UNDATED (AP) — The Washington Capitals are back in sole possession of first place in the NHL’s East Division, one point ahead of the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins. The Boston Bruins remain four points behind the Capitals.
Evgeny Kuznetsov scored the deciding goal of the shootout to give the Caps a 1-0 triumph over the Islanders. Ilya Samsonov stopped 26 shots through overtime for his second shutout of the season and third of his career, leading Washington to its seventh victory in 11 games.
Semyon Varlamov made 28 saves through overtime before surrendering two goals on three shootout attempts.
Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust each scored their 19th goals of the season as the Penguins whipped the Devils, 5-1. Kasperi Kapanen added a goal and an assist in his first game since missing 13 straight with a left foot injury. Teddy Blueger scored a short-handed goal, and Cody Ceci also scored for the Penguins.
The Bruins own a season-high, six-game winning streak after David Pastrnak had a goal and two assists in a 5-1 victory over the Sabres. 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 for Boston, which also received goals from Nick Ritchie and David Krejci.
Elsewhere on NHL ice:
— Andre Burakovsky scored twice and the Avalanche wrapped up a playoff berth with a 4-2 victory over the Blues. Brandon Saad and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare added goals to help Colorado improve to 18-1-2 in its last 21 games. The Avs returned to the ice for the first time since April 14 after having three games postponed by COVID-19 protocols.
— Sebastian Aho scored two short-handed goals for the Hurricanes in their sixth consecutive win over the Panthers this season, 4-2. Nino Niederreiter and Jordan Martinook also scored, Alex Nedeljkovic made 30 saves, and Martin Necas had three assists. The outcome puts the Central Division-leading Canes two ahead of the Cats and keeps them three ahead of the Lightning.
— Ondrej Palat scored the tiebreaking goal in the third period and Curtis McElhinney stopped 24 shots in leading the Lightning past the Blue Jackets, 3-1. Blake Coleman had two goals, including an empty netter with 25 seconds left for Tampa Bay. Elvis Merzlikins stopped 25 shots for Columbus, which is 0-7-1 in its last eight games.
— The Flyers were 3-2 winners over the Rangers behind two power-play goals by James van Riemsdyk. Jakub Voracek scored the deciding goal and Brian Elliott made 33 saves as Philadelphia ended a two-game skid.
— Jakub Vrana scored four goals in a game for the first time to help the Red Wings rout the Stars 7-3 and match their total number of wins 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. Anton Khudobin gave up three goals on nine shots in the first and was benched by the Stars.
— Mitch Marner furnished two goals and an assist as the Maple Leafs topped the Jets, 5-3. Auston Matthews scored his NHL-leading 34th goal for the North Division leaders, who are six points in front of Winnipeg. Wayne Simmonds and Jason Spezza also scored and Jack Campbell made 34 saves for the winners.
— The Senators posted a 3-0 win over the Canucks as Matt Murray stopped 31 shots for his second shutout in six days. Drake Batherson had a goal and an assist, and rookie Tim Stutzle and Connor Brown also scored as the Senators won the first of four straight games between the teams.
