Sunday in the NHL | Sam Reinhart reaches 50 goals, Panthers defeat Flyers 4-1

Sam Reinhart scored twice to reach 50 goals this season and the Florida Panthers ended a four-game losing streak by beating the Philadelphia Flyers 4-1 on Sunday.

Reinhart’s best season was 33 goals before this one. The 28-year-old forward has eight career 20-goal campaigns and is two goals shy of 250 career goals.

Vladimir Tarasenko and Carter Verhaeghe were the other scorers for the Panthers, who are tied for the Eastern Conference lead with the Boston Bruins with 97 points. The two teams will cross swords on Tuesday at Sunrise.

Anthony Stolarz made 32 saves in the victory.

Bobby Brink was the only scorer for the local favorites and Felix Sandstrom gave up three times on 14 shots.

Aaron Bracy, Associated Press

Alex Ovechkin scores two goals and the Capitals shut out the Jets 3-0

Alex Ovechkin scored two goals, Charlie Lindgren was perfect in front of 27 shots and the Washington Capitals blanked the Winnipeg Jets 3-0 on Sunday.

The Capitals have won four of their last five games to return to playoff position. During that stretch, Ovechkin scored eight goals.

The Russian helped his team climb the standings and himself approach Wayne Gretzky’s career goals record. He is now 46 goals behind.

John Carlson began an offensive surge in the third period when he broke the tie on the power play. Ovechkin followed by hitting the target twice while Lindgren supplanted Connor Hellebuyck, the favorite to win the Vezina Trophy.

The Jets missed an opportunity to temporarily join the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars atop the Central Division. They have lost their last three outings. Hellebuyck blocked 16 pucks.

Before the start of the game, Capitals forward TJ Oshie was honored for reaching the milestone of 1,000 career NHL games. The veteran was back in the lineup after missing the last two games.

Stephen Whyno, Associated Press

Avalanche comes from behind to win 5-4

Jonathan Drouin played the hero in overtime and the Colorado Avalanche came from behind to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-4 on Sunday afternoon.

Drouin accepted a pass from Cale Makar and overwhelmed Penguins defenseman Kris Letang before beating Alex Nedeljkovic

The Avalanche trailed 4-0 in the second period, but scored four unanswered goals to force overtime.

Drouin finished the game with two goals and an assist while Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and two assists for the Avalanche, who signed a ninth consecutive victory.

Sean Walker and Yakov Trenin also hit the mark for the Colorado squad, which temporarily took over the exclusive first row in the Central section. Alexandar Georgiev made 30 saves.

Sidney Crosby had a goal and three assists for the Penguins, who suffered a second straight loss. Bryan Rust, Jesse Puljujarvi and Pierre-Olivier Joseph also found the back of the net.

Nedeljkovic finished the match with 21 saves.

The Canadian Press

Kaapo Kahkonen blocks 37 shots as Devils shut out Islanders 4-0

Jack Hughes and Timo Meier both scored and added an assist, Kaapo Kahkonen stopped 37 shots for his first shutout this season and the New Jersey Devils defeated the New York Islanders 4-0 on Sunday night.

Alexander Holtz and Chris Tierney also found the back of the net for the Devils.

Kahkonen, acquired at the trade deadline, also signed his first win in a Devils uniform.

Devils captain Nico Hischier left towards the locker room at the end of the second period, after knee-to-knee contact with Islanders forward Anders Lee.

Lee received a major penalty and was ejected from the match. For his part, Hischier returned to the duel for the start of the third period.

Meier was punished for 17 minutes, he who fought against Lee after the latter’s gesture.

Ilya Sorokin stopped 26 pucks for the Islanders, who have lost seven of their last eight games.

The Devils scored three goals in 5:34 intervals at the start of the second period.

Scott Charles, Associated Press

Jakob Chychrun scores two goals in Senators’ 5-3 win over Oilers

Jakob Chychrun scored two power play goals to help the Ottawa Senators defeat the Edmonton Oilers 5-3 on Sunday.

Tim Stutzle, Drake Batherson and Parker Kelly also scored in the victory and Joonas Korpisalo blocked 33 shots.

Adam Henrique, Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman scored for the Oilers. Calvin Pickard stopped 11 shots.

