Anaheim Ducks coach Dallas Eakins likes the effort of his charges as they approach the finish line, even though the club is mired in an 11-game winless skid.

The Ducks will play the middle match of their season-ending, three-game homestand on Tuesday night vs. the Vancouver Canucks.

Anaheim (23-45-12, 58 points) resides two points ahead of the Chicago Blackhawks (25-49-6, 56 points) and Columbus Blue Jackets (24-47-8, 56 points) in the NHL. The Ducks and Blackhawks have two games remaining, while the Blue Jackets have three.

In a season that has featured a staggering 57 total losses, Anaheim has lost all three meetings this season vs. Vancouver. The worst defeat was an 8-5 road setback on Nov. 3 that left the Ducks 3-7-1 in the young season.

Back to the present, Eakins hasn’t questioned his club’s effort or noticed a drop in play after Sunday night’s 5-4 overtime loss against the Colorado Avalanche.

The Ducks rallied from an early 2-0 deficit with four unanswered goals — taking a 4-2 lead on Brett Leason’s sixth tally at 7:25 of the third period.

But Colorado’s Mikko Rantanen and Nathan MacKinnon each scored a power-play goal, and MacKinnon tallied again in overtime.

“Our guys are full of fire,” Eakins said. “They’re working hard for each other, and they’re trying to support each other, and they’ve competitive people.”

Despite his club being outscored 49-22 and winless across 11 contests (0-9-2), Eakins said he liked the direction of his group and cited Sunday’s opposition as the model going forward.

“Five or six years ago, (the Avalanche) finished 34 games under .500. And look at them now,” he said.

Anaheim added to the organization Monday by signing University of Minnesota defenseman Jackson LaCombe to an entry-level contract.

A left-handed shot, the Eden Prairie, Minn., product can play on either side in the back and will join the team Tuesday.

Vancouver’s new coach, Rick Tocchet, has had quick success with his club, which traded captain Bo Horvat to the New York Islanders for forwards Anthony Beauvillier and Aatu Raty plus a first-round conditional pick in June’s draft.

Vancouver (36-37-7, 79 points) absorbed a 3-0 defeat against the Kings on Monday following a 20-save performance by Los Angeles goalie Joonas Korpisalo.

The Kings ended Elias Pettersson’s 13-game road point streak with the win — the second-longest in franchise history behind Pavel Bure’s 15 straight in the 1993-94 season.

Despite dropping to 2-3-2 in its past seven matches, Vancouver is 18-12-4 since Tocchet took over bench duties on Jan. 22.

In a recent interview about the squad and his coaching style, Tocchet said the process for the Canucks getting better under him wouldn’t be easy.

“You can’t win being comfortable, and I think it’s very important that they realize there’s going to be very uncomfortable times with me, with other coaches, with other teammates, to get to the level we want,” Tocchet said in a Sportsnet.ca interview.

“Comfortability is not going to get us there.”

–Field Level Media

The Seattle Kraken became the second expansion team to hit the 100-point mark in its second season on Monday night when they skated to a 4-1 victory over the Arizona Coyotes in Tempe, Ariz.

Now, the Kraken will finish the regular season with a home-and-home against the first team to accomplish the feat, the Vegas Golden Knights, starting on Tuesday night in Las Vegas.

Vegas finished with 109 points in its storybook inaugural season in 2017-18, when it went to the Stanley Cup Final, losing in five games to the Washington Capitals.

Seattle (46-26-8, 100 points) briefly took over third place in the Pacific Division with its third win over the Coyotes in an eight-day span before the Los Angeles Kings (46-25-10, 102 points) wrapped up a 3-0 home victory over Vancouver to regain third place. Jared McCann scored his 40th goal of the season and added an assist.

It’s still possible that the Kraken, who have won five in a row and already have locked up at least the No. 1 wild-card spot in the Western Conference, could lap the Kings at the finish line.

Seattle still has two games and a possible four points remaining while Los Angeles has just one game at Anaheim on Thursday left. The Kraken also hold a 37-36 edge in the regulation-wins tiebreaker.

Pacific Division-leading Vegas (49-22-9, 107 points), which holds just a two-point edge over second-place Edmonton (48-23-9, 105 points), also has plenty to play for, including the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.

The Oilers, who play at Colorado on Tuesday and finish at home against San Jose on Thursday, hold the tiebreaker with the Golden Knights, which means it’s possible a second-place Vegas team would face a third-place Kraken squad in the first round of the playoffs.

