Avalanche stop Knights from clinching play-off berth

DENVER: Gabriel Landeskog beat MarcAndre Fleury with a nifty move in the shoot-out, and the Colorado Avalanche kept expansion Vegas from clinching a playoff spot by beating the Golden Knights 2-1 on Saturday.

Semyon Varlamov stopped all three Vegas attempts in the shoot-out. He finished with 39 saves, including seven in overtime.

Carl Soderberg was back on the ice after missing two games with an illness and contributed with a first-period goal. Colorado remain in the thick of the Western Conference play-off picture after getting their 26th home win, tied for third-most in Avalanche history.

The Pacific Division-leading Golden Knights are on the doorstep of earning their play-off spot and a win over the Avalanche would have wrapped it up. Fleury, back in net after sustaining an undisclosed injury on Tuesday, made 29 saves.

Jonathan Marchessault tied the game early in the third for Vegas, moments after Fleury made an incredible save.

In Newark, Keith Kinkaid made 35 saves and the New Jersey Devils took another major step towards making the play-offs for the first time since 2012 with a 2-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Nico Hischier and Kyle Palmieri scored for New Jersey, who have elevated their play-off chances with wins in five of seven games — including outstanding efforts in beating the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions Pittsburgh Penguins and the Eastern Conference-leading Lightning on consecutive nights.

Andrei Vasilevskiy had 29 saves as the Lightning lost for only the third time in 16 games (12-3-1).

In Montreal, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Tom Wilson each scored twice and Nicklas Backstrom had four assists as Washington defeated Montreal 6-4.

Jay Beagle and TJ Oshie also scored for the Capitals, who strengthened their grip on first place in the Metropolitan Division. Backstrom posted his 20th career game with at least four points and second this season.

Charles Hudon scored twice for Montreal. Alex Galchenyuk and Brendan Gallagher each had a goal for the Canadiens, who are 2-8-2 in their last 12 games.

Canadiens goalie Carey Price struggled in his second start since returning from a concussion.

In Sunrise, Florida, Denis Malgin snapped a tie with 3:45 minutes left and Florida overcame a two-goal deficit by scoring four times in the third period to rally past Arizona 4-2.

Vincent Trocheck had two goals and an assist for the Panthers, who remained three points behind New Jersey for the final Eastern Conference play-off spot. Florida have two games in hand on the Devils.