Tavares scored with 23.7 seconds left in the second period. With Minnesota forward Mikael Granlund in the box for holding, Tavares sent the puck toward the net from the top of the left circle, keeping Dubnyk out of the net, but the goalie failed to control the puck and Tavares followed the play and poked it over the line for his 34th goal of the season. Brock Nelson almost gave the Islanders the lead early in the third period. He made a move around Wild defenseman Matt Dumba and backhanded a shot Dubnyk prevented from going between his pads. Parise tied the game with 8:15 remaining in the third. Jason Pominville sent a pass from behind the net into the slot. Halak got his pad on Parise's one-timer, but Parise was able to get to the rebound and quickly converted. It was Parise's 29th goal of the season and 11th point in his past 11 games. Halak extended the game when he denied Thomas Vanek's slap shot on a breakaway with his right pad about 75 seconds into overtime. After Dubnyk made a save against Frans Nielsen, Parise scored in the first round for the shootout's only goal. Islanders right wing Kyle Okposo was unable to put a shot on net in the second round and Dubnyk secured the win with a save against Tavares.
Los Angeles @ NY Rangers 4-2 - Los Angeles remains on the outside of the playoff picture because of the regulation/overtime wins (ROW) tiebreaker. The Kings and Calgary Flames each have 86 points through 73 games in their battle for third place in the Pacific Division, but the Flames have the advantage with two more ROW (36-34). The Kings are two points behind the Winnipeg Jets for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference. The Jets lost 5-2 to the Vancouver Canucks, who lead Los Angeles and Calgary by four points for second in the Pacific Division. They've worked toward that by playing vintage Kings hockey the past two nights. Los Angeles again dominated possession, or at least they did after Mats Zuccarello's goal 51 seconds into the game and until New York started taking chances down three goals in the third period. The Rangers had the final 14 shots on goal to finish with a 36-35 edge in that department, but the Kings had a 35-22 advantage when Muzzin gave them a 4-1 lead at 5:28 of the third period. Carter and Muzzin lifted the Kings to a 4-1 lead in the third period before Rangers forward Kevin Hayes made it a two-goal game. Carter scored his 26th at 1:05, and Muzzin his eighth at 5:28. Hayes scored at 16:16. Gaborik's goal at 4:35 of the second and Carter's goal, which wound up being the game winner, each was a result of a defensive-zone turnover by the Rangers created by the Kings' aggressive forecheck. On Carter's goal, New York defenseman Dan Boyle had his pass knocked down by Kings forward Tyler Toffoli. The puck came to forward Dwight King on the left side, and he quickly found Carter in the slot for a tap-in goal. Gaborik gave the Kings a 2-1 lead after Rangers goalie Cam Talbot's pass behind the goal line was intercepted by forward Justin Williams. He moved it up to Kopitar, who quickly moved the puck across to Gaborik for a one-timer from below the right circle that Talbot had no chance on. At times it looked like the Kings were playing keep-away from the Rangers. They were plus-21 in total shot attempts through 40 minutes (56-35) and had a 31-21 advantage in shots on goal despite losing 25 of 40 faceoffs through two periods, including 15 of 21 in the second period. The Kings had a 32-18 advantage in total shot attempts in the first period, including a 17-12 edge in shots on goal. The game was tied 1-1 after 20 minutes on goals by Zuccarello and Regehr.
