Capitals beat Isles 1-0 in SO to reclaim sole East lead

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 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 in this one. However, he gave up two goals on three attempts in the shootout.

New York Islanders center Mathew Barzal, left, crashes against Washington Capitals goaltender Ilya Samsonov (30) after taking a shot during the third period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 22, 2021, in Uniondale, N.Y. The Capitals won 1-0. (AP PhotoKathy Willens)

The Islanders fell one point behind the Capitals, tied for second place with Pittsburgh — which beat 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 stickside to give the Capitals the win.

RED WINGS 7, STARS 3

Washington Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov (92) and left wing Alex Ovechkin celebrate with goaltender Ilya Samsonov (30) after the shootout against the New York Islanders in an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 22, 2021, in Uniondale, N.Y. The Capitals won 1-0. (AP PhotoKathy Willens)

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 also scored, and Thomas Greiss made 43 saves. Radek Faksa, Joe Pavelski and Denis Gurianov scored for Dallas.

PENGUINS 5, DEVILS 1

Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust each scored their 19th goals of the season 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 also scored for the Penguins.

The teams also met Tuesday, 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

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.

LIGHTNING 3, BLUE JACKETS 1

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 again Sunday in Tampa.

HURRICANES 4, PANTHERS 2

Sebastian Aho scored two short-handed goals and to help Carolina beat Florida.

Nino Niederreiter and Jordan Martinook also scored, Alex Nedeljkovic made 30 saves, and Martin Necas had three assists. The Hurricanes have won six consecutive games against the Panthers this season.

Aleksander Barkov scored twice for Florida, and Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 25 shots. The Panthers lost for the first time at home in eight games.

The teams will finish the two-game set Saturday.

BRUINS 5, SABRES 1

David Pastrnak had a goal and two assists and Boston beat Buffalo for its season-best sixth straight victory.

Matt Grzelcyk scored the go-ahead goal 12:50 into the second period, and rookie Jeremy Swayman stopped 29 shots.

Brad Marchand, with his team-leading 25th, Nick Ritchie and David Krejci also scored for the Bruins. Pastrnak has two goals and eight assists over a five-game point streak.

Arttu Ruotsalainen scored for Buffalo.

The teams will conclude the three-game series in Buffalo on Friday night.

FLYERS 3, RANGERS 2

James van Riemsdyk scored two power-play goals and Philadelphia beat New York to snap a two-game slide.

Jakub Voracek scored the deciding goal for Philadelphia, and Brian Elliott made 33 saves. Ivan Provorov had two assists.

Brendan Smith and Artemi Panarin scored New York, and Igor Shesterkin made 33 saves. The Rangers fell for the second straight game after four consecutive victories against the New Jersey Devils.

The teams will finish the eight-game season series Friday night in New York.

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Shea Theodore scored 2:09 into overtime to lift the Vegas Golden Knights to a 4-3 win over the Washington Capitals on Wednesday night.

Alec Martinez, Evgenii Dadonov and Chandler Stephenson scored for the Golden Knights in regulation. Robin Lehner made 12 stops in the first period and didn’t return. Logan Thompson stopped 13 shots in the final two periods and didn’t face any in overtime.

Vegas has 89 points and is two back of Dallas for the second wild card in the Western Conference, and trails Los Angeles by three in the Pacific Division.

Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore (27) scores against Washington Capitals goaltender Ilya Samsonov (30) during overtime in an NHL hockey game Wednesday, April 20, 2022, in Las Vegas. The Golden Knights won 4-3. (AP PhotoSam Morris)

Alex Ovechkin had two goals and Evgeny Kuznetsov also scored for the Capitals, while Samsonov made 26 saves.

KRAKEN 3, AVALANCHE 2

Kole Lind, Jordan Eberle and Yanni Gourde all scored in the first period and the Seattle held on to beat Colorado.

Philipp Grubauer had 25 saves as Seattle won its third straight. Matty Beniers had an assist to become the first rookie this season to begin his NHL career with a point in each of his first four games.

Cale Makar and Artturi Lehkonen scored for the Avalanche, and Pavel Francouz finished with 26 saves. Colorado, assured of having the top seed in the Western Conference, has lost two straight after winning nine in a row. The Avalanche remained tied with Florida with 116 points for the Presidents’ Trophy for the league’s best record.

BLACKHAWKS 4, COYOTES 3, OT

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) -- Alex DeBrincat scored his 40th goal of the season with 37 seconds left in overtime, giving Chicago a win over Arizona.

Jake McCabe, Dominik Kubalik and Alex Vlasic also scored for Blackhawks, who won for the second time in 12 games after squandering a 3-1 lead in the final 10:18 of regulation.

Barrett Hayton, Nate Smith and Anton Stralman scored for the Coyotes, who have lost eight in a row and 15 of 17.

Kevin Lankinen had 32 saves for the Blackhawks, who have not won in regulation since March 23.

Coyotes goaltender Karel Vejmelka made 34 saves in his 49th game, a franchise record for rookie goaltenders. He is the first rookie in NHL history with four games of at least 46 saves.

OILERS 5, STARS 2

Connor McDavid had a goal and two assists, and Edmonton won its third straight.

Evander Kane, Derek Ryan, Zach Hyman and Jesse Puljujarvi also scored for the Oilers, who are 11-0-1 in their last 12 home games. Evan Bouchard had two assists and Mike Smith stopped 34 shots.

Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz each had a goal and an assist for the Stars, who have lost three of their last four. Scott Wedgewood finished with 45 saves.