Kings top Oilers to complete 5-game season sweep

Dougie Hamilton #27 of the Calgary Flames takes a shot on the net of Scott Darling #33 of the Chicago Blackhawks during an NHL game at Scotiabank Saddledome

on March 26 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. (AFP) WASHINGTON, March 27, (AP): Jake Allen made 32 saves with regular starter Brian Elliott back home resting as the St Louis Blues beat the NHL-leading Washington Capitals 4-0 on Saturday night for their fourth consecutive shutout.

St Louis won for the 10th time in 12 games and kept pace with the Dallas Stars atop the Central Division.

Kyle Brodziak, Colton Parayko, Vladimir Tarasenko and Patrik Berglund scored for the Blues, who have their sights on the division title and the top seed in the Western Conference. With six games left, they’re tied with the Stars, who beat the Sharks in San Jose.

The Capitals would’ve clinched the Presidents’ Trophy with a point but now must wait until at least Monday.

Penguins 7, Red Wings 2 In Pittsburgh, Carl Hagelin scored twice and Phil Kessel had a goal and four assists to help Pittsburgh rout Detroit.

Pittsburgh boosted its chances of earning a 10th straight trip to the playoffs and hurt Detroit’s quest to extend its postseason streak to 25. The Penguins have won seven of eight, staying ahead of the New York Islanders for the third guaranteed spot from the Metropolitan Division.

The Red Wings started the day a point behind Boston for third place in the Atlan- Hampus Lindholm scored for the Ducks, who trailed 3-0 after two periods. Frederik Andersen made 29 saves.

Mike Hoffman, Erik Karlsson and Chris Neil scored for the Senators, who have lost three straight. Craig Anderson stopped 35 shots.

Hoffman was awarded a penalty shot early in the third period but lost the puck and never challenged Andersen. From that point on, it was all Anaheim.

Getzlaf opened the scoring for the Ducks, tucking one under the crossbar at the 5-minute mark, and Silfverberg made it a one-goal deficit after scoring at 11:31. Lindholm tied the game in the final minute of the third.

Islanders 4, Hurricanes 3, OT In Raleigh, North Carolina, Cal Clutterbuck scored a deflected goal with 13.8 seconds left in overtime as New York beat Carolina.

Clutterbuck had two goals, with his first tying it 30 seconds into the third period. Nikolay Kulemin had a goal and an assist and Kyle Okposo also scored for the Islanders, who have won two of three over a four-day span.

Victor Rask, Jeff Skinner and Jeff McClement scored during a second-period flurry for the Hurricanes.

Jean-Francois Berube made 33 saves for New York while Eddie Lack stopped 27 shots for Carolina in a matchup of desperate Metropolitan Division teams.

Clutterbuck took a pass from Brock Nelson and unleashed a shot from between the circles that clipped off Carolina defenseman Jaccob Slavin’s chest and got past Lack.

Bruins 3, Maple Leafs 1 In Toronto, Zdeno Chara snapped a 20-game goal drought as Boston ended a season-long five-game losing streak with a victory over Toronto.

The win created some much-needed

Rick Nash #61 of the New York Rangers skates the puck against Paul Byron #41 of the Montreal Canadiens during the NHL game at the Bell Centre on March 26 in Montreal,

Quebec, Canada. (AFP)

space in the Eastern Conference playoff race for Boston, currently third in the Atlantic Division with 88 points and now three points up on Detroit.

Patrice Bergeron and Matt Beleskey also scored for the Bruins. Ben Smith found the back of the net for the Leafs.

Tuukka Rask made 25 saves, topping Jonathan Bernier, who gave up two goals on 32 shots.

Wild 4, Avalanche 0 In Denver, Zach Parise scored twice and Devan Dubnyk made 29 saves for his 19th NHL shutout as Minnesota beat Colorado in a pivotal game between two teams contending for the final Western Conference playoff spot.

Jordan Schroeder also scored and Mikael Granlund added a short-handed goal into an empty net to help the Wild move five points ahead of Colorado for eighth place in the playoff race.

Parise remains red hot as he followed up his hat trick on Thursday night with two more goals, including one in the second period of a scoreless contest that sent the Wild on their way to their fifth straight win.

Rangers 5, Canadiens 2 In Montreal, Chris Kreider had two goals and an assist as New York beat Montreal.

Derick Brassard had a goal and two assists for the Rangers and J.T. Miller and Derek Stepan also scored.

In his first game at the Bell Centre, Rangers backup goaltender Antti Raanta made 24 saves for his 10th win of the season.

Lars Eller and Phillip Danault had goals for Montreal. Mike Condon stopped 14 of 19 shots before being pulled in the second intermission. Ben Scrivens made four saves in the third.

Predators 5, Blue Jackets 1 In Nashville, Tennessee, Shea Weber and James Neal each had a goal and an assist to lead Nashville over Columbus.

Mattias Ekholm, Craig Smith and Calle Jarnkrok also scored for the Predators, who have won five of six. Roman Josi had three assists and has 44 this season, setting a franchise record for a defenseman. Pekka Rinne made 18 saves.

Nashville is 32-5-4 at home against Columbus.

Sabres 3, Jets 2 In Buffalo, New York, Sam Reinhart tied the game and then set up Jack Eichel’s go-ahead goal 4:07 into the third period, rallying Buffalo over Winnipeg.

