Leafs stay hot, dump Predators
James van Riemsdyk and Auston Matthews each scored a power-play goal, and Frederik Andersen made 29 saves as the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Predators, 3-1, last night in Nashville.
Connor Brown added an empty-net goal with 58.4 seconds left as the Maple Leafs started a three-game road trip by sweeping the season series with Nashville. They also won their second straight and fifth in six games to remain in third place in the Atlantic Division.
Toronto is trying to hold off the Bruins, who are one point behind the Leafs, who hold a game in hand.
Filip Forsberg scored his 30th of the season for Nashville. The Predators have lost two straight after a four-game winning streak.
Lightning 5, Red Wings 3 — In Tampa, Alex Killorn and Jonathan Drouin scored power-play goals 1:51 apart late in the second period and Tampa Bay beat Detroit.
J.T. Brown, Andrej Sustr and Yanni Gourde also scored for the Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 31 saves.
Tampa Bay, which played without 38-goal scorer Nikita Kucherov due to illness, remained three points behind the Bruins for the Eastern Conference’s final playoff spot with a game in hand.
Flyers 6, Islanders 3 — Wayne Simmonds got his 30th goal of the season as host Philadelphia scored five times in a fight-filled first period to beat New York.
Dale Weise, Radko Gudas, Jordan Weal, Sean Couturier and Valtteri Filppula also scored for the Flyers.
Cal Clutterbuck, Jason Chimera and Andrew Ladd had the goals for the Islanders, who lost their third in a row.
Oilers 3, Sharks 2 — Patrick Maroon scored twice and streaking Edmonton edged visiting San Jose to take over sole possession of second place in the Pacific Division.
Connor McDavid had a goal for the Oilers, who have won eight of nine to move within one point of first-place Anaheim.
Jannik Hansen and Joe Pavelski scored for the Sharks, who lost their seventh in eight and dropped to third place in the Pacific.
Canadiens 6, Panthers 2 — Paul Byron scored twice, Brendan Gallagher had a goal and three assists, and host Montreal beat Florida to clinch a playoff spot.
Tomas Plekanec, Max Pacioretty and Phillip Danault also scored for Montreal. Carey Price made 29 saves.
Wild 5, Senators 1 — In St. Paul, Minn., Alex Stalock (18 saves) won his first NHL start in over a year, Nino Niederreiter had two goals and Minnesota beat Ottawa to end a four-game skid. The Senators have lost three straight.
Hurricanes 2, Blue Jackets 1 — In Raleigh, N.C., Noah Hanifin scored 2:16 into overtime and Carolina rallied to beat Columbus to set a club record by earning at least a point in 13 straight games.
Jets 4, Ducks 3 — Dustin Byfuglien tied the score with 12 seconds left in regulation and assisted on Mark Scheifele’s 30th goal at 3:34 of overtime, rallying host Winnipeg over playoff-bound Anaheim. Elsewhere in the NHL — The Buffalo Sabres signed forward C.J. Smith to a two-year, $1.85 million contract after he completed his junior season at UMass-Lowell. Smith had 23 goals and 28 assists this season.