Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
Bruins strike early, top Devils, tie record with 62nd triumph
Pavel Zacha scored twice in the first two minutes as host Boston beat New Jersey 2-1 to tie an NHL record with its 62nd win this season. The Bruins have three games left to try to top the regular-season wins record set by Detroit in 1995-96 and tied by Tampa Bay in 2018-19. Linus Ullmark stopped 29 shots for Boston, which won its fifth straight and 12th in its past 13 games. Mackenzie Blackwood had 38 saves for the Devils, who had won four of their previous five games and are one point behind Carolina atop the Metropolitan Division.
■ Sabres 4, Hurricanes 3: At Buffalo, N.Y., Tage Thompson scored the go-ahead goal 6:15 into the third period, and Rasmus Dahlin had a goal, two assists and a key blocked shot as Buffalo won for the fourth time in five games to keep alive its playoff hopes. Casey Mittelstadt scored twice for the Sabres, who are 6-1-1 in their past eight games. They have not qualified for the postseason for 11 straight seasons. Antti Raanta had 26 saves while losing his third game in regulation this season. He had been 15-0-2 in his past 17 starts.
■ Oilers 6, Sharks 1: At San Jose, Calif., Connor Mcdavid had two goals and an assist to become the first NHL player since Mario Lemieux in 199596 to reach 150 points in a season as Edmonton won its seventh straight and moved to 12-0-1 in its past 13 games. Mcdavid, with 64 goals and 87 assists, is the sixth player to record 150 points in a season, joining Wayne Gretzky (nine times), Lemieux (four), Phil Esposito, Steve Yzerman and Bernie Nichols.
■ Penguins 5, Red Wings 1: At Detroit, Sidney Crosby had two goals and an assist to become the 15th NHL player to reach 1,500 points, and Pittsburgh kept alive its hopes of reaching the playoffs for a 17th straight season. Crosby, who has 550 goals and 950 assists, is the sixth-fastest player to reach 1,500 points, doing so in 1,188 games. He is the 12th player to notch 90 points in his age-35 season or older.
■ Coyotes 5, Ducks 4, OT: At Tempe, Ariz., Barrett Hayton scored with a minute left in overtime, halting Arizona’s nine-game slide and handing Anaheim its 10th loss in a row. Max Jones scored to give the Ducks their first lead at 4-3 with 1:52 to go in regulation, but Matias Macelli tied it with 36 seconds left. Adam Henrique scored twice for Anaheim.
■ Maple Leafs 7, Canadiens 1: At Toronto, Mitch Marner had two goals and an assist to reach a career-high 98 points this season, John Tavares scored twice, and Auston Matthews had a goal and three assists. Toronto, locked into a first-round playoff matchup with Tampa Bay, has alternated wins and losses for its past 11 games.
■ Panthers 4, Capitals 2: At Washington, Matthew Tkachuk scored the tiebreaking goal with one minute left for Florida, which won its sixth straight and reclaimed the East’s top wild card. Tom Wilson had a goal and an assist for Washington, which lost its sixth in a row and will miss the playoffs for the first time in nine years.
■ Rangers 4, Blue Jackets 0: At Columbus, Ohio, Igor Shesterkin stopped 20 shots in his 11th shutout and third this season as New York won for the third time in four games and pulled two points behind New Jersey for second place in the Metropolitan Division. Columbus lost for the seventh time in eight games.
■ Wild 5, Blues 3: At St. Paul, Minn., Ryan Hartman and Sam Steel scored short-handed goals 20 seconds apart in the first period for Minnesota, which halted a three-game skid and pulled even with Colorado, two points behind Central Divisionleading Dallas.
■ Jets 2, Predators 0: At Winnipeg, Manitoba, Connor Hellebuyck had 28 saves in his 32nd shutout and fourth this season as Winnipeg won for the third time in four games. Nashville fell three points behind the Jets in the race for the West’s final wild card.
■ Islanders 4, Flyers 0: At New York, Ilya Sorokin stopped 27 shots in his 16th shutout and sixth this season, and New York stayed one point ahead of Pittsburgh and tied with Florida in the East wild-card race. Philadelphia lost its sixth in a row.
■ Senators 7, Lightning 4: At Ottawa, Ontario, Egor Sokolov scored his first NHL goal for Ottawa, which had a 40-24 edge in shots and halted a fourgame skid. Tampa Bay lost its third in a row.