News & Notes: Canadiens headed back to playoffs

CANADIENS PUNCH TICKET TO THE POSTSEASON

Brendan Gallagher (1-3-4) established single-game career highs for assists and points to help the Montreal Canadiens clinch a berth in the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs. It's their fourth postseason appearance in the past five seasons.

* At 44-24-9 (97 points), the Canadiens opened a six-point lead atop the Atlantic Division and moved within three points of reaching the 100-point mark for the third time in their past four seasons.

* Paul Byron scored two goals to bring his season total to 22 (76 GP). Prior to 2016-17, Byron had scored 28 goals in his first 200 NHL games.

THURSDAY'S RESULTS

Home Team in Caps

PHILADELPHIA 6, NY Islanders 3
CAROLINA 2, Columbus 1 (OT)
BOSTON 2, Dallas 0
MONTREAL 6, Florida 2
TAMPA BAY 5, Detroit 3
Toronto 3, NASHVILLE 1
MINNESOTA 5, Ottawa 1
WINNIPEG 4, Anaheim 3 (OT)
EDMONTON 3, San Jose 2

OILERS EARN SEVENTH STRAIGHT HOME WIN, CLIMB IN PACIFIC DIVISION

Patrick Maroon (2-0-2) and Connor McDavid (1-1-2) combined for all three goals to help the Edmonton Oilers defeat the San Jose Sharks for their seventh consecutive win at Rogers Place.

* At 43-25-9 (95 points), the Oilers moved past the Sharks (43-27-7, 93 points) for sole possession of second place in the Pacific Division. They are point behind the Anaheim Ducks (42-23-12, 96 points).

* McDavid extended his point streak to nine games (5-11-16) and leads the League with 28-63-91 this season. He is the first Oilers player with 91 or more points in a season since Doug Weight in 1995-96 (25-79-104).

MAPLE LEAFS, BRUINS IMPROVE CHANCES OF CLINCHING PLAYOFF BERTHS

The Maple Leafs (37-24-15, 89 points) and Bruins (41-30-6, 88 points) each won to improve their chances of qualifying for the playoffs:

* Auston Matthews scored his seventh game-winning goal of the season to extend his point streak to seven games (5-3-8) and help the Maple Leafs improve to 6-1-1 in their past eight games. The Elias Sports Bureau notes that Matthews moved within one game-winning goal of matching the single-season franchise rookie record, set by Howie Meeker in 1946-47 (8). Toronto maintained its hold on third place in the Atlantic Division and climbed within two points of the Ottawa Senators (41-26-9, 91 points), who lost in regulation.

* Tuukka Rask (27 saves) had his seventh shutout of 2016-17 to match his single-season career high set in 2013-14 and help the Bruins to their third consecutive win. Brad Marchand (1-1-2) scored his 38th goal to eclipse his single-season NHL career high of 37, set in 2015-16. Boston kept pace with Toronto and reinforced its hold on the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.

CLUBS EARN VALUABLE POINTS IN EASTERN CONFERENCE WILD CARD RACE

The Tampa Bay Lightning (38-29-9, 85 points), Carolina Hurricanes (35-27-14, 84 points) and Philadelphia Flyers (37-32-8, 82 points) each won to keep pace in the race for the final wild card spot in the East:

* Five players scored goals to power the Lightning to their fourth consecutive win. Victor Hedman (15-51-66) had an assist to establish a single-season franchise record for points by a defenseman, besting the mark set by Roman Hamrlik in 1995-96 (16-49-65). The Lightning remained three points behind the Bruins for the second wild card position in the East.

* Jeff Skinner (1-1-2) scored the tying goal with 4:20 remaining in the third period and assisted on Noah Hanifin 's overtime winner as the Hurricanes extended their point streak to a franchise-record 13 games (9-0-4). Skinner has scored nine goals in his past eight games (9-2-11).

* The Flyers raced to a 5-0 lead in the first period and held off a rally by the New York Islanders to improve to 4-1-0 in their past five games. Wayne Simmonds (1-2-3) reached the 30-goal mark for the second straight season (32 goals in 2015-16).

LOOSE PUCKS

Alex Stalock made 18 saves to win his debut with the Minnesota Wild (45-24-8, 98 points), which ended a four-game slide (0-2-2). … Maple Leafs forward Mitchell Marner (0-1-1) leads all rookies with 41 assists; Elias notes that Marner established a single-season franchise rookie record for assists, besting the mark set by Gus Bodnar in 1943-44 (40). … Mark Scheifele reached the 30-goal plateau for the first time in his NHL career, while Filip Forsberg hit the mark for the second straight season (33 goals in 2015-16). … Nashville's Peter Laviolette served his 1,000th career game as an NHL coach. … Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg (0-1-1) reached the 900-point milestone (325-575-900). … Leon Draisaitl (4-12-16 in 9 GP), Ondrej Palat (2-8-10 in 6 GP) and Eric Staal (3-3-6 in 6 GP) extended their point streaks. … Jason Pominville (900), David Krejci (700) and Jason Demers (500) skated in milestone games. … The Canadiens honored former Montreal Expos player Tim Raines, who was recently elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

SNEAK PEEK AT FRIDAY'S ACTION

All Times Eastern

Pittsburgh @ NY Rangers, 7 p.m., SN, MSG 2, ROOT
New Jersey @ NY Islanders, 7:30 p.m., MSG+, MSG+ 2
Columbus @ Chicago, 8:30 p.m., CSN-CH, FS-O
St. Louis @ Colorado, 9 p.m., ALT, FS-MW
San Jose @ Calgary, 9 p.m., SNW, CSN-CA
Los Angeles @ Vancouver, 10 p.m., SN360, SNP, FS-W
Washington @ Arizona, 10 p.m., FS-A, CSN-DC+

BLUES, FLAMES LOOK TO CLINCH POSTSEASON BERTHS

The St. Louis Blues (42-28-6, 90 points) and Calgary Flames (43-30-4, 90 points) will try to clinch berths in the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs on Friday:

* The Blues aim to clinch their sixth consecutive postseason berth when they visit the Avalanche at Pepsi Center. St. Louis is 11-2-1 in March and has points in its past seven games (6-0-1).

* The Flames will try to clinch their second postseason berth in three seasons when they host the Sharks at Scotiabank Saddledome. Calgary is 9-2-0 in its past 11 home games.

- NHL Public Relations

Stalock, McDavid, Byfuglien named our 'Three Stars of the Night'

NEW YORK – UNB! Network NHL/hockey blog 'The Neutral Zone' has named Alex Stalock, Connor McDavid, and Dustin Byfuglien their 'Theee Stars of the Night' for the National Hockey League games taking place on March 30, 2017.

FIRST STAR - ALEX STALOCK, G, MINNESOTA WILD

Stalock made 18 saves to earn a win in his team debut and help the Wild (45-24-8, 98 points) snap a four-game slide (0-2-2).

SECOND STAR - CONNOR McDAVID, F, EDMONTON OILERS

McDavid extended his point streak to nine games (5-11—16) and leads the League with 28-63—91 this season. McDavid is the first Oilers player to record 91 or more points in a season since Doug Weight in 1995-96 (25-79—104).

THIRD STAR - DUSTIN BYFUGLIEN, F/D, WINNIPEG JETS

Byfuglien tied the game with 0:12 left in regulation and assisted on the OT winner to lead the Jets to their third consecutive win.

Patrik Elias announces retirement from NHL

New Jersey Devils forward Patrik Elias, a two-time Stanley Cup Champion with the club, has announced that he will retire from the National Hockey League. The team will retire the all-time leading scorer's no. 26 at a home game next season. The Devils will celebrate "Patrik Elias Week" over the final three home games including Patrik dropping the ceremonial puck on April 4, an open practice set for April 7 and Elias participating in warm-ups during the April 8 home finale.

To his fans, friends and family, Patrik released the following statement:

    After 18 seasons, I am pleased to announce that I will be retiring from the National Hockey League, having played my last game with the New Jersey Devils. For the past few months, I have weighed this decision both physically and mentally. I am happy to say this provides me and my family with closure.

    I came here 22 years ago to play hockey- to do what I loved since I was 5 years old. I was able to play with great teammates, embrace the camaraderie and team spirit of being a Devil, and bring home a Stanley Cup on two occasions.

    I want to thank the ownership and management for not only supporting me, but allowing me the time to make this difficult decision. It is extraordinarily humbling that my number 26 will hang next to four of my former teammates. I am so proud to have played for one team, one organization over the course of my entire career.

    I want to also thank my family and friends. Off the ice, you grow great relationships, and I've been here 22 years. I've been welcomed into the community and New Jersey has truly become a second home to me and my family.

    To the fans, it is nice to know how much I meant to them, and I want them to know how much they have meant to me.

    I am looking forward to this week, my last lap and next year's celebration.

