Read reports from Thursday’s NHL games.
Senators 7-2 loss to Panthers
Alex Lyon set the Panthers record for saves in regulation time and Aleksander Barkov scored twice as Florida beat the Ottawa Senators 7-2 on Thursday. The Senators are officially eliminated from the race for the playoffs.
Undefeated for five games, the Panthers remain tied with the Islanders for the two additional playoff spots in the East.
Lyon finished with 56 saves – surpassing the record of 53 set by Craig Anderson on March 2, 2008.
Brandon Montour, Sam Reinhart, Eetu Luostarinen, Nick Cousins and Gustav Forsling also scored for the Panthers.
The Senators’ reply came from Claude Giroux and Ridly Greig.
George Richards, Associated Press
Penguins win 4-1 over Wild
PHOTO GENE J. PUSKAR, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Jeff Carter (77) and Kristopher Letang (58)
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
Nashville keeps hope in the West
PHOTO MARK HUMPHREY, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Juuse Saros and Michael McCarron
Juuse Saros made 33 saves and the Nashville Predators stayed in playoff contention on Thursday, winning 3-0 over the Hurricanes
Mark Jankowski scored shorthanded, Dante Fabbro in an empty net.
Michael McCarron was the other scorer for the Predators, who have won three of their last four games.
Spencer Stastney had two assists, his first points in the NHL.
Seattle and Winnipeg have the last two playoff spots available in the West, with 94 and 89 points.
The Flames also have 89 points, but having played one game more than the Jets.
The Predators are sticking around, with 88 points.
They will play in Winnipeg on Saturday and in Calgary on Monday.
Associated Press
Islanders win 6-1 against Lightning
PHOTO DENNIS SCHNEIDLER, USA TODAY SPORTS VIA REUTERS CON
Ryan Pulock (6)
Adam Pelech, Brock Nelson, Kyle Palmieri and Ryan Pulock threaded the needle in the middle period Thursday to help the New York Islanders win 6-1 over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Simon Holmstrom and Bo Horvat completed for the Islanders.
Ilya Sorokin made 29 saves. He yielded to Nikita Kucherov, whose 30e aim.
The Islanders held on to the final playoff route in the East, one point ahead of the Penguins.
Florida and the Islanders have 89 points and three games to play.
The Penguins have 88 points, also with three games to go.
Lightning captain Steven Stamkos was on his 1,000e match-in the history of the Lightning, only Vincent Lecavalier has also reached this plateau.
The Lightning will be in Ottawa on Saturday.
Allan Kreda, Associated Press
Pastrnak scores in overtime to give Bruins victory
PHOTO STEVEN SENNE, ASSOCIATED PRESS
David Pastrnak
David Pastrnak scored his 57e goal of the season after 2:30 of overtime to give the Boston Bruins a 2-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night.
Pastrnak fired a shot from inside the left circle to seal the 61e Bruins victory – one win shy of the NHL record set by the Detroit Red Wings in 1995-96 and tied by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2018-19.
Jeremy Swayman made 31 saves for the Bruins, winners of four straight games, and Charlie Coyle also found the net.
Ilya Samsonov made 31 saves for the Leafs, which led 1-0 heading into the third period thanks to Sam Lafferty’s goal in the second period.
The Bruins saw the visitors open the scoring with 9:26 to go in the second period. Maple Leafs forward Zach Aston-Reese fired a shot at the blue line. Lafferty beat Swayman for his 12e goal of the season.
The Leafs conceded the equalizer with 8:25 remaining in regulation time.
Brendan McGair, Associated Press
Sabers win shootout against Red Wings
PHOTO TIM FULLER, USA TODAY SPORTS
The Sabers players celebrate at the end of the game.
Tage Thompson scored his 45e goal of the season, Dylan Cozens added two goals and the Buffalo Sabers survived the Detroit Red Wings 7-6 after a shootout Thursday night.
Henri Jokiharju, Zemgus Girgensons and Jordan Greenway also scored for the Sabers, and Devon Levi made 26 saves. Alex Tuch and Jack Quinn got their shots in the shootout.
Thompson is the first Sabers player to score 45 or more goals in a single season since Alexander Mogilny (76) and Pat LaFontaine (53) did so in 1992-93.
Thompson also scored 91 points, becoming the first Sabers player to reach that mark since Daniel Briere’s 95 in 2006-07.
Austin Czarnik, Dylan Larkin, Alex Chiasson, Simon Edvinsson, Jonatan Berggren and David Perron found the net in regulation time for the Red Wings. Lucas Raymond scored the only shootout goal for the Red Wings.
With three assists on Thursday, Owen Power has six in the last five games.
Ville Husso made 30 saves for the Red Wings.
Associated Press
The Stars beat the Flyers
PHOTOJEROME MIRON, USA TODAY SPORTS
Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger
Jason Robertson beat the first-period siren while scoring twice in the game and the Dallas Stars remain in playoff contention with a 4-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night.
Joe Pavelski had a goal and two assists and Colin Miller also scored as the Stars reached 100 NHL points
The Wild lost 4-1 to the Pittsburgh Penguins and remain at 98 points, and the Colorado Avalanche faced the San Jose Sharks
Kevin Hayes prevented Jake Oettinger’s fifth shutout of the season with his 18e goal in the second period. The Stars goaltender stopped 24 shots in the Flyers’ fourth straight regulation loss.
The Stars were in control early in the second period despite missing second-leading scorer Roope Hintz, who is out with a lower-body injury.
Schuyler Dixon, Associated Press