Possible playoff opponents took a back seat after Monday’s milestone win for the Kraken, who finished last in the Pacific with just 60 points in their first year last season.

“Everybody knows that’s a nice marker for our group,” Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said of hitting the 100-point mark. “We want them to be proud of that. That’s a helluva of a number. A lot of guys who (went) through the year last year, to be here a year later, they need to take a lot of credit for that.

“That being said, the group took it in stride,” Hakstol continued. “We’ve got two more games to go here in the regular season, and we’ve got the opportunity to get ready for the first round of the playoffs.”

Vegas will be well rested for Tuesday night’s contest; the Kraken will play the second game of a back-to-back. The Golden Knights, who played the fewest back-to-backs (seven) in the NHL this season, have been off since losing at Dallas, 2-1, in a shootout on Saturday afternoon.

Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said leading scorer Jack Eichel (undisclosed injury) and defenseman Shea Theodore (undisclosed) will miss Tuesday’s contest. So will defenseman Zach Whitecloud (lower body,) who had to be helped off the ice in the loss to the Stars.

The good news is that captain Mark Stone, out three months after having his second back surgery in a year, was back on the ice skating at Monday’s practice in a non-contact jersey.

“A good sign,” Cassidy said of Stone’s return. “He looked good. This is his next phase of return to play, his recovery, get integrated with the team. Again, I don’t know how long that has to be. But step one. We’ll see how he responds to it tomorrow. It’s just good to have him around.”

Cassidy had no timetable for Stone’s return.

“I don’t know if we can expect to have him back,” Cassidy said. “The fact that he’s had no setbacks again and continuing on to the next phase is a good sign.”

–Field Level Media

We’ve heard the phrase “Win and you’re in.”

Well, for the Winnipeg Jets, the phrase will become “reaching overtime is good enough” on Tuesday night when they face the Minnesota Wild in Saint Paul, Minn.

If the Jets (45-32-3, 93 points) record at least a single point from the contest, they’ll guarantee themselves the second and final wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

Winnipeg greatly boosted its playoff odds with a 6-2 victory over the lowly San Jose Sharks on Monday. The Jets will have the chance to mark an ‘x’ in the standings over their season-ending, two-game road swing that also will see them face the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday.

“Until you get that point, you’re chasing it,” Winnipeg defenseman Josh Morrissey said of his team almost being able to taste the postseason. “There’s no sense of letting your foot off the gas. … Until you have that checkmark beside your name on the standings sheet, we’ve got to keep fighting and pushing for it.”

The Jets have yet to pick up a victory over Minnesota this season. Winnipeg dropped a 6-1 decision on Nov. 23, a 4-1 outcome on Dec. 27, and a 4-2 loss on March 8.

“We played one of our best games of the year against Minnesota (on March 8) … we dominated the game. (Wild goaltender Marc-Andre) Fleury stood on his head,” Jets coach Rick Bowness said. “But all that just doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter. You put all that aside. … they know the importance of it, we know the importance of it. It should be a hell of a game.”

Minnesota is approaching Tuesday night’s game in a different light. The Wild (46-24-10, 102 points) already have clinched a playoff spot and are in a race to improve their positioning in the Central Division as they reside two points behind the leading Avalanche (49-24-6, 104 points) and Dallas Stars (45-21-14, 104 points).

“There’s still things to play for here,” Wild coach Dean Evason said. “We still need to play hard; there’s still pride in our dressing room.”

The Wild left several players at home, including Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello, for a extra rest. Without them in the lineup, Minnesota still posted a 4-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday.

With those extra spots opened, it meant more opportunities for players such as defenseman Brock Faber to make his NHL debut. He was fresh off a new entry-level contract and a trip to final of the Frozen Four with the University of Minnesota.

Faber, 20, ended the game with a team-high 21:49 minutes of ice time and six blocked shots.

“He’s very poised out there. He plays a very mature game,” fellow defenseman Alex Goligoski on Faber. “Great stick, communicates, seems like he’s always in the right position. He’s well beyond his years. He’s gonna be really good player.”

–Field Level Media

The Pittsburgh Penguins already knew their game against the visiting Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night would be a backs-against-the wall situation.

The meaning of that game was underscored by the time the Penguins retired for the night on Monday.

The race for the two wild-card spots in the Eastern Conference has involved three main teams for some time. The Penguins dropped below the playoff cutoff line last week and briefly lost control of their destiny.