    Lastly, I want to express my love and thanks to my parents, my lovely wife, Petra, and my beautiful daughters, Sophia and Kaila.

The Devils have also announced that the team will retire Elias' No. 26 jersey prior to a home game next season. Additional details will be released at a later date. Elias will be the fifth player in franchise history to have his number retired, joining No. 4 Scott Stevens (February 3, 2006), No. 3 Ken Daneyko (March 24, 2006), No. 27 Scott Niedermayer (December 16, 2011) and No. 30 Martin Brodeur, whose jersey was raised to the Prudential Center rafters on February 9, 2016.

"Patrik Elias helped to create the foundation for what it means, and what it takes, to be a part of the New Jersey Devils organization," said Josh Harris, Managing Partner of the Devils and Prudential Center. "This moment marks the end of an incredible playing career, but we eagerly look forward to celebrating Patty's 21 seasons of excellence and the legacy he is leaving for generations to enjoy."

"With two Stanley Cups to his credit, Patrik is one of the most decorated Devils in team history and a player that defined two decades of fans in New Jersey," said David Blitzer, Co-Managing Partner of the Devils and Prudential Center. "Patty's demeanor and work ethic on the ice are only second to his character off the ice, and it will be a pleasure to honor a champion like him."

Elias will bid farewell to Devils' fans with one final skate on the Prudential Center ice during warm- ups before the team's final home game of the season on April 8 against the New York Islanders (6p.m.) at The Rock.

The Devils will honor Elias over the course of the final three home games April 4, April 6 and April 8, with special moments and tributes during each game. Elias will drop the ceremonial puck prior to the April 4 game vs. the Flyers, and on April 7, the Devils will hold an open practice for fans to watch Elias prepare with the team for the last time at the RWJ Barnabas Health Hockey House.

Drafted by the New Jersey Devils in the second round with the 51st overall selection in the 1994 NHL Draft, Elias played all 18 full seasons of his NHL career in New Jersey, leading the team to two Stanley Cup Championships, in 2000 and 2003, two additional Stanley Cup Finals appearances, in 2001 and 2012, and four Eastern Conference titles.

Elias is the Devils' franchise leader in goals (408), assists (617) and points (1,025), and ranks third in games played with 1,240 behind only Ken Daneyko (1,283) and Martin Brodeur (1,259). He is also the Devils' single-season leader in points with 96 (2000-01), when he led the league in plus/minus and was also named to the NHL's First All-Star Team at left wing. Elias, a four-time All-Star, is the club's all-time playoff leader with 45 goals, 80 assists and 125 points, 21 power- play goals and six game-winning goals. On January 17, 2009, he scored his 702nd career NHL point surpassing John MacLean to become the franchise's all-time leading scorer. His sixteen career overtime goals rank second in NHL history.

Elias made his NHL debut on December 7, 1995 vs. Toronto. It marked the lone game he played that season, and he would skate in 17 more during the 1996-97 campaign. Patrik would join the club full-time in 1997-98 when he scored 37 points (18g-19a) in 74 games, while being named to the NHL All-Rookie Team.

Patrik represented the Czech Republic nine times in international play, including four Winter Olympic Games, four World Championships and the 2004 World Cup of Hockey. In Olympic play, Elias captained the 2010 squad and was a member of the 2006 Bronze Medal-winning team.

In his final NHL game, on April 9, 2016, Elias scored a goal, recorded two assists and was named the First Star of the game, as he led the Devils to a 5-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs in front of a sold-out crowd at Prudential Center.

Maroon scores 2, streaking Oilers beat struggling Sharks 3-2

Associated Press

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) With their first playoff berth in more than a decade already secured, the Edmonton Oilers now seem to have their sights set even higher.

Patrick Maroon scored twice and the streaking Oilers took over sole possession of second place in the Pacific Division with a 3-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night.

"This is playoffs for us. We are going to be playing these teams eventually, whether it is the first round, second round, third round, whatever," Maroon said.

"We have to continue to be in their face and try to find ways to win and make them not want to come here and play us. That is what we are set up to do. We want to make them scared and make sure they know that we are a good hockey team," he added.

Connor McDavid had a goal and Cam Talbot made 38 saves for the Oilers, who have won four in a row and eight of nine to move within one point of first-place Anaheim.

"You want to play these games heading into the playoffs," McDavid said. "Those meaningful games. We're ramping it up, and we feel pretty good about our game right now.

"It's a good time to be an Oiler."

Jannik Hansen and Joe Pavelski scored for the struggling Sharks, who lost for the seventh time in eight games and dropped to third place in the Pacific.

Despite the loss, Hansen thinks the Sharks are starting to round back into form.

"We're obviously getting closer to the playoffs here. We need to have our game in the right spot. The last two games have been a whole lot better than the previous six," he said.

San Jose didn't take long to get on the scoreboard, as Hansen chipped a rebound over Talbot just 61 seconds into the game.

Edmonton tied it midway through the first period when McDavid made a perfect pass to give Maroon a wide-open net behind Sharks goalie Martin Jones.

With assists on the play, McDavid and Leon Draisaitl extended their point streaks to nine games apiece, and McDavid became the first player in the NHL to reach 90 points this season.

McDavid added to his total on a short-handed goal with 2:32 left in the first period, dancing past Patrick Marleau and beating Jones with a backhand for his 28th of the season.

After a scoreless second period, the Oilers went up 3-1 eight minutes into the third when Maroon tipped Kris Russell's shot past Jones for his 27th goal of the season.

The Sharks got back into the game with six minutes left when Pavelski deflected in a shot for his 29th, but couldn't complete the comeback as Talbot stood his ground.

NOTES: It was the fourth of five meetings between the teams this season. The Sharks won two of the first three games. The Oilers will play in San Jose on April 6th. . San Jose forward Logan Couture missed his second game after taking a puck to the face against Nashville and is not on the road trip. . McDavid became the first player 20 or younger with 90 points in a season since Steven Stamkos in 2009-10.

UP NEXT

Sharks: Right back at it Friday, facing the Flames in Calgary.

Oilers: Host the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday.

Scheifele scores winner, Jets rally to beat Ducks 4-3 in OT

Associated Press

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) Even though they're out of the playoff picture, Mark Scheifele and the Winnipeg Jets are still fighting hard to play spoiler.

Dustin Byfuglien tied the score with 12 seconds left in regulation and assisted on Scheifele's 30th goal this season at 3:34 of overtime, rallying the Jets to a 4-3 victory over the playoff-bound Anaheim Ducks on Thursday night.

"There's still things to play for," said Scheifele, who has 30 goals for the first time in his four-year NHL career. "Obviously, the playoffs are out of reach but there's still lot of things to fight for. Guys fight for jobs, guys showing what they're made of, and they definitely showed it tonight."

Winnipeg scored twice in the final 8:25 of the third period to pull even. Following a coach's challenge by Randy Carlyle of the Ducks, it was determined that Byfuglien's jam job in the crease was indeed a good goal.

Joel Armia and captain Blake Wheeler also scored in regulation for Winnipeg.

"We didn't give up. (We) stayed doing what we needed to do and got a couple breaks to go our way," Wheeler said.

"It's probably hard for you to understand how difficult this is to go through again at a time like this. The fact we're winning hockey games at this time of year with nothing to play for says a lot about the group that we have, the guys that we have."

Corey Perry scored twice but the Ducks had their five-game winning streak snapped. Jakob Silfverberg also scored for the Pacific Division leaders.

"We didn't play for the full 60 minutes," Perry said. "You take your foot off the gas in this league, you're going to get burnt. You can't sit back and receive a hockey game, and we did that in the final frame."

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 1.65 goals-against average - both good for third in the NHL in March.

"I'm just focusing game by game," Bernier said. "There's five games left in the season now and I want to really make sure that I'm fresh and at the same time mentally I'm ready to go for Game 1 (of the playoffs)."

Michael Hutchinson made 25 saves for Winnipeg, improving to 8-12-3 in his 19th start of the season.

Silfverberg opened the scoring at 8:17 of the first, whipping a wrist shot from the faceoff dot over Hutchinson's glove for his 22nd of the season.

The Jets got the equalizer at 11:54 when Armia scored his second short-handed goal in two games - and fourth of the season - with an impressive individual effort. He regained the puck after carrying it into the Ducks zone and beat an unsuspecting Bernier low with a quick shot for his 10th goal of the season.

Perry put the Ducks back in front with 1:04 remaining in the period, then added his second of the game and 18th of the season on the power play at 7:01 of the second.

Wheeler brought the Jets back within a goal with his 24th of the season with 8:25 remaining in the third.

Anaheim clinched a playoff berth Tuesday night for the fifth consecutive season - the only Pacific Division team to do so. The Ducks have reached the postseason 10 of the last 12 years.

