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 Predators 4, Capitals 3
Nashville clinched a berth in the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first
time since 2012 and a couple of former Washington players helped
them do it.
Rookie center Filip Forsberg, taken by the Capitals with the 11th
pick of the 2012 NHL draft, scored one goal and assisted on two
others, and center Mike Ribeiro, who played for the Capitals two
seasons ago, recorded a goal and an assist.
Nashville goaltender Pekka Rinne turned aside 25 shots to improve
his record to 41-15-4, while Washington goalie Braden Holtby was
pulled after allowing three goals on 13 shots.
The Predators also received goals from defenseman Mattias Ekholm and
center Mike Fisher in winning their fourth straight game.
The Capitals collected two goals from right winger Troy Brouwer and
one from defenseman Mike Green.
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Ducks 3, Islanders 2
Centers Kyle Palmieri and Andrew Cogliano scored in the second
period and Anaheim clinched a playoff berth.
The Ducks (48-22-7) have won two straight and six of eight to move
into first place overall in the NHL with 103 points.
Right winger Richard Rakell was credited with a goal in the first
period for the Ducks while goalie Frederik Andersen made 29 saves.
The Islanders (44-27-5) continued their freefall by losing for the
ninth time in 12 games this month (3-6-3).
- - -
Penguins 3, Coyotes 2
Center Sidney Crosby had a goal and two assists, all in the third
period, to boost his league-leading points total to 78 as Pittsburgh
beat Arizona.
Right wingers Daniel Winnik and Steve Downie also scored for
Pittsburgh. Left winger Tye McGinn and center Tobias Rieder scored
for Arizona.
Pittsburgh defenseman Kris Letang, widely considered a candidate for
the Norris Trophy, left the game in the second period. After Letang
released a long outlet pass, Arizona right winger Shane Doan hit
him. Letang fell backward into the end boards and needed assistance
as he left the ice.
- - -
Bruins 4, Rangers 2
Boston took advantage of a rusty Henrik Lundqvist in his return,
scoring three times in the first period on the New York Rangers'
veteran goaltender.
Lundqvist, who missed 25 games because of a sprained blood vessel in
his neck, gave up four goals in the first 26 minutes for New York
(47-20-7). He finished with 26 saves.
Boston (37-25-13) snapped a six-game winless streak as left winger
Milan Lucic scored the game's first two goals and center Carl
Soderberg and right winger Reilly Smith also found the net.
- - -
Sharks 3, Flyers 2 (shootout)
San Jose center Melker Karlsson and defenseman Brent Burns each
scored shootout goals, and goaltender Alex Stalock stopped 16 of 18
shots to beat Philadelphia.
By winning, the Sharks kept themselves in the conversation for the
final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
San Jose center Joe Pavelski scored his 36th goal of the season and
defenseman Matt Irwin added his eighth.
Flyers center Claude Giroux scored his 28th goal of the season, and
Flyers left winger Michael Raffl notched his 20th for Philadelphia.
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Red Wings 4, Lightning 0
Goaltender Petr Mrazek made 23 saves for his second shutout of the
season and fourth of his career to lead Detroit over Tampa Bay.
Right winger Gusav Nyquist had a goal and an assist and center
Joakim Andersson, left winger Justin Abdelkader and center Luke
Glendening also scored for Detroit.
Tampa Bay goalie Ben Bishop stopped 19 shots.
- - -
Blue Jackets 4, Blues 2
The Columbus Blue Jackets posted a 4-2 victory over the St. Louis
Blues, who are vying for the Presidents Trophy as the NHL's top
team.
- - -
Canadiens 3, Panthers 2 (overtime)
Max Pacioretty scored the winning goal in overtime to lift the
Montreal Canadiens to a 3-2 victory over Florida.
Lars Eller and Alex Galchenyuk also scored for the Canadiens
(47-21-8), who stayed top of the Eastern Conference by a point.
Aleksander Barkov had two goals for Florida (34-26-15).
- - -
Wild 4, Kings 1
The Minnesota Wild got two goals each from Nino Niederreiter and
Mikko Koivu to defeat the Los Angeles Kings 4-1.
Devan Dubnyk had 31 saves for the Wild (44-25-7), who moved ahead of
Chicago for third place in the Central Division, while the Kings
(37-24-14) have a one-point lead for the race for final playoff spot
in the West.
- - -
Stars 4, Canucks 3 (OT)
John Klingberg scored with 47 seconds left in overtime as the Dallas
Stars defeated the Vancouver Canucks 4-3.
It was the Stars' seventh straight win over Vancouver (43-27-5), who
remain sixth in the Western Conference.
- - -
Hurricanes 3, Devils 1
Eric Staal and Justin Faulk scored in the opening 4:58 of the third
period, and goaltender Cam Ward had to stop just 21 shots, as the
Carolina Hurricanes defeated the New Jersey Devils 3-1.
Carolina improved to 28-36-10 with the win. (Editing by Gene
Cherry/Peter Rutherford)
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reserved.]
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