The New York Islanders’ 5-2 loss at the Washington Capitals on Monday put New York a point behind the Florida Panthers, who dropped a 2-1 decision in overtime against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Islanders (41-31-9, 91 points) and Panthers (42-31-8, 92 points) each have one game remaining.

That means the Penguins (40-30-10, 90 points) are back in control of their playoff destiny. If they defeat the Blackhawks on Tuesday and the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday on the road, they will finish at least ahead of the Islanders and secure a postseason berth.

A survey of several Penguins players Monday after practice by Pittsburgh Hockey Now showed they had little interest in actually watching the Islanders’ and Panthers’ games that night — “Is it on Netflix? No, I won’t torture myself,” defenseman Jan Rutta said.

That said, the Penguins certainly know they need to beat two of the worst teams in the NHL in their last two regular-season games.

“I’m sure I’ll keep an eye out (on Monday’s scores),” Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said. “But it doesn’t change what we have to do. Obviously, we’ve got to worry about ourselves.”

After losing eight of 12, the Penguins stacked together complete performances in a 4-1 win over the Minnesota Wild on Thursday and a 5-1 victory versus the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday.

Chicago (25-49-6, 56 points) lost for the 11th time in 12 games on Monday. The Blackhawks squandered a third-period lead in a 4-2 setback to the Wild.

Now comes a road game on back-to-back nights against a desperate Pittsburgh team.

A cynic might say the Blackhawks are gaining in the “race” to finish last overall and secure the best odds of winning the top overall pick in the draft in the lottery. Chicago will finish the season against the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday.

The other teams with a shot of finishing last overall are the San Jose Sharks, Anaheim Ducks and Columbus.

Chicago’s future is murky. There already have been big names traded amid a youth movement, and team captain Jonathan Toews has hinted he might not be back next season.

“Everyone is facing different challenges based on where you are in your career, what type of player you are and what you’re up against,” Toews said. “I think when you see young guys coming in with that energy every day, it’s definitely contagious, and we can feed off of it for sure.”

So the Blackhawks are trying to stay in the moment.

“Everyone’s still got something to play for,” forward Andreas Athanasiou told the Blackhawks website. “No matter what the circumstances are, we want to try to get a win.”

–Field Level Media

Despite already clinching the Presidents’ Trophy and setting the NHL record for single-season victories, the Boston Bruins aren’t looking too far down the road.

More history is within reach for the Bruins (63-12-5, 131 points) as their regular-season home schedule concludes with a Tuesday night visit from the Washington Capitals (35-36-9, 79 points).

Boston enters the game just one point away from matching the 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens for the most points in NHL history.

Although the Bruins know their historic season will not be complete without a Stanley Cup, there is a long way to go.

“We talk about Game 1,” Boston coach Jim Montgomery said. “Looking too far ahead, that creates anxiety. We believe in staying present, and our process allows us to have success. We like to live in the moment. We’re not looking at June, we’re looking at April 17.”

There is a lot to like about Boston’s recent game, but preparing for postseason play is of the utmost importance.

Sunday’s 5-3 win at Philadelphia was the Bruins’ sixth straight victory. They have six streaks of at least that length this season.

“You want to make sure you’re playing the right way and build as best you can so when playoff time comes, you’re ready to go,” forward Charlie Coyle said. “That’s the real season there.”

David Pastrnak reached the 60-goal mark following his hat trick on Sunday, but the game offered an opportunity for the Bruins to rest some key players.

Forward Vinni Lettieri and defenseman Connor Carrick saw ice time while captain Patrice Bergeron, fellow forwards David Krejci and Taylor Hall, defensemen Charlie McAvoy (upper body) and Dmitry Orlov (back) and goaltender Linus Ullmark (lower body) were all “unavailable.”

“If you go really deep, you never know who you’re going to be able to play,” Montgomery said. “To put them in a Spoked-B uniform, playing in the NHL, for me to be able to see what they’re like behind the bench, is really important.”

Hall (knee) returned Saturday against New Jersey and was held out Sunday in the second half of the back-to-back for precautionary reasons.

Krejci could play Tuesday after missing four games.

Washington had been in a 0-5-1 spell before starting its back-to-back with a 5-2 win over the New York Islanders on Monday.

Dylan Strome scored 36 seconds into the game and tallied into an empty net with 1:10 remaining in the third period.

