Noesen’s late goal lifts Devils
Stefan Noesen scored on a rebound with 1:33 to play and the New Jersey Devils continued their playoff push with a 4-3 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes last night in Newark, N.J.
Kyle Palmieri had two goals and an assist and Taylor Hall had three assists for the Devils, who have won three straight and six of eight. Pavel Zacha also scored and Keith Kinkaid, who has supplanted Cory Schneider as the No. 1 goaltender, made 31 saves.
New Jersey extended its lead to three points ahead of idle Florida for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference, with the Panthers having played two fewer games. Carolina is nine points back.
Phil Di Giuseppe, Warren Foegele and Noah Hanifin also scored as the Hurricanes had a three-game winning streak snapped despite taking a 3-2 lead early in the third period. Scott Darling was outstanding making 41 saves, but Carolina’s slim playoff hopes faded a little more.
Red Wings 5, Penguins 2 — Luke Glendening scored twice, Darren Helm matched his career high with three points and Detroit beat visiting Pittsburgh.
Helm had a goal and two assists, and Frans Nielsen and Niklas Kronwall also scored for Detroit. Jimmy Howard made 22 saves to help the Red Wings win in regulation for the first time since a 3-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Feb. 24.
Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang scored for the Penguins. Matt Murray stopped 21 shots.
Islanders 4, Senators 3 — Andrew Ladd scored the tiebreaking goal late in the third period to lift New York to a win over host Ottawa.
Anders Lee, Anthony Beauvillier and Brock Nelson also scored for the Islanders, who won for just the third time in 17 games (3-10-4). Jaroslav Halak stopped 33 shots.
Matt Duchene, Erik Karlsson and Bobby Ryan scored for Ottawa, which has lost six straight.
Blues 3, Sharks 2 — Vladimir Tarasenko scored his second of the game to lift host St.Louis by San Jose in overtime.
Tarasenko got a pass from Vladimir Sobotka and tipped in the winner at 2:33. It was Tarasenko’s 31st goal, and he has 30 or more in four consecutive seasons.
Oskar Sundqvist also scored for St.Louis, which has won six straight.
Evander Kane and Joe Pavelski scored for San Jose. Predators 2, Wild 1 — Kyle Turris scored the only goal in the shootout to lift host Nashville over Minnesota and snap a three-game skid.
The win clinched the Predators home-ice advantage for the first round of the playoffs. They also moved three points ahead of Tampa Bay in the chase for the Presidents’ Trophy and home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs.
Elsewhere in the NHL — A change to the NHL’s protocol for goaltender interference reviews is happening quicker than expected. Beginning with games tonight, all coach’s challenges for goaltender interference will be decided by the league’s situation room in Toronto instead of on-ice officials getting the final say. The NHL board of governors approved the change yesterday that was recommended by general managers and approved by the competition committee.