Avalanche edge Golden Knights 2-1 in shootout

DENVER (AP) – Gabriel Landeskog beat Marc-Andre Fleury with a nifty move in the shootout, and the Colorado Avalanche kept expansion Vegas from clinching a playoff spot by beating the Golden Knights 2-1 on Saturday.

Semyon Varlamov stopped all three Vegas attempts in the shootout. He finished with 39 saves, including seven in overtime.

Carl Soderberg was back on the ice after missing two games with an illness and contributed with a first-period goal. Colorado remains in the thick of the Western Conference playoff picture after getting its 26th home win, tied for third-most in Avalanche history.

The Pacific Division-leading Golden Knights are on the doorstep of earning their playoff spot and a win over the Avalanche would’ve wrapped it up. Fleury, back in net after sustaining an undisclosed injury Tuesday, made 29 saves.

Jonathan Marchessault tied the game early in the third for Vegas, moments after Fleury made an incredible save.

DEVILS 2, LIGHTNING 1

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) – Keith Kinkaid made 35 saves and the New Jersey Devils took another major step toward making the playoffs for the first time since 2012 with a victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Nico Hischier and Kyle Palmieri scored for New Jersey, which has elevated its playoff chances with wins in five of seven games – including outstanding efforts in beating the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins and the Eastern Conference-leading Lightning on consecutive nights.

Andrei Vasilevskiy had 29 saves as the Lightning lost for only the third time in 16 games (12-3-1).

CAPITALS 6, CANADIENS 4

MONTREAL (AP) – Evgeny Kuznetsov and Tom Wilson each scored twice and Nicklas Backstrom had four assists as Washington defeated Montreal.

Jay Beagle and T.J. Oshie also scored for the Capitals, who strengthened their grip on first place in the Metropolitan Division. Backstrom posted his 20th career game with at least four points and second this season.

Charles Hudon scored twice for Montreal. Alex Galchenyuk and Brendan Gallagher each had a goal for the Canadiens, who are 2-8-2 in their last 12 games.

Canadiens goalie Carey Price struggled in his second start since returning from a concussion.

PANTHERS 4, COYOTES 2

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) – Denis Malgin snapped a tie with 3:45 left and Florida overcame a two-goal deficit by scoring four times in the third period to rally past Arizona.

Vincent Trocheck had two goals and an assist for the Panthers, who remained three points behind New Jersey for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot. Florida has two games in hand on the Devils.

Jamie McGinn added an empty-netter with 14 seconds to play.

Clayton Keller and Richard Panik scored for the Coyotes, and Derek Stepan had two assists.

In a matchup of backup goalies, James Reimer made 26 saves for the Panthers while starting in place of an ailing Roberto Luongo. Darcy Kuemper stopped 43 shots for Arizona.

RANGERS 5, SABRES 1

NEW YORK (AP) – Jimmy Vesey had two goals and an assist, Alexandar Georgiev stoped 43 shots, and the New York Rangers completed a sweep of the teams’ three-game season series.

Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad and Neal Pionk each added a goal and an assist as the Rangers improved to 13-3-0 in the last 16 meetings with the Sabres.

Sam Reinhart spoiled Geogiev’s shutout bid with 4 1/2 minutes remaining for the Sabres, who have lost four straight. Robin Lehner gave up four goals on 12 shots before being replaced near the midpoint of the second period. Linus Ullmark came on and stopped 10 of the 11 shots he faced.

Kreider and Vesey each scored in the first before Pionk got his first NHL goal early in the second and Zibanejad made it 4-0 with his team-leading 27th at 8:45 of the second. It gave the Rangers goals on four consecutive shots for the first time since Jan. 3, 2015, also against the Sabres, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

BLACKHAWKS 3, ISLANDERS 1

NEW YORK (AP) – Anton Forsberg stopped 30 shots to help the Chicago snap a five-game losing streak.

Patrick Kane and Brandon Saad scored in the second period, and Brent Seabrook added an empty-netter for the Blackhawks.

John Tavares scored late in the third period and Jaroslav Halak finished with 22 saves as the Islanders lost for the fifth time in six games and 13 in their last 15 (2-9-4).

Chicago was eliminated from postseason contention for the first time since 2008 following its 5-1 loss to Colorado on Tuesday, and pushed the struggling Islanders to the verge of being knocked for the second straight year.

SHARKS 5, FLAMES 1

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) – Evander Kane scored twice to give him six goals in his past two games against Calgary, and San Jose won its seventh straight overall.

Kane followed up his four-goal performance in Calgary a week ago with another impactful performance, scoring a short-handed goal in the second period to give the Sharks a 3-1 lead and an insurance goal in the third. He got into a scrum with Mikael Backlund and a fight with Travis Hamonic.

