The Blue Jackets (34-30-9, 77 points) trail the Canadiens and Rangers by two points for the final wild-card spot, with a game in hand on Montreal and two games on New York.

Columbus recorded its third win in four outings with an 8-4 victory over the Nashville Predators on Tuesday.

Kirill Marchenko had a hat trick and an assist, Sean Monahan added two goals and two assists, and Adam Fantilli tallied two goals and one assist for the Blue Jackets, who improved to 22-9-5 on home ice this season.

Marchenko paces the Blue Jackets with 31 goals in 70 games this season, including goals in four straight games.

"The reason he's had success is because he has been hard, because he's been heavy, because he's been tenacious on pucks," Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason said. "He's getting more opportunities because he's getting it back. He's not just one and done. He's not just fanning out and looking for a one-timer, which was fantastic tonight."

Kent Johnson added three assists and Elvis Merzlikins made 24 saves.

Columbus captain Boone Jenner added two assists to extend his point streak to five games (five goals, three assists).

Merzlikins is 25-19-5 with an .894 save percentage and a 3.11 goals-against average in 49 games this season. Fellow goalie Daniil Tarasov has 18 starts this season and is 7-9-2 with an .882 save percentage and a 3.49 GAA.

Thursday will be the second and final meeting between the Blue Jackets and Avalanche this season. Columbus topped Colorado 6-4 on Oct. 12 in Denver.

The Avalanche travel to Ohio after erasing a 2-0 deficit in Chicago to edge the Blackhawks 3-2 in a shootout on Wednesday night.

Colorado (46-26-4, 96 points), third in the Central Division, remains seven points up on the fourth-place Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues and six points back of the second-place Dallas Stars.

Artturi Lehkonen scored the winner on Wednesday, and defenseman Cale Makar and Martin Necas each scored third-period goals for the Avalanche, who have points in back-to-back games and 15 of its last 17 (13-2-2).

"I thought we generated a lot of really good scoring chances (on Wednesday)," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. "Didn't manage the puck that well at times, so being able to kind of dig in the third period and finally capitalize on a couple of chances and come away with the two points is always encouraging."

Makar added an assist on Necas' goal and has six points over his last five games (three goals, three assists).

With the tally, Makar set a Colorado franchise record for goals in a season by a defenseman (29). His 87 points this season are second to only Nathan MacKinnon, who leads the club with 111 (30 goals, 81 assists).

Scott Wedgewood made 22 saves on Wednesday night.

The Avalanche recalled goaltender Kevin Mandolese from the Colorado Eagles of the American Hockey League on Wednesday. Mandolese, who backed up Wedgewood in Chicago, has not appeared in an NHL game since the 2022-23 season with the Ottawa Senators.

Mandolese was 10-6-0 with a .905 save percentage and a 2.86 GAA in 17 games this season with the Eagles.

Colorado forced overtime with 10.8 seconds left in regulation, as Martin Necas deflected in Cale Makar's shot from inside the right point with play at six-on-five. Scott Wedgewood made 22 saves for the Avalanche.

Colorado (46-26-4, 96 points) remained in the No. 3 position in the Central Division, six points behind the second-place Dallas Stars and seven points clear of both the Minnesota Wild and the St. Louis Blues.

Colorado's Nathan MacKinnon scored to cap the second round of the shootout, but Teuvo Teravainen answered for Chicago. Lehkonen ended the game moments later by beating Blackhawks goaltender Spencer Knight.

Connor Murphy had a goal and assist for the Blackhawks, and Ilya Mikheyev also tallied. Knight stopped 29 shots.

Rangers 5, Wild 4 (OT)

Vincent Trocheck capped a back-and-forth game by scoring 24 seconds into overtime for host New York, which moved into a tie for the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot by edging Minnesota.

