Patrick Kane capped a three-goal flurry in the first period as the host New York Rangers continued their roll with a 6-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday.

The Rangers (44-20-10, 98 points) improved to 9-1-1 in their past 11 contests and moved within two points of the second-place New Jersey Devils in the Metropolitan Division. New York visits New Jersey on Thursday.

Filip Chytil and Vladimir Tarasenko scored before Kane netted his fifth goal since being acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks on Feb. 28. It also was the first time Tarasenko and Kane scored in the same game.

Artemi Panarin added a power-play goal late in the second period and set up Mika Zibanejad’s tally with about 5 1/2 minutes left in the third. Vincent Trocheck contributed an empty-net goal shortly after Zibanejad scored.

Kiril Marchenko scored his 20th goal to match the Columbus rookie record set by Pierre-Luc Dubois in 2017-18. Johnny Gaudreau set up Marchenko’s power-play goal and then scored late in the first, but the Blue Jackets (23-43-7, 53 points) fell to 3-8-1 in their past 12 contests.

New York’s Igor Shesterkin made 28 saves, including a sprawling glove save on Jack Roslovic with about 11 minutes remaining.

Columbus goalie Michael Hutchinson allowed five goals on 35 shots.

The Rangers scored three times in a span of 3:37 to race out to a three-goal lead.

Chytil scored off a scramble in front by getting to the rebound of an Alexis Lafreniere shot 5:23 into the game.

Tarasenko made it 2-0 by going to the net and deflecting a pass from Braden Schneider at 6:50, and Kane ripped a wrister from the left circle into the top left corner of the net 70 seconds later.

Columbus scored twice in the final 8:15 of the opening period.

Marchenko, after getting a pass from Roslovic, ripped a shot from the left circle that appeared to change directions at 11:45. Gaudreau made it a one-goal game with 29 seconds remaining in the frame, ripping a shot from the right circle that sailed over Shesterkin after Boone Jenner made a backhanded pass while falling to the ice.

Panarin made it 4-2 at 17:36 of the second when he ripped a shot from the left faceoff dot to reach 25 goals for the sixth time in his career.

Panarin then made a pass to Zibanejad, who finished it off with a one-timer from the left circle to increase the gap to three goals late in the third period.

–Field Level Media

After months of chasing down the top teams in the Central Division, the Colorado Avalanche have an opportunity to move into first place.

Colorado is 9-1-0 in its last 10 games to overtake Dallas in the standings and now sets its sights on the division-leading Minnesota Wild. The teams will meet on Wednesday night in Denver night to wrap up the three-game season series.

The Avalanche (44-23-6, 94 points) won the first two games in Minnesota and would jump over the Wild in the standings with a win Wednesday.

Minnesota (43-22-9, 95 points) has been surging in its last 10 games, going 7-1-2 to take the top spot in the Central Division. Wednesday night’s game might prove to be more important for the Wild than Colorado considering their next three games — a home-and-home against Vegas and a trip to Pittsburgh to play a hungry Penguins team.

Minnesota has been riding the incredible streak winger Matt Boldy is having lately. He notched his second hat trick in five games in the win over Seattle on Monday night and has nine goals in that five-game span.

What matters most to Boldy is winning the division to avoid playing Colorado or the Stars in the first round of the playoffs.

“We want to be first,” Boldy said. “We want to win every game. To kind of have it start coming all together in a way and playing good hockey, it’s exciting.”

Boldy has stepped up in the absence of Kirill Kaprizov, who has not played since suffering a lower-body injury on March 8. Defenseman John Klingberg (upper body) has missed three straight games and Ryan Reaves left Monday’s game with an upper-body injury.

There has been no update on Reaves’ status for Wednesday.

The Avalanche understand injuries and riding the hot hand down the stretch. Colorado has played the whole season without captain Gabriel Landeskog (knee) and defenseman Josh Manson (lower body) has missed significant time, but others have stepped up.

Nathan MacKinnon can’t match Boldy’s goal production of late, but he has at least one point in 19 straight home games and is five points from the first 100-point season of his career. He has 24 points in March, second most in the NHL behind Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid — who both have 25 — and has played great down the stretch.

