Blue Jackets roll past Capitals 7-0, Ovechkin a healthy scratch
Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Jet Greaves (73) saves a shot from Washington Capitals left wing Andrew Mangiapane (88) during the third period of an NHL hockey game on Saturday, April 12, 2025, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Joe Maiorana)
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Adam Fantilli scored twice and Jet Greaves stopped 22 shots for his first career shutout, leading the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 7-0 win over the Alex Ovechkin-less Washington Capitals on Saturday.
Ovechkin, who broke Wayne Gretzky’s NHL career goal-scoring mark on Sunday, was a healthy scratch to rest up for the playoffs. Washington has already clinched the Metropolitan Division and the top seed in the Eastern Conference.
The victory kept Columbus in the hunt for the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot. Montreal, which leads the race for the last postseason position, faces Toronto later on Saturday night.
James van Riemsdyk had a goal and two assists, while Kent Johnson and Sean Monahan each had a goal and an assist. Zach Werenski and Cole Sillinger also scored for Columbus, which extended its win streak to three games.
In his first NHL start since being recalled from AHL Hershey, Hunter Shepard made 19 saves for Washington.
FLYERS 4, ISLANDERS 3, SO
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Bobby Brink scored the only goal of the shootout, beating Marcus Hogberg to the glove side on the fifth try to lead Philadelphia to a victory over New York.
The loss eliminated New York from the Eastern Conference playoff race.
Tyson Foerster scored two goals in the victory — including a go-ahead goal at the 10:39 mark of the third that gave Philadelphia a 3-2 lead. Foerster now has 24 goals on the season, including five in his last two games. Jakob Pelletier added the Flyers other goal while Samuel Ersson recorded 37 saves in picking up his 22nd win of the year.
The Islanders would tie the game with just 1:01 left to play when Bo Horvat’s wrist shot snuck through a maze of bodies and beat Ersson between the pads.
Anders Lee had New York’s goal. Hogberg recorded 19 saves in the loss.
HURRICANES 7, RANGERS 3
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Seth Jarvis had a goal and two assists and Carolina eliminated New York from playoff contention with a win.
Jalen Chatfield, Jackson Blake, Mark Jankowski, Jordan Staal, Jordan Martinook and Logan Stankoven also scored for the Hurricanes. Pytor Kochetkov made 28 saves.
Adam Fox, K’Andre Miller and Will Cuylle scored for New York, and Igor Shesterkin stopped 21 shots. The Rangers have lost four of their last five.
Chatfield and Jarvis gave Carolina 2-0 lead in the first period. Jarvis scored his 25th goal at home this season to match the most since the franchise moved to North Carolina in 1997.
KINGS 5, AVALANCHE 4
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kevin Fiala scored two goals for the second straight game, and Quinton Byfield and Alex Laferriere had a goal and two assists apiece in Los Angeles’ victory over Colorado.
Captain Anze Kopitar also scored for the Kings, who have won 10 of 13. Los Angeles is four points behind Pacific Division-leading Vegas and four points ahead of third-place Edmonton with three games to go, likely sending the Kings into a fourth consecutive first-round meeting with the Oilers.
Los Angeles’ Darcy Kuemper made 22 saves against the team with which he won the Stanley Cup in 2022, but his streak of allowing two goals or fewer ended at 15 consecutive starts — one short of matching Miikka Kiprusoff’s 2003-04 expansion-era record.
Brock Nelson scored two goals for the Avalanche to secure his fourth straight 25-goal season, and second-place Colorado nearly won despite resting NHL scoring co-leader Nathan MacKinnon and several other regulars with its playoff seeding already decided.
Valeri Nichushkin and Sam Malinski also scored, and Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 28 shots.
PANTHERS 3, SABRES 2, SO
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Anton Lundell scored the only goal of the shootout and Florida beat Buffalo.
Carter Verhaeghe had a goal and an assist, and Jesse Puljujarvi also scored in regulation for Florida. Vitek Vanecek made 26 saves and stopped all three Buffalo attempts in the shootout.
After a five-game skid at the beginning of April, the Panthers have won three straight as they sit two points behind Tampa Bay for second place in the Atlantic Division.
Rasmus Dahlin and JJ Peterka had power-play goals for the Sabres. Peterka added an assist and extended his point streak to four games. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 32 shots.
MAPLE LEAFS 1, CANADIENS 0, OT
TORONTO (AP) — Mitch Marner scored at 36 seconds of overtime to give Toronto a victory, preventing Montreal from wrapping up a wild-card playoff spot.
Marner got the puck in the high slot and beat goalie Jakub Dobes with a low wrist shot to far corner for his 26th goal of the season.
Anthony Stolarz stopped 15 shots for his third shutout of the season as Atlantic Division-leading Toronto secured home-ice in the first round of the playoffs.
