Penguins top Wings in OT, leapfrog into a playoff spot
Erik Karlsson scored 1:40 into overtime and the Pittsburgh Penguins bolstered their playoff odds with a 6-5 win over Detroit on Thursday night.
Sidney Crosby set up Karlsson's winner to become the 14th player in NHL history to reach 1,000 career assists. Crosby finished with a goal and two assists to move past Hall of Famer Phil Esposito and into 10th on the NHL's all-time scoring list.
Brian Rust, Kris Letang and Jeff Carter also scored as the Penguins leapfrogged Washington to move into the Eastern Conference's second wild-card spot with three games remaining.
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 New York.
Cam York, Travis Konecny and Noah Cates also scored for the Flyers, who stayed alive in the tight Eastern Conference playoff race.
SABRES 4, CAPITALS 2 >> Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 22 shots and Buffalo played the role of playoff spoiler against Washington.
The Capitals dropped to 1-5-2 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.
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 to lead Florida.
The Panthers moved within a point of the idle Boston Bruins for first place in the Atlantic Division.
DEVILS 6, MAPLE LEAFS 5 >> Jesper Bratt broke a tie with 1:14 left with his second goal of the game and 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 a season since Mario Lemieux had 69 in 1995-96. OTTAWA 3, TAMPA BAY 2, SO >> Brady Tkachuk had a goal and an assist in regulation and scored the only goal of the shootout as Ottawa beat 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), Mario Lemieux (once) and Bobby Orr (once) as the only players with 100 or more assists in a season. ISLANDERS 3, CANADIENS 2, OT >> Kyle Palmieri scored at 1:17 of overtime and New York extended their winning streak to six games and hold a three-point cushion for third place in the Metropolitan Division.