Connor McDavid returned to action to score a goal and record his 100th assist of the season in the Edmonton Oilers’ 9-2 rout of the visiting San Jose Sharks on Monday.
McDavid missed Edmonton’s previous three games with a lower-body injury, but he quickly marked his return by scoring just 53 seconds after the opening whistle on Monday. McDavid later tallied his milestone assist at 15:35 of the second period, setting up Zach Hyman’s 54th goal of the season.
NHL legends Bobby Orr, Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky (on 11 occasions) are the only other players in league history to record at least 100 assists in a season.
If the Oilers win their last two games and the Canucks lose their final two in regulation, Edmonton will squeak past Vancouver for the Pacific Division title.
Danil Gushchin and Fabian Zetterlund scored for the Sharks, who are already assured of finishing with the worst record in the NHL.
Rangers 4, Senators 0
Artemi Panarin scored in the third period and added an assist, Igor Shesterkin made 26 saves and New York clinched the Metropolitan Division title and Presidents’ Trophy by shutting out visiting Ottawa.
The Rangers clinched their first division title since 2014-15, when they also last claimed the Presidents’ Trophy. New York will host the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card team in the opening round of the playoffs.
Panarin ended his most productive regular season on a 13-game point streak and finished with 49 goals and 71 assists. Joonas Korpisalo allowed four goals on 34 shots as Ottawa was blanked for the fourth time this season.
Islanders 4, Devils 1
Kyle Palmieri and Brock Nelson each had a goal and an assist as New York clinched a playoff berth with a victory against New Jersey in Newark, N.J.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Kyle MacLean also scored as New York secured third place in the Metropolitan Division and improved to 7-0-1 this month. The Islanders recorded just 19 shots on goal but made the most of their chances.
Timo Meier scored his team-best 28th goal for the Devils, who ended a disappointing season with their seventh loss in nine games (2-6-1).
Red Wings 5, Canadiens 4 (OT)
Lucas Raymond scored his second goal of the night with 24.4 seconds remaining in overtime to give Detroit a 5-4 home win over Montreal, keeping the Red Wings’ playoff hopes alive.
Detroit rallied from a 4-1 deficit to remain in contention for the second Eastern Conference wild card. J.T. Compher also scored twice for the Red Wings, and Alex DeBrincat had a goal and an assist. Detroit got three assists from Shayne Gostisbehere.
Brendan Gallagher scored two goals in defeat for the Canadiens in the opener of a home-and-home set between the teams to close the regular season. Sam Montembeault made 30 saves.
Penguins 4, Predators 2
Sidney Crosby and Erik Karlsson each had a goal and an assist as Pittsburgh kept its playoff hopes alive by beating visiting Nashville in the Predators’ regular-season finale.
Reilly Smith and Emil Bemstrom added goals for the Penguins, who sit one point behind the Washington Capitals and Red Wings for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Gustav Nyquist and Filip Forsberg scored goals and Ryan McDonagh had two assists for the Predators. Nashville currently sits in the first wild-card spot in the West but can fall to the second depending on how the Vegas Golden Knights and Los Angeles Kings finish their regular seasons.
Sabres 4, Lightning 2
Dylan Cozens scored twice as part of a three-point night, Jordan Greenway had a goal and an assist and Buffalo capped a disappointing season with a win against host Tampa Bay.
Zach Benson also scored and Jack Quinn had two assists for the Sabres, while backup goaltender Eric Comrie stopped 31 shots.
Steven Stamkos reached the 40-goal plateau for the seventh time in his 16-season Lightning career, and Erik Cernak also scored. Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy made 30 saves.
Capitals 2, Bruins 0
John Carlson and Nic Dowd scored and Charlie Lindgren recorded a 16-save shutout as Washington beat visiting Boston to remain in control of the final Eastern Conference playoff spot.
Carlson opened the scoring 12 minutes into the game and Dowd added a late empty-netter for Washington, which is tied with Detroit at 89 points, one point ahead of the Penguins and two points up on the Philadelphia Flyers for the second wild card.
Jeremy Swayman made 23 saves while David Pastrnak had a team-high five shots for Boston, which would have clinched first place in the Atlantic Division with two points but still sits one point ahead of the Florida Panthers.
Wild 3, Kings 1
Kirill Kaprizov had a goal and an assist as Minnesota ended Los Angeles’ eight-game home winning streak.
Matt Boldy and Ryan Hartman also scored, Marco Rossi had two assists and Filip Gustavsson made 23 saves for Minnesota, which was outscored by a combined 13-3 in its previous two meetings with Los Angeles this season.
Blake Lizotte scored and Cam Talbot had 25 saves and an assist for the Kings, who remain one point ahead of the Golden Knights for third place in the Pacific Division. Los Angeles was trying to win nine straight at home for the first time since its franchise-record, 12-game run at home in 1992-93.
–Field Level Media
