Read reports from Thursday’s NHL games.
Penguins win 4-1 over Wild
Tristan Jarry stopped 27 shots and the Pittsburgh Penguins moved into the first of two playoff spots in the East on Thursday, beating the Minnesota Wild 4-1.
Kris Letang, Rickard Rakell, Jason Zucker and Jeff Carter scored for the Penguins, who are trying to make the playoffs for a 17e year in a row.
Author of 27 saves, their former goalkeeper Marc-André Fleury is already guaranteed to be there for 17e year in a row.
His record is 4-4 against the club he played for from 2003 to 2017.
He and Filip Gustavsson were instrumental in the Wild’s second-half success.
Marcus Johansson was the scorer for the Wild, who have third place in the Central Division.
The Penguins will play in Detroit on Saturday. Last week, the Red Wings prevailed 7-4 at home against the Penguins.
Will Graves, Associated Press
Devils thrash Blue Jackets 8-1
PHOTO VINCENT CARCHIETTA, USA TODAY SPORTS
Jack Hughes
Jack Hughes and Timo Meier each had two goals as the New Jersey Devils posted their biggest offensive output in more than four years on Thursday with an 8-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night.
Tomas Tatar, Erik Haula, Damon Severson and Ryan Graves also scored as the Devils won their 50e victory of the season, equaling the club record from 2008-09.
Vitek Vanecek made 16 saves for his 32e win of the season.
Finnish rookie Joona Luoto scored his first NHL goal for the Blue Jackets.
Michael Hutchinson allowed five goals on 24 shots before being substituted in the third period.
Tom Canavan, Associated Press
Blues beat Rangers in overtime
PHOTO JEFF CURRY, USA TODAY SPORTS VIA REUTERS CON
Kasperi Kapanen
Kasperi Kapanen scored at 1:16 in overtime on Thursday to give the St. Louis Blues a 3-2 win over the New York Rangers.
Kapanen grabbed a pass from Brayden Schenn before netting a 15e aim.
Tyler Pitlick and Alexey Toropchenko also hit the target for the Blues, while Jordan Binnington stopped 21 shots.
Vincent Trocheck and Vladimir Tarasenko scored on power plays for the New Yorkers.
The Rangers slipped to four points behind the Devils, second in the Metropolitan Division.
Jaroslav Halak made 19 saves for the Rangers, who were looking for a third straight win.
David Solomon, Associated Press