The Sharks improved to 10-2 since acquiring Kane just before the trade deadline last month, including this current streak that is the longest for San Jose since a seven-game run from March 25 to April 5, 2013.

Brenden Dillon, Jannik Hansen and Justin Braun also scored for the Sharks. Martin Jones made 37 saves.

Michael Stone had the goal for the Flames, who have lost five straight and fallen way behind in the playoff race.

HURRICANES 5, SENATORS 2

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) – Phillip Di Giusseppe and Jordan Staal each had a goal and assist to lead Carolina.

Brock McGinn, Noah Hanifin and Jeff Skinner also scored, and Cam Ward stopped 34 shots to help preserve the Hurricanes’ slim playoff hopes. Carolina remained nine points behind New Jersey, which also won, for the last wild card in the Eastern Conference with seven games remaining.

Bobby Ryan and Thomas Chabot scored for the Senators, and Mike Condon finished with 19 saves.

Ottawa captain Erik Karlsson made an emotional return to the ice, playing for the first time since he and his wife announced Tuesday that their son Axel had been stillborn. A visibly moved Karlsson waved as he received a huge ovation from the home crowd when announced as part of the

MAPLE LEAFS 4, RED WINGS 3

TORONTO (AP) – Nazem Kadri scored with 7:26 left in regulation, helping the Maple Leafs extend their club-record home winning streak to 13 games with a victory over the Detroit Red Wings.

Kasperi Kapanen, Connor Brown and William Nylander had the other goals for Toronto, which also tied a franchise mark with its 45th win.

Frederik Andersen made 38 saves for the Maple Leafs, who split a two-game road trip earlier this week against the Tampa Bay Lightning and Nashville Predators.

Dylan Larkin, Tyler Bertuzzi and Frans Nielsen scored for Detroit and Jimmy Howard made 25 saves.

BLUES 2, BLUE JACKETS 1

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Jake Allen made 33 saves, Alexander Steen scored on St. Louis’ first shot of the game, and the Blues stopped the Columbus Blue Jackets’ 10-game winning streak.

Vladimir Tarasenko also scored for St. Louis, which has won five in row. The Blues have also won four straight games on the road and earned points in four of their last five away from home.

The win was Allen’s 26th of the season and seventh in his last eight games. Allen leads the NHL with 10 shutouts on the road since the start of the 2014-15 season.

Sergei Bobrovsky, who gave up two goals on 28 shots, lost for the first time since March 2. Cam Atkinson had the lone goal for the Blue Jackets, and appeared to have scored another earlier in the game but had it waved off because he had made a kicking motion with the puck.

WILD 4, PEDATORS 1

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Devan Dubnyk stopped 19 shots and Jason Zucker scored his 30th goal and added an assist to lead the Minnesota Wild past the Nashville Predators.

Joel Eriksson Ek, Nino Niederreiter and Zach Parise also scored for the Wild, who overcame a slow first period to outwork the West’s top team and hand the Predators their second straight loss. After taking only six shots in the opening period, the Wild offense outshot Nashville 24-11 the rest of the way to start a crucial stretch of three games in four days.

Pekka Rinne had 26 saves and Ryan Johansen scored his 13th goal for Nashville, which couldn’t rebound from a loss at home to Toronto on Thursday that snapped a four-game win streak and franchise-record 15-game point streak.

OILERS 3, KINGS 2

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) – Connor McDavid had two goals to take over the NHL scoring lead, and Edmonton held off Los Angeles for its third straight victory.

Pontus Aberg also scored and Cam Talbot made 27 saves for the Oilers, who are 4-1-1 in their last six games. During that span, however, they were eliminated from the playoff race.

Jake Muzzin and Jeff Carter had the goals for the Kings, who remained tied with idle Anaheim for third place in the Pacific Division.

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Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury follows the flight of the puck after deflecting a shot against the Colorado Avalanche in the third period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, March 24, 2018, in Denver. Colorado won 2-1 in a shootout. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Vegas Golden Knights right wing Alex Tuch, right, reaches out for a loose puck as Colorado Avalanche left wing J.T. Compher skates in during an NHL hockey game Saturday, March 24, 2018, in Denver. Colorado won 2-1 in a shootout. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Colorado Avalanche left wing Gabriel Landeskog, left, scores the winning goal past Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury in the shootout session of an NHL hockey game Saturday, March 24, 2018, in Denver. Colorado won 2-1. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, right, deflects a redirected shot off the stick of Colorado Avalanche center Carl Soderberg in the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, March 24, 2018, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Colorado Avalanche goaltender Semyon Varlamov, left, stops the shot of Vegas Golden Knights left wing David Perron in the shootout session of an NHL hockey game Saturday, March 24, 2018, in Denver. Colorado won 2-1. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)