After the teams combined to collect four game-tying goals in regulation, the Rangers ended overtime quickly after JT Miller won the overtime faceoff with Marco Rossi and immediately headed off the ice in favor of Trocheck, who got a stick on Artemi Panarin's shot before the puck trickled into the net beyond Filip Gustavsson. Panarin, Braden Schneider, K'Andre Miller and Chris Kreider had a goal apiece for the Rangers, who are tied with the Montreal Canadiens for the second wild-card berth.

Rossi, Gustav Nyquist, Brock Faber and Marcus Johansson scored for the Wild, who lost their third straight (0-2-1) but still climbed into a tie with the idle St. Louis Blues for the Western Conference first wild-card spot.

Hurricanes 5, Capitals 1

Alex Ovechkin scored his 892nd goal to move within three of breaking Wayne Gretzky's NHL record in Washington's loss to Carolina in Raleigh, N.C.

Ovechkin scored during a five-on-three power play at 19:25 of the second period to pull the Capitals within 4-1. Jackson Blake scored two goals while Seth Jarvis had a goal and an assist for the Hurricanes, who have won 12 of 14 games and clinched a Stanley Cup playoff berth with the victory.

Ovechkin has 39 goals in 59 games this season for Washington, which has lost four of five (1-3-1) and was playing the second night of a back-to-back set.

Maple Leafs 3, Panthers 2

Mitch Marner and Matthew Knies each tallied a goal and an assist to help beat visiting Florida, allowing Toronto to clinch a spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs and stretch its lead atop the Atlantic Division.

John Tavares also found the net for the first-place Maple Leafs, who earned their seventh win over the past nine games (7-1-1). Toronto goalie Anthony Stolarz made 29 saves against his former team.

Sam Reinhart collected a goal and an assist and Gustav Forsling scored for the third-place Panthers, who are one point behind the second-place Tampa Bay Lightning. Sergei Bobrovsky turned aside 23 shots.

Kraken 5, Canucks 0

Andre Burakovsky collected a goal and an assist and goaltender Joey Daccord recorded his second shutout of the season as visiting Seattle blanked Vancouver.

Michael Eyssimont, Chandler Stephenson, Shane Wright and Adam Larsson also scored for the Kraken, who snapped a two-game losing streak. Jared McCann collected three assists, Vince Dunn posted a pair of helpers and Daccord made 25 saves to post his fifth career shutout.

The Kraken, who won three of four meetings with the Canucks this season, have already been eliminated from Stanley Cup playoff contention. The Wednesday result puts Vancouver's hopes in jeopardy. The Canucks, who are winless in three games (0-2-1), sit eight points back of a playoff position with seven games remaining.

Michael Eyssimont, Chandler Stephenson, Shane Wright and Adam Larsson also scored for the Kraken (32-38-6, 70 points), who snapped a two game losing streak. Jared McCann collected three assists, Vince Dunn posted a pair of helpers and Daccord made 25 saves to post his fifth career shutout.

The Kraken, who won three of four meetings with the Canucks this season, have already been eliminated from Stanley Cup playoff contention. The Wednesday result puts Vancouver's hopes in jeopardy.

The Canucks (34-28-13, 81 points), who are winless in three games (0-2-1), sit eight points back of a playoff position with seven games remaining.

Goalie Thatcher Demko stopped 14 shots in a losing cause.

The Canucks started poorly when they failed to convert a pair of early power plays, and the night ended with a serenade of boos from the crowd.

Eyssimont opened the scoring by taking advantage of an egregious turnover by Vancouver's Jake DeBrusk in the neutral zone, zipping away for a breakaway and burying a shot at 16:42 of the first period.

Stephenson doubled the lead just before the midway point of the clash by finishing an odd-man rush with a top-corner shot from deep in the left circle.

Wright extended the lead to 3-0 at 16:00 of the second period with a similar shot as Stephenson's.

Burakovsky all but quashed Vancouver's comeback hopes at 8:55 of the third period when he finished a needle-threading pass from McCann with a sharp-angled effort that gives him nine points (three goals, six assists) in eight games.

Larsson added an empty-net goal at 16:24 to round out the scoring.

