WASHINGTON (AP) — Ilya Sorokin allowed three goals on the first nine shots he faced behind a sloppy defense, and the New York Islanders’ playoff hopes took a significant hit with a 5-2 loss to the Washington Capitals on Monday night.
The Islanders needed only to win out against opponents out of contention to return to then postseason after a one-year absence. After an uninspired effort that lacked the intensity and urgency the situation warranted, they’ll need help to secure one of the two wild cards in the Eastern Conference with just one game left to play.
New York trails Florida by one point in the standings after the Panthers lost in overtime to Toronto. Pittsburgh is one point back but has two games left against the two worst teams in the NHL, Tuesday against Chicago and Thursday at Columbus, while the Panthers have one remaining.
Dylan Strome, Rasmus Sandin and Craig Smith scored in the first 13-plus minutes of the game, but Sorokin settled in to make 20 saves. Strome and Tom Wilson each had late empty-netters, and Darcy Kuemper finished with 38 saves.
Hudson Fasching and Casey Cizikas scored in the third period for the Islanders.
STARS 6, RED WINGS 1
DETROIT (AP) — Joe Pavelski scored to reach 1,000 career points, Roope Hintz had a goal and three assists and Dallas beat Detroit.
Pavelski, playing in his 1,248th game, became the 10th American-born player to reach the milestone when he tipped Miro Heiskanen’s shot from the point. The Stars, who have won four straight, tied idle Colorado for the Central Division lead with two games remaining.
Jason Robertson had a goal and two assists, and Esa Lindell, Ty Dellandrea and Jamie Benn also scored for the Stars. Jake Oettinger and Scott Wedgewood combined for 19 saves.
David Perron scored for the Red Wings, who were playing their home finale. Ville Husso, was replaced by Magnus Hellberg after giving up three goals in 12:10.
MAPLE LEAFS 2, PANTHERS 1, OT
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — John Tavares scored with 21.3 seconds remaining in overtime and Toronto snapped Florida’s six-game winning streak.
Auston Matthews also scored for the Maple Leafs, netting his 40th of the season. Ilya Samsonov made 45 saves.
Brandon Montour scored for Florida and tied the franchise record for goals by a defenseman in a season with his 16th. Goalie Alex Lyon made 23 saves and lost for the first time in seven straight starts in place of Sergei Bobrovsky.
The Panthers managed to gain a point and moved closer to a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Florida has gone 6-0-1 since losing in Ottawa on March 27.
JETS 6, SHARKS 2
WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Josh Morrissey had a goal and two assists as Winnipeg moved closer toward securing a playoff berth.
Adam Lowry, Mason Appleton, Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele each had a goal and assist, and Pierre-Luc Dubois also scored for the Jets. Nino Niederreiter and Dylan DeMelo each had two assists. Connor Hellebuyck made 19 saves in his 12th consecutive start as Winnipeg finished a five-game homestand 4-1-0.
The Jets now have 93 points and can clinch the Western Conference’s final wild card berth by gaining at least a point in their final two games.
Erik Karlsson scored twice for San Jose, giving him 100 points this season. He’s the first NHL defenseman to reach that mark since the New York Rangers’ Brian Leetch in 1991-92. James Reimer stopped 27 shots.
SENATORS 3, HURRICANES 2
OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Claude Giroux had two goals and an assist to reach 1,000 career points to lead Ottawa.
Giroux became the 96th player to achieve the milestone. The 35-year-old entered the game needing two points to hit the momentous marker and took less than one period to make it happen.
Giroux picked up point 999 with his 33rd goal of the season just after the five-minute mark and number 1,000 came on an assist when he set up Tim Stutzle with under three minutes remaining in the period. Giroux scored his second of the night midway through the third to give Ottawa a 3-2 lead, and the win, tying his career-high of 34 set in 2017-18.
Mads Sogaard saved 27 to ensure the victory.
Brett Pesce and Brent Burns scored for Carolina, and Frederik Andersen finished with 29 saves.
SABRES 3, RANGERS 2, SO
NEW YORK (AP) — Casey Mittelstadt scored the tying goal in the third period and got the deciding goal in the shootout to lead Buffalo.
JJ Peterka also scored for the Sabres and rookie Devon Levi made 26 saves to beat the Rangers for the second time in 11 days. The Sabres are 7-1-1 in their last nine games to keep their slim playoff hopes alive. The victory also gave Buffalo 40 wins in a season for the first time since the team won 43 games in 2010- 11.
Artemi Panarin scored twice for New York and Igor Shesterkin finished with 37 saves. Rangers have earned points in six straight games (3-0-3) and nine of their last 10 (6-1-3). New York pulled two points behind first-place Carolina in the Metropolitan Division and one behind second-place New Jersey. The Hurricanes and Devils both have two games remaining, and the Rangers have one.
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