Winners of six of their last eight games, the Jets, who were eliminated from playoff contention Monday with the St. Louis Blues' 4-1 win over the Arizona, captured a third straight victory following a pair of one-goal wins over Vancouver and in New Jersey.

NOTES: Anaheim has five games remaining on its regular-season schedule. ... Winnipeg has four games remaining.

UP NEXT

Ducks: At the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday and Calgary Flames on Sunday to complete a four-game road trip.

Jets: Host the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night.

Stalock beats Senators for first win with Wild

By ANDRES YBARRA
Associated Press

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) Nino Niederreiter got his first goal in more than a month. Then, Alex Stalock won his first NHL start in more than a year.

By the end of the night, the Minnesota Wild - once the Western Conference's top team this season - had their first dominant performance in what's felt like forever.

Stalock made 18 saves in his first game with the Wild, Niederreiter scored twice and Minnesota beat the Ottawa Senators 5-1 on Thursday to end a four-game skid.

"The last couple games, we were working hard and we weren't getting those two points at the end of the day," said Chris Stewart, who had two assists. "Tonight was a step in the right direction."

The Wild remained second in the West. Joel Eriksson Ek, Matt Dumba and Jason Pominville also scored for Minnesota.

Searching for a spark with Devan Dubnyk and backup Darcy Kuemper struggling, Minnesota recalled Stalock on Wednesday for his first start since last February with San Jose. The St. Paul native had spent six months in the minors.

Stalock allowed a goal on Ottawa's seventh shot, but Niederreiter tied it less than a minute later. Stalock stopped everything after that, and Niederreiter added another goal in the second to put the Wild ahead for good.

Niederreiter hadn't scored since Feb. 27.

"When you don't score as a potentially top goal scorer you get frustrated and it creeps in your game and it's tough on you mentally," Niederreiter said. "And obviously when the first one gets in, you start feeling loose again and then it's just a matter of time to get the next one."

Craig Anderson had 21 saves for Ottawa. Mike Hoffman scored his 23rd goal of the season for the Senators, who are still trying to lock up a playoff spot but have lost three straight.

Ottawa played without captain and leading scorer Erik Karlsson, who was injured blocking a shot against Philadelphia on Tuesday and ended his streak of 324 consecutive games played. The Senators were also without Alexandre Burrows, who missed the game with an upper-body injury.

"I know we got injuries, but the guys that were in the lineup are able to play better than that," coach Guy Boucher said.

Hoffman put the Senators up 1-0 on a sharp one-timer past Stalock at 16:20 of the first.

"As bad as it is, you don't want to give up a goal, but when you give one up, it's kind of a wake-up call," Stalock said. "From there, I settled in and stopped the shots from the outside, so it was good."

Niederreiter got his 21st goal 47 seconds later when he poked in a rebound off Stewart's shot. He picked up No. 22 at 7:08 of the second on a backhander. Then, at 17:32, Charlie Coyle made a pretty drop to a streaking Eriksson Ek in front of the net for a two-goal lead. Dumba added a power-play goal at 15:14 of the third, and Pominville scored his 13th of the season with eight minutes left.

It was Minnesota's first four-goal win since Jan. 26 against St. Louis.

"I hope it's not the culmination," Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said. "I hope we keep building. It's one game. It'll be a little tougher in Nashville. We'll see how we do there. Then we'll have a little better read on where we are."

NOTES: Senators C Zack Smith got an upper-body injury in the first period and did not return. Asked if Karlsson or Smith could return this weekend, Boucher said, "I don't know what to tell you, I really don't." ... Stalock - who went 20-16-7 in 45 games with Iowa of the AHL - last played in Minnesota in 2015 with San Jose. The Sharks beat the Wild 4-3 in overtime. ... Pominville played in his 900th career game. ... Niederreiter had his fifth two-goal game of the season.

UP NEXT:

Senators: At Winnipeg on Saturday.

Wild: At Nashville on Saturday.

Maple Leafs beat Predators 3-1 for 5th win in 6 games

By TERESA M. WALKER
AP Sports Writer

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) Frederik Andersen proved he's feeling just fine after missing nearly two games with an upper-body injury.

The Maple Leafs goaltender made 29 saves, helping Toronto beat the Nashville Predators 3-1 on Thursday night.

Andersen appeared to be hurt last weekend in a collision with Sabres forward William Carrier during a loss at Buffalo. Andersen missed the final two periods of that game and sat out Tuesday night's win over Florida.

He couldn't have looked much sharper against Nashville, and the Maple Leafs needed every save as the Predators outshot them 30-17.

"I don't think anybody was too worried here about him," Toronto rookie forward Auston Matthews said. "He's been our guy all year. He's been solid for us, and obviously tonight he was a brick wall out there. He made all of our big saves. He kept us in the game at times when they had momentum."

Matthews and James van Riemsdyk each scored a power-play goal, with Matthews getting his seventh game-winner.

Connor Brown added an empty-net goal with 58.4 seconds left as the Maple Leafs started a three-game road trip by sweeping the season series with Nashville. They also won their second straight and fifth in six games to remain in third place in the Atlantic Division.

"We got the result that we wanted," center Mitchell Marner said.

Filip Forsberg scored his 30th of the season for Nashville. The Predators have lost two straight after a four-game winning streak.

Toronto is trying to hold off Boston, while the Predators needed a win to leapfrog St. Louis into third place in the Central Division. Nashville came in three points shy of its third straight playoff berth under coach Peter Laviolette.

"Our goal is to move forward and qualify for the playoffs, so we're not there," Laviolette said. "We've got work to do."

It was the 1,000th game behind the bench for Laviolette, making him the 28th coach overall and just the second born in the United States to reach that mark in the NHL.

A quiet first period ended when Austin Watson took exception to a clean hit on teammate Mattias Ekholm and roughed Maple Leafs forward Matt Martin. That put the NHL's second-best power play on the man advantage, and Toronto needed only 13 seconds to convert as van Riemsdyk redirected a shot by Nikita Zaitsev past goalie Pekka Rinne at 18:42 for a 1-0 lead.

The Predators had three power plays in the second - a period in which they have outscored opponents by the biggest margin in the NHL (95-63). Yet Andersen and the Maple Leafs didn't give them any space.

The Maple Leafs got their second man advantage when Nashville captain Mike Fisher slashed Tyler Bozak, and Toronto scored again. This time, Matthews added to his Toronto rookie record with his 36th goal of the season off a wrister as he skated up the slot just inside the left circle with 1:17 left in the second.

Andersen preserved the shutout with several nice saves in the third, including one in front on Fisher. The goaltender also killed off one last penalty when Roman Polak went in the box for holding - Andersen needed Morgan Rielly's help after the puck went off his arm and trickled near the goal line.

NOTES: Predators forward James Neal went to the locker room midway through the third period after taking a puck to the face in the neutral zone. ... Among the top 30 in games coached, Laviolette came into his 1,000th game ranked seventh in points percentage at 57.8 percent and one of 17 to win the Stanley Cup. ... It was the 10th time this season Toronto scored multiple power-play goals. The Maple Leafs had just six such games last season. ... Predators forward Craig Smith was scratched with an upper-body injury. Fisher returned after missing four games with an injury.

UP NEXT

Maple Leafs: At the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night.

Predators: Host the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night.

Lightning get 2 power-play goals, beat Red Wings 5-3

By MARK DIDTLER
Associated Press

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) The Tampa Bay Lightning had a big offensive night without high-scoring Nikita Kucherov.

Alex Killorn and Jonathan Drouin scored power-play goals 1:51 apart late in the second period and the Lightning beat the Detroit Red Wings 5-3 on Thursday.

J.T. Brown, Andrej Sustr and Yanni Gourde also scored for the Lightning, who are three points behind Boston for the second Eastern Conference wild card. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 31 saves.

Kucherov sat out due to illness as Tampa Bay swept the five-game season series with the Red Wings.

"That's what we talked about before the game, Kuch has been so big for us," Killorn said. "He comes down with something, we need to step up and help him out."

Kucherov was scratched about 90 minutes before the game.

"The guys took it as a challenge," Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said.

Detroit got goals from Frans Nielsen, Danny DeKeyser and Mike Green. Petr Mrazek stopped 26 shots.

"I thought we had at least the same amount of chances, but we've got to work for our goals," Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg said.

After Sustr put Tampa Bay up 2-1 early in the second, DeKeyser was involved in the final three goals of the period.

DeKeyser tied it at 2 on his first goal in 25 games, a shot that went off Lightning defenseman Jake Dotchin.

Mrazek stopped Killorn's power-play shot, but DeKeyser put the puck into his own net while attempting to clear it at 16:13.

With DeKeyser off for cross-checking, Drouin made it 4-2 on a shot from the right circle with 1:56 left.

Gourde scored early in the third period, and Green followed with a power-play goal minutes later.

Nielsen and Brown, who stopped a 45-game goal drought, had first-period goals.

