Jack Eichel scored 1:19 into overtime and the Vegas Golden Knights clinched a playoff spot with a 3-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche in Denver on Saturday night.
Eichel grabbed the puck in the Colorado end, skated down the left boards and beat goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood with a shot from the circle for his game-winner, helping the Knights clinch their eighth playoff berth in nine seasons of existence.
Mark Stone and Pavel Dorofeyev also scored and Carter Hart made 30 saves for the Knights.
Nick Blankenburg and Devon Toews scored and Blackwood turned away 26 shots for the Central Division-leading Avalanche, who have clinched the Presidents’ Trophy.
Lightning 2, Bruins 1
Defenseman Emil Lilleberg scored a rebound goal with 1:35 left in regulation, leading visiting Tampa Bay to a win over Boston, which reached the postseason later in the day despite the defeat.
Moments after the Bruins were unable to clear a puck, Lilleberg buried the rebound of a Jake Guentzel shot to lead Tampa Bay to the win The Lightning snapped a three-game skid, while Boston clinched a playoff spot when the Detroit Red Wings lost to the New Jersey Devils.
Brandon Hagel also scored and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 19 saves for the Lightning, who trailed 1-0 into the third and registered their 23rd come-from-behind win this season. Morgan Geekie scored Boston’s goal. Jeremy Swayman made 22 saves for the Bruins, who are 0-3-2 in their last five games.
Senators 3, Islanders 0
Ridly Greig scored a short-handed goal in the first period and Jake Sanderson added a power-play goal in the third, lifting Ottawa to a victory over New York in Elmont, N.Y.
Michael Amadio added an empty-net goal late in the third and Linus Ullmark stopped all 23 shots he faced for the Senators, who won their fourth straight game. They clinched a playoff berth for the second consecutive season later in the evening after the New Jersey Devils defeated the Detroit Red Wings.
Ilya Sorokin recorded 13 saves for the Islanders (43-32-5, 91 points), who went 0-for-5 on the power play. They fell to 1-1-0 under Peter DeBoer and lost for the fifth time in six games overall.
Kings 1, Oilers 0
Anton Forsberg made 27 saves for Los Angeles against visiting Edmonton for his third shutout this season and 11th in his 11-year NHL career.
Artemi Panarin scored the lone goal of the game for the Kings, who won their fourth in a row to hold on to the second wild-card spot from the Western Conference with three games remaining.
Connor Ingram made 20 saves for the Oilers, who clinched a playoff spot with Winnipeg’s loss. Edmonton lost 1-0 for the third time this season and fell to 1-2-1 in its past four games.
Hurricanes 4, Mammoth 1
Andrei Svechnikov and Jordan Staal scored first-period goals as Carolina topped Utah in Salt Lake City.
With the victory, Carolina moved four points up on the idle Buffalo Sabres for the top seed in the Eastern Conference. Carolina and Buffalo each have two games remaining. Sebastian Aho and Sean Walker also tallied while Nikolaj Ehlers, Jordan Martinook and Shayne Gostisbehere added a pair of assists each. Frederik Andersen made 26 saves in his first career appearance and win against the Mammoth.
Dylan Guenther scored for the Mammoth and Karel Vejmelka stopped 26 shots as Utah’s five-game win streak ended. The Mammoth hold the top wild-card spot in the Western Conference, leading the Kings by three points. Both teams have three games to play.
Stars 2, Rangers 0
Jason Robertson scored a power-play goal with 7:11 left in regulation for Dallas, which earned a victory over visiting New York.
Robertson added an empty-netter with 59 seconds left to tie Wyatt Johnston for the team lead with 44 goals. The win, coupled with a loss by the Minnesota Wild against the Nashville Predators, cemented home-ice advantage for Dallas against the Wild when the teams face off in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Dallas’ Jake Oettinger posted his fourth shutout of the season, and second in his last four starts, making 22 saves as he won his fourth consecutive game. Igor Shesterkin kept the Rangers, stopping 17 of the 18 shots he faced.
Capitals 6, Penguins 3
Ilya Protas scored his first NHL goal and added two assists and visiting Washington kept its playoff chances alive with a win against a depleted Pittsburgh team.
Ryan Leonard scored twice, and Aliaksei Protas and Tom Wilson each had a goal and an assist for the Capitals, who remain three points behind Philadelphia for third place in the Metropolitan Division.
Anthony Mantha, Noel Acciari and Kevin Hayes scored for the Penguins, who were without Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and other contributors due to day-to-day injuries.
Devils 5, Red Wings 3
Jesper Bratt’s second goal broke a tie late in the third period and New Jersey rallied for a win over host Detroit.
