Islanders damage Devils’ playoff hopes
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UNIONDALE, N.Y. — Frans Nielsen scored in the second period and then added a goal in the shootout to lift the New York Islanders to a 2-1 victory over the playoff-hopeful New Jersey Devils on Saturday night.
Nielsen scored in the first round, and Brock Nelson added a goal in the second against New Jersey’s Cory Schneider to hand the Devils their 14th straight shootout loss — 0-10 this season. Anders Nilsson turned aside Adam Henrique, who scored in regulation, and Patrik Elias to win it.
The Devils earned one point, but are still behind several teams in the Eastern Conference playoff race with eight games left. They are 2-4-2 in their last eight.
Nielsen gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead early in the second before Henrique tied it.
Bruins 4, Capitals 2
WASHINGTON — Carl Soderberg and Jarome Iginla scored 41 seconds apart in the second period to break open a close game, and the Boston Bruins clinched the Atlantic Division title.
Iginla scored twice to reach the 30-goal mark, and Patrice Bergeron added a goal as the Bruins won for the 14th time in 15 games. Chad Johnson made 31 saves, and he and Tuukka Rask have combined to allow only 13 goals over 11 games.
Jason Chimera and Evgeny Kuznetsov scored, and Braden Holtby stopped 32 shots for the Capitals, who were down 3-0 before they could find any traction against the possession-heavy Bruins.
Avalanche 3, Sharks 2
DENVER — Semyon Varlamov had a season-high 47 saves and the Colorado Avalanche clinched their first playoff berth in four years with a win over the San Jose Sharks.
Center John Mitchell had a goal and an assist for the Avalanche, who moved past Chicago into second place in the Central Division with 100 points in what might have been a costly victory.
Center Matt Duchene suffered a left knee injury on the opening shift Saturday when he collided with teammate Jamie McGinn near the Sharks blue line. He fell to the ice and then gingerly skated to the bench.
Canadiens 4, Panthers 1
SUNRISE, Fla. — Max Pacioretty had two goals and an assist to help the Montreal Canadiens extend their winning streak to five games with a victory over the Florida Panthers.
Thomas Vanek added a goal and an assist for Montreal and Carey Price made 36 saves. David Desharnais had an empty-net goal.
Pacioretty’s second goal put the Canadiens ahead 3-0 in the second period. Pacioretty camped at edge of the crease and tipped in a pass from Desharnais at 14:00 for his 35th of the season, a career high. Pacioretty has 11 points in his past 10 games.
Brad Boyes scored for Florida and Dan Ellis stopped 15 shots for the Panthers, who have lost five of their past six games.
Blue Jackets 3 Hurricanes 2, OT
RALEIGH, N.C. — Ryan Johansen scored a power-play goal at 2:40 of overtime and the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Carolina Hurricanes.
Artem Anisimov had a goal and an assist and Matt Calvert also scored to help the Blue Jackets earn an important two points in their push for the second playoff berth in club history and first since 2009.
Lightning 4, Sabres 3, OT
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Steven Stamkos scored two goals, including the winner in overtime, as the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Buffalo Sabres.
Alex Killorn and Ryan Callahan also scored for the Lightning, who have earned at least a point in 11 consecutive games.
Red Wings 4, Maple Leafs 2
TORONTO — Darren Helm had a hat trick and the Detroit Red Wings sent the Toronto Maple Leafs to their eighth consecutive loss with a 4-2 victory.
This is Toronto’s first such streak of eight straight regulation defeats since 1985.
The Leafs have 80 points with just six games remaining and might have to run the table to give themselves a legitimate shot at a second straight playoff appearance.
