UNDATED (AP) — The Florida Panthers are on the verge of a Stanley Cup playoff berth after picking up their team-record 28th home win.
Sergei Bobrovsky posted his third shutout of the season by making 37 saves in the Panthers’ 4-0 win over the Blackhawks. Jonathan Huberdeau set an NHL record for left wingers with his 71st assist. Huberdeau is three away from breaking the club mark of 86 points.
Aleksander Barkov scored twice for the Panthers, who can wrap up a playoff spot as early as Saturday.
Elsewhere on NHL ice:
— The Avalanche posted a 4-2 win over the Sharks as Mikko Rantanen scored the go-ahead goal on a power play with 7:43 remaining. Andre Burakovsky, Darren Helm and Alex Newhook also added goals in Colorado’s seventh straight win over San Jose. Nathan MacKinnon returned to the lineup for the Avs, dodging a scare after appearing to hurt his hand in a fight last weekend.
— Marc McLaughlin scored in his NHL debut while the Bruins erupted for six goals in the second period of a 8-1 rout of the Devils. The former Boston College captain tallied as the Bruins scored three times in 183 seconds. Brad Marchand scored twice in Boston’s highest scoring output since Thanksgiving 2019.
— The Hurricanes were 4-0 winners over the Canadiens as Frederik Anderson handled 32 shots in his fourth shutout of the season. Andrei Svechnikov scored twice for Carolina, while Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen each had a goal and an assist. Carolina has points in six straight games as it tries to stay atop the Metropolitan Division.
— Evgeni Malkin’s overtime goal gave the Penguins a 4-3 win over the Wild, ending Minnesota’s seven-game winning streak. Malkin ended it at 3:57 of the extra session after Rickard Rackell delivered two goals. Jake Guentzel added his 32nd goal for the Pens, who moved back into six place in the Metropolitan Division and six points behind the Hurricanes.
— The Islanders wasted a 2-0 lead before Kyle Palmieri put them back ahead in the third period of a 5-2 win over Columbus. Mathew Barzal had a goal and an assist as the Isles beat the Blue Jackets for the second time in three nights. Sebastian Aho also tallied for New York, about 34 seconds in real time before Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho scored 500 miles away against Montreal.
— Jamie Benn scored 53 seconds into overtime as the Stars completed a two-game sweep of the skidding Ducks. 3-2. Jake Oettinger made 21 saves to help Dallas win for the fifth time in six games. Kevin Shattenkirk scored a tying goal with 3:21 left in regulation, but the Ducks still lost their 11th consecutive game.
— Lias Andersson furnished the deciding goal in the shootout and Cal Petersen made 26 saves as the Kings captured a 3-2 victory over the Flames. Alex Iaffalo and Viktor Arvidsson scored in regulation for Los Angeles, which is five points behind the of Pacific Division-leading Flames. Calgary has three games in hand.
— Auston Matthews scored his 50th goal of the season as the Maple Leafs thumped the Jets, 7-3. Matthews is the first Leaf with 50 goals since Dave Andreychuk scored 53 in 1993-94. William Nylander added two on the power play to go along with an assist.
