NHL roundup: Knights win 8th straight, clinch playoff bid

[April 22, 2021]  Jonathan Marchessault had two goals and two assists as the Vegas Golden Knights won their eighth consecutive game, defeating the San Jose Sharks 5-2 on Wednesday in Las Vegas to become the first NHL team to clinch a playoff berth this season.

The Golden Knights improved to 7-0-0 against the Sharks with only the teams' regular-season finale, May 12 in San Jose, remaining in the season series.

Mark Stone, Alex Tuch and Mattias Janmark also scored for the Golden Knights, and Janmark added an assist. Vegas' Shea Theodore had two assists and Marc-Andre Fleury made 31 saves for his fourth consecutive win.

Timo Meier and Tomas Hertl tallied goals for San Jose while Josef Korenar made 35 saves in his second NHL start. The Sharks took their seventh defeat in a row (0-6-1).

Blackhawks 5, Predators 4 (OT)

Brandon Hagel notched the game-winning goal three minutes into overtime to complete Chicago's furious late rally as the Blackhawks beat host Nashville for the first time in seven tries (1-4-2).

Nashville's Luke Kunin made it 4-1 early in the third period, but rookie Wyatt Kalynuk and Vinnie Hinostroza scored 69 seconds apart to pull Chicago within 4-3. Less than two minutes later, Dominik Kubalik tied it at 4 with his 15th tally. Rookie Pius Suter also scored for the Blackhawks, Hagel added two assists, and goalie Malcolm Subban stopped 36 shots.

Nashville's Mikael Granlund posted a goal and an assist, and Colton Sissons and Eeli Tolvanen also scored. Ryan Johansen handed out an assist in his 700th NHL game. Juuse Saros made 25 saves for the Predators, who lost for just the fifth time in their past 17 games (12-4-1).

Vegas Golden Knights center Jonathan Marchessault (81) scores on San Jose Sharks goaltender Josef Korenar (32) during the first period of an NHL hockey game at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: POOL PHOTOS-USA TODAY Sports

Wild 4, Coyotes 1

Marcus Foligno scored the tiebreaking goal early in the third period and Cam Talbot made 39 saves as Minnesota extended its winning streak to five games with a victory at Glendale, Ariz.

Kevin Fiala, rookie Kirill Kaprizov and Nico Sturm also scored for third-place Minnesota, which pulled within three points of the second-place Colorado Avalanche in the NHL's West Division.

Christian Dvorak scored the lone goal for Arizona and Darcy Kuemper stopped 19 of 22 shots. The hosts were swept in the two-game series, having lost 5-2 to Minnesota on Monday.

Canadiens 4, Oilers 3

Josh Anderson scored two goals and visiting Montreal held on for a win over Edmonton Oilers.

Tyler Toffoli and Artturi Lehkonen also scored, Jeff Petry and Tomas Tatar each had two assists, and Jake Allen made 22 saves for Montreal.

Connor McDavid had a goal and two assists, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins returned from a four-game absence and scored, and Jesse Puljujarvi added a goal for the Oilers. Mike Smith made 27 saves.

--Field Level Media