Jets rally to trim Ducks in overtime
Winnipeg’s Dustin Byfuglien tied the score with 12 seconds left in regulation and assisted on Mark Scheifele’s 30th goal this season at 3:34 of overtime, rallying the host Jets to a 4-3 victory over Anaheim on Thursday night.
Winnipeg scored twice in the final 8:25 of the third period to pull even. Following a coach’s challenge by Ducks coach Randy Carlyle, it was determined that Byfuglien’s jam job in the crease was indeed a good goal.
Joel Armia and Blake Wheeler also scored in regulation for Winnipeg.
Corey Perry scored twice but the Ducks’ winning streak was snapped at five games. Jakob Silfverberg also scored for Anaheim, which is atop the Pacific Division by a point over Edmonton and three over the Sharks.
All three of those teams and fourth-place Calgary have five games left in the regular season.
Anaheim goalie Jonathan Bernier turned away 37 shots, his latest quality performance since taking over the starting job from John Gibson.
Bernier has been rock solid in March, leading all NHL goaltenders in wins. The 28-year-old is 10-1-2 this month, entering Winnipeg with a .946 save percentage and a 1.65 goals-against average — both good for third in the NHL in March.
Michael Hutchinson made 25 saves for Winnipeg, improving to 8-12-3 in his 19th start of the season.
Wild 5, Senators 1: Former Sharks goalie Alex Stalock won his first NHL start in more than a year, Nino Niederreiter had two goals and host Minnesota ended a skid at four games. Stalock stopped 18 shots in his first start for the Wild, who remained second in the Western Conference. Joel Eriksson Ek, Matt Dumba and Jason Pominville also scored for Minnesota, which lost nine of its previous 10 games. Ottawa played without captain Erik Karlsson, ending his streak of games played at 324. He was injured blocking a shot against Philadelphia on Tuesday.
Bruins 2, Stars 0: Tuukka Rask made 27 saves for his seventh shutout of the season and host Boston stayed three points ahead of Tampa Bay for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference. Maple Leafs 3, Predators 1: James van Riemsdyk and Auston Matthews each scored a power-play goal, and Frederik Andersen made 29 saves to spark visiting Toronto. The Maple Leafs remained in third place in the Atlantic Division, one point ahead of Boston. Lightning 5, Red Wings 3: Alex Killorn and Jonathan Drouin scored power-play goals 1:51 apart late in the second period as host Tampa Bay completed a sweep of the five-game season series with Detroit. Canadiens 6, Panthers 2: Paul Byron scored twice, Brendan Gallagher had a goal and three assists, and host Montreal clinched a playoff spot. Tomas Plekanec, Max Pacioretty and Phillip Danault also scored for the Canadiens. Carey Price made 29 saves for his 36th win. Hurricanes 2, Blue Jackets 1: Noah Hanifin scored 2:16 into overtime for host Carolina. Jeff Skinner scored the tying goal with 4:20 left in regulation before setting up the winner for the surging Hurricanes. They have established a club record by earning at least one point in 13 straight games while climbing from last place in the Eastern Conference to the fringe of the playoff race.
Flyers 6, Islanders 3: Wayne Simmonds got his 30th goal of the season and host Philadelphia scored five times in a fight-filled first period on the way to a win over fading New York.