The loss eliminated the Red Wings from playoff contention. Jesper Bratt added an assist, Jack Hughes had a goal and an assist and Cody Glass and Dawson Mercer also scored for the Devils, whose playoff hopes expired earlier in the week. Jake Allen stopped 25 shots.
Emmitt Finnie had a goal and an assist and defenseman Justin Faulk and David Perron also scored for Detroit, which is 2-5-1 in its last eight. Dylan Larkin had two assists and John Gibson made 28 saves.
Predators 2, Wild 1
Steven Stamkos had a goal and an assist for Nashville in a win against visiting Minnesota.
Matthew Wood also scored and Justus Annunen made 21 saves for Nashville, which stayed within a point of the Los Angeles Kings for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference. The Predators have two games left and the Kings have three.
Michael McCarron scored and Jesper Wallstedt made 20 saves for Minnesota, which will open the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Dallas Stars.
Blue Jackets 5, Canadiens 2
Charlie Coyle scored a pair of goals as Columbus kept its playoff hopes alive with a crucial road victory over Montreal Canadiens.
Blue Jackets goalie Jet Greaves stopped 20 of the 22 shots he faced and Kirill Marchenko finished with a goal and an assist for the Blue Jackets, who are two points back of Philadelphia in the Metropolitan Division with two games to play.
Cole Caufield kept pace in the Rocket Richard Trophy race as he scored his 51st goal of the season for Montreal. Josh Anderson also tallied and Jakub Dobes made 28 saves as the Canadiens lost for just the second time over their past 12 contests.
Flyers 7, Jets 1
Sean Couturier had two goals and an assist as Philadelphia moved closer to securing a playoff berth with a rout of host Winnipeg.
Noah Cates had a goal and two assists, while Matvei Michkov scored and had a helper. Porter Martone, Travis Sanheim and Nick Seeler also tallied. Rasmus Ristolainen collected two assists. Dan Vladar made 27 stops. The victory provided the Flyers the ability to hold the third seed in the Metropolitan Division with two games remaining.
Haydn Fleury scored the Jets’ lone goal. Connor Hellebuyck made 15 saves, while Eric Comrie stopped one shot and allowed two goals in relief after taking over for the third period. The defeat was a large setback for the Jets’ slim playoff chances, pushing them five points back of Los Angeles for the final Western Conference wild-card spot with three games remaining.
Canucks 4, Sharks 3 (SO)
Macklin Celebrini tallied his 109th and 110th points of the season, but San Jose couldn’t win its home finale of the season, falling to Vancouver in a shootout.
Jake DeBrusk and Linus Karlsson found the back of the net for the Canucks in the shootout, which went to six rounds. DeBrusk, Teddy Blueger and Marco Rossi scored in regulation, and Kevin Lankinen made 28 saves for the Canucks, who had lost four straight games and nine of their last 10.
Igor Chernyshov scored twice, Celebrini had two assists and Yaroslav Askarov made 38 saves for the Sharks, who have lost three straight. The loss keeps the Sharks five points behind the Los Angeles Kings, who are in the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference playoff standings.
Blues 5, Blackhawks 3
Joel Hofer made 31 saves to help St. Louis hold off host Chicago.
Jimmy Snuggerud, Alexey Toropchenko, Jordan Kyrou, Cam Fowler and Dalibor Dvorsky scored for the Blues.
Ilya Mikheyev scored twice, Ryan Greene added a goal and Arvid Soderblom made 23 saves for the Blackhawks.
Kraken 4, Flames 1
Goaltender Nikke Kokko made 26 saves to win his first NHL start as Seattle defeated visiting Calgary.
Frederick Gaudreau, Chandler Stephenson, Matty Beniers and Jordan Eberle scored and Ryker Evans had two assists for the Kraken, who were eliminated from postseason contention before taking the ice as Los Angeles defeated Edmonton earlier in the day.
Hunter Brzustewicz scored for the Flames, who took their third straight loss. Goalie Devin Cooley stopped 17 of 20 shots.
Panthers 6, Maple Leafs 2
Mackie Samoskevich and Eetu Luostarinen each tallied a goal and two assists to lead visiting Florida to a 6-2 defeat of Toronto.
Samoskevich restored a two-goal lead for the Panthers after the Leafs’ William Nylander nabbed back-to-back goals in the second period to cut the deficit to 3-2. A.J. Greer chipped in with a goal and an assist. Tomas Nosek had two goals.
Joseph Woll stopped 19 of 23 shots for Toronto, while Daniil Tarasov turned away 17 of 19 for Florida.
–Field Level Media
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