Strome, who signed a contract extension in February, is on a four-game goal scoring streak to boost his career-high total to 23 on the season.

“He’s been the guy for me that’s consistently producing,” Capitals coach Peter Laviolette said. “Even though we haven’t been finding the ways that we want to be successful, at the end of the night he’s still finding a way to produce.”

The Capitals had scored two or fewer goals in each of their previous five games.

While forward T.J. Oshie (upper body) is out for the remainder of the season, Laviolette had not ruled out captain Alex Ovechkin (upper body) returning to action.

“You saw a lot of character,” goaltender Darcy Kuemper said after a 38-save effort Monday. “We’re not going to roll over. We’re going to play hard.”

–Field Level Media

The Toronto Maple Leafs will visit the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night in what amounts to a preview of their upcoming Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.

Toronto (48-21-11, 107 points) will finish in second place in the Atlantic Division and will open the playoffs against third-place Tampa Bay (45-29-6, 96 points).

The Maple Leafs will complete a back-to-back set of games on Tuesday. John Tavares scored on a breakaway with 21.3 seconds left in overtime win to give Toronto a 2-1 win over the Florida Panthers on Monday.

“A playoff-like game,” Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly said. “For us, that’s perfect. We’re gearing up, going in that direction. We want to get into that playoff mode, and we’re expecting that atmosphere.”

Toronto’s Auston Matthews reached the 40-goal plateau for the fourth consecutive season and the fifth time in his career. He has 299 lifetime goals.

Ilya Samsonov made 45 saves for his 27th win of the season in 42 appearances (40 starts).

“I thought in terms of battling and being committed to the job tonight, nobody exemplified it better than Ilya,” Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said. “He was awesome.”

Samsonov might have to go again Tuesday. Injured Matt Murray is not ready to return, and the Maple Leafs have been denied a goaltending recall salary-cap exemption. The team signed 21-year-old Nick Chenard from the Ontario Hockey League to an amateur tryout agreement, and he backed up Samsonov on Monday.

Toronto forward Matthew Knies, a second-round pick in the 2021 Draft, made his NHL debut on Monday. The 20-year-old logged 13:09 of ice time and registered a blocked shot and a hit.

The Lightning, meanwhile, are just looking to right the ship as the playoffs approach. Tampa Bay has lost seven of its last 10 games, including all three games on its just-concluded road trip while being outscored 19-8.

The Lightning ended the three-game trip Saturday night with a 7-4 loss at the Ottawa Senators.

“We gave up 19 goals in three games,” Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said following the loss. “We’d given up one in the previous three before that. It tells you what happens.”

Defenseman Victor Hedman and captain Steven Stamkos each collected a goal and two assists. Nikita Kucherov had three assists to boost his total to 81 this season, his second time reaching at least 80 (87, 2018-19).

Alex Killorn scored his 26th goal of the season, tying his career high set during the 2019-20 season.

Andrei Vasilevskiy is 14-9-2 with a 2.50 goals-against and .922 save percentage vs. the Maple Leafs.

Tuesday’s game will be a be a preview of the elimination series set for the coming week.

“I think it means something,” Lightning forward Brayden Point said. “I’m sure it does for them, too. It’s going to be our first-round matchup, so I would expect a tone to be set in that game from both sides, and hopefully our effort is better.”

Cooper said Monday that Tanner Jeannot will miss the start of the playoffs with a lower-body injury. The forward, who was injured against the New York Islanders last week, is “more than day-to-day,” Cooper said Monday.

–Field Level Media

The Carolina Hurricanes are clinging to a slim lead in the Metropolitan Division.

They’ll look to strengthen their grip when they host the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night.

Carolina (50-21-9, 109 points) lost 3-2 to the Ottawa Senators on Monday. The New Jersey Devils (50-22-8, 108 points) reside one point behind the Hurricanes, while the New York Rangers (47-21-13, 107 points) are two points in back of Carolina.

Following Tuesday’s game, the Hurricanes will finish the regular season with a road game against the Florida Panthers on Thursday. The Devils will host the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday and will visit the Washington Capitals on Thursday, while the Rangers will host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday.

The Hurricanes seemed poised to clinch the division last week but have lost three straight games. Ottawa’s Claude Giroux, who recorded his 1,000th career point on Monday, capped a two-goal performance by netting the game-winning tally at 9:37 of the third period.

“We started this game terribly,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “Never really got going at all. I give the other team a lot of credit — they played a real good game. But we were just in quicksand.”

