ST. LOUIS (AP) — Justin Faulk scored twice in a 96-second span in the second period to lift the St. Louis Blues to a 6-1 win over the New York Islanders. The Blues won their fifth in a row and have earned points in their last eight games with a 7-0-1 mark. Robert Thomas extended his career-best point streak to nine games with a goal and two assists. Jordan Binnington made 29 saves to win his first game since Feb. 27. Defenseman Grant Hutton scored his first NHL goal for the Islanders. New York had won five of its previous six games.
Elsewhere on NHL ice:
— The New York Rangers have caught up to the Carolina Hurricanes. The Rangers are in a virtual tie with Carolina for the Metropolitan Division lead following New York’s 5-1 victory against the Senators. Artemi Panarin led the way with a goal and two assists, tying the game in the first period and setting up tallies by Andrew Copp and Ryan Strome (strohm). It was a 1-1 deadlock until Copp and Chris Kreider scored 2:09 (two-oh-nine) apart in the second period. Kreider is just one away from 50 goals after scoring twice. The Rangers and Hurricanes each have 100 points, but Carolina has a game in hand.
— The Panthers picked up their seventh straight win by downing the Predators, 4-1. Anton Lundell (luhn-DEHL’) provided the game-winning goal in the second period, and it remained 2-1 until Johnathan Huberdeau (HOO’-bur-doh) and Gustav (GOOS’-tahv) Forsling scored empty-netters for the Eastern Conference leaders. Rookie goalie Spencer Knight made 24 saves for a victory in his fourth straight appearance.
— The Capitals scored the last four goals in a 6-3 win over the Penguins. Alex Ovechkin tied the game on a power-play goal early in the second period, and Tom Wilson put the Caps ahead with 8:25 remaining. The Penguins dropped their fourth in a row and are just four points ahead of Washington for third place in the Metropolitan Division.
— Auston Matthews scored his NHL-leading 57th and 58th goals 27 seconds apart in the first period to help the Maple Leafs beat the Canadiens, 3-2. Toronto wrapped up a playoff spot for the sixth straight season and hit 100 points in the standings. Matthews’ opener marked his 50th goal in his last 50 games, making him the first player to accomplish the feat since Mario Lemieux in 1995-96.
— Nathan MacKinnon tallied in regulation and netted the shootout winner as the Avalanche earned their sixth straight win, 2-1 versus the Oilers. Darcy Kuemper made 49 saves for the Avalanche, who are 11-1-1 in their last 13 games and tied a franchise record with their 52nd win of the season. Warren Foegele (FOH’-gul) scored for the Oilers, who saw a six-game winning streak halted,
— The Flames earned a 4-1 win over the Kraken as Noah Hanifan set up goals by Blake Coleman, Trevor Lewis and Michael Stone. Tyler Toffoli added a short-handed, empty-net goal to cap the scoring in Calgary’s fourth straight win. Jacob Markstrom made 27 saves for the Pacific Division leaders.
— Nico Hischier (HEE’-shur) and Pavel Zacha (ZAH’-kah) scored 10 seconds apart in the third period of the Devils’ first win in six games, 3-1 versus the Stars. Ty Smith also scored in the third as New Jersey prevented Dallas from strengthening its playoff positioning in the Western Conference.
— The Golden Knights hammered the Coyotes, 6-1 as Brayden McNabb scored a goal and assisted on two others. Vegas has won six of its last seven to give within two points of third-place Los Angeles in the Pacific Division.
— Alex Chiasson (CHAY’-sahn) had a goal and an assist and Thatcher Demko made 34 saves for his career-high 30th win, highlighting the Canucks’ 4-2 win against the Sharks. Jason Dickinson, Conor Garland and Luke Schenn also scored for the Canucks, who moved within four points of Dallas and Vegas for the second wild-card spot in the West.
— Trevor Zegras had a goal and an assist to lead the Ducks to a 5-3 victory over the Flyers. Sonny Milano, Zach Aston-Reese, Derek Grant and Troy Terry also scored for Anaheim, which opened a four-game trip by winning for just the second time in the last 15 contests.
— Jack Roslovic completed a hat trick by scoring 3:19 into overtime to lift the Blue Jackets past the Red Wings, 5-4. The Red Wings got goals from Dylan Larkin and Jakub Vrána in the final few minutes of regulation to tie the game at 4-4.