"It's been a while," Brown said. "It felt good."

Zetterberg assisted on DeKeyser's goal for his 900th NHL point, coming in his 995th game.

"I've got to give credit to all the players I've played with," Zetterberg said. "I say thanks to them."

NOTES: Tampa Bay C Steven Stamkos, out since having right knee surgery in November, has been upgraded to day to day. ... The Red Wings announced that C Luke Glendening will miss the rest of the season with a broken ankle/foot. ... Lightning C Tyler Johnson (lower-body injury, 10 games) has resumed skating with the team in practice. ... Red Wings RW Anthony Mantha left with an upper-body injury after fighting Tampa Bay D Luke Witkowski in the first. ... Victor Hedman had an assist and set a Tampa Bay record for defensemen points with 66.

UP NEXT

Red Wings: Host Toronto Saturday night.

Lightning: Play the third of a four-game homestand Saturday night against Montreal.

Byron, Canadiens beat Panthers 6-2 to clinch playoff spot

Associated Press

MONTREAL (AP) The Montreal Canadiens are heading back to the playoffs.

Paul Byron scored twice, Brendan Gallagher had a goal and three assists, and the Canadiens beat the Florida Panthers 6-2 on Thursday night to clinch a spot in the postseason.

The Atlantic Division leaders have won three in a row and five of seven. A massive collapse knocked Montreal out of the playoff picture last year.

"That's every team's goal at the start of the year - you just want to get in," Gallagher said. "Everyone knows that anything can happen from there.

"We all had the mindset that we were going to use last year as a learning experience. It was disappointing and really frustrating for the players that were in here. There were times this year where we had to look back on what we went through last year and use those learning curves that we went through. We're definitely stronger for it."

Tomas Plekanec, Max Pacioretty and Phillip Danault also scored for Montreal (44-24-9). Carey Price made 29 saves for his 36th victory of the season.

"At least now we know we're going to the dance," said coach Claude Julien, who has guided the Canadiens to a 13-5-1 record since he replaced Michel Therrien on Feb. 14.

Reilly Smith and Montreal native Michael Matheson scored for the Panthers (33-33-11), who were eliminated from playoff contention. Reto Berra, replacing injured goalies James Reimer (upper body) and Roberto Luongo (lower body), stopped 27 shots.

"It's a little bittersweet," Matheson said. "It was nice to get a goal in my hometown, but looking back at the game it's one I'd like to forget and I'm sure my teammates feel the same way. We didn't come ready to play."

Montreal jumped out a fast start, and Florida never recovered.

Plekanec's line with Byron and Gallagher scored three times in a 5:55 span in the first.

Byron got his 21st goal at 7:24, capitalizing on a failed clearance by Florida. Plekanec doubled Montreal's lead at 10:04, beating Berra from the slot off a centering pass from Gallagher. Byron then got his second of the game, deflecting a sharp pass by Nathan Beaulieu past Berra.

"It just seemed like everything we were touching was going in tonight," Byron said. "A lot of chemistry.

"I love playing with those two guys."

The Canadiens added three more in the third. A lucky bounce led to a 2-on-1 for Alexander Radulov and Pacioretty, who scored his team-leading 35th goal at 3:52. Gallagher made it 5-2 when he deflected Brandon Davidson's shot from the point at 12:55 of the third. Danault finished the scoring at 16:49.

Down 3-0, Florida had a golden opportunity to get back in the game when Pacioretty and Shea Weber took back-to-back penalties, but the Panthers failed to convert on the 5-on-3 that lasted 1:22.

Smith scored for Florida at 10:41 of the second, beating Price with a low wrist shot from the face-off circle. Matheson scored his sixth of the season at 8:45 of the third.

NOTES: G Charlie Lindgren, who was recalled from the St. John's IceCaps on Wednesday, served as Price's backup. ... Florida's Jason Demers played his 500th NHL game. ... Former Montreal Expos outfielder Tim Raines, who will be inducted into baseball's Hall of Fame this summer, dropped the ceremonial first puck.

UP NEXT

Panthers: Visit Boston on Saturday.

Canadiens: Visit Tampa Bay on Saturday.

Rask gets 7th shutout of season, Bruins beat Stars 2-0

Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) Tuukka Rask bailed out the Boston Bruins by matching a personal best.

Rask made 27 saves and tied a career high with his seventh shutout of the season, lifting the Bruins over the Dallas Stars 2-0 on Thursday night.

"It wasn't our cleanest game but those things happen," Rask said. "Other teams behind us are breathing down our necks, so we have to keep plugging away and winning."

Boston won its third straight and stayed three points ahead of Tampa Bay for the second Eastern Conference wild card with one game in hand. The Bruins trail Toronto by a point for third place in the Atlantic Division and are three points back of Ottawa for second place.

"We just weren't sharp, but when you can find a way to win when you aren't sharp, that's a good thing," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said.

Rask has won two straight since struggling for a stretch. He had allowed 18 goals during a four-game losing streak.

Brad Marchand gave Boston a 1-0 lead when he jammed a shot past goalie Antti Niemi at 15:14 of the first period.

Niemi had 22 saves and is winless in his last five appearances.

"A couple of mistakes," Niemi said. "We had a chance to score, but Rask played great once again."

Torey Krug added an insurance goal early in the second period when he converted a perfect feed from David Pastrnak.

Marchand added an assist and moved into third place in the scoring race, passing Washington's Nicklas Backstrom and Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby.

Dallas had its best opportunity at 11:08 of the third period when Boston's Kevan Miller got a double-minor for high-sticking Curtis McKenzie.

"We probably had the better quality chances and they had a couple of big turnovers that ended up on the right guy's stick," Stars coach Lindy Ruff said. "We've had some bad luck scoring and haven't scored enough so I think that is the biggest issue."

Dallas has three goals in its last three games and has two or fewer goals in six of its past seven.

NOTES: David Krejci played in his 700th game for the Bruins. ... Former Bruin Tyler Seguin played in his 300th game for the Stars and has two goals over the last 10 games. ... Boston F Frank Vatrano missed the game with an upper-body injury. ... McKenzie bled profusely and was helped off the ice.

UP NEXT

Stars: Travel to Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday.

Bruins: Host the Florida Panthers on Saturday.

Hurricanes beat Blue Jackets 2-1 in OT on Hanifin's goal

By JOEDY McCREARY
AP Sports Writer

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) Jeff Skinner tried a spinner and it led to Noah Hanifin's first overtime winner.

Hanifin scored 2:16 into the extra period and the Carolina Hurricanes rallied to beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 2-1 on Thursday night.

Skinner scored the tying goal with 4:20 left in regulation before setting up Hanifin for the surging Hurricanes. They have established a club record by earning at least one point in 13 straight games, but this was their first overtime victory in that 9-0-4 stretch. Carolina has climbed from last place in the Eastern Conference to the fringe of the playoff race.

Cam Ward made 23 saves and Teuvo Teravainen had two assists for the Hurricanes, four points behind Boston with six games remaining in the chase for the final postseason spot in the East. Tampa Bay sits between Carolina and Boston.

"We absolutely have a shot here to do this," Hanifin said. "We just beat one of the best teams in the league. There's no reason we can't finish out really strong."

Jack Johnson scored and backup goalie Joonas Korpisalo made 29 saves for the Blue Jackets, who have been held to one goal in three of their last four games.

"Our top guys have got to get going," coach John Tortorella said. "I think that would be the difference in the game here, if we get something there. ... We're not developing enough."

Skinner skated in on Korpisalo and performed a pirouette move, only to have the puck poked out by Cam Atkinson. It floated between the circles to Hanifin, who fired it past Korpisalo for his first career overtime goal.

"Knowing Jeff, he's probably going to get the puck to the net - he's been doing it all game," Hanifin said. "And I just was hoping for a rebound. It came right out to me in a good spot, and I just tried to shoot it as hard as I can."

Carolina, which began the day with an NHL-best 52 goals this month, couldn't get anything past Korpisalo until the final minutes when Skinner's shot from the circle clicked off the skate of defenseman Seth Jones - who was tangled with Carolina's Victor Rask in front of the Columbus goalie - on its way in.

"I kind of fanned on it," Skinner said. "I was actually trying to get it to the net. ... Rask did a great job of being in front, and it takes a little bit of a fortunate bounce, but we'll take those any time we can."

The Blue Jackets, who have wrapped up a spot in the playoffs, entered five points behind Washington for first place in the Metropolitan Division and the No. 1 seed in the East. They're 9-0-2 in their last 11 games against division opponents, and now face a brutal three-game stretch starting Friday with games against Chicago (95 points), the Capitals (110) and Pittsburgh (103).

Johnson scored the game's first goal with 3:35 left in the second, beating Ward high to his glove side with a snap shot.