The Hurricanes killed off all six of the Senators’ power plays. Otherwise, Brind’Amour was not impressed with his team’s outing.

“We were working really hard there,” he said of the penalty kill. “The rest of the game was pretty much trash, to be honest with you.”

The Red Wings (35-35-10, 80 points) have lost three straight games (0-2-1) and are running on fumes with the season winding down.

They lost a shootout to Buffalo on Thursday, then fell 5-1 to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday. Detroit trailed 3-0 in just over 12 minutes on Monday and never recovered in a 6-1 setback to the Dallas Stars.

“I would say, top to bottom, every guy on our team had a game they’d like back,” Wings forward Andrew Copp said. “I think we’ve done a better job lately of coming out ready to play for games, but tonight was one of the nights where we didn’t do that.”

Detroit was eliminated from playoff contention last week, but Copp wouldn’t use that as an excuse for back-to-back poor outings.

“I still have things to prove this season. (Captain Dylan Larkin) has things to prove,” he said. “Some guys are playing for jobs or contracts. Everything has something to play for in the last few games.”

Detroit coach Derek Lalonde pulled goaltender Ville Husso after the early deficit on Monday in favor of Magnus Hellberg, but it didn’t provide a spark.

“We had them with two scoring chances in the first period, and they scored three goals,” Lalonde said. “That’s not entirely on our goalies, but it is hard to build much momentum in a situation like that. They had six goals on their seven scoring chances.”

This will be the rubber match of the three-game season series.

Carolina won the first matchup 1-0 on Dec. 13. Defenseman Brady Skjei scored a goal during the first period, and Pyotr Kochetkov made 27 saves to record the shutout.

Detroit collected a 3-2 home victory over the Hurricanes on March 30. Defenseman Jake Walman scored the game-winning goal with 3.2 seconds remaining, and Alex Nedeljkovic turned aside 31 shots against his former team.

–Field Level Media

The Buffalo Sabres hope to stay alive in the playoff chase when they visit the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night in Newark, N.J.

The Sabres (40-32-7, 87 points) are four points out of the second and final wild-card spot from the Eastern Conference after rallying for a 3-2 shootout win against the New York Rangers on Monday.

That victory — combined with a regulation loss by the New York Islanders (41-31-9, 91 points) — kept the Sabres’ hopes alive with three games to play.

Buffalo holds two games in hand on the Islanders, who hold the second wild-card position in the Eastern Conference.

“It means a lot, honestly,” Sabres forward Alex Tuch said of the team still being in contention for a playoff spot heading into its 80th game of the season. “Keep battling each and every day. The whole season obviously hasn’t gone our way, and we’re on the outside looking in, but we’re still working. We’re still pushing. Until we’re out, we’re not going to stop.”

In addition to helping themselves, the Sabres will need outside assistance to qualify for the postseason for the first time since the 2010-11 season.

Buffalo will need to beat out the Islanders and Florida Panthers (42-31-8, 92 points) in points, as those teams hold the edge in regulation wins, the first tiebreaker. There’s also the Pittsburgh Penguins (40-30-10, 90 points), who are one point out of the second wild card. The Sabres have a game in hand on Pittsburgh.

“You’ve got to control what you’ve got control over,” Buffalo coach Don Granato said.

While Devon Levi was in goal Monday, Granato didn’t rule out going back to the rookie Tuesday.

“That decision has not been made,” Granato said. “There’s lots of things you need to find out before you make that decision. I wouldn’t hesitate to (play) him if all goes well, but we’ll see.”

The Devils (50-22-8, 108 points) will have plenty of motivation of their own on Tuesday even though they already have clinched a playoff berth.

New Jersey sits in second place in the Metropolitan Division, one point ahead of the Rangers (47-21-13, 107 points) and one point behind the first-place Carolina Hurricanes (50-21-9, 109 points). The Devils have a game in hand on New York and are even on that front with Carolina.

An improved defense and stronger play in net has helped New Jersey get to where it is this season. After ranking fourth-worst in the NHL in goals allowed and in the bottom third in shots against last season, the Devils are eighth in the league this season in goals-against and fifth in shots allowed.

“I think we’ve surprised a lot of people with where we’re at defensively,” coach Lindy Ruff said. “It’s something that we continue to work on, work on that part of our game every day, and we realize that if we’re going to be successful, we’ve got to play well away from the puck. If you’re going to win in the playoffs, you have to be able to win the tight games, be able to win the low-scoring games.”

