Bruins blank Devils to clinch playoff spot

Captain Patrice Bergeron scored his 20th goal of the season and the Boston Bruins clinched their fifth straight playoff berth with a dominating 3-0 victory over the Devils at New Jersey on Monday night.

Tuukka Rask stopped 20 shots for his second shutout of the season and Nick Ritchie broke a scoreless tie in the second period as the Bruins won their fourth straight game and ended the Devils’ three-game winning streak.

BLUES 3, DUCKS 1 >> Robert Bortuzzo’s first goal of the season proved to be the game-winner as St. Louis defeated Anaheim. Brayden Schenn and Ryan O’Reilly also scored, Justin Faulk had two assists, and Jordan Binnington made 19 saves for the Blues, the fourth-place team in the West Division. PREDATORS 4, BLUE JACKETS 3 >> Roman Josi scored 3:24 into overtime and Nashville tightened its hold on a playoff spot with a win at Columbus. Emil Bemstrom scored three goals in the third to rally Columbus from a 3-0 deficit before Josi ended it with his second goal of the night. The Predators are dueling with Dallas for the Central Division’s fourth playoff spot and increased their lead to four points.

PANTHERS 5, STARS 4 >> Aleksander Barkov scored 2:50 into overtime to lift Florida over visiting Dallas.

CAPITALS 6, RANGERS 3 >> Daniel Sprong scored the tiebreaking goal early in the third period and Washington went on to win at New York. HURRICANES 5, BLACKHAWKS 2 >> Sebastian Aho scored twice in the second period on the way to a hat trick, helping Carolina roll past Chicago.

CANADIENS 3, MAPLE LEAFS 2>> Cole Caufield scored at 4:43 of overtime, and Montreal defeated Toronto in a potential North Division playoff preview.