Fox scores as Rangers clinch playoff spot
Adam Fox scored 36 seconds into overtime as the New York Rangers clinched a playoff spot with a wild 6-5 victory over the visiting Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday.
Fox gave the Rangers (48-20-4) their eighth win in 10 games when he got a pass from Vincent Trocheck and lifted a shot from the middle of the slot over Philadelphia goaltender Samuel Ersson’s right arm for his 15th goal of the season.
The Rangers also moved three points ahead of the Carolina Hurricanes atop the Metropolitan Division and gave coach Peter Laviolette his 800th career regular-season win.
Mika Zibanejad and Jonny Brodzinski scored New York’s first two goals. Alexis Lafreniere scored twice while Trocheck added a short-handed goal and Artemi Panarin collected two assists to become the first Ranger to reach 100 points since Jaromir Jagr in 200506.
Scott Laughton and Ryan Poehling scored in the second for the Flyers (3627-10, 82 points). Travis Konecny, Owen Tippett and Tyson Foerster tallied in the third for the Flyers.
Devils 6, Maple Leafs 3
Jack Hughes scored two goals late in the third period to clinch New Jersey’s victory over host Toronto.
Hughes took advantage of a turnover to score his 25th goal of the season on a breakaway at 16:47 of the third. He added an empty-net tally at 18:51.
New Jersey’s Nico Hischier had a goal and two assists and Timo Meier had a goal and an assist. Luke Hughes and Max Willman also scored for the Devils (36-33-4, 76 points), while Jesper Bratt and Curtis Lazar each added three assists.
Goalie Jake Allen stopped 42 shots as the Devils won for the fourth time in five games.
Blackhawks 3, Flames 1
Jason Dickinson scored twice to help Chicago earn a win against visiting Calgary.
Landon Slaggert and Joey Anderson each had two assists for the Blackhawks (21-46-5, 47 points), who have won three of their past five games. Seth Jones added a goal and Petr Mrazek made 39 saves as Chicago posted its second consecutive victory.
MacKenzie Weegar scored and Jacob Markstrom made 24 saves for the Flames (33-33-5, 71 points), who have lost four in a row.
Jones scored on a power play to give Chicago a 1-0 lead at 3:35 of the first period. Connor Bedard sent a cross-ice pass above the circles to Philipp Kurashev on the right, and Kurashev quickly dished off to Jones, who blasted a slap shot from above the slot and beat a screened Markstrom glove side.
Capitals 4, Red Wings 3, OT
Dylan Strome scored two goals, including the game-winner at 1:55 of overtime, and host Washington edged Detroit.
Strome, who has 25 goals on the season, scored in front of the net off a John Carlson feed. Nic Dowd and Connor McMichael also scored for the Capitals (36-26-9, 81 points), who have won six of their past seven games. Charlie Lindgren
made 30 saves.
Detroit (36-29-7, 79 points) fell two points behind Washington for the Eastern Conference’s second and final wildcard spot.
Alex DeBrincat, David Perron and Patrick Kane scored the Red Wings’ goals. Alex Lyon made 26 saves.
Bruins 4, Panthers 3
Pavel Zacha’s go-ahead goal with 2:21 left in the third period helped Boston rally past host Florida.
Zacha’s goal went in off his right skate as teammate David Pastrnak fired the puck toward the net.
Florida led 3-2 until Trent Frederic tied the game at 15:38 of the third period with the Bruins on a power play.
Charlie McAvoy, Zacha and Pastrnak each had a goal and an assist for Boston. Pastrnak’s goal was his 45th of the season as he reached the 100-point mark for the second season in a row. His assist on the game-winner gave him 101 points.
Penguins 4, Hurricanes 1
Bryan Rust scored the go-ahead goal in the second and Sidney Crosby had a goal and two assists as Pittsburgh snapped a three-game losing streak with a win over visiting Carolina.
Jesse Puljujarvi and Drew O’Connor also scored for the Penguins (31-30-10, 72 points), who were 0-2-1 in their previous three games and 3-9-2 in their previous 14.
Pittsburgh goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic made 39 saves.
Dmitry Orlov scored for the Hurricanes (45-21-7, 97 points), who were 91-1 in their previous 11.