The goal announcement drew boos from the home crowd not only because it gave Columbus the lead but because it was scored by Johnson - who was drafted by Carolina with the third overall pick in 2005 but twice turned down the Hurricanes' offers to turn pro, prompting them to trade him to Los Angeles in 2006.

NOTES: Skinner briefly exited late in the first period after Derek Ryan's shot caught him in the left foot. He returned early in the second. "I wished it was someone else - (Ryan) shoots it so hard, it hurts," Skinner said, laughing. "That's why we wear pads." ... Columbus C Sam Gagner, who assisted on Johnson's goal, has 10 points (four goals, six assists) in his last 14 games. ... Carolina scratched D Ryan Murphy and C Jay McClement with lower-body injuries. ... D Scott Harrington was a healthy scratch for Columbus.

UP NEXT

Blue Jackets: Visit the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday night in a matchup of the NHL's second- and third-best teams.

Hurricanes: Wrap up a four-game homestand Saturday night against Dallas.

Simmonds scores 30th to lead Flyers past Islanders, 6-3

By AARON BRACY
Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA (AP) The Flyers let loose on the Islanders in a wild opening period.

Wayne Simmonds got his 30th goal of the season as Philadelphia scored five times in a fight-filled first on the way to a 6-3 victory over New York on Thursday night.

Dale Weise, Radko Gudas, Jordan Weal, Sean Couturier and Valtteri Filppula also scored for the Flyers, who won their third straight game. Philadelphia remained six points out of a playoff spot but still needs to jump three teams.

"It's old-time hockey," Flyers coach Dave Hakstol said. "Not many hockey games follow the pathway this one did. We were absolutely ready to start this hockey game. We were hungry and the players did an outstanding job."

Cal Clutterbuck, Jason Chimera and Andrew Ladd had the goals for the Islanders, who lost their third in a row and seventh in the last 10 games. They fell into a tie with the Flyers at 82 points.

"What do you say? Nothing," coach Doug Weight said.

New York has six games remaining, while the Flyers have five.

Weise started the scoring 4:30 into a record-setting first period for the Flyers by finishing a good pass from Couturier with a forehand from in front that went high over Thomas Greiss.

Couturier scored on a rebound 1:19 later to make it 2-0, and Greiss was pulled after allowing Gudas' slap shot from the point to get past him with 11:54 left in the first period.

Greiss slammed his stick into the side boards as he exited the ice in frustration.

Weise had an assist on Gudas' goal and became the fastest player in Flyers history to record a "Gordie Howe hat trick" - with a goal, an assist and a fight - when he dropped the gloves with Travis Hamonic with 11:32 remaining in the period.

"You can't draw up a better start than that," Weise said. "(Hamonic) asked me going up the ice and I kind of got excited because I already had a goal and an assist. I couldn't say no to that one. It's a nice record to have."

The Flyers were far from done.

Weal netted his team-leading sixth goal in March, and seventh since being called up from Lehigh Valley of the AHL on Jan. 25, when he followed his own miss and scored past Greiss' replacement, Jaroslav Halak.

Simmonds finished the dominant period with his milestone goal on a power play when Shayne Gostisbehere's slap shot deflected off his knee and then off Islanders defenseman Johnny Boychuk's left hip before crossing the goal line.

"To score 30 goals in this league is pretty hard," Simmonds said. "It's definitely nice."

Simmonds then joined Weise with a Gordie Howe hat trick when he won a one-sided fight with Anders Lee with 6.3 seconds left in the period, marking the first time in the history of the franchise once known as the Broad Street Bullies that two players had Gordie Howe hat tricks in one period.

"It was great and good for the team," Simmonds said. "We were definitely going in the first."

The five first-period goals were the most this season in one period for Philadelphia.

"It was just an awful period," Boychuk said. "We have to be ready every period of every game this time of year. We're fighting for the playoffs. At the end of the day we can't give up five goals. The whole team has to be ready for the puck drop and we weren't."

Clutterbuck shot high over Steve Mason early in the second to get the Islanders on the board. But that was the only goal New York managed despite outshooting Philadelphia 22-3 in the period.

Chimera netted his 18th of the season 40 seconds into the third on a wrister from in front after the puck caromed hard off the back boards from Calvin de Haan's slap shot. Ladd made it 5-3 with 3:58 remaining with a wrist shot that deflected off Mason's back and in.

Filppula's empty-netter with 1:41 left completed the scoring. Simmonds picked up his second assist on that goal.

NOTES: Philadelphia won three of four in the season series. ... Boychuk returned after missing the previous 12 games with a foot injury. ... Simmonds scored 32 goals last season and has 119 over the last four. ... De Haan had two assists. ... Chimera bettered Brandon Manning in a third-period fight. . After the game, Hamonic had a cast on his left hand outside the locker room.

UP NEXT

Islanders: Host the New Jersey Devils on Friday night.

Flyers: Host the Devils on Saturday night.

NHL Capsules (March 31, 2017)

BOSTON (AP) Tuukka Rask made 27 saves for his seventh shutout of the season and the Boston Bruins beat the Dallas Stars 2-0 on Thursday night.

Boston won its third straight and stayed three points ahead of Tampa Bay for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference with one game in hand.

Rask has won two straight since struggling for a stretch. He had allowed 18 goals during a four-game losing streak.

Brad Marchand gave Boston a 1-0 lead when he jammed a shot past goalie Antti Niemi at 15:14 of the first period. Niemi had 22 saves and is winless in his last five appearances.

Torey Krug added an insurance goal early in the second when he converted a perfect feed from David Pastrnak.

LIGHTNING 5, RED WINGS 3

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – Alex Killorn and Jonathan Drouin scored power-play goals 1:51 apart late in the second period of Tampa Bay’s victory over Detroit.

J.T. Brown, Andrej Sustr and Yanni Gourde also scored for the Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 31 saves.

Tampa Bay, which played without 38-goal scorer Nikita Kucherov due to illness, swept the five-game season series with the Red Wings.

Detroit got goals from Frans Nielsen, Danny DeKeyser and Mike Green. Petr Mrazek stopped 26 shots.

MAPLE LEAFS 3, PREDATORS 1

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – James van Riemsdyk and Auston Matthews each scored a power-play goal, and Frederik Andersen made 29 saves to help Toronto defeat Nashville.

Connor Brown added an empty-net goal as the Maple Leafs started a three-game road trip by sweeping the season series with Nashville. They also won their second straight and fifth in six games to remain in third place in the Atlantic Division, one point ahead of Boston.

Filip Forsberg scored his 30th of the season for Nashville. The Predators have lost two straight after a four-game winning streak.

Nashville came in three points shy of clinching its third straight playoff berth under Peter Laviolette, who coached his 1,000th NHL game.

FLYERS 6, ISLANDERS 3

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Wayne Simmonds got his 30th goal of the season as Philadelphia scored five times in a fight-filled first period on the way to a win over fading New York.

Dale Weise, Radko Gudas, Jordan Weal, Sean Couturier and Valtteri Filppula also scored for the Flyers, who won their third straight. Philadelphia is six points out of a playoff spot with five games remaining and needs to jump four teams.

Cal Clutterbuck, Jason Chimera and Andrew Ladd had the goals for the Islanders, who lost their third in a row and seventh in the last 10 games. They fell into a tie with the Flyers at 82 points. New York has six games remaining.

OILERS 3, SHARKS 2

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) – Patrick Maroon scored twice and Edmonton took over sole possession of second place in the Pacific Division by beating San Jose.

Connor McDavid had a goal and Cam Talbot made 38 saves for the streaking Oilers, who have won four in a row and eight of nine to move within one point of first-place Anaheim.

Jannik Hansen and Joe Pavelski scored for the struggling Sharks, who lost for the seventh time in eight games and dropped to third place in the Pacific.

HURRICANES 2, BLUE JACKETS 1, OT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – Noah Hanifin scored 2:16 into overtime and Carolina rallied to beat Columbus.

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.

Cam Ward made 23 saves for the Hurricanes, four points behind Boston with six games remaining in the chase for the final postseason spot in the East. Tampa Bay is a point in front of Carolina.

Jack Johnson scored and backup goalie Joonas Korpisalo made 29 saves for the Blue Jackets.

CANADIENS 6, PANTHERS 2

MONTREAL (AP) – Paul Byron scored twice, Brendan Gallagher had a goal and three assists, and Montreal topped Florida to clinch a playoff spot.

Tomas Plekanec, Max Pacioretty and Phillip Danault also scored for the Canadiens. Carey Price made 29 saves for his 36th win.

The Canadiens will play in the postseason for the fourth time in the past five years, and eighth time in the last decade.

Reilly Smith and Michael Matheson scored for the Panthers. Reto Berra, replacing injured goalies James Reimer (upper body) and Roberto Luongo (lower body), stopped 27 shots.

WILD 5, SENATORS 1

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Alex Stalock won his first NHL start in more than a year, Nino Niederreiter had two goals and Minnesota beat Ottawa to end a four-game skid.

