights’ milestone
Expansion Vegas team still on verge of playoffs
DENVER — Gabriel Landeskog beat Marc Andre-Fleury with a nifty move in a shootout and the Colorado Avalanche kept expansion Vegas from clinching a playoff spot by beating the Golden Knights 2-1 on Saturday.
The Pacific Division-leading Golden Knights are on the doorstep of earning their playoff spot and a win over the Avalanche would’ve wrapped up things.
SHARKS 5, FLAMES 1: In San Jose, Calif., Evander Kane scored twice to give him six goals in his past two games against Calgary as the Sharks won their seventh straight game.
Kane followed up his four-goal performance in Calgary a week ago with another impactful performance, scoring a shorthanded goal in the second period to give the Sharks a 3-1 lead and an insurance goal in the third.
DEVILS 2, LIGHTNING 1: In Newark, N.J., Keith Kinkaid made 35 saves and the New Jersey Devils took another major step toward making the playoffs for the first time since 2012 with a victory over Tampa Bay.
Nico Hischier and Kyle Palmieri scored for New Jersey, which has elevated its playoff chances with wins in five of seven games.
CAPITALS 6, CANADIENS 4: In Montreal, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Tom Wilson each scored twice, and Nicklas Backstrom had four assists as Washington defeated the Canadiens.
Jay Beagle and T.J. Oshie also scored for the Capitals, who strengthened their grip on first place in the Metropolitan Division.
PANTHERS 4, COYOTES 2: In Sunrise, Fla., Denis Malgin snapped a tie with 3:45 left and Florida overcame a two-goal deficit by scoring four times in the third period to rally past Arizona.
Vincent Trocheck had two goals and an assist for the Panthers, who remained three points behind New Jersey for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot.
RANGERS 5, SABRES 1: In New York, Jimmy Vesey had two goals and an assist, Alexandar Georgiev stoped 43 shots, and the New York Rangers completed a sweep of the teams’ three-game season series.
Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad and Neal Pionk each added a goal and an assist as the Rangers improved to 13-3-0 in the last 16 meetings with the Sabres.
BLACKHAWKS 3, ISLANDERS 1: In New York, Anton Forsberg stopped 30 shots to help the Chicago snap a five-game losing streak.
Patrick Kane and Brandon Saad scored in the second period, and Brent Seabrook added an empty-netter for the Blackhawks.
HURRICANES 5, SENATORS 2 : In Ottawa, Ontario, Phillip Di Giusseppe and Jordan Staal each had a goal and assist to lead Carolina.
Brock McGinn, Noah Hanifin and Jeff Skinner also scored, and Cam Ward stopped 34 shots to help preserve the Hurricanes’ slim playoff hopes.
MAPLE LEAFS, 4, RED WINGS 3: In Toronto, Nazem Kadri scored with 7:26 left in regulation, helping the Maple Leafs extend their club-record home winning streak to 13 games with a victory over the Detroit Red Wings.
Kasperi Kapanen, Connor Brown and William Nylander had the other goals for Toronto, which also tied a franchise mark with its 45th win.
BLUES 2, BLUE JACKETS 1: In Columbus, Ohio, Jake Allen made 33 saves, Alexander Steen scored on St. Louis’ first shot of the game, and the Blues stopped the host Blue Jackets’ 10-game winning streak.
Vladimir Tarasenko also scored for St. Louis, which has won five in row.
WILD 4, PREDATORS 1: In St. Paul, Minn., Devan Dubnyk stopped 19 shots and Jason Zucker scored his 30th goal and added an assist to lead Minnesota past Nashville.
Joel Eriksson Ek, Nino Niederreiter and Zach Parise also scored for the Wild, who overcame a slow first period to outwork the West’s top team and hand the Predators their second straight loss.