NHL roundup: Caps top Penguins, clinch division title

[April 02, 2018]  The Washington Capitals clinched the top spot in the Metropolitan Division for the third consecutive season, scoring a single goal in each period en route to a 3-1 victory over the Penguins on Sunday night in Pittsburgh.

Capitals goalie Philipp Grubauer stopped 36 shots for the win, but Alex Ovechkin was held off the scoresheet in his 1,000th NHL game. Washington won for the sixth time in seven games.

The second-place Penguins are trying to hold off the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Philadelphia Flyers and the New Jersey Devils in the Metropolitan. Pittsburgh holds a two-point lead on Columbus and Philadelphia, and a three-point lead on New Jersey. However, the Blue Jackets, Flyers and Devils all have three games remaining, one more than the Penguins.

Ducks 4, Avalanche 3 (OT)

Ondrej Kase scored 1:34 into overtime after the Ducks rallied from a two-goal deficit in the third period, and Anaheim defeated visiting Colorado to move past the Los Angeles Kings into third place in the Pacific Division.

Andrew Cogliano had a goal and an assist, and Ryan Kesler and Adam Henrique also scored for Anaheim. John Gibson stopped nine of 10 shots for the Ducks but was replaced by Ryan Miller to start the second period after being involved in a collision with Gabriel Landeskog near the end of the first period. Miller made 19 saves.

Tyson Jost scored two goals and Alexander Kerfoot had a goal and an assist for Colorado, which gained a point to move into the second wild card spot ahead of the St. Louis Blues.

Devils 2, Canadiens 1

Taylor Hall's short-handed breakaway goal at 15:31 of the third period gave New Jersey a victory over host Montreal.

Hall scored as he came out of the penalty box after serving a bench minor for too many men on the ice. He netted the first short-handed goal of his NHL career, beating Canadiens goaltender Carey Price with a quick shot to the stick side. The goal extended his points streak to eight games.

 

The Devils moved closer to qualifying for the playoffs for the first time since 2011-12. They now have eight wins in their past 11 games. New Jersey is in contention for either third place in the Metropolitan Division, which guarantees postseason participation, or an Eastern Conference wild-card spot.

Predators 4, Lightning 1

Filip Forsberg scored two goals while Juuse Saros made 29 saves and also added an assist as Nashville moved to the brink of the Central Division title with a win over host Tampa Bay.

Ryan Johansen and Craig Smith also scored for Nashville, which bounced back from a stunning 7-4 loss Saturday night to Buffalo. The Predators have 113 points, seven ahead of Winnipeg in the division, and need just one more point from their final three games or a Jets loss to clinch the division.

The result also put Nashville three points ahead of Boston for the top record in the NHL, a distinction that would produce home-ice advantage throughout the Stanley Cup playoffs. Tampa Bay sits two points behind the Bruins in the Atlantic Division heading into the season's final week.

Flyers 4, Bruins 3 (OT)

Claude Giroux scored two goals, including the winner with 1:21 left in overtime, to help host Philadelphia edge Boston.

Travis Konecny and Nolan Patrick each scored a goal and Ivan Provorov had a pair of assists for the Flyers, who won for the first time in three tries against the Bruins this season.

Philadelphia goaltender Petr Mrazek made 36 saves.

--Field Level Media

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