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.

Searching for a spark with Devan Dubnyk and backup Darcy Kuemper struggling, Minnesota recalled Stalock on Wednesday for his first start since last February with San Jose. The St. Paul native had spent six months in the minors.

Stalock allowed Mike Hoffman’s goal on Ottawa’s seventh shot, but Neiderreiter tied it less than a minute later. Stalock stopped everything after that, and Niederreiter added another goal in the second to put the Wild ahead for good.

Ottawa played without captain and leading scorer Erik Karlsson, ending his streak of 324 consecutive games played. He was injured blocking a shot against Philadelphia on Tuesday. The Senators were also without Alexandre Burrows, who missed the game with an upper-body injury.

The Senators, still trying to lock up a playoff spot, have lost three straight.

JETS 4, DUCKS 3, OT

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) – Dustin Byfuglien tied the score with 12 seconds left in regulation and assisted on Mark Scheifele’s 30th goal at 3:34 of overtime, rallying Winnipeg past playoff-bound Anaheim.

Winnipeg scored twice in the final 8:25 of the third period to pull even. Following a coach’s challenge by Randy Carlyle of the Ducks, it was determined that Byfuglien’s jam job in the crease was indeed a good goal.

Joel Armia and captain Blake Wheeler also scored in regulation for the Jets.

Corey Perry scored twice but the Ducks had their five-game winning streak snapped. Jakob Silfverberg also scored for the Pacific Division leaders.

Michael Hutchinson made 25 saves for Winnipeg. Anaheim goalie Jonathan Bernier turned away 37 shots.

Oilers, Sharks tilt has massive Pacific implications

Stats, LLC

EDMONTON, Alberta -- The Edmonton Oilers and San Jose Sharks both trail the Anaheim Ducks by two points for the Pacific Division lead.

So, Thursday night's encounter between the Sharks and Oilers has massive implications when it comes to the race for top spot. And, the Oilers host the Ducks on Saturday, so this promises to be a massive three-day stretch for Edmonton.

"Our focus is to keep going," Oilers goalie Cam Talbot said. "We're still battling it out for seeds and top spot in the division. Hopefully, we can get a few big wins coming up, and we're playing the teams that are ahead of us. So, any time you can pick up two points against those teams, then we can climb up in the standings and hopefully finish first."

Even though the Sharks and Oilers have both clinched playoff spots and are tied in the standings, their journeys could not be any more different. The Sharks are the defending Western Conference Champions. The Oilers, by clinching a playoff spot Tuesday with a 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings, ended an 11-year postseason drought.

NHL leading scorer Connor McDavid recalled what it was like to play at this time last season, with the Oilers long eliminated from the postseason race.

"It's crazy to think about, when you look back at this time last year," McDavid said. "It was a real dark period, we're out of it, fans were hard on us, not a lot of good things going on. But, we're definitely happy to be in this position this year."

What has been notable is how, as the Oilers have turned the doubters into believers, how much the volume level has gone up at Rogers Place. It hit a new level in the third period of Tuesday's win over Los Angeles, as fans helped push their team to the finish line.

"The fans were the loudest they've been all season long," Talbot said. "They created an amazing atmosphere that night and they carried us, and we're going to need that down the stretch and come playoff time."

The Sharks are still in the hunt for the division title, but they just snapped a six-game losing skid Tuesday with a 5-4 win over the New York Rangers, with defenseman Brent Burns getting the overtime winner.

It was Burns' 28th goal of the year, a whopping total for a blueliner, but it broke a 16-game goalless drought.

"Burnsie is a huge piece for us," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. "It's no secret he's dried up a little bit lately. But his importance to us over the season, and where we are sitting right now, can't be understated. He works so hard at his game, he cares so much, I think everyone was happy to see him get rewarded."

After the Sharks play Edmonton on Thursday, they head to Calgary to face a Flames team that also is in the Pacific Division race. It is a huge road trip for San Jose.

"It's big to play those teams that you're battling with," Burns said. "They're both great teams and it's going to be tough. But I think it's good to start ramping it up. It's only going to get harder. It is what it is. If we were playing Florida or Carolina, they'd still be huge games. We've just got to win."

The Sharks won't have center Logan Couture for the Edmonton game, as he still isn't ready after taking a puck to the mouth on Saturday. The injury necessitated extensive dental work.

Jets' Laine continues Calder push vs. Ducks

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WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- Is Paul Maurice sabotaging Patrik Laine's shot at the Calder Trophy?

Winnipeg Jets fans sure think so. The coach is under fire online and on radio talk shows for keeping his 18-year-old rookie on the bench in key situations, particularly on power plays, in favor of lesser lights who have no chance of winning any end-of-season awards.

When the Jets play host to the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday, Laine will try to burnish his credentials for the league's rookie-of-the-year honor.

Laine has fallen to second among all rookie scorers with 34 goals and 61 points. In Winnipeg's 4-3 shootout win over the Devils in New Jersey on Tuesday, Laine played just 1:44 on the power play.

Center Adam Lowry, meanwhile, who will never be mistaken for Alex Ovechkin or Vladimir Tarasenko, logged more than twice as much time with the man advantage -- 3:32. The third-liner has 14 goals and 12 assists this season.

Toronto Maple Leafs first-year center Auston Matthews has 35 goals and 62 points. A couple of weeks ago, Laine had a five-point lead over Matthews.

Before the Jets took to the ice on Tuesday, they had been eliminated from the playoffs, making the last couple of weeks of the season meaningless -- except to see whether Laine can capture the Calder Trophy.

"It (stinks), that's one way to say it," Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers told the Winnipeg Sun about being eliminated from contention. "We've been working, from the end of last year until now, to make the playoffs. Being in this position right now and having not made the playoffs is not a great feeling. But when we've played our game, we've really shown we can be one of the top-end teams in this league.

"We just have to be able to find a way to be consistent in that. We've got a young team in here, and sometimes consistency can be a problem. Obviously, we don't want to wait five years until we're all grown up. We're all old enough and good enough to make that step now."

The Ducks come to town as one of the hottest teams in the NHL, having won five consecutive games and posting an 8-1-1 record in their past 10. They are perched on the top rung of the Pacific Division, and they clinched a spot in the postseason thanks to a 4-1 road victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday.

If the Thursday matchup comes down to a battle of special teams, the ice will tilt in favor of the Ducks. While both teams score on 17.7 percent of their power plays, the Ducks kill penalties with 84.9 percent proficiency, fourth in the league, while the Jets are successful 76.9 percent of the time, second to last.

Ducks coach Randy Carlyle, who is well-known to Winnipeg fans as a former leader on Jets 1.0 in the 1980s and '90s and coach of the Manitoba Moose when they were the affiliate of the Canucks after the original Jets left for Phoenix, is anticipating a tough game.

"There are no easy ones," he told the Orange County Register, "and they've got a big, strong team. We've got a road trip that's not an easy one. The schedule makers haven't figured out that Calgary and Edmonton are between (Vancouver and) Winnipeg."

Senators, Wild both look to bounce back

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SAINT PAUL, Minn. -- The Ottawa Senators and Minnesota Wild each hope to rebound from disappointing overtime losses heading into their game Thursday at Xcel Energy Center.

Both teams left the ice on Tuesday night feeling they had outplayed their opponent but came away with just a point to show for it.

Ottawa (41-25-9) fell on the road to the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 in a shootout and lost for the sixth time in eight games (2-3-3) to fall four points behind the first-place Montreal Canadiens in the Atlantic Division race.

Flyers center Jordan Weal not only scored the shootout winner but also tied the game late in the third when he pick-pocketed Ottawa goalie Craig Anderson behind the net and beat Anderson to the crease for an easy goal.

"It should have never gotten to the shootout and that's the bottom line," said Anderson, who finished with 33 saves. "It was a horrible read by me and our guys deserved better than that. It's just too risky, I should know better."

The Senators saw a pair of one-goal leads evaporate quickly and led the Flyers for only 3:35 in the contest.

"We had the game at 2-1," Senators coach Guy Boucher said. "If there's no mistake, it stays 2-1 and everybody's happy. But we're not going to look at this as, 'Oh, our goalie made this gigantic mistake.' It happens. For all the saves he's made this year, and all the times he's made us win a game, he gave us a point tonight."

Ottawa defenseman Erik Karlsson's 15th goal in the first period gave him a team-high 68 points to move him within four of Norris Trophy favorite Brent Burns of the San Jose Sharks.

Minnesota, meanwhile, limited the explosive Washington Capitals to just 20 shots on goal -- 13 at even-strength -- and rallied with a pair of goals in the final 4:57 to force overtime.

With goaltender Devan Dubnyk pulled for an extra attacker, Wild center Eric Staal scored his team-leading 27th goal to tie the game with 26.6 seconds left.

