THURSDAY’S RESULTS
Bruins 5, Sabres 1: David Pastrnak had a goal and two assists and visiting Boston beat Buffalo for its season-best sixth straight victory. Matt Grzelcyk scored the go-ahead goal 12:50 into the second period, and rookie Jeremy Swayman stopped 29 shots. Brad Marchand, with his team-leading 25th, Nick Ritchie and David Krejci also scored for the Bruins. Pastrnak has two goals and eight assists over a five-game point streak.
Hurricanes 4, Panthers 2: Sebastian Aho scored two shorthanded goals and to help Carolina beat host Florida. Nino Niederreiter and Jordan Martinook also scored, Alex Nedeljkovic made 30 saves, and Martin Necas had three assists. The Hurricanes have won six consecutive games against the Panthers this season.
Lightning 3, Blue Jackets 1: Ondrej Palat scored the tiebreaking goal in the third period and Curtis McElhinney stopped 24 shots, leading Tampa Bay past visiting Columbus. Blake Coleman had two goals, including an empty-netter with 25 seconds left.
Penguins 5, Devils 1: Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust each scored their 19th goals of the season and host Pittsburgh beat New Jersey. Kasperi Kapanen returned to the Penguins’ lineup after missing 13 games with a left foot injury and had a goal and an assist. Teddy Blueger scored a short-handed goal, and Cody Ceci also scored for Pittsburgh.
Flyers 3, Rangers 2: James van Riemsdyk scored two power-play goals and Philadelphia won at New York to snap a two-game slide. Jakub Voracek scored the deciding goal for the Flyers, and Brian Elliott made 33 saves. Ivan Provorov had two assists.
Maple Leafs 5, Jets 3: Mitch Marner had two goals and an assist, Auston Matthews scored his NHL-leading 34th goal and Toronto beat host Winnipeg. Wayne Simmonds and Jason Spezza also scored and Jack Campbell made 34 saves to help the North Division-leading Maple Leafs move six points ahead of the Jets.
Capitals 1, Islanders 0 (SO): Evgeny Kuznetsov scored the deciding goal in a shootout, giving visiting Washington a win over New York to reclaim sole possession of first place in the East Division. Ilya Samsonov stopped 26 shots through overtime for his second shutout of the season and third of his career. The Capitals won for the seventh time in 11 games.
Red Wings 7, Stars 3: Jakub Vrana scored four goals in a game for the first time to help Detroit rout visiting Dallas and match its victory total from last season. The Red Wings picked up their 17th victory in their 49th game, a year after winning 17 of 71 games in the previous pandemic-shortened season. The teams will play a fourth straight game Saturday night.
Avalanche 4, Blues 2: Andre Burakovsky scored twice with Brandon Saad and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare adding goals as Colorado clinched a playoff berth with a victory at St. Louis. The Avalanche improved to 18-1-2 in their last 21 games.
Senators 3, Canucks 0: Matt Murray had 31 saves to help visiting Ottawa shut out Vancouver.
Wednesday’s late results
Golden Knights 5, Sharks 2: Jonathan Marchessault scored twice and host Vegas defeated San Jose for its eighth straight win. The Golden Knights, who lead the NHL with 33 wins and 68 points, became the first team in the NHL to clinch a playoff berth. Vegas improved to 15-1-3 all-time against the Sharks in regular-season meetings — including a perfect 7-0-0 this season. Canadiens 4, Oilers 3: Josh Anderson had two goals and Montreal withstood a late push by host Edmonton, to split a two-game series. Jake Allen made 22 saves as the Canadiens picked up just their third win in nine games.