The Colorado Avalanche claimed the Western Conference’s top seed Tuesday night, defeating the St. Louis Blues 3-1 on the road behind a two-goal performance from Valeri Nichushkin.
Goaltender Scott Wedgewood turned away 18 shots while Martin Necas contributed a goal to push the Avalanche within reach of capturing their fourth Presidents’ Trophy in team history.
St. Louis managed just one goal from Robert Thomas, with Joel Hofer recording 34 saves in the losing effort that further damaged the Blues’ already slim postseason hopes.
Colorado’s conference-clinching win may have come at a cost, as Nazem Kadri exited the game early after blocking a shot with his hand.
Hurricanes 6, Bruins 5 (OT)
Carolina captured the Metropolitan Division title when Jaccob Slavin found the net 1:13 into overtime against Boston. The Hurricanes secured the division crown in their final home game of the regular season.
Logan Stankoven, William Carrier and Taylor Hall all scored within a 3½-minute span during the second period, joining earlier goals from Andrei Svechnikov and K’Andre Miller. Jackson Blake and Sean Walker each contributed two assists while Brandon Bussi made 16 saves.
Morgan Geekie recorded a hat trick for Boston, and Pavel Zacha added a goal and assist. Zacha’s tally with 7:27 remaining in regulation forced overtime, but the Bruins couldn’t convert a late power play opportunity.
Golden Knights 2, Canucks 1
Cole Smith delivered the deciding goal as Vegas defeated Vancouver to move into a first-place tie with Edmonton in the Pacific Division, though the Oilers maintain the tiebreaker advantage.
The Golden Knights improved to 4-0-0 under coach John Tortorella. Brayden McNabb also scored for Vegas, which completed a season series sweep of Vancouver and improved to 11-1-2 all-time at Rogers Arena.
Max Sasson scored for the Canucks, who have dropped three consecutive games and gone 1-9-0 over their last 10 contests. Nikita Tolopilo stopped 26 shots for Vancouver, which fell to 8-27-5 at home this season.
Senators 6, Lightning 2
Jake Sanderson scored twice and Brady Tkachuk registered four assists as Ottawa strengthened its playoff position with a decisive win over Tampa Bay.
Tim Stutzle added a goal and two assists for the Senators, who have won back-to-back games to maintain their hold on the second Eastern Conference wild-card position. Jordan Spence, Shane Pinto and Fabian Zetterlund each contributed goals, while Linus Ullmark made 28 saves.
Nick Paul and Corey Perry each tallied a goal and assist for Tampa Bay, with Jonas Johansson stopping 26 shots. The Lightning suffered consecutive losses for the first time since March 8-10 and now share first place in the Atlantic Division with Buffalo and Montreal.
Stars 4, Flames 3 (OT)
Wyatt Johnston scored his second goal of the game on a power play in overtime, completing Dallas’s comeback victory over Calgary after trailing by two goals in the third period.
Jason Robertson recorded a goal and assist while Justin Hryckowian added a single tally for the Stars, who maintained second place in the Central Division. Jake Oettinger made 17 saves in the comeback win.
Joel Farabee, Yegor Sharangovich and Zayne Parekh scored for Calgary. Adam Klapka collected two assists and Devin Cooley stopped 21 shots.
Blue Jackets 4, Red Wings 3 (SO)
Zach Werenski scored in regulation and delivered the decisive shootout goal as Columbus ended a six-game losing streak with a victory over Detroit in a crucial wild-card battle.
Adam Fantilli tied the game with 17 seconds left in regulation to force overtime, and Columbus won the shootout 3-2. Danton Heinen also scored while goalie Jet Greaves made 34 saves and added an assist.
Justin Faulk scored twice and Dylan Larkin added another goal for Detroit. John Gibson made 32 saves in the loss.
Mammoth 6, Oilers 5 (OT)
Clayton Keller scored on an overtime power play as Utah rallied to defeat Edmonton, extending their winning streak to four games.
Nick Schmaltz scored twice while Alexander Kerfoot and Keller each recorded a goal and assist. Sean Durzi, Michael Carcone and Dylan Guenther each contributed two assists, and Karel Vejmelka made 21 saves.
Connor McDavid had a goal and assist for Edmonton, with Tristan Jarry stopping 25 shots. The Oilers have lost two straight games.
Predators 5, Ducks 0
Justus Annunen recorded his first shutout of the season with 43 saves as Nashville blanked Anaheim to claim the second Western Conference wild-card spot.
Erik Haula contributed a goal and assist for the Predators, joining scorers Filip Forsberg, Brady Skjei, Zachary L’Heureux and Fedor Svechkov. Ryan O’Reilly and Joakim Kemell each added two assists.
Lukas Dostal made 20 saves for Anaheim, which has lost six straight games, five in regulation.
Canadiens 4, Panthers 3 (SO)
Cole Caufield and Alexandre Texier scored in the shootout to complete Montreal’s comeback victory over Florida.
Ivan Demidov, Phillip Danault and Nick Suzuki scored in regulation for the Canadiens, who have won nine of their last 10 games. Juraj Slafkovsky recorded two assists and Jakub Dobes stopped 30 shots.
Carter Verhaeghe, Cole Reinhart and Eetu Luostarinen scored for Florida, which has lost six of eight games. Danill Tarasov made 29 saves.
Flyers 5, Devils 1
Trevor Zegras and Tyson Foerster each scored twice as Philadelphia strengthened its playoff position with a convincing road victory in Newark.
Nick Seeler also scored, Zegras added an assist, and Matvei Michkov assisted on both Foerster goals. Dan Vladar stopped 23 shots for the Flyers, who have won three consecutive games.
Cody Glass scored and Jacob Markstrom made 14 saves for New Jersey, which was eliminated from playoff contention with the regulation loss combined with Ottawa’s victory.
Wild 5, Kraken 2
Joel Eriksson Ek scored and added two assists while Matt Boldy and Marcus Johansson each recorded a goal and assist as Minnesota won its fourth straight game, defeating Seattle at home.
Marcus Foligno and Vladimir Tarasenko also scored for the Wild, who trail second-place Dallas by two points in the Central Division. Jesper Wallstedt made 25 saves to win his third consecutive start.
Brandon Montour and Adam Larsson both scored for Seattle, which has lost six straight games and faces elimination from playoff contention.
