TORONTO (AP) — Kirill Kaprizov had a goal and an assist and the Minnesota Wild clinched home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs by beating the Colorado Avalanche 4-1.
Jordan Greenway had two goals and Tyson Jost also scored while Marc-Andre Fleury made 27 saves for the Wild.
Minnesota will face St. Louis in the first round next week.
Elsewhere in the NHL:
— Jack Eichel had two goals and an assist, leading the Vegas Golden Knights to a 7-4 victory over the St. Louis Blues. The Golden Knights missed the playoffs. for the first time since entering the NHL as an expansion franchise in the 2017-18 season.
— William Nylander scored twice and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Boston Bruins 5-2. Both teams rested most of their stars in the regular-season finale. The Maple Leafs ensured they will face the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round, while the Bruins are set to meet the Carolina Hurricanes.
— Steven Stamkos scored three goals for his first hat trick of the season, and the Tampa Bay Lightning rallied to beat the New York Islanders 6-4. Tampa Bay trailed by two before scoring five times in the third period. The Islanders will miss the playoffs for the first time since 2018.
— Dryden Hunt scored the go-ahead goal in the third period, Alexandar Georgiev made 34 saves and the New York Rangers closed out the regular-season season with a 3-2 win over the Washington Capitals. The Capitals’ loss means the Pittsburgh Penguins take the No. 3 seed in the Metropolitan Division and will play the Rangers, who are in the postseason for the first time since 2017. Washington will go into the playoffs as the East’s second wild card, and will match up with the Florida Panthers.
— Evgeni Malkin scored his 20th goal of the season and had an assist, and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-3. Kris Letang, Brian Boyle, Evan Rodrigues and Marcus Pettersson also scored for the Penguins, while Casey DeSmith stopped 33 shots.
— The Florida Panthers have finished the regular season with best record in the NHL. But the Presidents’ Trophy winners got knocked around in Montreal in their season finale. Cole Caufield had his first NHL hat trick as the Canadiens blasted the Panthers 10-2.
— Devin Shore scored the lone shootout goal and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Vancouver Canucks 3-2. The Oilers rested star forwards Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl as the prepare to face the Los Angeles Kings in the first round of the playoffs.
— Jason Robertson scored on a power play against an emergency replacement goalie midway through the third period and the Dallas Stars beat the Anaheim Ducks 4-2. Thomas Hodges made his first appearance in an NHL game after Ducks’ goalies John Gibson and Anthony Stolarz were injured. Hodges has been the emergency goalie for the Stars and the ECHL’s Allen Americans for three seasons.
— Connor Hellebuyck made 32 saves to help the Winnipeg Jets beat the playoff-bound Calgary Flames 3-1. Blake Wheeler, Mason Appleton and Brenden Dillon scored for Winnipeg, who will conclude their season Sunday at home against the Seattle Kraken.
— The Arizona Coyotes rallied from a four-goal deficit to beat the Nashville Predators 5-4 in their final game at Gila River Arena. Shayne Gostisbehere scored two goals including the game winner to rally the Coyotes from a 4-0 first period deficit.
— Brady Tkachuk had a goal and an assist to lead the Ottawa Senators to a 4-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers. Neither team qualified for the postseason and the Philadelphia fans booed their team off the ice.
— Pius Suter scored the tiebreaking goal midway through the third period and the Detroit Red Wings beat the New Jersey Devils 5-3 in the teams’ season finale.
— Casey Mittelstadt scored 2:07 into overtime to give the Buffalo Sabres a 3-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks in the final regular-season game for two non-playoff teams.
— Yanni Gourde and Adam Larsson scored in the first period to help Seattle a 3-0 win over the San Jose Sharks in the Kraken’s final home game of the season. Victor Rask scored an empty-net goal in the final minute and Chris Driedger had 24 saves for his first shutout of the season — the Kraken’s third.
NHLPA begins search for executive director Fehr’s successor
UNDATED (AP) — The NHL Players’ Association has begun a search for Don Fehr’s successor as executive director.
Fehr has been in charge of the union since December 2010. Fehr led players through two rounds of collective bargaining negotiations in 2013 and 2020. He will remain in his job until a successor is found by a seven-player committee.
An investigation recently found he was not at fault for the NHLPA’s handling of sexual assault allegations made by a player early in his tenure.