The Canadiens gained a valuable point in the standings, but have dropped two straight after winning six in a row.
Jakub Dobes made 34 saves for Montreal.
JETS 5, BLACKHAWKS 4, SO
CHICAGO (AP) — Kyle Connor and Cole Perfetti scored in the shootout, and Winnipeg clinched the franchise’s first Central Division title and the No. 1 seed for the Western Conference playoffs with a wild victory over Chicago.
Winnipeg won for the fourth time in five games. It went 26-15-0 on the road this season, setting a franchise record for road wins.
Josh Morrissey had two third-period goals for the Jets, who trailed 2-0 after one. Connor had a goal and an assist in regulation, and Nino Niederreiter also scored.
Winnipeg forward Nikolaj Ehlers departed after he backed into an official in the second period. Ehlers, who has 24 goals and 39 assists in 69 games, had to be helped off the ice after he got hurt with 5:34 left.
Frank Nazar and Connor Bedard each had a goal and an assist for Chicago in its home finale. Ryan Donato also scored, and captain Nick Foligno had a short-handed goal.
UTAH 5, STARS 3
DALLAS (AP) — Logan Cooley had a goal and two assists, and Utah scored four power-play goals to beat Dallas.
Barrett Hayton had a goal and an assist, and Sean Durzi, Josh Doan and Nick Schmaltz also scored to help Utah improve to 3-0-1 in its last four games. Jack McBain and Dylan Guenther each had two assists, and Karel Vejmelka stopped 21 shots.
Jason Robertson, Wyatt Johnston and Brendan Smith scored as Dallas lost its fifth straight (0-3-2). Casey DeSmith finished with 29 saves.
Johnston gave the Stars a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal 2:48 into the game for his 32nd of the season, and Hayton tied it for Utah at 8:11.
Smith then put Dallas back ahead with a short-handed goal 32 seconds into the second for his first goal in 30 games this season.
Durzi tied it just 49 seconds later with Utah on the same power play, and Cooley made it 3-2 at 7:04 with his 24th and the game’s first even-strength goal.
Doan gave Utah a two-goal lead with 1:54 left in the second, but Robertson pulled the Stars to 4-3 just 47 seconds later with his 35th.
Schmaltz restored Utah’s two-goal lead with its fourth power-play goal of the day at 5:32 of the third.
GOLDEN KNIGHTS 5, PREDATORS 3
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Noah Hanifin scored the go-ahead goal with 1:55 to play and Vegas went on to a win over Nashvillethat clinched their fourth Pacific Division title in the team’s eight-year history.
Brett Howden and Nicolas Roy had a goal and an assist each for the Golden Knights, Alexander Holtz scored on the power play and Ivan Barbashev added an empty-netter.
Adin Hill made 14 saves. It was the first time this season Vegas won a game in which Hill has allowed at least three goals, having lost the previous 14 in which he gave up at least three goals.
Jordan Oesterle, former Golden Knight Jonathan Marchessault, and Marc Del Gaizo scored for Nashville. Marchessault and Del Gaizo scored early in the third to tie the game at 3-3.
Justus Annunen had 24 saves for Nashville.
KRAKEN 3, BLUES 2, SO
SEATTLE (AP) — Chandler Stephenson scored the deciding goal in the seventh round of the shootout, and Seattle beat St. Louis.
Jaden Schwartz, Michael Eyssimont and Shane Wright scored in regulation for Seattle, and Tye Kartye had two assists. Philipp Grubauer had 20 saves.
Nick Leddy had a goal and an assist, and Radek Faksa and Colton Parayko also scored for St. Louis. Jordan Binnington finished with 14 saves.
Eeli Tolvanen and Kaapo Kakko also scored in the tiebreaker for Seattle, and Jake Neighbours and Robert Thomas tallied for St. Louis.
After Stephenson scored, rookie Jimmy Snuggerud’s attempt was wide left to give the Kraken the win.
WILD 3, CANUCKS 2, OT
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Mats Zuccarello scored at 2:47 of overtime and Minnesota beat Vancouver to inch closer to a playoff berth.
Zuccarello beat goalie Kevin Lankinen on a breakaway after Kirill Kaprizov freed him in the zone with a nifty pass.
With one game remaining, Minnesota holds the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference, a point ahead of St. Louis and five in front of Calgary. The Blues have two games left, and the the Flames have three to go.
Minnesota overcame a 2-0 deficit in the third period, cutting it to one on Brock Faber’s goal 22 seconds in the period and tying it on Marcus Foligno’s goal with 6:46 remaining.
Filip Gustavsson made 12 saves for Minnesota.
Marcus Pettersson opened the scoring for Vancouver early in the first, and Jake DeBrusk scored in the second. Lankinen stopped 30 shots for the Canucks.