UNDATED (AP) — The Carolina Hurricanes remain the leaders in the NHL’s Central Division, with an eye on the Presidents’ Trophy as the league’s top team in the regular season.
Sebastian Aho scored twice in the second period on the way to a hat trick in the Hurricanes’ fourth straight victory, 5-2 over the Blackhawks.
Dougie Hamilton and Martin Necas also scored while the Canes were building a 4-0 lead. Aho capped his night by beating Patrick Kane to a puck and scoring an empty-netter at 18:44.
The Hurricanes continue to lead the Central Division and overall standings by two points over Florida.
The Panthers kept pace as Aleksander Barkov scored 2:50 into overtime to give them a 5-4 victory over the Stars. Jonathan Huberdeau, Nikita Gusev, Gustav Forsling and MacKenzie Weegar also scored for the Cats, who blew a two-goal lead before winning.
The Stars trailed 4-2 in the third until Joel Kiviranta and Tyler Seguin scored 11 seconds apart. It was Seguin’s season debut following hip surgery in November.
Elsewhere on NHL ice:
— The Wild scored three times in the final 9 1 2/minutes to turn a 5-3 deficit into a 6-5 win over the Golden Knights. Jonas Brodin scored with 1:06 left, 26 seconds after Kirill Kaprizov had tied the game. Nick Bonino added two goals and an assist as Minnesota beat the Knights for the fifth time in seven meetings this season.
— Andre Burakovsky scored 41 seconds into overtime and the Avalanche pulled within two points of the West-leading Knights by outlasting the Sharks, 5-4. Colorado scored three times in the third period to overcome a pair of two-goal deficits. Nazim Kadri provided the tying tally with 3:39 left in regulation.
— Robert Bortuzzo got his first goal of the season and Brayden Schenn also scored, leading the Blues to a 3-1 victory over the Ducks. Bortuzzo gave St. Louis a 2-1 lead at 2:13 of the third period. Jordan Binnington had 19 saves to earn his 70th career win.
— Daniel Sprong’s tiebreaking goal in the third period propelled the Capitals to a 6-3 victory over the Rangers. Sprong put the Capitals ahead 4-3 at 4:37 of the third before Nicklas Backstrom and Tom Wilson added insurance tallies. Nic Dowd, Conor Sheary and Garnet Hathaway also scored as the Caps snapped a two-game skid.
— The Penguins’ 7-2 loss to the Flyers leaves Pittsburgh in a first-place tie with Washington in the East Division. Claude Giroux had two goals and an assist to help Philadelphia end a three-game skid and win for just the sixth time in its last 16 games. Evgeni Malkin returned to the lineup for Pittsburgh after missing 23 games with a lower body injury.
— Patrice Bergeron scored his 20th goal of the season and the Bruins clinched their fifth straight playoff berth with a dominating 3-0 victory over the Devils. Nick Ritchie broke a scoreless tie in the second period as the Bruins won their fourth straight game and ended the Devils’ three-game winning streak. Tuukka Rask stopped 20 shots for his second shutout of the season.
— The Bruins moved into third in the East when the Islanders blew a 2-0 lead in a 4-2 loss to the Sabres. Michael Houser stopped 34 shots in his NHL debut, blanking New York after Adam Pelech and Oliver Wahlstrom beat him. Sam Reinhart scored twice in Buffalo’s three-goal third period, helping the Sabres beat the Isles for the first time in seven meetings this season.
— The Predators tightened their hold on the final Central Division playoff berth by getting a goal from Roman Josi at 3:24 of overtime to complete a 4-3 win over the Blue Jackets. Filip Forsberg and Ryan Johansen each had a goal and an assist, and Juuse Saros had 30 saves as Nashville moved four points ahead of fifth-place Dallas. Emil Bemstrom scored three goals in the third to rally Columbus from a 3-0 deficit before Josi ended it with his second goal of the night.
— Connor McDavid had two goals and two assists as the Oilers beat the Canucks, 5-3 to clinch a playoff berth. McDavid leads the NHL in scoring with 91 points on 31 goals and 60 assists. Jesse Puljujarvi had a goal and an assist as Edmonton dealt Vancouver its fifth loss in a row.
— Cole Caufield’s overtime goal capped the Canadiens’ comeback in a 3-2 triumph over the Maple Leafs. The Leafs were less than a minute away from a regulation victory until Philip Danault extend the game. Auston Matthews netted his league-leading 39th goal of the season for Toronto.
— Nikita Zaitsev scored with 1:13 left in the third period to give the Senators a 2-1 win over the Jets. Zaitsev’s third of the season gave Ottawa its sixth win in eight games. The Jets went 0-for-6 on the power play and absorbed their seventh straight loss.
— Anze Kopitar is one point shy of 1,000 for his career after contributing a goal and an assist to the Kings’ 3-2 downing of the Coyotes. Arizona has dropped 11 of its last 14 and is five points behind St. Louis for the West Division’s final playoff spot with three games remaining.