“The more important the game, the more he’s going to show up for his team. It’s just another level of determination,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “It’s probably hard to maintain or stay up through the course of 82 games, but when the games get big, he’s the guy that is going to show up for you.”

MacKinnon had a goal and an assist in Monday’s 5-1 win at Anaheim, which capped a back-to-back set and a move into second place.

“We’ve been able to collect some points,” Colorado defenseman Bowen Byram said. “We’re in a tight race, so it means a lot.”

Colorado has a chance to gain on both division rivals this week. Dallas comes to town Saturday night and a sweep of those two games, ahead of two games in San Jose next week, would put the reigning champions in control of the division.

–Field Level Media

Chicago Blackhawks veteran center Jonathan Toews returned to practice on Tuesday after two months away, telling reporters afterward that he’s aware his time with the club — and possibly in the NHL — could be winding down.

Toews, 34, last played in a game Jan. 28 and has been sidelined since then with what he’s revealed was the effects of long COVID-19 and chronic immune response syndrome. The latter condition kept him out for the entire 2020-21 season amid the pandemic.

“Regardless of what happens in the future this summer, it’s definitely on my mind that this could be my last few weeks here in Chicago as a Blackhawk,” Toews told reporters at the team’s morning skate before hosting the Dallas Stars. “And so that’s definitely very important for me to just go out there and enjoy the game and just kind of soak it in and just really appreciate everything I’ve been able to be a part of here in Chicago and show my appreciation to the fans as well.”

Toews did not offer a timeline for if and when he would return to game action. Chicago (24-43-6, 54 points) has long been out of the running for a playoff spot and has just nine regular-season games remaining, starting against Dallas.

“Regardless, I wouldn’t say to expect much,” Toews said. “But I’m just going to try and go out there and play with energy and have some fun, so we’ll see when that might be.”

Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson told reporters he was hopeful Toews can take another step later this week and could eventually give the team “the green light” to play in a game.

“We’re just going to go day by day here,” Richardson said. “He deserves anything he wants to try to achieve here.”

In 15 NHL seasons, all with Chicago, Toews has tallied 880 points (371 goals, 509 assists) across 1,060 games. He is the team’s captain, was named one of the NHL’s 100 greatest players of all time in 2017 and was part of the franchise’s three Stanley Cup victories in 2010, 2013 and 2015, alongside longtime teammate Patrick Kane.

Kane was dealt to the New York Rangers ahead of the trade deadline on Feb. 28 as the Blackhawks continue to rebuild. Toews said the trade “shocked” him but that it was good that Kane will be headed to the playoffs with his new team.

Toews had 14 goals and 14 assists in 46 games for Chicago this season before his leave of absence.

–Field Level Media

The New York Islanders will attempt to bolster their bid for a playoff spot and deliver a blow to the flickering hopes of the Washington Capitals on Wednesday when the teams meet in the nation’s capital.

The Islanders (38-28-9, 85 points) enter the opener of their three-game road trip having won seven of their last 11 games (7-3-1). While they hold the top wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, the Capitals (34-32-8, 76 points), in turn, have lost four of their last five games (1-3-1) to find themselves in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2013-14.

Kyle Palmieri collected two goals and an assist to help New York snap a two-game winless skid with 5-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Monday.

“Obviously we didn’t like the results Friday (and) Saturday,” Palmieri said, referring to the Islanders’ 5-4 overtime loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets and a 2-0 setback to the Buffalo Sabres. “We left some points on the table. And we know going into this week it’s six, seven games left; it’s make or break the rest of the way.”

Palmieri has been doing his part by recording five goals and as many assists in his last six games.

“He’s injected an element of offense into our group,” New York coach Lane Lambert said. “He’s doing the same thing that he’s been doing since he came back (from injury) he’s just getting rewarded for it.”

Like Palmieri, Zach Parise has five goals in his last six games.

The Capitals didn’t do themselves any favors on Saturday by dropping a 4-3 decision to the Pittsburgh Penguins, who hold the second wild-card spot in the East. Washington overcame a three-goal deficit with three tallies in the third period, only to see a defensive gaffe lead to Evgeni Malkin putting Pittsburgh ahead with 1:20 to play.

