Leafs fail to clinch spot
Brayden Point scored two goals and the Tampa Bay Lightning kept their slim playoff hopes alive by beating the Maple Leafs, 4-1, last night in Toronto.
Nikita Kucherov and Michael Bournival also scored for the Lightning, who prevented the Maple Leafs from clinching their first postseason berth in four years. There is only one spot remaining in the Eastern Conference after Ottawa clinched a berth with a 2-1 shootout win against the Bruins.
Toronto, which would have clinched with a win, needs two points over its final two games against Pittsburgh and Columbus to beat out the Lightning and New York Islanders for the last spot. They are two points behind the Bruins.
Nazem Kadri scored the only goal for Toronto, with Frederik Andersen surrendering four goals on 30 shots.
Toronto fans had a scare in late in the first period when rookie Auston Matthews was hit in the offensive zone by rookie Lightning defenseman Jake Dotchin. Matthews’ left knee connected with the right knee of Dotchin, and the 19-year-old Maple Leafs star remained down on the ice for a few moments.
Matthews went to the bench in obvious discomfort, but quickly returned and generated a scoring chance that slid just wide of Andrei Vasilevskiy, who finished with 26 saves. Penguins 7, Devils 4 — In Newark, N.J., Pittsburgh clinched home-ice advantage for its first-round playoff series against Columbus by beating New Jersey.
The Penguins got goals from seven players, two assists from Sidney Crosby and 34 saves from Matt Murray in picking up their 50th win of the season.
The win gave Pittsburgh 111 points, the second-highest in franchise history. Coupled with the Blue Jackets’ 5-4 loss to Winnipeg, the Penguins will finish second in the Metropolitan Division, gaining home-ice for the best-of-seven series against Columbus.
Jets 5, Blue Jackets 4 — Jacob Trouba scored twice and Eric Comrie had 35 saves in his NHL debut as visiting Winnipeg beat slumping Columbus. Islanders 3, Hurricanes 0 — In Raleigh, N.C., Jaroslav Halak stopped 29 shots in his second shutout of the season, and New York beat Carolina.
Blues 6, Panthers 3 — In Sunrise, Fla., Jaden Schwartz had a goal and two assists to lead surging St. Louis over Florida. The Blues improved to 13-2-2 in their last 17 games. Jake Allen had 29 saves.
Forward Vladimir Sobotka returned to the Blues after three season in Russia, signing a three-year $10.5 million contract.
Wild 4, Avalanche 3 — In Denver, Nino Niederreiter tapped in the go-ahead goal early in the third period, and Minnesota held off Colorado to tie franchise records for points and wins in a season.
Predators 7, Stars 3 — Viktor Arvidsson had two goals and two assists, and Nashville beat host Dallas to remain one point out of third place in the Central Division. Ducks 4, Blackhawks 0 — Corey Perry scored a power play goal, John Gibson made 37 saves in his 12th career shutout and host Anaheim clinched home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs by beating Chicago.
Oilers 4, Sharks 2 — Milan Lucic scored three goals in the third period and visiting Edmonton took a big step toward claiming home-ice advantage in the first round of the postseason by beating San Jose in a possible playoff preview.
Coyotes 4, Canucks 3 — In Glendale, Ariz., Radim Vrbata scored two goals against his former team, and Arizona moved out of last place in the Pacific Division with a win against Vancouver.
Flames 4, Kings 1 — Jon Gillies made 27 saves in his first career start, and Dennis Wideman, Freddie Hamilton and Alex Chiasson scored second-period goals as visiting Calgary defeated Los Angeles.
Elsewhere in the NHL — Buffalo Sabres forward Kyle Okposo has spent the past three days in a hospital undergoing a battery of tests to determine an undisclosed illness that has sidelined him for more than a week. A source said the player is in the neuro surgical intensive care unit at Buffalo General Hospital.