Giants can’t do much right as they are shut out in L.A.
Patric Hornqvist picked up his 200th career goal, and the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins clinched their 12th straight playoff berth with a 5-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night.
Phil Kessel, Riley Sheahan, Conor Sheary and Carl Hagelin also scored for Pittsburgh, which dominated the largely listless Canadiens to improve to 17-1-1 in their last 19 games at PPG Paints Arena. Matt Murray finished with 24 saves for the Penguins, who swept their season series with Montreal for only the second time in franchise history.
Jeff Petry and Jonathan Droui scored for the Canadiens, who lost for the fifth time in seven games. Antti Niemi made 28 stops, but Montreal couldn’t handle the league’s top-ranked power play.
BRUINS 5, PANTHERS 1 >> Jake DeBrusk scored twice in his first game in more than two weeks, and Tuukka Rask stopped 30 shots to help Boston beat Florida, move into first place in the Eastern Conference and clinch home ice for at least one round of the playoffs.
David Krejci had three assists, and rookie Ryan Donato had a goal and an assist for Boston, which has won four of its last five games. The Bruins have earned a point in eight straight games and 15 of their past 17.
DEVILS 4, ISLANDERS >> Taylor Hall scored two goals, and New Jersey took a major step toward its first playoff berth since 2012. Coupled with Florida’s loss to Boston, the Devils opened a five-point lead over the Panthers in the race for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference and moved within a point of idle Philadelphia for the top wild-card spot. Both teams have four games left in the regular season, one fewer than Florida.
COYOTES 6, BLUES 0 >> Antti Raanta stopped 34 shots for his third shutout of the season, and Arizona scored three goals in the second period to beat playoff-chasing St. Louis. The Blues entered 8-1-1 in their last 10 games, but ended the night tied with Colorado for the second wild-card spot in the West at 92 points through 78 games.
STARS 4, WILD 1 >> John Klingberg scored a goal while adding to his leagueleading assist total for defensemen, and Dallas beat Minnesota. The Wild is still holding the third playoff spot in the Central Division with four games remaining. Its season-best seven-game point streak ended. Jason Spezza scored a goal for the first time since Jan. 16 as the Stars, playing their home finale, won for just the second time in 11 games a slide that wiped out any realistic hopes of making the playoffs.
SABRES 7, PREDATORS 4 >> Sam Reinhart scored a hat trick, and Jack Eichel added a career-high five assists to lead Buffalo. The Predators needed a win and a regulation loss by Winnipeg to clinch their first Central Division title and a loss by Vegas in any fashion for the defending Western Conference champs for their first conference banner in the regular season. But Winnipeg beat Toronto, and the Predators played a sloppy game giving up a seasonhigh in goals to the NHL’s last-place team.
Victor Antipin was boarded by Nashville forward Scott Hartnell behind the Buffalo net at 14:09 of the second. Antipin was strapped to a backboard and taken off the ice on a stretcher and to a local hospital. Buffalo coach Phil Housley said Antipin is doing well, but the Sabres will know more today about the defenseman.
JETS 3, MAPLE LEAFS 1 >> Josh Morrissey and Dustin Byfuglien scored 1:10 apart in the second period as Winnipeg beat Toronto in a matchup of the only two Canadian teams headed to the playoffs.
CANUCKS 5, BLUE JACKETS 4 >> Alex Edler scored 1:21 into overtime to give Vancouver a win over Columbus. RANGERS 2, HURRICANES 1 >> Ryan Sproul scored, and Kevin Hayes added a shorthanded goal as New York beat Carolina to eliminate the Hurricanes from the playoff race for the ninth straight year, longest current drought in the league. BIG LOSSES FOR AVALANCHE >> The playoff-chasing Colorado Avalanche received a big blow when goalie Semyon Varlamov and defenseman Erik Johnson were ruled out for the remainder of the regular season due to injuries.
Colorado coach Jared Bednar said Saturday that Varlamov suffered a lowerbody injury the night before when a Chicago player ran into him in the third period. Varlamov will be re-evaluated next week. Bednar said Johnson has a fractured patella and will be sidelined at least six weeks.