Highlights of Sunday's NHL games

[March 20, 2017]  March 19 (The Sports Xchange) - Highlights of Sunday's National Hockey League game:

Penguins 4, Panthers 0

Sidney Crosby had a natural hat trick to regain sole possession of the NHL goals lead at 40, and Marc-Andre Fleury made 21 saves Sunday as the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Florida Panthers 4-0 at PPG Paints Arena.

Crosby, who entered the game tied with Boston's Brad Marchand in the goals race, moved into a tie with Edmonton's Connor McDavid for the league scoring lead with 80 points apiece. Crosby has six goals in his past four games.

Fleury picked up his 44th career shutout, his second against Florida and his first of the season for the Penguins, who are 7-1-1 in their past nine games. The loss further diminished the playoff hopes of the Panthers, who are six points out of a wild-card spot with 11 games remaining.

Blue Jackets 4, Devils 1

Lukas Sedlak and Brandon Dubinsky scored penalty-shot goals as Columbus clinched a postseason berth.

Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 35 shots to help Columbus reach 100 points for the first time in franchise history. The Blue Jackets are tied atop the league standings with the Washington Capitals.

Boone Jenner scored twice for the Blue Jackets, including one into an empty net with 1:57 left. Adam Henrique scored the lone goal for the Devils, who have lost 12 of 13, and Cory Schneider made 23 saves in his first start since March 11.

Jets 5, Wild 4

Defense was largely an afterthought as Winnipeg recovered from blowing a 4-0 lead to top Minnesota.

Michael Hutchinson relieved Connor Hellebuyck in the Jets net after 40 minutes and stopped 13 shots -- including many of the highlight reel variety -- in posting the victory. Devan Dubnyk let in five goals on 21 shots for the Wild.

Andrew Copp, Adam Lowry, Ben Chiarot, Dustin Byfuglien and Jim Morrissey all lit the lamp for Winnipeg, with Morrissey getting the winner midway through the third period. Chris Stewart scored twice and Charlie Coyle and Mikael Granlund once each for the Wild.

Blackhawks 6, Avalanche 3

Jonathan Toews scored two goals and Chicago scored three times in a 34-second span of the third period to win its fifth straight game over Colorado.

Artemi Panarin, Richard Panik, Patrick Kane and Marcus Kruger also scored for the Blackhawks.
 
 Mikhail Grigorenko scored twice and Sven Andrighetto once for the Avalanche.

Canadiens 4, Senators 1

Paul Byron recorded a goal and an assist to lift Montreal over Ottawa at the Bell Centre.

Tomas Plekanec, Jordie Benn and Nathan Beaulieu also scored for the Canadiens, who moved four points ahead of the Senators in the race for the Atlantic Division crown. Tom Pyatt scored for the Senators.

Carey Price made 30 saves for the Canadiens while Craig Anderson stopped 33 shots for the Senators.

Flyers 4, Hurricanes 3 (OT)

Travis Konecny tied the score with a power-play goal with 42.9 seconds remaining in regulation, and Brayden Schenn won it 38 seconds into overtime, lifting Philadelphia over Carolina.

Ivan Provorov recorded a goal and an assist and Dale Weise also scored for the Flyers. Steve Mason, making his ninth start in 10 games, made 19 saves to improve to 21-20-7.

Jeff Skinner, Elias Lindholm and Jordan Staal scored for the Hurricanes, who extended their points streak to seven games (4-0-3). Cam Ward stopped 40 of 44 shots to take the loss.

Flames 5, Kings 2

Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau each had three points, and Calgary kept Los Angeles from creeping closer to a playoff spot.

Monahan and Gaudreau both scored once and added two assists. Mark Giordano, Michael Stone and Kris Versteeg, into an empty net, also scored for the Flames while Brian Elliot made 19 saves.

Anze Kopitar and Nic Dowd replied for the Kings.

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