The loss mathematically eliminated the Jets from playoff contention in a matchup of teams out of the postseason picture.

The rebuilding Sabres drew on their youth movement, which produced all three goals. Newly signed forward Hudson Fasching rounded out the scoring.

Blackhawks 4, Flames 1 In Calgary, Alberta, Andrew Ladd had two goals and an assist and Scott Darling

made 31 saves to lead Chicago over Calgary. Ladd’s first multipoint game with Chicago gives him eight points in 12 games since the Blackhawks acquired the left-winger from Winnipeg just prior to the trade deadline.

Andrew Shaw and Teuvo Teravainen also scored for Chicago, which kicked off an important four-game trip. Mired in a 1-4-2 skid entering the game, the Blackhawks remain two points up on the hardcharging Nashville Predators for third in the Central Division.

Kings 6, Oilers 4 In Los Angeles, Tyler Toffoli had two goals and two assists while Trevor Lewis added a short-handed goal as Los Angeles completed a five-game season sweep of Edmonton.

Andy Andreoff and Jeff Carter also scored, Milan Lucic tied a career high with three assists and Jonathan Quick made 25 saves to help the Kings maintain their three-game lead over Anaheim for the Pacific Division lead with seven games left on the schedule.

Coyotes 2, Flyers 1 In Glendale, Arizona, Shane Doan and Mike Stone scored in the final 4 1/2 minutes of the second period while Mike Smith made 34 saves as Arizona beat Philadelphia.

The loss prevented the Flyers from moving into sole possession of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Philadelphia remained tied with the Detroit Red Wings, who lost to Pittsburgh 7-2 earlier in the day.

Sean Couturier scored the Flyers’ goal with 40 seconds remaining. cially at the end with the bat, but we also continued to get strikes.”

Jake Marisnick knocked in a run with a double for Houston. Tyler Heineman hit a two-run single and Danny Worth doubled in three more during a seven-run rally in the eighth.

Mexico City had not hosted a big league game since March 2004, when the Astros played the Marlins at Foro Sol.

The split-squad game Saturday was played at Fray Nano stadium, which seats 5,000 fans.

“The atmosphere was a better environment, with so much energy. It was greater than a normal spring training game,” Hinch said. “The music, the vibe was a bit higher, so we are happy to be here.”

Trae Santos’ triple in the ninth gave the Padres their only run.

“You never want to lose like this. We want to win, but this is spring training and we’re evaluating players,” San Diego manager Andy Green said. “The ball flied a lot but unfortunately we did not take advantage of it.”

Meanwhile, a man apparently angered by the Tampa Bay Rays’ recent trip to Cuba made his way onto the field and threw a full can of beer into the team’s dugout Saturday night during a spring training game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Nobody was hurt. A member of the Pirates’ grounds crew and Rays third base coach Charlie Montoyo restrained the protester until police arrived, briefly delaying the game.

The man was arrested and will be charged with causing a fray, trespassing and assault, Bradenton police Lt John Affolter said. Police would not yet identify the man.

“I’ve worked games here for 23 years and I’ve never seen anything like it,” Affolter said. “I’ve seen a

San Diego Padres’ Robbie Erlin pitches against the Houston Astros in the first inning of a spring training baseball game in Mexico City,

March 26. (AP) Houston Astros’ infielder Danny Worth bats against the San Diego Padres in a spring training baseball game in

Mexico City, March 26. (AP)

streaker, I’ve seen a lot. I thought I’d seen it all.”

During the seventh inning, the man moved toward the field from the seats behind third base, jumped a short fence and ran onto the grass in front of the Rays’ dugout at McKechnie Field.

According to players and Bradenton police, the man shouted obscenities about the Castro regime in Cuba. He threw a can of beer that smashed into the back wall of the Rays’ dugout.

“Nobody got hit,” Tampa Bay pitcher Jake Odorizzi said. “Maybe some guys got wet.”

Pittsburgh shortstop Jordy Mercer saw it all unfold from the Pirates’ dugout.

“I just heard a loud boom and I saw beer fly,” Mercer said. “You never know what’s going to happen. But law enforcement was on it, which was good. And the Rays players were too, so they helped out, too.”

Montoyo said he told the man to calm down.

“I realized he speaks Spanish, so I was telling him to relax,” the coach said. “I didn’t hear what he was yelling. He looked old, so I kind of felt bad for him. I was holding him and not trying to tackle him.”

The Rays played an exhibition game against the Cuban national team in Havana on Tuesday. President Barack Obama attended the game, part of the first visit to the Communist island nation by a sitting American president in 88 years.

relief pitcher may need surgery after tearing a right knee ligament taking off his shoes in the clubhouse.

Smith, who was expected to share closing pitching duties with

in the upcoming season, learned the diagnosis on Friday.

He said Saturday he hurt himself when he toppled over while standing on one leg, trying to remove the shoe from his other foot.

“I pulled hard (on the shoe) and it stayed on,” he said. “My knee just went up and popped. Everyone tells you there is nothing you can do about it, but you still feel like you are letting people down.”

Smith tore a ligament on the outside of the knee that connects the femur to the lower leg. The right leg is the left-hander’s plant leg in his pitching motion.

Manager said the team will know in the next few days exactly how long Smith will be out.

“The recovery is a little longer with surgery,” Counsell said. “It’s tough for us, it’s tough for Will. There is going to be somebody in (the clubhouse) that takes this opportunity and makes a lot of it.”