Hall, Devils power by Rangers
Taylor Hall and rookie Will Butcher scored two goals apiece, and the New Jersey Devils moved to the brink of their first playoff berth since 2012 with a 5-2 victory against the New York Rangers last night in Newark, N.J.
The Devils moved within two points of ending the playoff drought by winning their third straight game and sixth in seven games.
Travis Zajac ignited a three-goal first period with a tapin tally 25 seconds after the opening faceoff, and Keith Kinkaid made 22 saves.
Butcher, who had never scored more than once in a game, got both with the Devils enjoying an extra skater, while Hall scored his first on a power play and got his 39th of the season on a second-period penalty shot that easily beat Henrik Lundqvist.
Ryan Spooner and Kevin Hayes scored for the Rang- ers, who will miss the playoffs for the first time since the 2009-10 season. Lundqvist made 39 saves.
Blue Jackets 5, Red Wings 4 — Pierre-Luc Dubois scored in overtime to lift host Columbus past Detroit and keep its playoff plans on track.
Artemi Panarin tied it for Columbus when he put back his own rebound late in the third period. That set the stage for Dubois’ game-winner 2:55 into the extra period.
The Blue Jackets are trying to get to the playoffs in consecutive years for the first time in franchise history, and for most of the game it looked as if Detroit would put a crimp in their plans. Columbus had to rally from a 4-1 second-period deficit to get the two points and stay in third place in the Metropolitan Division with two games left.
Cam Atkinson scored twice and Sonny Milano also had a goal for the Blue Jackets, who have won 13 of 15. Sergei Bobrovsky had 23 saves.
Islanders 5, Flyers 4 — Mathew Barzal had two goals and an assist, including the go-ahead score after host New York gave up a three-goal lead in the third period, to help defeat playoff-chasing Philadelphia.
John Tavares also scored twice and Anthony Beauvillier added a goal and two assists to help the Islanders get their third win in eight games.
Nolan Patrick had two goals and an assist, Claude Giroux added a goal and an assist, and Wayne Simonds also scored for Philadelphia, which squandered a chance to move closer to clinching a playoff spot.
Panthers 2, Predators 1 — In Sunrise, Fla., Filip Forsberg’s apparent tying goal with 0.6 seconds left was disallowed because of goalie interference, giving Florida the win against Nashville. The Predators would have clinched the Western Conference with a victory.
The Panthers are four points behind Philadelphia for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference and five behind New Jersey with a game in hand.
Jets 5, Canadiens 4 — Kyle Connor scored three minutes into overtime and Patrik Laine added his 44th goal and Winnipeg earned its 50th win of the season by beating host Montreal.
Elsewhere in the NHL — St. Louis Blues defenseman Carl Gunnarsson will miss at least six months after surgery to repair a torn ALC in his left knee. Gunnarsson was hurt during the Blues’ 4-1 win over Vancouver on March 23.