Sunday in the NHL | A 16th goal for Alexis Lafrenière, in a Rangers win

Alexis Lafrenière got a 16^e goal on Sunday, helping the New York Rangers win 5-2 over the Washington Capitals.

Lafrenière scored with a backhand at arm’s length, following a superb feint at the expense of Rasmus Sandin.

He had just taken a back pass from Filip Chytil, who deserved a fifth point in as many games.

Artemi Panarin took part in nets for K’Andre Miller, Vladimir Tarasenko and Mika Zibanejad.

Kaapo Kakko was the other goalscorer for Rangers, who had been beaten in their last two games.

Dylan Strome and Aliaksei Protas have fought back for the Capitals, who have lost their last four games.

Igor Shesterkin made 26 saves for the winners, while Darcy Kuemper stopped 29 shots.

Washington is threatened with being kicked out of the playoffs, which hasn’t happened since 2014.

The Capitals’ next game is Thursday night in Montreal.

The Canadian Press

Bruins win in shootout

Charlie Coyle scored the game-winning goal in the shootout as the Boston Bruins squandered a 3-0 lead to eventually beat the St. Louis Blues 4-3, for their 60^e win of the season.

Linus Ullmark made 35 saves and stopped all three shootout attempts for the Blues to lead the Bruins to their third straight win.

Jake DeBrusk, Tyler Bertuzzi and Oskar Steen all threaded the needle in regulation time for the Bruins.

Jordan Kyrou scored twice and Torey Krug also hit the target for the Blues.

Jordan Binnington made 28 saves for the Blues, who lost for the second time in a row.

Dmitry Orlov appeared to have scored the winning goal 2:24 into extra time, but after a video replay the goal was disallowed as David Pastrnak was offside entering the Blues area.

David Solomon, Associated Press

Penguins win 4-2

Rickard Rakell scored twice as the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-2 on Sunday night.

Penguins defenseman Kris Letang competed in a 1,000^e career NHL game and Bryan Rust threaded the needle in his 500^e game in the Bettman circuit.

Ryan Poehling closed the books in an empty net for the Penguins. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin both had two assists.

Crosby is just three points off the 1,500 career mark in the NHL. He also tied Mario Lemieux for the most points in history against the Flyers with 124.

Casey DeSmith stopped 31 shots for the Pittsburgh squad, which rallied after losing to the Boston Bruins on Saturday. It edged out the Florida Panthers for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Travis Konecny ​​and Nicolas Deslauriers replied for the Flyers. Samuel Ersson finished the clash with 27 saves.

Dan Scifo, Associated Press

Jordan Martinook ends drought in win over Islanders

Jordan Martinook scored for the first time in more than two months to break the third period tie as the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the New York Islanders 2-1 on Sunday.

Jesperi Kotkaniemi also had a goal and Frederik Andersen made 21 saves for the Hurricanes, who have won back-to-back games after a four-game losing streak in five games.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau opened the scoring for the Islanders, who have lost two straight and three of their last five.

Ilya Sorokin stopped 33 shots for the Islanders, who have been outshot for only the second time in their last nine games.

Sorokin played on back-to-back days for the second time since Dec. 16-17.

The Hurricanes outshot the Islanders 28-14 in two periods.

Bob Sutton, Associated Press

Senators lose in overtime to Blue Jackets

Kirill Marchenko scored after 16 seconds in overtime to lead the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 4-3 win over the Ottawa Senators on Sunday night to end a four-game losing streak.

Kent Johnson, Eric Robinson and Boone Jenner also had a goal for the Blue Jackets, Johnny Gaudreau had two assists and Marchenko added one. Jon Gillies stopped 24 shots in his debut for the Blue Jackets – and his first game this season – for his first win since Feb. 10, 2022.

The Blue Jackets tied the Anaheim Ducks for the second-fewest points in the NHL with 56 points. The Chicago Blackhawks are last with 54 points.

Dylan Gambrell, Mark Kastelic and Alex DeBrincat found the net for the Senators, who have lost back-to-back games. Cam Talbot made 18 saves for the Senators, whose playoff hopes are dwindling as they trail the Pittsburgh Penguins six points for the final qualifying spot in the East.

Nicole Kraft, Associated Press

The Jets sign an important victory against the Devils

Nikolaj Ehlers scored twice and Morgan Barron scored a penalty shot in the Winnipeg Jets’ 6-1 win over the New Jersey Devils on Sunday.

Devils forward Nico Hischier foiled Connor Hellebuyck’s shutout attempt when he scored on the power play with 13.9 seconds left in the third period.

Hellebuyck stopped 31 of 32 shots for his 60^e start of the season for the Jets.

Pierre-Luc Dubois had a goal and an assist, while Kyle Connor and Nino Niederreiter also scored for the Jets. Blake Wheeler provided a pair of assists in the game.

Vitek Vanacek stopped 17 of 21 shots for the Devils before being replaced by Mackenzie Blackwood to start the third period. Blackwood made four saves after that.

The win helped the Jets in their quest for a playoff berth. They are one point behind the Seattle Kraken for the first Western qualifier, but the Kraken are two games behind.

Judy Owen, The Canadian Press

The Red Wings took the lead over the Maple Leafs

Dylan Larkin scored three times for the second hat trick of his career and Alex Nedeljkovic made 42 saves in the Detroit Red Wings’ 5-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday night.

Olli Maatta, with a goal and an assist, and Jonatan Berggren provided the rest of the offense for the Red Wings. Moritz Seider added two assists.

Calle Jarnkrok and John Tavares replied for the Leafs.

Matt Murray allowed two goals on seven shots for the Leafs before being injured late in the first period.

Ilya Samsonov, who stopped 31 shots in Saturday’s 3-0 shutout win over the Ottawa Senators, finished with 13 saves.

The Wings, who will miss the playoffs for a seventh straight season despite good progress, opened the scoring 90 seconds from the start of the first period when Maatta scored his sixth goal after the defenseman took advantage of a stray puck and went on a breakaway.

Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press

The Kings will make the playoffs

Alex Iafallo scored twice and the Los Angeles Kings sealed their ticket to the playoffs with a 4-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday.

Arthur Kaliyev and Blake Lizzote – in an empty net – each had a goal and an assist for the Kings, who were coming off an important 3-1 win over the Seattle Kraken on Saturday. Anze Kopitar recorded a pair of assists in the game.

Brock Boeser scored the Canucks’ lone goal early in the first period.

The Kings’ Joonas Korpisalo made 21 saves and Thatcher Demko stopped 21 of 23 shots for the Canucks.

The Canucks were mathematically eliminated from the playoffs earlier in the evening when the Winnipeg Jets beat the New Jersey Devils 6-1.

The Canucks have missed the playoffs for three consecutive years and in seven of the last eight NHL seasons.

Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press

The Flames are still in the hunt for the playoffs

Michael Stone scored the game-winning goal for the Calgary Flames with just under three minutes remaining in a 5-4 win over the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday.

The defender, who was playing his first game with the Flames since February 18 due to a lower back injury, fired a shot past Lukas Dostal 17:22 into the third period.

Andrew Mangiapane, Nikita Zadorov, Nick Ritchie and Milan Lucic also scored for the Flames, who remain two points behind the Winnipeg Jets, who currently hold the final Western playoff spot.

The Jets beat the New Jersey Devils 6-1 on Sunday.

Tyler Toffoli of the Flames had two assists. After stopping seven of nine shots in the first period, Jacob Markstrom was replaced by Dan Vladar, who made 11 saves for the win.

The Flames won their fourth straight game for the first time this season.

Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press