Colorado forced overtime with 10.8 seconds left in regulation, as Martin Necas deflected in Cale Makar's shot from inside the right point with play at six-on-five.

Scott Wedgewood made 22 saves for the Avalanche, who trailed 2-0 before Makar scored near the midpoint of the third period.

Colorado (46-26-4, 96 points) remained in No. 3 position in the Central Division, six points behind the second-place Dallas Stars and seven points clear of both the Minnesota Wild and the St. Louis Blues.

The Avalanche have six games remaining.

Colorado's Nathan MacKinnon scored to cap the second round of the shootout, but Teuvo Teravainen answered for Chicago. Lehkonen ended the game moments later by beating Blackhawks goaltender Spencer Knight.

Connor Murphy had a goal and assist for the Blackhawks, and Ilya Mikheyev also tallied. Knight stopped 29 shots.

The Blackhawks (21-44-10, 52 points), who have fewer points than all but one club in the NHL, split four games against the Avalanche this season.

Mikheyev scored a short-handed goal at 14:39 of the first period, keeping the puck on a two-on-one opportunity with Frank Nazar and beating Wedgewood.

Murphy registered his second goal this season and first since Dec. 15 at 8:17 of the second, burying a slap shot from just outside the right circle off a backhand pass from Connor Bedard.

Makar drew Colorado within 2-1 at 9:17 of the third period, finishing MacKinnon's feed from behind the net with a wrist shot from the right circle.

The Avalanche finished 0-for-4 on the power play due in part to multiple strong saves from Knight, including big stops on MacKinnon and Lehkonen on a second-period penalty kill.

Chicago was unable to secure an insurance goal on separate power plays over the final 7:19 of the game.

Avalanche forward Jonathan Drouin sustained a lower-body injury after being hit along the boards in the first period, and he didn't return.

Makar established a career high with his 29th goal.

Edmonton's superstar captain has been out since sustaining a lower-body injury on a check from Winnipeg Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey on March 20.

McDavid returned to practice in a gray non-contact jersey on Tuesday.

"It should be before the regular season ends," Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch said of McDavid's return. "I think the most important thing is he's healthy and 100 percent for the playoffs."

The Oilers (43-26-5, 91 points) had also been without their other superstar, Leon Draisaitl, before a 3-2 overtime win over the visiting Calgary Flames on Saturday.

Draisaitl certainly made an impact in his return with two goals and an assist. The first goal was his 50th, making him the first NHL player this season to reach that plateau, and the second was the OT winner. He added No. 52 on Tuesday in a 3-2 road win over the Vegas Golden Knights, leaving Draisaitl one short of the 400-goal milestone.

Draisaitl has played in eight of the 11 games that McDavid sat out this season, producing 15 points (eight goals, seven assists). Draisaitl is plus-7 in those contests and has led Edmonton to a 6-2-0 record without its captain.

Defenseman Jake Walman got his first Oilers goal in the win over Vegas. He was acquired from the Sharks on March 6.

San Jose (20-44-10, 50 points) has lost three in a row (0-2-1), most recently taking a 4-3 shootout defeat against the host Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday.

Sharks goalie Alexandar Georgiev made 34 saves and impressed his coach in the process.

"It's probably the best I've seen him," Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said of Georgiev.

San Jose trailed 3-1 after the first 40 minutes, but defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic got his first goal of the season and Alexander Wennberg scored with 3:14 left to send the game into overtime.

Georgiev made five saves to help kill a 5-on-3 that lasted 1:36 midway through the third period before Wennberg tied it at 3-all.

"We started to take it to them and they didn't want to skate with us," said William Eklund, who set up Wennberg's equalizing goal. "I think we were the better team, but unfortunately we couldn't get the win."

The Sharks were outshot by the Ducks 10-3 and trailed 1-0 in the first five minutes of the game.

"We knew it wasn't a good start, we knew you can't give up two breakaways in the first five minutes," Warsofsky said. "It's kind of inexcusable. You'd have to be living under a rock to not realize what was going on."

Defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin got the other San Jose goal but left 35 seconds into the third period after being pulled down by Anaheim's Frank Vatrano, who was assessed a roughing penalty. There was no update regarding Mukhamadullin's status on Wednesday.

Winnipeg (51-20-4, 106 points), which leads the NHL in points, holds a four-point lead over the Dallas Stars, while Vegas (45-21-8, 98 points) is five points ahead of the second-place Los Angeles Kings.

The Golden Knights, who are 27-8-3 at T-Mobile Arena, come in off a rare home loss, 3-2, to Edmonton on Tuesday that snapped a six-game win streak. However, there was some good news for Bruce Cassidy's squad, as the Knights clinched a playoff spot for the third straight season, and the seventh time in eight years in franchise history, when Calgary lost to Utah, 3-1, earlier Tuesday.

"I think this team to me is a playoff team and should be in the playoffs," Cassidy said. "We're going to be happy that we're in but that's not our ultimate goal, nor should it be. ... We'd rather have (clinched) it with a win."

Still, the 2023 Stanley Cup champions clinched a playoff berth with eight games remaining, the fastest in team history.

"It's 74 games of hard work to get there," Cassidy said. "It didn't happen overnight. The guys should be proud because it doesn't happen every year. There's teams that are close and miss. So it's not automatic. But our expectations are that we'll be there and competing for the Cup, and I'd like to think this year is the year that we will do that."

Winnipeg, which has never made it to a Stanley Cup Final, comes in off 4-1 loss at Los Angeles on Tuesday, completing a three-game sweep by the Kings of the regular-season series. The Jets were outscored 10-3 by Los Angeles in those three games.

Despite the loss, Winnipeg entered Wednesday's play one point ahead of the Washington Capitals for most points in the NHL. Jets coach Scott Arniel bristled when it was suggested Tuesday's game was "a measuring-stick game" for his team.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa," Arniel said. "We're sitting on top right now. So, I don't know if there's a measuring stick. We don't measure that way. We go about how we play hockey. How we go against each and every opponent. We lost three games. Just at the end of the day, those happen. They're all tight games, some empty-netters at the end. They're a good team. It is what it is."

Winnipeg is 0-1-1 against Vegas this season but both were one-goal losses. The Golden Knights, behind two goals each by Brett Howden and Ivan Barbashev, defeated the Jets, 4-3, on Nov. 29 in Las Vegas and also rallied for a 3-2 overtime victory at Winnipeg on Dec. 12. Victor Olofsson tied that one with a 5-on-3 power-play goal with 1:49 left in the third period, and Barbashev then scored the game-winner 3:47 into OT when he finished off a 2-on-1 break with Shea Theodore.

The Golden Knights have won eight straight regular-season games against Winnipeg, outscoring them 34-18 in the process.

The Flames (35-27-12, 82 points) are seven points outside a playoff spot in the Western Conference chase, and after a 3-1 road loss to the Utah Hockey Club on Tuesday, they need help and to rack up a bunch of victories to punch their ticket.

"Now it's a challenge for us to make sure that we go home and we play our best hockey of the year," coach Ryan Huska said. "So we have to find a way to win our games at home, and that's going to be a crucial thing for us moving forward."

Through Wednesday's action, the Flames trail the Minnesota Wild for the Western Conference's second wild-card spot. Calgary has eight games remaining in the regular season, two more than the Wild.

The loss to Utah was especially wrenching. Calgary had a goal overturned when video review ruled the puck had not crossed the line, and despite a frantic third-period push was unable to tie the clash. The Flames dropped all three meetings with Utah this season.

"We were pushing and pushing, their goalie made some big saves," said defenseman Rasmus Andersson, Calgary's lone goal scorer. "This one (hurts). I thought we did enough to at least get it to 2-2. We just couldn't get that tying goal."

Now the Flames must regroup for a final push with the hopes every game will matter.