Staal has 11 points (8 goals, 3 assists) in the Wild's last 11 contests.

But T.J. Oshie scored his second of the game in overtime and Alex Ovechkin had three power-play goals to give the Capitals a tough 5-4 win on the road.

Not only did the Wild lose the game, they also lost top-line winger Zach Parise to an upper-body injury when he took a high-stick by Washington's Tom Wilson in the first period and his head collided with Jay Beagle's leg as he fell to the ice.

"His eye looks pretty black and blue, but he can see and he's fine as far as that goes," Minnesota coach Bruce Boudreau told the team's website after Wednesday's practice. "A little sore in his upper body, but I don't think he's going to be out for a long period of time."

Although Boudreau wouldn't tip his hand, rookie Joel Eriksson Ek is a strong candidate to fill Parise's spot in the lineup against the Senators. Minnesota's 2015 first-round pick, the 20-year-old Eriksson Ek was recalled on Tuesday from Farjestad BK of the Swedish Elite League.

"I'm glad to be back," Eriksson Ek told the team's website on Wednesday. "Hopefully I can bring my game. If I'm playing, I'll do the best I can."

Eriksson Ek, who practiced with the Wild on Wednesday, registered two goals and three assists in nine games for the Wild to start the season before he was returned to Sweden.

"He's been a great player in Europe and he was good here for us early on," Boudreau said. "I think when he plays for us, he'll be good again."

Minnesota also recalled goaltender Alex Stalock from its AHL affiliate in Iowa on Wednesday afternoon and announced that the former University of Minnesota-Duluth star will make his Wild debut against the Senators.

It is expected that Wild backup goaltender Darcy Kuemper will be a healthy scratch and Dubnyk will serve as the backup to Stalock, who is 20-16-7 with a 2.31 goals-against average and .924 save percentage in 45 games for Iowa.

Stalock, whose last NHL start came on Feb. 11, 2016, for San Jose, is 24-19-7 with a 2.37 goals-against average, a .911 save percentage and four shutouts in 62 career NHL games during parts of five seasons with the Sharks (2010-16).

The Wild (44-24-8) are safely in second place in the Central Division, nine point behind the Chicago Blackhawks and seven ahead of the Nashville Predators.

Thursday's game marks the second and final meeting of the season between Minnesota and the Senators, with the Wild skating to a 2-1 win in Ottawa on Nov. 13 thanks to defenseman Matt Dumba's overtime winner.

Less than two months after Minnesota seemingly had a firm grasp on the top spot in the Central Division and Western Conference, the Wild have lost four straight and carry a 3-10-2 March record into Thursday's game.

Historic game for Laviolette as Predators host Leafs

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Peter Laviolette will reach a milestone Thursday night, becoming just the second American-born coach to work 1,000 games behind an NHL bench when his Nashville Predators host the Toronto Maple Leafs at Bridgestone Arena.

More important to Laviolette and his players is that his team celebrate the occasion by moving closer to a Western Conference playoff berth with a win over a Toronto team making an unexpected run at an Eastern Conference postseason appearance.

Nashville (39-26-11) has played some of its best hockey down the stretch, winning seven of its last nine games to keep pace with the equally hot St. Louis Blues and run away from the Los Angeles Kings in a race for playoff spots.

One of the Predators' rare losses occurred Tuesday night in Boston, where the Predators fell two goals down before the first period ended and fell 4-1 to the desperate Bruins.

"We made mistakes early on that gave them the lead, and from there we were chasing the game," Laviolette said. "I thought we got better as the game went on, but I thought they jumped us in the first."

Nashville players weren't taking the bait of fatigue as an excuse, perhaps because the schedule down the stretch is unrelenting. The Predators are playing five games in seven days this week with two back-to-backs, capping the week with a potential third-place showdown Sunday in St. Louis that occurs about 24 hours after they finish a home game Saturday with Minnesota.

"Not that being tired is an excuse, because every game is important down the stretch, but I think it took us a period to get into it, which isn't going to cut it," defenseman Ryan Ellis said.

While Nashville was lamenting a missed opportunity, Toronto (36-24-15) took advantage of a home game against Florida, winning 3-2 to stay in third in the Atlantic Division, a point ahead of Boston. The Maple Leafs have confounded the experts in Year 2 of their rebuild under coach Mike Babcock, jumping way ahead of schedule.

The arrival of rookie Auston Matthews has jumped the learning curve, to be sure. Matthews scored his 35th goal against the Panthers, breaking Wendel Clark's franchise record for most goals by a freshman.

"Just to be in the same sentence as a guy like Wendel Clark is obviously a big honor," the 19-year-old Matthews said.

Not that Matthews has been the only fresh face making waves for Toronto. Mitch Marner's 40 assists match a franchise mark for rookies, while William Nylander has scored in 12 straight games, a new rookie record for the Leafs.

The big news for Toronto prior to puck drop will be the status of starting goalie Frederik Andersen, who was knocked out of a 5-2 loss in Buffalo on Saturday with a head injury. Backup Curtis McElhinney filled in against Florida, stopping 25 shots, but it appears Andersen will be in net if cleared to play.

The Predators will enter this game a point back of St. Louis for third in the Central Division, thanks to the Blues' 3-1 win Wednesday night at Arizona. Finishing third means a first-round series with skidding Minnesota, as opposed to one against the Western Conference-leading Chicago Blackhawks.

Lightning face must-win against eliminated Wings

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TAMPA, Fla. -- The Detroit Red Wings are missing the playoffs for the first time in 25 years, while the Tampa Bay Lightning are just trying to avoid joining them on the golf course.

A 4-1 Detroit loss at Carolina on Tuesday night -- the Red Wings' third game in as many days and fourth in five days -- officially eliminated the Wings from playoff contention, though they are trying to maintain the franchise's same intensity without the postseason ahead.

"We're treating every game like a playoff game -- we have to make sure we maintain the culture," Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said after Tuesday's loss, looking forward to a single day of rest before facing the Lightning.

Detroit (31-33-12) has gone 3-1-1 in its last five games despite the arduous schedule, and Blashill said there is an importance to understanding how the smallest mistake can prove costly in tight games late in the season.

"The line between winning and losing in this league is so minimal," he said. "We're going to go back to work on Thursday and come out ready to go. Our focus is going to be on getting regrouped."

Tampa Bay (37-29-9) goes into Thursday's game three points behind Boston for the final wild card in the Eastern Conference, and four games behind Toronto for third place in the Atlantic Division.

The Lightning will face Detroit with the confidence of knowing they somehow won 10 of their last 11 against the Red Wings, including a 4-1 series win in last year's conference quarterfinals, as well as all four meetings this season. Less than a week ago, Tampa Bay pulled out a 2-1 overtime win at Detroit, but it won't be easy to pull off the season sweep.

"I think every team is dangerous," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said after practice Wednesday. "They've had a little bit of a grind here, but they're continuing to win. They're not going to lay over for us. They're in position to play spoiler now, and we have to be ready for that."

Thursday is a pivotal night in the Eastern playoff picture -- all five teams competing for just two spots are in action, so the Lightning could find themselves within a single point with six games to play, or five points back if things go wrong.

Tampa Bay is coming off perhaps their best comeback win of the season, rallying from a 4-1 second-period deficit to beat Western Conference-leading Chicago in overtime on Monday night. They hadn't rallied from a three-goal deficit to win a game since 2011, but it still only counts two points in the standings.

With less than two weeks remaining in the final stretch of the regular season, every point will count, with the Islanders and Hurricanes one point behind them in the chase for the final playoff berth.

"We know it's a must-win for us," Cooper said.

While he is not expected to play Thursday, Lightning captain Steven Stamkos said he is close to returning to the lineup on the heels of participating in every drill during Wednesday's practice.

His return would be a boost to Tampa Bay's playoff chances.

"It's progressing really well," said Stamkos, who had arthroscopic surgery for a lateral meniscus tear in his right knee on Nov. 17.

Cooper deemed the superstar as day-to-day.

Surging Habs aim to clinch vs. Panthers

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MONTREAL -- The month of March has been good to the Montreal Canadiens. A win to close it out and they can assure themselves of some extra hockey in April.

Montreal, which is 8-3-1 so far this month, wraps up a season-high six-game homestand when it hosts the Florida Panthers on Thursday night at Bell Centre. The Canadiens can punch their ticket to the playoffs with a victory.

The Canadiens (43-24-9) put themselves in a position to clinch after a win against the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night, which saw four players find the back of the net.

"We just want to focus on the little things," winger Alexander Radulov said after practice on Wednesday. "We had a good, solid practice to get ourselves ready for (Thursday). The sooner we get it done, the better for us."

Radulov was one of those goal scorers, snapping a nine-game drought with a late third-period strike. It was a good night for his line, contributing four points -- including two goals -- after a stretch in which the top unit struggled while secondary scoring picked up the slack.