St Louis Blues @ Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 OT - Three past Pittsburgh Penguins players haunted their former team. Robert Bortuzzo and Marcel Goc scored the first two goals, and Zbynek Michalek got an assist when Alexander Steen scored in overtime to give the Blues a 3-2 win against the Penguins at Consol Energy Center. After a scoreless third period, Steen scored the Blues' third unanswered goal 35 seconds into overtime. He redirected Michalek’s slap shot past Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. St. Louis (46-21-7) leads the Nashville Predators by one point for first place in the Central Division. The Blues got eight of a possible 12 points during their six-game road trip. The Penguins (40-22-11) are six points ahead of the Ottawa Senators, who hold the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. Pittsburgh is two points behind the New York Islanders for second in the Metropolitan Division. After Pittsburgh scored the first two goals 17 seconds apart midway through the second period, two former Penguins helped the Blues tie the score before intermission. Penguins forward Blake Comeau scored with a wrist shot off of a pass Daniel Winnik wrapped around Blues defenseman Petteri Lindbohm at 8:41. Steve Downie scored while Comeau’s goal was being announced when he gathered a pass from Nick Spaling, spun around and snuck a shot under fallen St. Louis goalie Jake Allen. The Penguins held the lead for about six minutes until Bortuzzo scored on a slap shot after Fleury fell backward making a save on a David Backes shot with 5:08 remaining. Bortuzzo was traded to St. Louis from Pittsburgh prior to the 2015 NHL Trade Deadline for defenseman Ian Cole. Goc tied the game by sending a rebound back toward Fleury after he was knocked over by St. Louis forward Ryan Reaves crashing the net with 2:36 left. Bortuzzo and Goc scored six goals in 168 games played with the Penguins. Pittsburgh was outplayed during a defensive first period, but a few impressive saves from Fleury helped the Penguins keep the game scoreless. Fleury made a series of saves, starting on a wrist shot from Steen from the faceoff circle, at a little more than five minutes into the first. Backes attempted to smack Steen’s rebound behind Fleury but was denied by a pad save. Blues forward T.J. Oshie had one chance with Fleury scrambling but couldn’t get the puck on net. Steen was stopped again when Fleury made a toe save on a tip-in attempt off of a feed from Backes with 6:43 remaining in the period. Pittsburgh had three shots in the first and seemed to be in disarray after defenseman Christian Ehrhoff left the game after St. Louis forward Vladimir Tarasenko drove him into the boards 5:07 into the first. Ehrhoff has been in and out of the lineup three times in the past two months while attempting to recover from concussion-like symptoms.
The Penguins began the game with 11 forwards and seven defensemen, but Ehrhoff’s departure scrambled Pittsburgh’s lineup. Winnik joined Sidney Crosby and David Perron at left wing on the top line and Chris Kunitz moved to the second line alongside Brandon Sutter and Comeau. The remaining Pittsburgh forwards continuously shuffled throughout the period, when the Penguins were outshot 7-3.
Anaheim @ Columbus 3-5 - Hartnell took a typical roughing penalty that led to an Anaheim power-play goal at 6:11 of the first period by Ryan Kesler, and Andrew Cogliano followed at 14:21 to give the Ducks a 2-0 lead. But Hartnell started the comeback with a man-up goal late in the first, tied the game 3-3 in the second, and scored into an empty net with 37 seconds left in the Blue Jackets' second home win in the past eight games. It seems all they needed was more cow-bell. Hartnell finished his eighth NHL hat trick by outmuscling Anaheim defenseman Sami Vatanen and finishing a wraparound for his 25th goal. Four goals were scored in 4:07 of the second period, three by the Blue Jackets to take a 4-3 lead. Johansen scored his 24th goal at 7:41 after a scramble in front and a lengthy review. The sequence to tie the score at 2-2 started with a shot by Columbus forward Cam Atkinson. Anaheim goalie John Gibson stopped the shot, but the puck rolled off his arm, and Johansen, crashing the net, pushed himself, Gibson and the puck across the line. The officials conferred and ruled the puck was in the net and the replay was inconclusive. The Ducks led 3-2 at 10:05 when Beleskey put a backhand past goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. Beleskey, who was a scratch the previous game, got his 22nd goal, his first in five games since returning from a shoulder injury.
Anaheim defenseman James Wisniewski, acquired in a trade from Columbus on March 2, had the assist. Center William Karlsson, who was acquired in the Wisniewski trade and was making his Blue Jackets debut, helped tie the game 32 seconds later. Karlsson sprung Hartnell down the right side for a wrist shot from the circle. Hartnell has 11 goals and three assists in the past 13 games.
