Carlson helps Caps nip Stars
John Carlson scored the go-ahead goal with five minutes remaining to help the Capitals beat the Dallas Stars, 4-3, last night in Washington and extend their lead atop the Metropolitan Division.
T.J. Oshie, Matt Niskanen and Alex Ovechkin also scored for Washington, which leads the tight Metropolitan by four points ahead of Pittsburgh and Columbus. The Capitals are on pace for their third consecutive division title and playoff appearance with nine games remaining.
Carlson’s goal tied him with the Stars’ John Klingberg for the NHL lead among defensemen with 61 points. It was also a dagger to Dallas’ fading playoff hopes. The Stars finished their road trip 0-4-2 and sit outside the final playoff position in the Western Conference.
Braden Holtby stopped 24 of the 27 shots he faced to beat the Stars for just the second time in six career starts, a fine performance as the 2016 Vezina Trophy winner tries to get his game together before the playoffs.
Lightning 4, Maple Leafs 3— Alex Killorn broke a tie midway through the third period and host Tampa Bay scored the final four goals to rally past Toronto.
Victor Hedman, Ryan McDonagh and Nikita Kucherov also scored as Tampa Bay reached 50 wins for the second time in franchise history. Yanni Gourde had two assists for the Atlantic Division leaders, who moved five points ahead of the second-place Bruins for the top spot in the East.
Panthers 7, Senators 2 — Jared McCann had a goal and two assists to lead Florida to a win in Ottawa.
The Senators were without captain Erik Karlsson because of the death of his son. Karlsson and his wife Melinda were married last year and announced in November they were expecting their first child in the spring.
Red Wings 5, Flyers 4 — Frans Nielsen scored the only shootout goal, beating former teammate Petr Mrazek as host Detroit took a break from its losing ways by topping Philadelphia.
The Flyers rallied in the third period, but the Wings did enough to pull out a vic- tory that ended a 0-9-1 rut.
Blue Jackets 5, Rangers 3 — Artemi Panarin had three goals and an assist, Sergei Bobrovsky made 29 saves and Columbus extended its winning streak to nine games with a victory in New York.
Markus Nutivaara and Alexander Wennberg also scored for the Blue Jackets, who have surged into a playoff spot in the East. It is Columbus’ longest winning streak since its 16-game run last season from Nov. 29, 2016, to Jan. 3, 2017.
Islanders 4, Penguins 1 — Mathew Barzal and Adam Pelech scored in the first period and host New York took down Pittsburgh.
Anders Lee had a goal in the third period and Jordan Eberle added an empty-netter to help the Islanders snap a three-game skid with just their second win in 13 games.
Oilers 7, Hurricanes 3 — In Raleigh, N.C., Leon Draisaitl had a goal and three assists as Edmonton rode three-goal first period to a victory against Carolina.