It’s the final home game of the regular season for the Devils, but it could be the first game for defenseman Luke Hughes, the fourth overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft. Hughes, the younger brother of forward Jack Hughes, signed his three-year, entry-level contract Saturday.

Ruff said Monday he will play at some point in the final two games.

“I know I’m ready,” Luke Hughes said. “I feel very prepared to play. I’ll be ready if my name gets the call.”

–Field Level Media

Claude Giroux collected his 1,000th NHL point and the game-winning score while recording two goals and an assist to lead the Ottawa Senators to a 3-2 win over the visiting Carolina Hurricanes on Monday.

Giroux entered the game with 998 points but reached the milestone before the first intermission. The veteran forward scored at 5:51 of the first period, then picked up his 1,000th point assisting Tim Stutzle’s goal at the 17:26 mark.

With the score tied 2-2 in the third period, a turnover near center ice sprung Shane Pinto for a partial breakaway. Giroux followed up with a backhand shot at the 9:37 mark for his 34th goal of the season, his 1,001st career point and his 52nd career game-winning goal. Stutzle added his 50th assist of the season. Brady Tkachuk had two assists.

Brett Pesce and Brent Burns scored for the Hurricanes, who fought back from a 2-0 deficit to tie the score on Burns’ power-play marker at 2:23 of the third period. Martin Necas assisted on both goals. Frederik Andersen stopped 29 of 32 shots.

Jets 6, Sharks 2

Defenseman Erik Karlsson reached 100 points this season but couldn’t spark his team to victory as host Winnipeg beat San Jose.

Karlsson got his second goal of the game on the power play with 16:18 still on the clock in the third, getting San Jose back within two. The goal was Karlsson’s 100th point of the season, marking the 15th time a blueliner reached 100 points in a season in NHL history and first since Brian Leetch in 1991-92. Bobby Orr has the record with 139 points in 1970-71.

Josh Morrissey had a goal and two helpers for the Jets. Mason Appleton, Adam Lowry, Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele each had a goal and an assist. Connor Hellebuyck stopped 19 pucks. James Reimer made 27 saves for the Sharks.

Stars 6, Red Wings 1

Roope Hintz had a goal and three assists to help Dallas earn a road win over Detroit.

Jason Robertson had a goal and two assists for the Stars, who have won four straight. Joe Pavelski notched his 1,000th career point with a second-period goal. The Stars moved into a first-place tie with Colorado in the Central Division, although Colorado has a game in hand.

David Perron scored the Red Wings’ lone goal of the game.

Predators 3, Flames 2 (SO)

Tommy Novak scored the shootout winner and goaltender Juuse Saros was spectacular between the pipes as visiting Nashville claimed a victory over Calgary to keep its slim playoff hopes alive.

With the loss, the Flames were officially eliminated from playoff contention. Novak, in the fourth round of the shootout, completed a forehand deke for the game-winning tally. Nashville is three points back of the Winnipeg Jets for the Western Conference’s final wild-card spot.

Egor Afanasyev and Zach Sanford scored for the Predators, who have a 12-8 record in games that have gone to extra time. Saros made 42 saves through overtime. Troy Stecher and Mikael Backlund replied for the Flames, who never led in the do-or-die clash. Jacob Markstrom stopped 27 shots through overtime and Andrew Mangiapane collected two assists.

Sabres 3, Rangers 2 (SO)

Casey Mittelstadt scored the game-tying goal and the deciding goal in a shootout to lift Buffalo to a win over host New York.

After each team failed to convert on its first three tries in the shootout, Owen Power scored for Buffalo and Vladimir Tarasenko responded for New York. Mittelstadt scored on the backhand to put the Sabres back in front, and Kaapo Kakko missed wide on the Rangers’ last chance.

Artemi Panarin scored twice for the Rangers, who remain a point behind the New Jersey Devils for second place in the Metropolitan Division. Igor Shesterkin made 37 saves.

Maples Leafs 2, Panthers 1 (OT)

John Tavares scored with 22 seconds left in overtime and Ilya Samsonov made 45 saves to lead Toronto past Florida in Sunrise, Fla.

Auston Matthews scored Toronto’s other goal, his 40th of the season. Mitchell Marner had one assist for his 99th point of the campaign. Brandon Montour scored for the Panthers.