"You can't dwell on it," forward Joel Farabee said. "Just got to focus on tomorrow, that's all you can really do."

The Ducks, who are playing out the string and will miss the playoffs for the seventh consecutive season, arrive in Calgary on something of a high.

Anaheim (33-33-8, 74 points) ended a five-game homestand with a 4-3 shootout win over the Sharks on Tuesday. The Ducks surrendered a two-goal lead in the third period, but recovered to win their third game in four outings.

"The goal we set as a team is to have a winning record this season," forward Trevor Zegras said. "Just kind of compared to where we were the last couple seasons, I think that's a pretty good goal and something we're all pretty excited about trying to achieve."

Granted, the Ducks can play without any pressure knowing their playoff hopes are dashed, but the young team has seen several young players take big steps forward, especially of late.

Zegras, who netted one goal and one assist, has notched seven points in his past six games, defenseman Jackson LaCombe -- in his second full NHL season -- scored his 14th goal of the campaign and is on a six-game point streak (three goals, five assists) and Sam Colangelo, who is in his first full pro season, has netted seven goals in his last 10 games.

That's just for starters. Mason McTavish collected three assists and scored the shootout winner against San Jose, which gives him 10 points in the past eight games.

With so many young players starting to realize their potential, it would appear much better days are ahead.

"Guys have taken some really big steps this year," McTavish said. "It's fun to watch. It's fun to be a part of and hopefully we keep it going."

John Tavares also found the net for the first-place Maple Leafs (46-25-4, 96 points), who earned their seventh win over the past nine games (7-1-1). Toronto goalie Anthony Stolarz made 29 saves against his former team.

Sam Reinhart collected a goal and an assist and Gustav Forsling scored for the third-place Panthers (44-27-4, 92 points), who are one point behind the second-place Tampa Bay Lightning. Sergei Bobrovsky turned aside 23 shots.

With 9:10 left in the contest, Auston Matthews spotted an open Marner, who got down on one knee and fired home a goal to give Toronto a 2-1 lead.

Knies notched the game-winning tally with 4:51 remaining when he took a beautiful saucer pass from Marner before burying a backhanded shot on a breakaway.

Reinhart got the Panthers back within one with 2:25 left with a power-play goal, but the visitors couldn't find an equalizer.

Bobrovsky was on top of his game early in the Panthers' crease.

The two-time Vezina-Trophy winning goaltender shut down two scoring chances from Matthews, including a net-front save on the sniper's backhanded attempt just under seven minutes into the matchup.

Forsling broke the deadlock just over a minute into the middle frame. After taking a pass from Reinhart, the Panthers defenseman blasted a slap shot into the back of the net.

The Maple Leafs finally solved Bobrovsky with 8:29 remaining in the second as Tavares tipped in Nylander's perfectly placed slap pass. Tavares notched his 36th goal of the season and his 14th over the past 16 outings.

Toronto's top line came close to giving the Maple Leafs a lead three minutes into the final frame, but Knies' close-in tip found the post.

The Maple Leafs' Bobby McMann found himself loose on a breakaway with 9:36 left in regulation, but Bobrovsky shut him down.

Marner snuck the tiebreaking goal past Bobrovsky moments later.

Marner extended his point streak to six games (three goals, seven assists) with the marker.

Stolarz helped keep the Maple Leafs on top as he slid across to stone an open Niko Mikkola with 7:31 left.

The Panthers were without captain Aleksander Barkov, who was ruled out earlier in the day due to an upper-body injury, and Nico Sturm, who has an undisclosed injury.

Ovechkin scored during a five-on-three power play at 19:25 of the second period to pull the Capitals with 4-1.

Jackson Blake scored two goals while Seth Jarvis had a goal and an assist for the Hurricanes (46-24-4, 96 points), who have won 12 of 14 games and clinched a Stanley Cup playoff berth with the victory. Sean Walker and Logan Stankoven also scored, Shayne Gostisbehere had two assists and Frederik Andersen made 20 saves.

