UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) – Evgeny Kuznetsov scored the deciding goal in a shootout, giving the Washington Capitals a 1-0 win over the New York Islanders on Thursday night to reclaim sole possession of the first place in the East Division. Ilya Samsonov stopped 26 shots through overtime for his second shutout of the season and third of his career. Washington won for the seventh time in 11 games.
Semyon Varlamov, who had a 29-save shutout in the teams’ last meeting on April 6, finished with 28 saves through overtime. However, he gave up two goals on three attempts in the shootout.
The Islanders fell one point behind the Capitals, tied for second place with Pittsburgh, beating New Jersey 5-1. Boston is another three points back in fourth.
After Anthony Beauvilier beat Samsonov with a backhand in the second round of the tiebreaker, Nicklas Backstrom scored off the crossbar and in to tie it. Brock Nelson misfired on the Islanders’ attempt in the third round before Kuznetsov beat Varlamov on the stick side to win the Capitals.
RED WINGS 7, STARS 3
DETROIT (AP) – Jakub Vrana scored four goals in a game for the first time to help Detroit rout Dallas and match its victory total from last season. Detroit picked up its 17th victory in its 49th game, a year after winning 17 of 71 games in the previous pandemic-shortened season.
The teams will play a fourth straight game Saturday night.
Sam Gagner, Luke Glendening, and Richard Panik scored, and Thomas Greiss made 43 saves. Radek Faksa, Joe Pavelski, and Denis Gurianov scored for Dallas.
Crosby and Bryan Rust scored their 19th season goals, and Pittsburgh beat Devils. Kasperi Kapanen returned to Pittsburgh’s lineup after missing 13 games with a left foot injury and had a goal and an assist. Teddy Blueger scored a short-handed goal, and Cody Ceci scored for the Penguins.
On Tuesday, the teams also met when Pittsburgh became the first team in NHL history to win despite allowing six goals in the third period during a 7-6 victory.
Tristan Jarry, who allowed those six goals on 11 third-period shots Tuesday, made 30 saves for the Penguins. Matt Tennyson scored for New Jersey.
The teams will complete the three-game set Saturday in Pittsburgh.
MAPLE LEAFS 5, JETS 3
WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) – Mitch Marner had two goals and an assist, Auston Matthews scored his NHL-leading 34th goal, and Toronto beat Winnipeg.
Wayne Simmonds and Jason Spezza also scored, and Jack Campbell made 34 saves to help the North Division-leading Maple Leafs move six points ahead of Winnipeg.
Mark Scheifele, Andrew Copp, and Kyle Connor scored for the Jets.
The teams will complete the two-game series Saturday night in Winnipeg.
AVALANCHE 4, BLUES 2
ST. LOUIS (AP) – Andre Burakovsky scored twice, Brandon Saad and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, and Colorado beat St. Louis to clinch a playoff spot.
Colorado improved to 18-1-2 in its last 21 games. The Avalanche are 8-1-0 in April after finishing a league-best 12-2-3 in March, setting franchise records for wins and points in a month. The Avalanche are 5-1-0 against the Blues this season.
The Avalanche returned to the ice for the first time since April 14, beating the Blues 4-3. They had three games postponed due to COVID-19 protocols.
Colorado goalie Devan Dubnyk made 23 saves.
Jaden Schwartz scored twice for St. Louis.
LIGHTNING 3, BLUE JACKETS 1
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – Ondrej Palat scored the tiebreaking goal in the third period, and Curtis McElhinney stopped 24 shots, leading Tampa Bay past Columbus.
Blake Coleman had two goals, including an empty-netter with 25 seconds left.
Seth Jones scored for the Blue Jackets.
The teams will play Sunday again in Tampa.
HURRICANES 4, PANTHERS 2
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) – Sebastian Aho scored two short-handed goals to help Carolina beat Florida.
The Hurricanes have won six consecutive games against the Panthers this season. Aleksander Barkov scored twice for Florida, and Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 25 shots. Nino Niederreiter and Jordan Martinook also scored, Alex Nedeljkovic made 30 saves, and Martin Necas had three assists. The Panthers lost for the first time at home in eight games.