Phoenix @ Detroit 5-4 OT - Mark Arcobello's goal with 1:52 left in overtime gave the Coyotes a 5-4 win. Arcobello scored the game-winner, his 15th goal, on a breakaway while fending off Marek Zidlicky. Kindl replaced defenseman Niklas Kronwall, who was a late scratch because of a lower-body injury. Detroit was also without center Pavel Datsyuk because of a lower-body injury for the fourth consecutive game, and forward Erik Cole did not return after the first intermission because of an upper-body injury. Nyquist's power-play goal tied it at 4-4 with 6:21 left in the third period. He batted a rebound out of the air for his 23rd goal. Ekman-Larsson's shot deflected in off Moss, who was setting a screen in front of Howard with the man-advantage, to give the Coyotes a 4-3 lead 9:19 into the third. It was Moss' third goal. Kindl tied the game 3-3 at 1:57 of the third period. He got his fifth goal on a slap shot from the point in the middle of the ice. Detroit killed off a two-minute 5-on-3 in the middle of a four-minute 5-on-4 shorthanded situation early in the third period. The Coyotes led 3-2 despite being outshot 26-13 through two periods. Moss broke a 2-2 tie with 4:52 left in the second when he tipped in Klas Dahlbeck's shot from the point off a faceoff. Abdelkader tied it 2-2 at 11:32 of the second when he scored on a breakaway after taking a head-man pass from Kindl. His 21st goal gave him eight in the past 12 games and came 36 seconds after Arcobello scored his first of the night with a power-play goal from the right circle. Glendening put the Red Wings on the board with his 10th goal three minutes into the second period. Kyle Quincey's shot deflected in off the shaft of Glendening's stick. Moore opened the scoring with 8:17 left in the first period when Craig Cunningham's shot from the left circle deflected in off of him. Moore's second goal of the season came seconds after Smith stopped Cole's tip attempt off a Zetterberg pass. The Red Wings had a 13-5 edge in shots in the first period.
Florida @ Tampa Bay 3-4 - Ryan Callahan scored with 2:28 remaining in the third period to give the Lightning a 4-3 win. Callahan took a pass from behind the net and skated around to the front to beat Florida goalie Roberto Luongo with a wrist shot from close range for his 22nd goal of the season. Brenden Morrow and Tyler Johnson gave the Lightning a 2-0 first-period lead but the Panthers scored three times in the second period. Jussi Jokinen made it 2-1 at 6:16 with a wrist shot from the right circle that beat Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy high on the glove side. Brandon Pirri tied the game 16 seconds later with a wrist shot from the point after Vasilevskiy lost his stick and was in the process of retrieving it from Tyler Johnson. Florida took a 3-2 lead at 8:14 when Huberdeau scored on a rebound of his shot. Tampa Bay tied it 3-3 at 1:30 of the third period on Nikita Kucherov's 27th goal of the season. Kucherov took control of a loose puck behind the net after Andrej Sustr's slap shot went above the goal and scored on a wraparound against Luongo.
Montreal @ Nashville 2-3 OT - Filip Forsberg's goal 1:54 into overtime gave the Predators a 3-2 win. Forsberg took a pass from center Mike Ribeiro and one-timed it past Canadiens goaltender Carey Price for his 22nd goal. The game was billed as a battle between two of the top goaltenders in the League, and Price and Nashville's Pekka Rinne did not disappoint. Price made 28 saves, and Rinne 29 in his 39th win. Ekholm gave the Predators a 1-0 lead at 9:10 of the first period on a wrist shot that he took from his knees. Ekholm split two defenders, got tripped and still took a shot that beat Price for his sixth goal. Montreal forward Brendan Gallagher tied the game 1-1 at 2:28 of the second period on a wrist shot from the slot that beat Rinne. Nashville failed to clear the puck out of the slot, and Gallagher capitalized by scoring his 22nd goal. David Desharnais gave Montreal a 2-1 lead at 12:42 of the second period on a one-timer in front of the net. PA Parenteau made the pass to Desharnais, who was left alone in front of Rinne for his 13th goal. Ryan Ellis tied the game 2-2 at 7:56 of the third period on a wrist shot from the point. Ellis' shot took a hop off of the ice and bounced over Price's shoulder for his seventh goal. Kevin Fiala made his NHL debut after being recalled under emergency conditions Tuesday. Viktor Stalberg left the morning skate early because of an apparent injury. Fiala was Nashville's first-round pick (No. 11) at the 2014 NHL Draft. The Predators set a record with their 26th sellout this season.