"Our line played a pretty good game (against Dallas); me, Patch (Max Pacioretty) and Phil (Danault), we worked together and battled, and tried to win those battles and create some scoring chances," he said. "When I had the chance to get that goal, it was huge for me. I wasn't scoring for a while. It's big. But it's more important that we got the win."

Montreal has been doing that quite a bit under Claude Julien, now 12-5-1 since he took over on Feb. 14. Julien was familiar with many names on his roster, having coached some before (with the Canadiens or Team Canada) or as an opposing bench boss. But one fresh face has surprised him: rookie Artturi Lehkonen.

"For a young player, I've been impressed with his poise, his hockey smarts and decision-making," Julien said of the 21-year-old. "He's a fearless player."

Lehkonen scored his 14th of the season on Tuesday, extending his point streak to a current team-best four games.

Last year at this time, it was the Panthers who had their sights set on playoff berth and the Atlantic Division title. This season, there has been minimal sunshine on the southern Florida club's season. Long-term injuries to key players, including Jonathan Huberdeau and Nick Bjugstad, hurt the team early.

Florida eventually found its way under interim coach Tom Rowe, who replaced Gerard Gallant at the end of November. The Panthers (33-32-11) won eight of nine in mid-February to climb back into the playoff race -- only to drop eight of their next nine. They now find themselves sixth in the Atlantic and on the verge of being mathematically eliminated from postseason contention.

"It's just being a professional, going out every night and being the best you can be and trying to help this team win. So I don't expect anything less out of this group," Reilly Smith told the Sun-Sentinel.

After thrashing the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday, the Panthers have come up empty through the first two games on their four-game road trip and have now lost 10 games this month. Adding to their woes was the loss of goaltender James Reimer against the Maple Leafs on Tuesday night after he was accidentally clipped in the head.

Montreal native Roberto Luongo has been sidelined since March 2 with an injury but could return against his hometown team.

If there has been one bright spot in a dismal season, it has been the contribution of free-agent signing Jonathan Marchessault. Marchessault, who had 19 points in 49 NHL games over three seasons before this year, notched his first career hat trick on Saturday and moved to within one of the 30-goal mark with a tally on Monday night.

He leads the team in goals and sits third in points.

"I just want to help this team win hockey games. That's my only goal," he told the Miami Herald. "I'm not the kind of guy who is going to stop working, not going to take the easy way. I want to get better every year, and that's my goal: to be better than I was the day before.

"When the chance comes, you need to answer the call."

Bruins pin hopes on Rask as Stars visit

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BOSTON -- Tuukka Rask answered the bell for the Boston Bruins on Tuesday night.

So did his teammates.

Rask, criticized by his coach after his previous start, bounced back with a strong outing and the rest of the Boston roster played a fairly complete game in notching an important 4-1 win over Nashville on their road back to the playoffs.

The Bruins, who host the out-of-the-playoffs Dallas Stars on Thursday night, remained a point behind the Toronto Maple Leafs for third place in the Atlantic Division. They also moved three points ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightning and four ahead of the New York Islanders and Carolina Hurricanes in the wild-card race.

Rask was shaky in a 6-3 loss to the Lightning in Boston last Thursday. He then missed Saturday night's game against the New York Islanders in Brooklyn with a lower-body injury suffered Thursday. Khudobin played well and the team played a strong defensive game in front of him.

So, the talk started. Goaltender controversy? Khudobin, whose poor play earlier in the season led to Rask being overworked, was suddenly a favorite of some (media and fans) calling for him to play until he lost.

Interim coach Bruce Cassidy, who criticized his goalie after the home loss, didn't agree. If Rask could play, he'd play. He was ready to go and played well.

"People have their own opinions," Rask said after his 24-save performance. "When you're not playing that well, they want to jump on you. It's just the name of the game. It doesn't bother me. I try to work hard and give us a chance to win every night. That's all I care about.

"People can say whatever. I try not to read when we win and I try not to read when we lose. That helps me to stay even-keeled when people say what they say."

The win opened a three-game homestand for the Bruins, who play five of their final six games at TD Garden as they bid to end their streak of missing the playoffs at two seasons. Home hasn't always been kind to this team and cost the Bruins a playoff spot last year, but this is a good start to the final stretch.

And Rask, who had lost four straight before Tuesday, has to be in the middle of it.

"I thought he was terrific," said Cassidy. "Very pleased with his performance."

There were 25 shots that reached Rask and 25 that were blocked as the Bruins played hard against a team on the second night of a back-to-back.

The Bruins go for the sweep of the two-game series with the Stars, who are 1-1 on their current five-game road trip. Dallas won in overtime at New Jersey and yielded three third-period goals in losing to Montreal on Tuesday night.

Kari Lehtonen, who had allowed just four goals in the previous four games, kept his team alive for two periods in Montreal but then had a tough third.

"He might have hit the wall," said Stars coach Lindy Ruff. "We've played him a lot. He gave us two solid periods and then two got by him. He's played a lot for us lately. We've pushed the limit with him."

Lehtonen has started the last seven games and 11 of the last 12 for the Stars, who have won two of their last three but are 4-6 in their last 10.

Thursday marks the latest return to Boston for Tyler Seguin, who won the Stanley Cup with the Bruins in 2011. He had a goal and an assist in a 6-3 loss to Boston in Dallas on Feb. 26 and has four goals and seven points in seven games against his former team.

Rask is 4-2-1 with a 2.69 goals-against average and .920 save percentage lifetime against the Stars. On the other side, likely starter (if you go by Ruff's comment) Antti Niemi is 6-3 with 2.21 GAA and.912 save percentage against Boston while Lehtonen is 9-9 with 2.94/.906 against the Bruins.

Boston general manager Don Sweeney met the media Wednesday, announcing the signing of Boston University defenseman Charlie McAvoy, who will report to Providence of the American Hockey League after a two-year college career.

Sweeney also said Cassidy is keeping the interim tag, at least for now.

"Am I ready to hire Bruce Cassidy?" said Sweeney. "I'm certainly enjoying the fact that we are in a playoff race here and getting that done, and we'll go from there."

Hurricanes face Jackets with little margin for error

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RALEIGH, N.C. -- The Carolina Hurricanes are a game away from a historic stretch, while the Columbus Blue Jackets are trying to return to the brisk pace it set earlier in the season.

The teams meet Thursday night at PNC Arena, with vastly different objectives.

The Hurricanes are riding a 12-game points streak (8-0-4), matching the franchise record set 11 seasons ago during the team's run to the Stanley Cup.

"The only way to win this time of the year is to have everybody contribute, and that's what's happening," Hurricanes coach Bill Peters said. "Guys have to do their role, exceed their roles."

To reach an Eastern Conference playoff spot, the Hurricanes (34-27-14) must pass three more teams and make up four points. With seven games remaining, Carolina is four points back of the Boston Bruins for the second wild card and has a game in hand.

"We're in the race here, but we don't want to look too far ahead," Carolina left winger Joakim Nordstrom said. "We want to keep our foot on the pedal."

With 23 points this month, Carolina already has the second-most productive month in franchise history. It is topped only by the January 2006 output of 26 points.

Columbus (49-19-7) has secured a playoff spot, but claiming the Metropolitan Division title remains a possibility. The Blue Jackets have 105 points and trail first-place Washington by five points.

Columbus has had troubles at the offensive end at times and that has drawn the attention of coach John Tortorella.

"Our top guys are struggling. We're just not consistent enough with our offense," Tortorella said. "The biggest concern for me is a lot of our top offensive guys just don't feel good with the puck."

If the Blue Jackets sputter on offense, Carolina could be a tough matchup considering the Hurricanes have allowed only one goal in three of their last four games.

However, the Blue Jackets are 9-0-1 in their last 10 games against Metropolitan Division opponents.

Tortorella said he wants to have line combinations in good order as the regular season winds down. He said that will be important next month.

"I don't want to keep moving these things around," Tortorella said. "Our problem is sustaining some offense. ... We just have to keep managing it. I don't want to turn something into panic."

Columbus has used goalie Sergei Bobrovsky in the last two matchups with Carolina, with each team winning once. Bobrovsky holds an NHL-leading 41 victories this season and owns a personal 12-game points streak (10-0-2).

Carolina's goalie situation is probably clearer now with Eddie Lack recovering from Monday night's brief hospitalization for what was determined to be a neck strain. He was back to watch Tuesday night's game but is likely out of action for at least another few days.

In the meantime, goalie Cam Ward will try to improve his 25-20-11 record.

Columbus right winger Oliver Bjorkstrand has been out a week with an upper-body injury, though he is listed as day-to-day.

The Hurricanes have been particularly strong late in games. During a 10-game stretch, they have outscored opponents by a cumulative 15-4 in third periods.

The home team has won each of the first three Columbus-Carolina meetings this season.