Sabres play spoilers, top Capitals
Washington continues miserable slump to help Penguins’ chances
Ukko- Pekka Luukkonen stopped 22 shots and the host Buffalo Sabres played the role of playoff spoilers with a 4-2 win against the Washington Capitals.
Alex Tuch, Zach Benson, Jack Quinn and Dylan Cozens, with an empty-netter, scored for the Sabres playing their last home game of the season, and two days after they extended their NHLrecord playoff drought to a 13th season following a 3-2 loss at Dallas.
It marked Washington’s second loss at Buffalo in nine days following a 6-2 decision on April 2.
The Capitals dropped to 15-2 in their past seven and squandered an opportunity to keep pace in a tightly contested race for the Eastern Conference’s eighth and final playoff spot. Washington, coming off a 2- 1 win at Detroit on Tuesday, opened the day holding the eighth spot, but were leapfrogged by the Penguins’ win.
Connor McMichael and Tom Wilson had goals for a Capitals team that has not scored three or more goals in its past eighth outings, dating to a 4-3 overtime win versus Detroit on March 26.
Other games
Flyers 4, Rangers 1: Bobby Brink scored the go-ahead goal early in the second period, Samuel Ersson made 24 saves and Philadelphia snapped an eight-game losing streak with a win over host New York. Cam York, Travis Konecny and Noah Cates also scored for the Flyers, who were 0-6-2 since defeating Boston at home on March 23. Ryan Poehling added two assists as Philadelphia stayed alive in the tight Eastern Conference playoff race.
Panthers 4, Blue Jackets
0: Sergei Bobrovsky made 25 saves to tie for the NHL lead with six shutouts, Sam Reinhart scored his 54th goal and host Florida defeated Columbus. Bobrovsky, who has 44 career shutouts, is tied with Arizona’s Connor Ingram and the Penguins’ Tristan Jarry for the most this season. Matthew Tkachuk, Evan Rodrigues and Vladimir Tarasenko also scored for the Panthers, who moved within a point of the idle Boston Bruins for first place in the Atlantic Division.
Maple Leafs 6, Devils 5: Jesper Bratt broke a tie with 1:14 left with his second goal of the game and visiting New Jersey beat Toronto, overcoming Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews’ NHL-leading 67th and 68th goals of the season. Matthews has the most goals in the NHL since Mario Lemieux had 69 in 1995-96.
Islanders 3, Canadiens 2, OT: Kyle Palmieri scored at
1:17 of overtime and host New York extended its win streak to six games with a win against Montreal. Pierre Engvall and Casey Cizikas also scored, Semyon Varlamov made 13 saves and the Islanders inched closer to securing a playoff spot.
Senators 3, Lightning 2, SO:
Brady Tkachuk had a goal and an assist in regulation and scored the only goal of the shootout as Ottawa beat host Tampa Bay. NHL points leader Nikita Kucherov had two assists for the Lightning
to give him 98 this season as he looks to join Wayne Gretzky (11 times), Lemieux (once) and Bobby Orr (once) as the only players with 100 or more assists in a season.
Jets 3, Stars 0: Laurent Brossoit stopped 24 shots for his third shutout, David Gustafsson scored on his 24th birthday and Winnipeg beat host Dallas.
Notes
Noah Hanifin, a trade deadline acquisition meant to bolster the Golden Knights’ blue line, signed an eight- year extension with Vegas worth an average of $7.35 million annually. Hanifin, 27, has two goals and seven assists in 16 games for the Knights.
• Anaheim Ducks forward Jakob Silfverberg says he will retire at the end of the regular season. The 33-year-old started his NHL career in Ottawa, and he has been with the Ducks since 2013, serving as an alternate captain for the past five years.