The game was tied 3-3 when Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm was sent off late in the game for holding.

The Senators, who had just one shot on net in the third period at the time, saw Chychrun score his second goal of the game to make it 4-3 with 3:03 left in regulation.

Kelly finished it off with an empty net.

Draisaitl scored to give the Oilers a 2-1 lead early in the second period on the power play. Connor McDavid collected his 90^e help mention on the sequence. He thus became the third player in Oilers history after Wayne Gretzky and Paul Coffey to have a season with 90 assists.

Less than two minutes later, Hyman reached the 50-goal mark for the first time in his career.

Lisa Wallace, The Canadian Press

Andersen blocks 31 shots in Hurricanes’ 2-1 win over Maple Leafs

Brady Skjei and Sebastian Aho scored and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-1 on Sunday night.

The Hurricanes have won six of their last seven games.

Frederik Andersen stopped 32 shots and won his last six games in front of the Hurricanes net since his return from injury on March 7.

Nicholas Robertson scored and Joseph Woll stopped 41 shots for the Maple Leafs.

The Maple Leafs had a chance to tie the score late in the game as the team had pulled its goaltender and was playing on the power play. The Toronto squad, however, ended the evening scoreless in four power plays.

Skjei opened the scoring for the Hurricanes just 66 seconds into the first period.

Aho made it 2-0 on the power play at 13:55 in the first period. Jake Guentzel and Brent Burns had an assist.

Woll stopped a penalty shot from Guentzel at 9:41 of the first period.

Robertson found the back of the net at 8:51 of the third period to cut the lead to 2-1.

Associated Press

Miro Heiskanen breaks tie, Stars win 4-2 against Coyotes

Miro Heiskanen broke the tie with 5:28 left in the game and the Dallas Stars won their fourth straight game by defeating the Arizona Coyotes 4-2 on Sunday.

Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin and Matt Duchene also moved the ropes for the Stars, who remain at the top of the Central section tied with the Colorado Avalanche, with 97 points.

Seguin and Duchene finished the game with three points each.

Jake Oettinger posted a 26-save performance.

Clayton Keller reached the 30-goal mark this season by hitting the target in a fifth straight game. He joined Keith Tkachuk (1996-99) and Jeremy Roenick (1999-2001) with at least two straight seasons with 30 goals.

Nick Bjugstad was the other scorer and Connor Ingram stopped 31 shots. The Coyotes had won their last three outings in front of their fans.

Jack Thompson, Associated Press

Anthony Cirelli decides in overtime, the Lightning defeats the Ducks 3-2

Anthony Cirelli scored 59 seconds into overtime and the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Anaheim Ducks 3-2 on Sunday.

Cirelli and Brandon Hagel took advantage of a two-man breakaway after a pass from Mason McTavish to Alex Killorn deflected off a skate. The two players exchanged the puck and Cirelli beat Lukas Dostal.

Quebecer Anthony Duclair scored a goal for the visitors. He has recorded at least one point in each of his first seven games in a Lightning uniform since being acquired from the San Jose Sharks.

Luke Glendening also lit the red light for the Lightning, who collected at least one point in a seventh straight game. Jonas Johansson stopped 30 shots.

Ross Johnston and Pavel Mintyukov responded for the Ducks. Dostal blocked 24 shots. Mintyukov is the first Ducks defenseman to score in 18 games.

Associated Press

JJ Peterka decides for the Sabres, who defeat the Flames 4-1

Tage Thompson scored a goal and added an assist and the Buffalo Sabers defeated the Calgary Flames 4-1 on Sunday.

JJ Peterka scored the winning goal in the third period. Peyton Krebs and Connor Clifton also scored for the Sabres, who have won five of their last 10 games. The goals from Thompson and Clifton came in an empty cage.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 32 pucks to score the victory.

Quebecer Jonathan Huberdeau hit the mark for the Flames. The latter suffered a second defeat in as many days after losing 4-2 against the Canucks on Saturday in Vancouver.

Dustin Wolf stopped 25 of 27 shots and is 2-2 since his last call-up from the American League.

The Flames announced this week that goaltender Dan Vladar’s season is over due to hip surgery.

With 10 games remaining, the Sabers are six points behind the Washington Capitals and the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Donna Spencer, Associated Press