The Anaheim Ducks came agonizingly close to ending their lengthy playoff absence Sunday night, but fell just short in a heartbreaking 4-3 overtime defeat to the Vancouver Canucks at home.
With just 10 seconds remaining in the extra period, Marco Rossi unleashed a powerful slap shot past Ducks netminder Lukas Dostal after receiving a feed from Jake DeBrusk, giving Vancouver their second power-play tally of the evening.
The defeat means Anaheim (42-32-6, 90 points) must wait until Tuesday’s road matchup against the Minnesota Wild for another opportunity to secure their first postseason berth since 2018.
Vancouver received goals from Brock Boeser, Curtis Douglas, and DeBrusk in addition to Rossi’s game-winner, with Rossi contributing an assist as well. Goalie Nikita Tolopilo turned aside 24 shots for the Canucks, who extended their winning streak to two games and improved to 24-48-8 with 56 points.
Anaheim got two goals from Cutter Gauthier and one from Leo Carlsson, while Chris Kreider contributed two assists in the losing effort. Dostal made 22 saves for the Ducks, who were attempting to break their seven-year postseason drought.
In other NHL action:
Flames 4, Utah 1
Brayden Pachal netted his first goal of the campaign and contributed two assists as Calgary defeated Utah at home. Matt Coronato, Connor Zary, and Mikael Backlund also found the net for the Flames, who had dropped three consecutive games and are out of playoff contention. Dustin Wolf recorded 28 saves, and in two victories against Utah this season, Wolf has stopped 56 of 57 shots faced.
Lawson Crouse tallied his 23rd goal of the year for Utah, who have secured a playoff position and hold a three-point advantage over the Los Angeles Kings for the first wild card spot in the Western Conference. Though the Kings have one game in hand, Utah owns the regulation wins tiebreaker 32-21. Vitek Vanecek made 19 saves.
Capitals 3, Penguins 0
Logan Thompson recorded his fourth shutout of the season with 24 saves, while Connor McMichael contributed two goals and one assist in Washington’s victory over visiting Pittsburgh. Trevor van Riemsdyk added his third goal of the campaign for the Capitals, with Martin Fehervary recording two assists and Ryan Leonard, Pierre-Luc Dubois, and Alex Ovechkin each adding one helper. The game may have been the final home appearance for 40-year-old Ovechkin, who has remained silent about his future plans.
Stuart Skinner stopped 23 of 25 shots for Pittsburgh, who suffered their second straight defeat.
Bruins 3, Blue Jackets 2
Sean Kuraly found the net and assisted on two other goals, powering Boston past host Columbus. The Bruins secured an Eastern Conference wild-card position on Saturday and remain in contention with Ottawa for seeding. Henri Jokiharju and Mark Kastelic each recorded one goal and one assist for Boston, which completed a season series sweep against Columbus and ended a five-game winless streak (0-3-2).
Mason Marchment and Adam Fantilli responded for Columbus. The loss significantly damaged the Blue Jackets’ chances for the third seed in the Metropolitan Division. Jet Greaves recorded 19 saves.
Canadiens 4, Islanders 1
Nick Suzuki, Ivan Demidov, and Alex Newhook scored within a 55-second stretch late in the second period for Montreal, which eliminated New York from playoff contention in Elmont, N.Y. Jacob Fowler made 30 saves while Zachary Bolduc scored with 14.7 seconds remaining in the third for the playoff-bound Canadiens, who kept alive their hopes of capturing the Atlantic Division title or finishing second to earn home ice advantage. Montreal sits tied for first with Buffalo, holding a two-point lead over Tampa Bay, though they lack the regulation wins tiebreaker against either team.
Casey Cizikas scored in the third period for the Islanders, who held a playoff position for most of the season before losing nine of their last 13 contests (4-9-0). New York entered the weekend trailing third-place Philadelphia by one point in the Metropolitan Division but saw their hopes further damaged following Saturday’s 3-0 loss to Ottawa.
Devils 4, Senators 3 (OT)
Nico Hischier converted a power-play opportunity with 1:42 left in overtime, giving New Jersey a victory over Ottawa in Newark, N.J. Hischier recorded two goals and one assist for his fifth three-point performance of the season, finishing the play after winning an offensive zone faceoff from Shane Pinto. Jack Hughes registered two assists to reach 50 helpers for the second time in his career as New Jersey improved to 14-7-1 over their past 22 contests.
Ottawa answered New Jersey’s early advantage with three goals in a 6:32 span during the second period. Reimer turned away 26 shots for the Senators, whose four-game winning streak came to an end. Ottawa trails Boston by one point for the first Eastern Conference wild-card spot, though they would win any tiebreaker based on their 37 regulation victories.
