Flyers down Capitals, 3-1, can earn No. 1 seed

Scott Laughton had two goals and an assist to help the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Washington Capitals, 3-1, Thursday in Toronto in the second game for both teams in the Eastern Conference’s round-robin seeding play.

Travis Sanheim also scored and Brian Elliott stopped 16 shots to keep the Flyers rolling as one of the hottest teams in the NHL.

Philadelphia won nine games in a row before losing the final one prior to the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown in midMarch.

“I like our work ethic, I like how we’re trying to play the smart way,” Flyers coach Alain Vigneault said.

The Flyers have beaten Boston and Washington in the round robin and can’t finish worse than second. Philadelphia will play Tampa Bay Saturday with the winner earning the top seed in the East.

Other games

Canucks 3, Wild 0: Brock Boeser and Elias Petterson each had a power-play goal and an assist, Jacob Markstrom made 27 saves for his first postseason shutout, and Vancouver beat Minnesota to take a 2-1 lead in their best-of-five Western Conference qualifier series in Edmonton, Alberta. The win put the Canucks within one game of advancing to the first round in their first playoff appearance since 2015.

Golden Knights 6, Blues 4: Mark Stone scored the goahead goal on a deflection with under seven minutes left as Vegas took a big step toward clinching the top seed in the Western Conference by beating St. Louis in roundrobin play at Edmonton. Vegas would be the West’s No. 1 seed with a win Saturday against Colorado.