Islanders rally past Capitals to earn Stanley Cup berth
Canes beat Bruins; Preds eliminate Avs
WASHINGTON — Thomas Hickey scored in overtime as the New York Islanders rallied from two goals down in the third period to beat the Washington Capitals 4-3 on Tuesday night to clinch a playoff berth.
Hickey returned to the game after being cut by a skate and beat Braden Holtby 2:13 into overtime to complete the comeback.
Holtby allowed four goals on 27 shots and lost in his first attempt to tie Martin Brodeur’s single-season wins record. Alex Ovechkin scored his league-leading 46th and 47th goals of the season for the Caps.
HURRICANES 2, BRUINS 1
(SO): In Boston, Noah Hanifin scored the only goal of a shootout — in the fifth round — and Cam Ward stopped 35 shots to help Carolina beat Boston and dent the Bruins’ playoff hopes.
Loui Eriksson’s third-period tying goal helped the Bruins force overtime and earn one point, giving them 91 for the season and moving them into a tie with Detroit and Philadelphia for the Eastern Conference’s final playoff spot.
Philly has four games remaining, Detroit three and Boston two.
PREDATORS 4, AVALANCHE
3: In Nashville, Tenn., Craig Smith scored at 4:17 of the third period as Nashville eliminated Colorado from playoff contention.
With the win, the Predators snapped a four-game winless skid that started with a loss to Colorado in Nashville on March 28.
The Avalanche had to win out with Minnesota losing its final two to catch the Wild for the West’s second wild-card berth.
RANGERS 3, LIGHTNING 2: In New York, Derek Stepan scored twice and set up Chris Kreider’s winner while rallying New York to a victory over Tampa Bay.
Henrik Lundqvist withstood a 21-shot first-period barrage and finished with 39 saves as the Rangers won their second straight game. Mats Zuccarello added two assists for New York, which will be without captain Ryan McDonagh for the final week of the regular season because of an upperbody injury.
Tampa Bay earned its third straight playoff berth when Boston lost Tuesday.
SHARKS 3, WILD 0: In St. Paul, Minn., James Reimer made 29 saves for his third shutout in eight games as San Jose beat playoff-bound Minnesota.
Minnesota lost its fourth straight game and second straight with a chance to clinch a playoff berth but backed into a postseason spot when Colorado lost to Nashville.
BLACKHAWKS 6, COYOTES
2: In Chicago, Trevor van Riemsdyk and Andrew Ladd scored after Artem Anisimov was knocked out of the game by a questionable hit from Antoine Vermette as Chicago beat Arizona.
Anisimov was driven into the boards near Chicago’s
bench midway through the second, leading to a boarding penalty and game misconduct on Vermette.
PENGUINS 5, SENATORS 3: In Ottawa, Sidney Crosby and Carl Hagelin each scored twice as Pittsburgh beat Ottawa for its seventh straight victory.
Crosby’s pair included an empty-netter and Patric Hornqvist also scored for Pittsburgh. Rookie goaltender Matt Murray made 27 saves.
KINGS 5, FLAMES 4 (OT): In Calgary, Alberta, Jeff Carter scored 20 seconds into overtime after Kris Versteeg tied it with 35.1 seconds left in the third period to help Los Angeles beat Calgary.
Milan Lucic had two goals for the Kings, and Andy Andreoff also scored. Anze Kopitar had two assists and Jhonas Enroth made 19 saves.
PANTHERS 4, CANADIENS
1: In Montreal, Roberto Luongo made 32 saves and Aleksander Barkov got his 28th goal to help Florida beat Montreal.
Nick Bjugstad, Greg McKegg and Jiri Hudler also scored for playoff-bound Florida, and Jaromir Jagr had two assists.
SABRES 3, DEVILS 1: In Newark, N.J., Jack Eichel got his 24th goal and Ryan O’Reilly got his 21st to help Buffalo beat New Jersey.
Johan Larsson also scored and Chad Johnson made 18 saves for the Sabres.
Both teams have been eliminated from playoff contention.
JETS 2, DUCKS 1 (OT): In Anaheim, Calif., Winnipeg’s Blake Wheeler scored at 3:07 of overtime to lead the Jets past Anaheim.