“We still have a couple games against the Islanders. There’s not going to be any quit here,” Capitals forward Tom Wilson said. “I think that’s kind of been our mentality for the last month or so. We’re just trying to work as hard as we can and see what happens. Doesn’t change now.

“Obviously, that was a big game, but we’ll move past it. We have to get ready for playing for our lives. Every point matters.”

Wilson scored on Saturday to boost his point total to five (one goal, four assists) in his last four games. He also scored a goal in Washington’s 4-3 overtime win over New York on Jan. 16.

Capitals superstar and captain Alex Ovechkin scored on Saturday to extend his goal streak to four games and point streak to seven games (six goals, five assists). The three-time Hart Trophy recipient notched an assist in the first meeting with the Islanders and again in a 5-1 victory over New York on March 11.

Darcy Kuemper turned aside 44 of 48 shots to pick up the win in both encounters. He is 4-4-1 with a 2.84 goals-against average and .898 save percentage versus the Islanders.

–Field Level Media

The Florida Panthers will try to end a four-game losing streak that has severely damaged their playoff chances when they visit the playoff-bound Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night.

The Panthers (36-31-7, 79 points) opened a four-game trip with a 5-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Monday night, a result that helped Toronto (44-20-9, 97 points) officially clinch a playoff spot.

“We’ve got to put on our big-boy pants and just do it,” Florida forward Ryan Lomberg said Saturday after his team’s 4-3 loss to the New York Rangers. “We know what we’re up against.”

“We’ve got to find that inner confidence, especially when it’s a little bit shaky,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “You start chasing that game (against New York) before you should. We had no business chasing that game. … The first thing you’ll do is look at your leaders to lead, to have their ‘A’ games. We have other guys that can play better.”

Florida allowed three power-play goals on Monday.

“I think for the most part we were pretty good.” Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk said. “It wasn’t a bad performance. We just got into some penalty trouble and they capitalized on their chances. I thought five-on-five we dominated but special teams did not go in our favor.”

The Maple Leafs are returning from a 3-2-0 trip that ended with a 3-2 victory over the Nashville Predators on Sunday, one day after a 5-3 setback to the Carolina Hurricanes.

“Fourth game of the week and a tough back-to-back and we stayed composed,” said Toronto captain John Tavares, who scored twice Sunday. “We carried the play. We didn’t give up a whole lot. We were more connected through all three zones, some really good things happening the last three games. So, a good result, nice way to finish the road trip.”

Joseph Woll made 23 saves for Toronto on Sunday.

“It was awesome,” Woll said. “Every chance I get is a great experience. I’m always grateful when I get to hop in the net with the Leafs.”

In eight career NHL games, Woll is 6-2-0 with a .922 save percentage and a 2.39 goals-against average. That includes four games this season in which he is 3-1-0, with a .934 save percentage and a 2.03 GAA.

With goaltender Ilya Samsonov returning after the birth of his son, Woll was returned to the AHL affiliate Toronto Marlies on Tuesday.

The Maple Leafs’ next step will be to clinch second place in the Atlantic Division. They have nine games remaining and entered play on Tuesday with a seven-point lead over the Tampa Bay Lightning, who have eight games remaining.

“There are still games left to play,” Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. “We’ve got to get through our games, see where our lineup is at. We’re hoping to stay healthy and get (Ryan) O’Reilly back and things will take care of themselves.”

The Maple Leafs have qualified for the playoffs in seven consecutive seasons but have not won a playoff series since 2004.

–Field Level Media

The Chicago Blackhawks are shutting down forward Philipp Kurashev for the remainder of the season with a shoulder injury.

Coach Luke Richardson announced the decision Tuesday but said Kurashev, 23, will not require surgery for the injury he sustained Thursday against the Washington Capitals.

Kurashev recorded a career-high 25 points (nine goals, 16 assists) in 70 games this season.

He has 62 points (23 goals, 39 assists) in 191 career games since the Blackhawks drafted him in the fourth round in 2018.

–Field Level Media