Avalanche Clinch Playoff Berth, Defeat Blackhawks 4-1
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Thompson makes 30 stops in Capitals win over Devils
WASHINGTON (AP) — Logan Thompson made 30 saves, losing his shutout bid with just 43 seconds remaining, and the Washington Capitals beat the New Jersey Devils 2-1 on Friday night.
Ryan Leonard scored midway through the first period, and Aliaksei Protas added an empty-netter with 1:43 remaining.
Jesper Bratt scored for the Devils, extending his point streak with three goals and four assists over his last seven games. Jake Allen stopped 26 shots.
It was the third meeting between the teams and the first that didn’t require extra time. The Devils beat the Capitals in a 3-2 shootout win on Nov. 15, but lost 4-3 in overtime on Dec. 27. Thompson and Allen covered the net in all three games. They will conclude their season series on April 2 in Newark.
HURRICANES 4, MAPLE LEAFS 3, OT
TORONTO (AP) — Alexander Nikishin scored 41 seconds into overtime to give the Eastern Conference-leading Carolina a victory over Toronto.
Nikishin fired a shot beyond goalie Joseph Woll’s blocker.
Eric Robinson scored on a penalty shot for Carolina, K’Andre Miller and Jordan Staal also had goals, and Brandon Bussi made 23 saves. Seth Jarvis and Sebastian Aho each had two assists.
John Tavares, William Nylander and Dakota Joshua scored for Toronto. Woll stopped 32 shots, and Matias Maccelli had two assists.
AVALANCHE 4, BLACKHAWKS 1
CHICAGO (AP) — Nathan MacKinnon had three assists in Colorado’s victory over Chicago, helping the Avalanche become the first NHL team to clinch a playoff spot this season.
Martin Necas had a goal and two assists for Colorado, which had lost four of five. Nazem Kadri, Brock Nelson and Valeri Nichushkin also scored.
The league-leading Avalanche (45-13-10) moved four points ahead of idle Dallas for the top spot in the Western Conference.
Wyatt Kaiser scored for Chicago (26-31-12), and Arvid Soderblom stopped 45 shots.
FLAMES 4, PANTHERS 1
CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Dustin Wolf made 24 saves, Victor Olofsson scored his first goal for Calgary and the Flames beat Florida for their second straight victory.
Olofsson came over from Colorado at the trade deadline in the deal that sent Nazem Kadri back to the Avalanche.
Joel Farabee, Morgan Frost and Matt Coronato also scored for Calgary, each moving into a tie with Blake Coleman for the team lead with 16.
A.J. Greer scored for two-time defending champion Florida. Daniil Tarasov made 32 saves in losing for sixth time in his last seven starts.
DUCKS 4, MAMMOTH 1
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Alex Killorn broke a tie off a scramble at 9:09 of the second period, Lukas Dostal stopped 29 shots and Anaheim beat Utah to pad their Pacific Division lead.
After the puck was cleared off the goal line behind goalie Vitek Vanecek, the Ducks’ Sennecke ended up with it on the left side and slipped a pass to Killorn for a shot before Vanecek was set. Killorn also had two assists.
Ryan Poehling, Cutter Gauthier and Mikael Granlund also scored to help the Ducks — playing without suspended defenseman Radko Gudas — rebound from a 3-2 overtime loss to Philadelphia on Wednesday night at home. They moved three points ahead of Edmonton in the division.
Gudas served the fourth game of a five-game suspension for kneeing Auston Matthews in a loss at Toronto on March 12. Matthews tore the medial collateral ligament in his left knee and will miss the rest of the season.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Clinches Playoff Berth In Calder Cup Playoffs
Nikishin Calls Game – Hurricanes 4, Maple Leafs 3 – OT
Nikishin Calls Game – Hurricanes 4, Maple Leafs 3 – OT
Nikishin scores in OT to lift the East-leading Hurricanes past the Maple Leafs, 4-3
TORONTO (AP) — Alexander Nikishin scored 41 seconds into overtime to give the Eastern Conference-leading Carolina Hurricanes a 4-3 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday night.
Nikishin fired a shot beyond goalie Joseph Woll’s blocker.
Eric Robinson scored on a penalty shot for Carolina, K’Andre Miller and Jordan Staal also had goals, and Brandon Bussi made 23 saves. Seth Jarvis and Sebastian Aho each had two assists.
John Tavares, William Nylander and Dakota Joshua scored for Toronto. Woll stopped 32 shots, and Matias Maccelli had two assists.
Robinson scored on the penalty shot in the second period after being hooked on a breakaway by defenseman Troy Stecher. The Carolina winger beat Woll to the glove side.
Aho became the third player to hit at least 70 points in five seasons with the Hurricanes/Hartford Whalers franchise. Ron Francis (11) and Eric Staal (seven) top the list.
Toronto captain Auston Matthews had surgery on his left MCL in New York on Thursday. He was injured last week on a knee-on-knee hit from Anaheim defenseman Radko Gudas.
Up next
Hurricanes: At Pittsburgh on Sunday.
Maple Leafs: At Ottawa on Saturday night.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
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Logan Thompson backstops Capitals to 2-1 win over the Devils
WASHINGTON (AP) — Logan Thompson made 30 saves, losing his shutout bid with just 43 seconds remaining, and the Washington Capitals beat the New Jersey Devils 2-1 on Friday night.
Ryan Leonard scored midway through the first period, and Aliaksei Protas added an empty-netter with 1:43 remaining.
Jesper Bratt scored for the Devils, extending his point streak with three goals and four assists over his last seven games. Jake Allen stopped 26 shots.
It was the third meeting between the teams and the first that didn't require extra time. The Devils beat the Capitals in a 3-2 shootout win on Nov. 15, but lost 4-3 in overtime on Dec. 27. Thompson and Allen covered the net in all three games. They will conclude their season series on April 2 in Newark.
Up next
Devils visit the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night.
Capitals wrap a four-game homestand against the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday afternoon.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.