Wednesday in the NHL | The Flames can still believe in the playoffs

Flames win 3-1 over Jets

Andrew Mangiapane and Nikita Zadorov each had a goal and an assist as the Calgary Flames edged the Winnipeg Jets 3-1 on Wednesday in a crucial game for their National Hockey League playoff chances.

The Flames (37-27-15) and Jets (43-32-3) are tied at 89 points, but the Jets sit eighth in the Western Conference due to their best winning percentage.

The Jets have four games left in their season, one more than the Flames.

Walker Duehr also scored for the Flames, who lost to the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday. The Flames, however, are 5-1-0 in their last six games. Jacob Markstrom stopped 33 shots.

Kyle Connor scored for the Jets, who lost for the first time in three games and won three of their last six games.

Connor Hellebuyck made 32 saves in his 61^e start of the season, an NHL high, and a 10^e right now.

The Jets led 1-0 after the first period. However, the tie was created in the second period.

The Jets got a four-minute power play when forward Milan Lucic was kicked out for high batting midway through the first period.

Connor made the Flames pay, picking up a pass from Nikolaj Ehlers and firing a one-timer that beat Markstrom from the mitt side at 11:42.

It was the 31^e goal of the season for Connor, who has scored in his last three games.

The Flames saw a goal by Zadorov disallowed after 4:38 of play in the second period, due to obstruction against the goalkeeper.

However, they scored less than two minutes later when Mangiapane scored his 17^e in the countryside.

Duehr broke the tie by rounding the net at 4:08 of the third period, 10 seconds after another one-man opportunity for the Flames.

Zadorov confirmed the victory for his team by beating Hellebuyck with a shot he couldn’t catch, midway through the third period.

The Jets have another big game on Saturday when they take on the Nashville Predators. The Predators have 86 points and have five games in their season.

Judy Owen, The Canadian Press

Rangers win 6-3 over Lightning

Chris Kreider and Tyler Motte each scored two goals as the New York Rangers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 6-3 on Wednesday.

Kaapo Kakko and Artemi Panarin also scored for Rangers. Mika Zibanejad had three assists, while Barclay Goodrow and Adam Fox both had two assists.

The Rangers have won five of their last seven games, improving to 11-2-2 in their last 15 games. Igor Shesterkin stopped 28 shots en route to his ninth victory in his last 11 meetings.

In the loss, Alex Killorn had a goal and an assist. Darren Raddysh and Brandon Hagel also scored for the Lightning, who had won their previous three games. Andrei Vasilevskiy finished the match with 31 saves.

Kreider scored his second goal of the match and his 35^e of the season to put Rangers up 5-3 with less than nine minutes left in the third period.

Kreider took advantage of a rebound from a backhand shot by Zibanejad, which hit the post. Zibanejad collected his 600^e point on the sequence.

Panarin scored on the power play with 6:11 to go, his 26^e campaign, to make it 6-3.

Trailing 3-1 after one period, the Lightning pulled one back through Raddysh, whose shot appeared to deflect off the stick of Rangers defenseman Braden Schneider. It was Raddysh’s first career NHL goal, on his 17^e match.

Motte beat Vasilveskiy 15 seconds later on the breakaway, scoring his second of the game and his eighth of the season.

The Lightning cut the deficit to 4-3 with less than nine minutes left in the second period thanks to 28^e Hagel’s goal, after a video review of the streak.

Kreider opened the scoring in the game by deflecting Vladimir Tarasenko’s shot on the power play 6:13 into the game, scoring on Rangers’ second shot in the first period.

Kakko made it 2-0 less than two minutes later on Rangers’ next shot. Kakko scored his 17^e of the season by beating Vasilevskiy on the blocker side.

Motte tripled his team’s lead with a shot from the left circle, midway through the first period.

Killorn redirected Mikhail Sergachev’s point shot on the power play to put the Lightning on the board. It was the 25^e fillet of the season from Killorn.

Vin A. Cherwoo, Associated Press