Stars beat Kraken, win Central Division
Defenseman Miro Heiskanen had a goal and two assists, and Jason Robertson had a goal and an assist as the host Dallas Stars beat the Seattle Kraken 3-1 on Saturday to clinch the Central Division title for the first time in eight years.
Craig Smith also scored for the Stars, who remain in contention for both the top seed in the Western Conference and the Presidents' Trophy with one game to play in the regular season.
Kailer Yamamoto scored for Seattle.
RANGERS 3, ISLANDERS 2 (SO) >> Artemi Panarin scored late in the third period to tie game and tallied the shootout winner as the host New York Rangers rallied to defeat the New York Islanders for a franchise-record 54th win.
Igor Shesterkin made 33 saves, Braden Schneider scored a short-handed goal and Vincent Trocheck ended the shootout with another goal as the Rangers inched closer to winning the Presidents' Trophy for the NHL's best regular-season record.
Brock Nelson scored twice for the Islanders, who moved closer to clinching a playoff spot.
JETS 7, AVALANCHE 0 >> Josh Morrissey and Adam Lowry scored 10 seconds apart in a four-goal first period that chased Colorado goaltender Alexandar Georgiev from the net, and visiting Winnipeg won its sixth straight and moved into the driver's seat for the Central Division's second seed.
FLYERS 1, DEVILS 0 >> Travis Konecny scored a shorthanded breakaway goal and Samuel Ersson stopped 20 shots to keep host Philadelphia's miniscule postseason hopes alive with one game left to play in a win over New Jersey.
CAPITALS 4, LIGHTNING 2 >> John Carlson scored the goahead goal on a power play with 11:31 left, Charlie Lindgren made 32 saves in another strong performance and host Washington kept its playoff hopes alive by beating Tampa Bay.
PANTHERS 3, SABRES 2 (OT) >> Sam Reinhart got his 55th goal of the season with 1:02 left in overtime and host Florida clinched home ice for at least Round 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs by beating Buffalo.
SAN JOSE >> Sharks forwards Mikael Granlund, Fabian Zetterlund and William Eklund were coy about whether they would compete in next month's IIHF World Championships in Czechia.
The Finnish-born Granlund and Sweden's Zetterlund said they've spoken to their national team's respective coaches about playing in the tournament. Eklund did not wish to say if he's spoken with Swedish hockey officials.
The Sharks have two games left, after Saturday's game against the Minnesota Wild, the team's home finale. They finish the season with games against the Edmonton Oilers on Monday and the Calgary Flames on Thursday.
“We'll see what's going to happen,” said Granlund, who led the Sharks with 56 points before Saturday's game. “I'm healthy right now and I've always liked to play in those tournaments.”
Granlund has played in six world championships for Finland, most recently in 2022 when he had 11 points in nine games to help lead Finland to a gold medal. Granlund also won gold in 2011, and silver in 2016 when he was named to the all-tournament team.
“In Finland. It's a big tournament and as a player, I've always had a sense of pride to play in that jersey,” Granlund said of the Suomi sweater. “So, every time I've had a chance to go, I've gone. So, we'll see.”
Zetterlund played in his first world championships last year and had three points in four games before Sweden was eliminated in the quarterfinals. Going into Saturday, Zetterlund had recorded career highs in goals (22), assists (20) and points (42).
“It was fun to play. Of course, it's always a pleasure to play for your own country and put that jersey on,” said Zetterlund, who spoke just as Luke Kunin, chosen for Team USA, came over to listen. “But if I'm going, it's going to be way better this year.”
Eklund didn't want to discuss the upcoming world championships in much detail. Although he hasn't taken part in the tournament before, he did represent Sweden multiple times in junior hockey.
“It would be really fun,” Eklund said. “It's always a big honor to play for your national team.”
The Sharks could have other representatives at the event, which will serve as a prelude of sorts to the Four Nations Face-Off next February in which Canada, the U.S., Finland, and Sweden
LINEUP UPDATES >> Filip Zadina, injured during the team's morning skate on Tuesday, remained out of the lineup Saturday. Sharks coach David Quinn said Zadina feels better and might be available to play in one of the final two games.
Pending unrestricted free agent Kevin Labanc drew into the lineup Saturday in what might be his final home game in a Sharks uniform. Labanc, a sixth-round draft pick by San Jose in 2014, has played in 477 games as a Shark, but has been a healthy scratch close to 30 times this season.
Labanc, in the final year of a four-year contract, has nine points in 45 games this season, and 225 points in 477 NHL games.
Quinn said he wants to give everyone a chance to play in at least one of the team's last three games.