1 day Ago By Field Level Media
Cole Perfetti scored a nifty goal on his first career shootout attempt to help the Winnipeg Jets clinch the top spot in the Western Conference with a 5-4 road win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday. Winnipeg inched closer to its first Presidents' Trophy in franchise history with the victory, while the Blackhawks lost their seventh game over the past nine (2-5-2). The Jets have two regular-season games left and a five-point edge on the Eastern Conference's top seed, the Washington Capitals, who have three to play.
Josh Morrissey scored twice, Kyle Connor tallied a goal and an assist and Connor Hellebuyck made 28 saves. Frank Nazar and Connor Bedard both finished with a goal and an assist. Meanwhile, Spencer Knight stopped 37 of the 41 shots he faced in Chicago's net.
Hurricanes 7, Rangers 3 Seth Jarvis scored a goal and collected two assists as Carolina claimed a victory in Raleigh, N.C., that eliminated New York from postseason consideration.
Jordan Staal and Jackson Blake added one goal and one assist apiece for the Hurricanes. Jayden Chatfield and Mark Jankowski contributed goals to help Carolina build a 5-1 lead early in the third. Pyotr Kochetkov made 28 saves to pick up the win.
Will Cuylle scored late in the second for the Rangers while J.T. Miller and Adam Fox delivered goals in the third period to cut the margin to 5-3.
Igor Shesterkin allowed five goals on 26 shots. Maple Leafs 1, Canadiens 0 (OT) Mitch Marner scored 36 seconds into overtime and Toronto defeated visiting Montreal. Marner scored from the edge of the left circle after taking a pass from William Nylander.
Anthony Stolarz made 15 saves to earn his third shutout of the season and the 11th of his career. The Maple Leafs opened a four-point lead in the Atlantic Division over the second-place Tampa Bay Lightning. Jakub Dobes stopped 34 shots for the Canadiens, who needed a win in regulation to clinch a playoff spot.
Flyers 4, Islanders 3 (SO) Tyson Foerster scored twice in regulation and Bobby Brink netted the only goal of the shootout as host Philadelphia eliminated New York from playoff contention. Samuel Ersson made 37 saves in regulation before stopping all five shootout attempts for Philadelphia, which has won five of its last six games. Brink's decisive shootout goal featured a series of stick-handling moves before he snapped a wrister past Marcus Hogberg.
Anders Lee, Noah Dobson and Bo Horvat each registered a goal and an assist for New York. Hogberg made 19 saves as the Islanders lost for the ninth time in 11 games. Kings 5, Avalanche 4 Kevin Fiala scored twice, Quinton Byfield and Alex Laferriere had a goal and two assists each, and host Los Angeles strengthened its hold on second place in the Pacific Division with a win over Colorado.
Anze Kopitar also scored, Andrei Kuzmenko added two assists and Darcy Kuemper turned away 22 shots for Los Angeles. The Kings stretched their lead over idle Edmonton to four points. Both have three games remaining before their likely matchup in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Brock Nelson posted two goals, including the 300th of his career, to lead the Avalanche. Valeri Nichushkin had a goal and an assist and Sam Malinski scored for Colorado, which rested six top players including leading scorers Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar. Panthers 3, Sabres 2 (SO) Carter Verhaeghe had a goal and an assist for Florida in its shootout win over visiting Buffalo.
Anton Lundell scored the lone goal in the shootout, and Vitek Vanecek made 26 saves for the Panthers, who have won three in a row. Florida tied Tampa Bay in points for second place in the Atlantic Division, but the Lightning have played one fewer game. Rasmus Dahlin and JJ Peterka scored for the Sabres, who are 0-1-1 in their past two after a five-game winning streak.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 32 saves. Frank Nazar and Connor Bedard both finished with a goal and an assist. Meanwhile, Spencer Knight stopped 37 of the 41 shots he faced in Chicago's net.
Blue Jackets 7, Capitals 0 Jet Greaves made 22 saves for his first NHL shutout and Columbus kept its playoff hopes alive with a win against visiting Washington. Adam Fantilli scored two goals and James van Riemsdyk had a goal and two assists for the Blue Jackets, who are four points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the second Eastern Conference wild-card spot. Sean Monahan and Kent Johnson each had a goal and an assist.
Greaves, 24, was playing his 18th NHL game and eighth this season. Utah Hockey Club 5, Stars 3 Utah was 4-for-4 on the power play and defeated host Dallas. Logan Cooley had a goal and two assists, Barrett Hayton a goal and assist while defenseman Sean Durzi, Josh Doan and Nick Schmaltz also scored for Utah, which has won three of its last four.
Jack McBain and Dylan Guenther each had two assists and Karel Vejmelka stopped 21 shots, in his 23rd straight game. Wyatt Johnston, defenseman Brendan Smith and Jason Robertson got the goals for the Stars, who lost their fifth straight (0-3-2). Mikko Rantanen had two assists and Casey DeSmith made 29 saves.
This article first appeared on Field Level Media and was syndicated with permission..
