Hurricanes back in playoff spot with win
With just over a month left in the regular season, the Carolina Hurricanes are forcing their way back into the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
Teuvo Teravainen and Justin Williams scored in the third period and the Hurricanes beat the Devils 3-1 on Friday night in Raleigh, N.C. Cam Ward stopped 25 shots.
The Hurricanes moved even with Columbus for the Eastern Conference’s final playoff spot.
“It’s crunch time, obviously,” said Ward, one of two Carolina players who were on the team when it last made the playoffs in 2009. “We have 17 games left now and, I mean, we’re in this together. We’re gonna fight and want to compete.”
New Jersey’s Taylor Hall had a goal and has scored in six of his past seven games.
Rangers 3, Flames 1: Henrik Lundqvist tied a career high with 50 saves on his 36th birthday, lifting visiting New York. He is the first Rangers goalie with 50 stops in consecutive games since Gump Worsley in 1963, and the first goalie with 50 or more saves in back-to-back wins since the NHL began tracking saves in 1955.
Canadiens 6, Islanders 3: Alex Galchenyuk completed a hat trick by scoring into an empty net with 49 seconds left for visiting Montreal. He also had an assist. Brendan Gallagher
added a goal for the Canadiens. Montreal captain Max Pacioretty left the game in the third period with a lower-body injury.
Jets 4, Red Wings 3: Patrik Laine scored his 32rd and 33rd goals of the season to help host Winnipeg beat Detroit. Connor Hellebuyck made 30 saves for his 33rd victory. The Jets have won six of their last eight.
Senators 5, Golden Knights 4: Alexandre Burrows scored with 8:51 left to lift visiting Ottawa. Vegas has lost three straight and fallen to second in the Western Conference behind Nashville after briefly sitting atop the NHL standings.
Ducks 4, Blue Jackets 2: Andrew Cogliano and Josh Manson scored 1:28 apart in the second period as host Anaheim beat Columbus. John Gibson made 34 saves for the win after missing three games with a lower-body injury.
Avalanche 7, Wild 1: Nathan MacKinnon had two goals and three assists, and Mikko Rantanen had a goal and three assists for host Colorado. The five points were a career high for MacKinnon.
Predators 4, Canucks 3: Calle Jarnkrok fired a wrist shot past goalie Jacob Markstrom 43 seconds into overtime to give visiting Nashville the win. The Predators tied the game on a Ryan Ellis goal at 17:45 of the third period.
Panthers 4, Sabres 1: Aleksander Barkov scored his 24th goal of the season, James Reimer made 24 saves in his first start in six games and host Florida won its fifth in a row.