Panthers extend streak to 12, tie franchise mark

Aleksander Barkov scored his 38th goal of the season and the Florida Panthers tied a franchise record with their 12th straight win, beating the visiting Detroit Red Wings 5-2 on Thursday night.

Mason Marchment had a goal and an assist, and Sam Reinhart, MacKenzie Weegar and Noel Acciari also scored for the Eastern Conference-leading Panthers, who moved two points ahead of West-leading Colorado in the race for the best record in the NHL. Florida (118 points) and the Avalanche have four games remaining.

The Panthers matched the 12-game winning streak they posted from Dec. 15, 2015, to Jan. 10, 2016.

PENGUINS 4, BRUINS 0 >> Casey DeSmith made a career-high 52 saves and Jake Guentzel scored three goals as Pittsburgh beat visiting Boston.

Guentzel completed the hat trick with an empty-netter, his 40th goal of the season, as Pittsburgh moved two points ahead of Washington for third place in the Metropolitan Division. The Penguins, Bruins and Capitals have already secured playoff spots but are fighting for seeding in the Eastern Conference. Pittsburgh and Boston are knotted at 99 points apiece

HURRICANES 4, JETS 2 >> Seth Jarvis scored on a contact-filled rebound at 8:21 of the third period to help Carolina overcome a two-goal deficit at home and beat Winnipeg.

Teuvo Teravainen and Jaccob Slavin also scored in the rally for the Hurricanes, who entered the night tied with the New York Rangers for the Metropolitan Division lead. Captain Jordan Staal added an empty-net goal in the final minute.

RANGERS 6, ISLANDERS 3 >> Andrew Copp scored three goals in the first period, Chris Kreider got his 51st of the season, and the Rangers beat their New York crosstown-rivals.

Ryan Strome had a goal and an assist, Ryan Reaves also scored, Artemi Panarin had four assists and Adam Fox added three to help the Rangers win their fourth straight and seventh in their last eight. Alexandar Georgiev had 26 saves to improve to 14-9-2.

The Rangers remained tied with Carolina atop the Metropolitan Division with 108 points.

SABRES 5, DEVILS 2 >> Kyle Okposo and Alex Tuch scored short-handed goals less than a minute apart in the first period, and Buffalo prevailed at New Jersey.

Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power and Jeff Skinner also scored, and 40-year-old Craig Anderson had 31 saves for the Sabres in this matchup of teams eliminated from playoff contention.