Winnipeg @ Vancouver 2-5 - Chris Higgins started the Canucks' comeback against the Jets midway through the second period. When he saw linemate Radim Vrbata cutting alone to the net with a minute left in the period, he was confident Vrbata would complete it. Vrbata put the Canucks ahead for good with a pretty move past a sprawled goaltender Michael Hutchinson, and added a second goal into an empty net to cap Vancouver's rally from a two-goal deficit in a 5-2 victory. Yannick Weber scored on a power play between the goals by Higgins and Vrbata as Vancouver scored three times in the final 9:03 of the second period. Henrik Sedin also scored into an empty net and had two assists, helping the Canucks extend their winning streak to three games. Vancouver is in second place in the Pacific Division, four points ahead of the Flames and Kings. Each team has nine games remaining. Jiri Tlusty and Blake Wheeler scored, and Hutchinson made 25 saves for the Jets, who were playing on back-to-back nights and had their winning streak snapped at five games. Winnipeg is two points ahead of the Kings for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. But the Jets have played one more game than Los Angeles. Winnipeg had a couple of late chances to tie the game, but goalie Eddie Lack made the best three of his 26 saves in the late stages of the game, stopping Michael Frolik twice from the slot with three minutes left and then using his glove to rob Mark Scheifele in the final minute. Maurice said the game turned on Weber's power-play goal with 3:31 left in the second period and Tlusty in the penalty box for holding. It wasn't just because the Canucks tied the game on Weber's screen shot from the point, but because they controlled the play for a long time before scoring, which wore down the Jets' penalty-killers.
Vrbata put Vancouver ahead 2:31 later. Henrik Sedin chipped the puck down the left boards to Vrbata behind the defense; he took it to the net and got Hutchinson to commit before patiently skating across the crease and lifting his 28th goal into the other side. Hutchinson was making his first start since March 12 for the injury-riddled Jets, who despite missing three of their top-eight scorers in Bryan Little, Dustin Byfuglien and Mathieu Perreault were trying to win six in a row for the first time since November 2010. Ondrej Pavelec was in goal for the first five wins, posting a .967 save percentage. But after earning NHL First Star honors last week and making 33 saves in a 4-1 win against the Edmonton Oilers, Pavelec watched Hutchinson against the Canucks. Maurice was happy with how Hutchinson played. Hutchinson made several good first-period saves after Tlusty gave the Jets an early lead, and Wheeler put the Jets up by two goals 5:07 into the second period. But Higgins started the Canucks' comeback at 10:57 with a one-timer that hit a defender's stick and snuck under Hutchinson's arm. There was plenty of action early. Lack threw out his right pad to stop Scheifele on a breakaway 40 seconds into the game after Canucks defenseman Christopher Tanev, who signed a five-year, $22.5-million contract extension earlier in the day, fell at his blue line to create the chance. Tlusty opened the scoring less than two minutes later after another Canucks turnover. It was his first goal since coming to the Jets in a trade with the Carolina Hurricanes on Feb. 25. Wheeler, who was wearing a full face shield after needing root canals from an errant puck Monday, doubled the lead after a dominant stretch early in the second period. Maurice said Little and Byfuglien could "possibly" return Thursday against the Montreal Canadiens, but did not have an update on forward Chris Thorburn, who left with five minutes remaining in the game, holding his hand over his right eye.
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