Oilers 4, Jets 3, OT
Zach Hyman scored his 200th career goal 1:22 into overtime, giving Edmonton a victory over host Winnipeg.
After recording his 50th goal of the season during Sunday’s loss at Ottawa, Hyman hopped onto the ice, took a drop pass from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, then circled into the offensive zone. He backhanded a shot stopped by the Jets’ Connor Hellebuyck (38 saves), then put home the rebound for Edmonton (4323-4, 90 points) to avoid a third straight loss.
Nugent-Hopkins also scored, and Connor McDavid recorded two assists to reach 93 on the season as the Oilers regrouped after blowing a two-goal, third-period lead.
Winnipeg trailed 3-1 with less than 14 minutes left in regulation before rallying.
Predators 5, Golden Knights 4, OT
Roman Josi scored 40 seconds into overtime and Nashville rallied from a three-goal third-period deficit to extend its franchise-record point streak to 18 games with a victory over visiting Vegas.
Josi took the puck from Filip Forsberg in the right circle and then cut in front of the net and tucked a shot around the right pad of Vegas goaltender Jiri Patera for the game-winner and his 19th tally of the season.
Forsberg scored his 40th goal to extend his goal streak to six games and also had two assists. Ryan O’Reilly had a goal and two assists and Mark Jankowski and Gustav Nyquist each added a goal and an assist for Nashville (4325-4, 90 points), which improved to 160-2 since getting blown out by visiting Dallas 9-2 on Feb. 15. It’s the longest point streak in the NHL this season.
Juuse Saros finished with 31 saves.
Canadiens 2, Avalanche 1
Nick Suzuki and Joel Armia scored goals, Sam Montembeault made 27 saves and Montreal beat host Colorado, ending the Avalanche’s nine-game winning streak.
The Canadiens (27-32-12, 66 points) have won consecutive games for the first time since winning two straight in mid-January, a stretch that included a 4-3 home win over the Avalanche on Jan. 15.
Nathan MacKinnon scored and Justus Annunen turned away 25 shots after signing a two-year contract extension with Colorado (46-21-5, 97 points) earlier in the day. Annunen’s deal will keep him with the Avalanche through the 2025-26 season.
Montreal head coach Martin St. Louis returned to the bench after a fourgame leave. St. Louis was away to be with his family after his 16-year-old son, Mason, had complications stemming from an injury sustained during a youth hockey game.
Kraken 4, Ducks 0
Matty Beniers and Eeli Tolvanen each had a goal and two assists as Seattle snapped an eight-game winless streak with a victory against visiting Anaheim.
Jordan Eberle and Oliver Bjorkstrand added power-play goals for Seattle (2929-13, 71 points) and goaltender Joey Daccord was forced to make just 13 saves for his third career NHL shutout, all of which have come this season.
Goalie John Gibson stopped 32 of 36 shots for Anaheim (24-44-4, 52 points), which has lost nine of its past 10 games (1-8-1).
The Kraken, who had scored more than one goal just twice during their 06-2 skid, had an offensive explosion in the first period, tallying twice.
Coyotes 6, Blue Jackets 2
Josh Doan scored two goals in his NHL debut to lead Arizona over visiting Columbus.
The son of longtime Coyotes captain Shane Doan, the younger Doan became the first player in Arizona franchise history to score multiple goals in his first career game.
Josh Doan knocked a loose puck out of the air at 16:33 of the second period for his first goal, which temporarily gave Arizona (30-37-5, 65 points) a 2-1 lead. He then delivered the game-winner at 11:32 of the third period, tipping in Matias Maccelli’s shot.
Stars 6, Sharks 3
Wyatt Johnston had two goals and assist and visiting Dallas retook sole possession of first place in the Central Division with a win against San Jose.
Jason Robertson also scored two goals, Jamie Benn had a goal and two assists, Mason Marchment scored and Scott Wedgewood made 19 saves for Dallas (45-19-9, 99 points), which won its fifth game in a row.
The Stars moved two points ahead of the Avalanche for the top spot in the Central after the Montreal Canadiens ended Colorado’s nine-game winning streak with a 2-1 win earlier Tuesday.