Florida had its six-game winning streak snapped. All six games were won by third-string goalie Alex Lyon, who finally took a loss on Monday despite 23 saves. Earning one point for the overtime loss gave Florida a slight lead over the New York Islanders (91 points) and the idle Pittsburgh Penguins (90) in the Eastern Conference wild-card standings. Only two of those three teams will make the playoffs.

Capitals 5, Islanders 2

Dylan Strome and Rasmus Sandin scored 27 seconds apart as Washington took control just over a minute into the first period and never let up to beat visiting New York.

The Islanders still occupy the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot and are one point ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Islanders are also one point behind the Florida Panthers, whose 36 regulation wins give them the tiebreaker over New York.

Craig Smith also scored in the first period as Washington snapped its six-game losing streak. Tom Wilson and Strome added empty-net goals in the final four-plus minutes of the game. Hudson Fasching and Casey Cizikas scored for the Islanders, who were coming off lopsided home wins over the Tampa Bay Lightning and Philadelphia Flyers by a combined 10-1 margin.

Wild 4, Blackhawks 2

Marcus Johansson scored two of Minnesota’s three goals over the final six minutes in its win over host Chicago.

Johansson added an assist, Matt Boldy had a goal and an assist and Filip Gustavsson made 40 saves for the short-handed Wild, who pulled within two points of the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars for the top two spots in Central Division with two games left.

Joey Anderson and Anders Bjork scored, and Alex Stalock made 18 saves for the Blackhawks, who have lost 11 of 12.

Kraken 4, Coyotes 1

Jared McCann scored his 40th goal and had an assist and Philipp Grubauer made 22 saves as Seattle hit the 100-point mark with its fifth straight win, a defeat of Arizona in Tempe, Ariz.

Oliver Bjorkstrand celebrated his 28th birthday with his 20th goal, Justin Schultz had a goal and an assist and rookie Matty Beniers also scored for Seattle.

Jack McBain scored for Arizona, which suffered its 10th loss in the last 11 games. Ivan Prosvetov finished with 33 saves.

Kings 3, Canucks 0

Joonas Korpisalo made 20 saves and Los Angeles ended a three-game losing streak with a win against visiting Vancouver.

It was Korpisalo’s first regular-season shutout since Dec. 16, 2019, when he played for the Columbus Blue Jackets in a 3-0 win against the Washington Capitals. Arthur Kaliyev, Vladislav Gavrikov and Drew Doughty scored for Los Angeles, which regained third place in the Pacific Division by two points over the Seattle Kraken with one game left for the Kings and two for the Kraken.

Collin Delia made 25 saves for the Canucks, who were trying to win three in a row.

–Field Level Media

Joonas Korpisalo made 20 saves and the Los Angeles Kings ended a three-game losing streak with a 3-0 win against the visiting Vancouver Canucks on Monday night.

It was Korpisalo’s first regular-season shutout since Dec. 16, 2019, when he played for the Columbus Blue Jackets in a 3-0 win against the Washington Capitals.

Arthur Kaliyev, Vladislav Gavrikov and Drew Doughty scored for Los Angeles (46-25-10, 102 points), which regained third place in the Pacific Division by two points over the Seattle Kraken with one game left for the Kings and two for the Kraken.

Collin Delia made 25 saves for the Canucks (36-37-7, 79 points), who were trying to win three in a row.

Korpisalo kept the game scoreless with a save on J.T. Miller’s breakaway while on a power play at 9:43 of the second. He then shot out his right pad to turn away Brock Boeser at 13:24.

Soon after, the Kings took a 1-0 lead on Kaliyev’s goal at 15:13.

Blake Lizotte tried a wraparound, but Delia kicked the puck into the slot, where Kaliyev was in position to shoot it between Delia’s pads. The puck banked off the back of the net and back under Delia, causing a slight delay before the goal was signaled.

The Kings moved ahead 2-0 at 4:03 of the third. Trevor Moore fed Gavrikov coming down the middle wide open while trailing the play, and he scored with a wrist shot from the slot.

Doughty scored into an empty net from 200 feet away with 1:37 left for a 3-0 lead.

Los Angeles has been short on offense with the absence of two 23-goal scorers in recent games.

Kevin Fiala, who came in co-leading the Kings with 72 points, missed his fifth straight game with a lower-body injury that appears to be related to the same injury that sidelined him for six games in March.

Los Angeles has been without Gabriel Vilardi, who has missed the past eight games with an upper-body injury.

–Field Level Media