Columbus Blue Jackets forward Alexander Nylander scores his second goal of the period past Colorado Avalanche goalie Justus Annunen during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Columbus, Ohio, Monday, April 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon)
Alex Nylander scored twice and the Columbus Blue Jackets used a three-goal second period to beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-1 Monday night for their second straight home win.
Kirill Marchenko had a goal and an assist, Cole Sillinger also scored and Eric Gudbranson had two assists for last-place Columbus, which won consecutive games for just the fourth time this season. Daniil Tarasov stopped 46 shots in his first game against the Avalanche.
Chris Wagner scored and Justus Annunen had 21 saves for the Avalanche, who remain tied at 100 points with the Vancouver Canucks, three points behind the Dallas Stars for the Western Conference lead.
ISLANDERS 4, Flyers 3, OT
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Brock Nelson scored 1:25 into overtime and the New York Islanders preserved their playoff hopes with an ovetime win over the Philadelphia.
Anders Lee, Bo Horvat and Matt Martin also scored for the Islanders, who moved within four points of Philadelphia for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. New York has two more games remaining on their schedule than the Flyers.
Semyon Varlamov stopped 29 shots to help the Islanders get their third win in 11 games.
Nelson scored after a turnover by Morgan Frost in his own zone for his 30th goal of the season, tyring him with Horvat for the team lead.
Frost, Noah Cates and Travis Sanheim had goals for the Flyers, who have lost three straight and eight of their last 10.
PENGUINS 5, RANGERS 2
NEW YORK (AP) – Sidney Crosby had two goals and an assist and Alex Nedeljkovic made 28 saves as the Pittsburgh beat New York, snapping the Rangers’ five-game winning streak.
Bryan Rust also scored twice and Emil Bemstrom added a goal for Pittsburgh, which ended a four-game losing streak in New York and improved to 14-9-3 in its last 26 games against Rangers. The Penguins lost both previous games this season at home against the first-place Rangers and were making their lone appearance at Madison Square Garden.
Kaapo Kakko and Jack Roslovic scored goals for the Rangers, and Igor Shesterkin finished with 16 saves.
RED WINGS 4, LIGHTNING 2
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – David Perron scored the go-ahead goal with 2:40 remaining and Detroit ended a four-game winless streak with a 4-2 win against the Tampa Bay.
Perron shoveled a rebound past Andrei Vasilevskiy to break a 2-2 tie as the Red Wings won the finale of a five-game road trip. Patrick Kane, Robby Fabbri and Lucas Raymond also scored and Alex Lyon made 34 saves to end a personal 0-8-2 streak and help the Red Wings move within one point of the Philadelphia Flyers for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference.
Anthony Cirelli and Steven Stamkos scored for the Lightning, who had been 8-0-1 in their previous nine. Vasilevskiy finished with 28 saves.
MAPLE LEAFS 6, PANTHERS 4
TORONTO (AP) – Auston Matthews scored his NHL-leading 61st and 62nd goals of the season to go along with an assist as Toronto built a four-goal lead before hanging on late to down Florida.
Nicholas Robertson and Matthew Knies also had a goal and an assist each for Toronto, while Tyler Bertuzzi and David Kampf provided the rest of the offense.
Ilya Samsonov made 26 saves for the Leafs, who were without five regulars – including star winger Mitch Marner (high ankle sprain) for an 11th straight game.
Vladimir Tarasenko had a goal and two assists for Florida. Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett and Brandon Montour also scored. Sergei Bobrovsky allowed five goals on 16 shots through two periods before getting the hook. Anthony Stolarz made six saves in relief.
BLUES 3, OILERS 2, OT
ST. LOUIS (AP) – Brandon Saad scored 2:09 into overtime, and St. Louis beat Edmonton.
Brayden Schenn scored twice and Jordan Binnington stopped 35 shots to help St. Louis improve to 8-2-1 in its last 11 games. The Blues are three points behind Los Angeles for the second wild card in the Western Conference.
Mattias Ekholm and Leon Draisaitl scored, and Stuart Skinner made 26 saves for Edmonton, which had won three straight.
JETS 4, KINGS 3
WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) – Cole Perfetti scored twice and Kyle Connor contributed a trio of assists as Winnipeg snapped a six-game losing skid with a victory over Los Angeles.
The Jets went on the game’s first power play midway through the third period with the score tied 3-3. Perfetti fired a low shot past Kings goalie Cam Talbot two seconds after the man advantage expired.
Josh Morrissey had a goal and assist and Sean Monahan also scored for the Jets. Perfetti registered a helper on Morrissey’s second-period tally. Laurent Brossoit made 25 saves for Winnipeg.
Viktor Arvidsson, Kevin Fiala and Anze Kopitar scored for the Kings. Defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov had two assists and Talbot stopped 28 shots for Los Angeles.
KRAKEN 4, SHARKS 2
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) – Oliver Bjorkstrand scored his 20th goal of the season and added an assist as Seattle beat the San Jose Sharks.
Jared McCann, Matty Beniers and Shane Wright also scored for Seattle, and Jordan Eberle had an assist for his 700th NHL point. Philipp Grubauer made 24 saves to earn the win.
Fabian Zetterlund had a goal and an assist for San Jose, which lost for the 19th time in its last 21 games. Klim Kostin also scored for the Sharks, and Mikael Granlund had an assist to extend his point streak to five games. Mackenzie Blackwood finished with 28 saves.
