UNDATED (AP) — The Florida Panthers clinched their first President’s Trophy for the best record in the regular season and home ice advantage throughout the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Carter Verhaeghe scored twice and Spencer Knight stopped 27 shots for his second career shutout as the Panthers beat Ottawa 4-0.
In other NHL action:
— Matt Duchene scored the lone goal of the shootout and David Rittich stopped all three attempts as the Nashville Predators rallied from a two-goal deficit to beat the Colorado Avalanche 5-4. By gaining a point, however, the Avalanche set a new franchise mark and will be the top seed in the Western Conference playoff field.
— The Carolina Hurricanes closed out a record-setting regular season with a 6-3 win over the New Jersey Devils. The Hurricanes added to their franchise records for wins (54) and points (116) in a season. Jesperi Kotkaniemi had a goal and two assists in the victory. Carolina takes a six-game winning streak into the postseason.
— Brock Nelson and Anders Lee scored first-period goals, Mathew Barzal had three assists and Semyon Varlamov made 26 saves as the New York Islanders routed the playoff-bound Washington Capitals 5-1. The Islanders swept a home-and-home series with the playoff-bound Capitals this week.
— Patrice Bergeron recorded his eighth career hat trick and his 400th NHL goal to lead the Bruins past Buffalo, 5-0. David Pastrnak ended Boston’s 0-for-39 power-play slump with his 40th goal of the season.
— Oliver Bjorkstrand led Columbus with a goal and an assist in a 5-2 win over Tampa Bay, keeping the Lightning from clinching the No. 3 seed in the Atlantic Division. Tampa Bay has a one-point lead over Boston with one game remaining for each team.
— Kirill Kaprizov scored a power play goal 44 seconds into overtime to give the Minnesota Wild a 3-2 victory over the Calgary Flames. With the victory, the Wild take over sole possession of second place in the Central Division. Minnesota leads St. Louis by two points with each team having one game remaining on Friday.
— The Edmonton Oilers rallied to beat the San Jose Sharks 5-4 in overtime. Zach Hyman scored his career-high 27th goal of the season 1:37 into the extra period. Edmonton has won six of its last seven games.
— Brock Boeser scored his second goal of the game with 29.7 seconds left in overtime, giving the Vancouver Canucks a 3-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings. The Kings dominated much of the game, taking a 2-0 lead into the third period, but the Canucks rallied with goals by Boeser and Alex Chiasson.
