Rangers beat Flyers in OT, first to clinch a playoff spot
Adam Fox scored 36 seconds into overtime and the host New York Rangers became the first NHL team to clinch a playoff spot this season, beating the Philadelphia Flyers 6-5 following a wild third period Tuesday night.
Alexis Lafreniere had two goals and Igor Shesterkin made 36 saves for the Rangers, who lead the league with 100 points after giving coach Peter Laviolette his 800th career win.
New York technically secured its third consecutive playoff berth just by getting to overtime and earning one point after Detroit lost to Washington in OT. But it didn't take long for Fox to finish the night with a wrist shot from the high slot for his 15th goal.
CAPITALS 4, RED WINGS 3 (OT) >> Dylan Strome scored twice, Charlie Lindgren made 30 saves and host Washington beat Detroit in overtime in a pivotal matchup in the Eastern Conference playoff race. The Capitals moved two points ahead of the Red Wings and still have an extra game left to play. They're also right on the heels of Philadelphia for third place in the Metropolitan Division.
Alex DeBrincat ended a 12-game goal drought, David Perron scored late in the second and Patrick Kane tied it with 5:20 left in the third for Detroit.
BRUINS 4, PANTHERS 3 >> Pavel Zacha scored the winning goal with 2:21 to go in regulation and visiting Boston defeated Florida. The Bruins also broke a tie with the Panthers atop the Atlantic Division and now hold a two-point lead although Florida has played one less game.
Charlie McAvoy, David Pastrnak and Trent Frederic also scored for the Bruins.
Evan Rodrigues, Sam Reinhart and Carter Verhaeghe scored for the Panthers.
PENGUINS 4, HURRICANES 1 >> Sidney Crosby had a goal and an assist and host Pittsburgh scored two goals on five shots in the second period, beating Carolina.
Bryan Rust scored his 23rd of the season and Crosby scored his 35th goal and became the first active player, and 14th in
NHL history, with 15 or more 40-assist seasons.
Dmitry Orlov scored his sixth for Carolina.
DEVILS 6, MAPLE LEAFS 3 >> Nico Hischier had a goal and two assists, Jake Allen made 42 saves and visiting New Jersey beat Toronto. Jack Hughes scored twice, including into the empty net, and Timo Meier added a goal and an assist for the Devils. Luke Hughes and Max Willman also scored for New Jersey.
Auston Matthews scored his NHL-leading 59th goal for the Maple Leafs. William Nylander and Tyler Bertuzzi also scored and Joseph Woll had 19 saves for Toronto. T.J. Brodie had two assists.
OILERS 4, JETS 3 (OT) >> Zach Hyman scored his 51st goal of the season 1:22 into overtime, giving visiting Edmonton a victory over Winnipeg, sending the Jets to their fourth straight loss. Leon Draisaitl, Connor Brown and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins also scored for the Oilers. Connor McDavid had two assists, extending his point streak to five games with one goal and 12 assists.
Winnipeg rallied behind goals from Brenden Dillon and Sean Monahan in a one-minute span and tied it at 10:39 of the third.
PREDATORS 5, GOLDEN KNIGHTS 4 (OT) >> Roman Josi scored 40 seconds into overtime to lead host Nashville over Vegas and extend the team's stretch of consecutive games unbeaten in regulation to a franchise-record 18.
Filip Forsberg had a goal and two assists, Ryan O'Reilly and Gustav Nyquist each had a goal and an assist and Mark Jankowski also scored for Nashville.
William Karlsson scored a goal and assisted on another for the Golden Knights.
CANADIENS 2, AVALANCHE 1 >> Sam Montembeault made 27 saves and visiting Montreal beat Colorado. Nick Suzuki and Joel Armia scored for the Canadiens, who snapped the Avalanches' nine-game win streak.
Nathan MacKinnon scored for Colorado to extend his point streak to 19 games, becoming the first player in NHL history to have multiple point streaks of 19 or more games in a season, according to the Avs.