Carolina Hurricanes 5-1 Washington Capitals
It was domination from the Carolina Hurricanes as they topped the Washington Capitals 5-1.
The hosts went in front through Sean Walker 6:14 into the game as part of a three-goal opening period. A pair of power plays three minutes apart saw the Hurricanes' lead go up to 3-0, with Jackson Blake and Seth Jarvis converting.
Midway through the second period, Logan Stankoven added to the Capitals' woes by adding a fourth. However, Washington would get on the scoresheet just before intermission. To no one's surprise, it was Ovechkin who grabbed the goal. The Caps' captain scored his 892nd NHL goal, now just three back of the record.
That breathed some life into the away team, but that was only temporary. In the third period, they mustered just seven shots and could not find a way back into it. Blake added his second of the game to round out the scoring and give Carolina a huge win.
The victory qualified the Hurricanes for the playoffs as they closed the gap to nine points between them and the Capitals at the top of the Eastern Conference standings. It is a third win in a row for the Canes, who maintained second place with the success.
New York Rangers 5-4 Minnesota Wild (OT)
A back-and-forth game at Madison Square Garden ended in the New York Rangers' favour as they edged the visiting Minnesota Wild 5-4.
The contest's opening goal came nine minutes in from Gustav Nyquist, who made the most of a man advantage. Braden Schneider then tied things up for the Rangers, only for them to concede two minutes later to Brock Faber.
The second period worked better for the Rangers, as K. Andre Miller and Chris Kreider helped in overturning the deficit. However, by the midway point of the frame, Marcus Johansson's shorthanded goal had restored the game to parity.
Artemi Panarin would put New York back in front just before the end of the period to make it 4-3. It took a mere 22 seconds into the final period for Minnesota to respond once more through Marco Rossi.
In the end, Vincent Trocheck's goal 24 seconds into overtime was enough for the Rangers as they prevailed 5-4. It was a crucial win for New York as they are tied on points with the Montreal Canadiens for the last playoff spot in the East. As for the Wild, losers of their last three, they stay seventh in the West.
Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 Florida Panthers
It took them a bit, but the Toronto Maple Leafs got the job done, beating the Florida Panthers 3-2 in the Ontarian capital.
The Leafs would find themselves behind early in the second as Gustav Forsling scored 63 seconds after the first intermission. It would take 10 and a half minutes for John Tavares to tie things up. Just as was the case in the first intermission, things were finely poised going into the final period.
Halfway through the third period, Toronto went in front as Mitchell Marner got the Leafs ahead. Matthew Knies then joined in on the scoring to seemingly put the game out of reach. But the Panthers continued trying to get back into this one. They would be rewarded in part, as Sam Reinhart's power play goal with 2:38 left gave them life.
Unfortunately for Florida, that was the best it got for them. The Maple Leafs managed to hold on with a 3-2 victory.
A third straight win keeps the Leafs in third spot in the East, while the Panthers remain in fifth spot, losing the chance to jump over the Tampa Bay Lightning in fourth spot. They will want to end their three-game skid as soon as possible.