Nylander, Leafs stay hot, take down Devils
William Nylander had a goal and an assist as the Maple Leafs topped the New Jersey Devils, 4-2, last night in Toronto for their seventh win in nine games to strengthened their hold on third place in the Atlantic Division.
Nylander set a franchise rookie mark by extending his points streak to 10 games, while equaling another team record for power-play points with 25. Mitch Marner also matched a club rookie record for assists with his 40th, setting up James van Riemsdyk’s 23rd of the season.
Josh Leivo and Connor Brown also scored for the Leafs, and Curtis McElhinney made 30 saves.
John Moore scored both goals for the Devils.
Maple Leafs defenseman Roman Polak was suspended two games for boarding Columbus forward Oliver Bjorkstrand from behind.
Senators 2, Penguins 1
— Kyle Turris and Bobby Ryan scored in the shootout to lift host Ottawa over the Pittsburgh and move within one point of Montreal for first place in the Atlantic Division.
Mike Hoffman scored in regulation for the Senators and Mike Condon finished with 34 saves, including two incredible point-blank stops in overtime to keep the game going.
Nick Bonino had the goal in regulation for the Penguins and Matt Murray stopped 29 shots. Hurricanes 4, Canadiens
1— Lee Stempniak scored twice and Carolina defeated host Montreal to extend its point streak to nine games and keep its playoff hopes alive.
Elias Lindholm and Jeff Skinner also scored for the Hurricanes, while Eddie Lack stopped 21 shots.
Carolina, undefeated in regulation in nine straight games (6-0-3), is five points out of the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference with 10 games left.
Alex Galchenyuk scored the lone goal for Montreal. Carey Price made 19 saves.
Capitals 2, Blue Jackets
1— T.J. Oshie scored the shootout winner as host Washington overcame a stellar performance from Columbus goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky for the win.
Despite 44 saves from Bobrovsky, the Capitals reached 104 points and extended their lead atop the Metropolitan Division and NHL standings.
Holtby had 29 saves in regulation and overtime.
Flyers 3, Wild 1 — In St. Paul, Minn., Matt Read scored the tiebreaking goal, Steve Mason stopped 24 shots and Philadelphia beat Minnesota.
The Wild agreed on a three-year contract with former Wisconsin forward and captain Luke Kunin. Panthers 3, Coyotes 1 — In Sunrise, Fla., Jonathan Marchessault scored two goals and James Reimer made 38 saves to lift Florida over Arizona. Predators 3, Flames 1 — Pekka Rinne made 24 saves to lead host Nashville over Calgary. The Predators have won 5-of-6. Blackhawks 3, Stars 2 — Patrick Kane scored his team-leading 33rd goal in regulation and connected again in the shootout as host
Chicago beat Dallas to open an eight-point lead for first place in the Central Division. Blues 4, Canucks 1— Magnus Paajarvi scored twice to lead host St. Louis over Vancouver. Oilers 7, Avalanche 4 — In Denver, Drake Caggiula and Jordan Eberle scored 1:10 apart to break a tie late in the third period, and Edmonton rallied to beat Colorado.
Kings 5, Jets 2 — Drew Doughty, Marian Gaborik and Anze Kopitar each scored a power-play goal, and host Los Angeles kept its slim playoff hopes alive with a victory against Winnipeg. Elsewhere in the NHL — The NHL suspended Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen for three games following his blindside hit that led to Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jake Guentzel sustaining a concussion. . . .
The New York Islanders recalled veteran goalie Jaroslav Halak for their push for a playoff spot. Halak was sent down to the minors on Dec. 31. The Islanders trailed the Bruins by two points for the East’s second wild card.