Ovechkin has 39 goals in 59 games this season for Washington (48-18-9, 105 points), which has lost four of five (1-3-1) and was playing the second night of a back-to-back set. Logan Thompson allowed three goals on 12 shots before leaving with an upper-body injury after the first period. Charlie Lindgren came on to start the second and stopped 18 of 20 shots.

Carolina went 3-for-8 on the power play, Washington was 1-for-5.

The third period featured 24 penalties and a series of fights over the final 10 minutes. The teams totaled 142 penalty minutes.

Walker gave the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead at 6:14 of the first period when he scored on a wrist shot from the top of the right circle.

Blake made it 2-0 with a power-play goal at 10:11 of the first, scoring from the slot on the rebound of Taylor Hall's shot.

Jarvis made it 3-0 with a power-play goal at 13:21, scoring on a one-timer from the left circle off a pass from Gostisbehere.

Stankoven increased the lead to 4-0 at 9:27 of the second period, getting behind the defense on the rush and scoring off a pass from Jack Roslovic.

Ovechkin made it 4-1 when he scored on a one-timer from the top of the left circle off a pass from Jakob Chychrun.

Blake capped the scoring with his second power-play of the game at 6:55 of the third period. He controlled he puck off a faceoff, skated down the slot and lifted a backhander past Lindgren.

After the teams combined to collect four game-tying goals in regulation, the Rangers ended overtime quickly after JT Miller won the overtime faceoff with Marco Rossi and immediately headed off the ice in favor of Trocheck. The center then made up for a pair of costly miscues in regulation by skating to the crease and getting a stick on Artemi Panarin's shot before the puck trickled into the net beyond Filip Gustavsson.

Panarin, Braden Schneider, K'Andre Miller and Chris Kreider had a goal apiece for the Rangers (36-32-7, 79 points), who are tied with the Montreal Canadiens for the second wild card berth. Montreal has a game in hand.

Goalie Igor Shesterkin made 20 saves.

Rossi, Gustav Nyquist, Brock Faber and Marcus Johansson scored for the Wild (41-28-7, 89 points), who lost their third straight (0-2-1) but still climbed into a tie with the idle St. Louis Blues for the Western Conference first wild card spot.

Gustavsson recorded 34 saves.

A turnover by Trocheck led to Nyquist's power play goal nine minutes into the first. Schneider tied the score 3:45 later, when he buried the rebound of a shot by Urho Vaakanainen into the wide-open left corner of the net.

Faber gave the Wild the lead again with five minutes left when his shot from the top of the slot sailed past Shesterkin as he was screened by Minnesota right winger Mats Zuccarello.

K'Andre Miller and Kreider combined to give the Rangers their first lead by scoring twice in a span of fewer than five minutes early in the second. Miller's angled shot went over Gustavsson's shoulder at the 2:51 mark before Wild defenseman Declan Chisholm mishandled the puck in the crease leading to Kreider's backhand over Gustavsson's glove-side blocker with 12:39 remaining.

Johansson tied the score in short-handed fashion just 2:29 later, when he scored from the middle of the slot following another turnover by Trocheck. Rossi's turnover in the neutral zone led to Panarin's unassisted breakaway with 1:04 left, but Rossi made amends 22 seconds into the third, when he nudged a shot off Shesterkin's blocker after K'Andre Miller's turnover.

Andrei Kuzmenko is beginning to settle in nicely for the Kings, who have won six of their last eight games heading into their matchup against the Utah Hockey Club on Thursday night in Salt Lake City.

After going without a point in his first seven games after Los Angeles acquired him from the Philadelphia Flyers on March 7, the 29-year-old Russian has nine points (four goals, five assists) in the past seven games.

"He's just all over the ice," Kings coach Jim Hiller said.

Kuzmenko exploded on the NHL scene two years ago as a 26-year-old rookie with the Vancouver Canucks, scoring 39 goals along with 35 assists. His sophomore season didn't start nearly as well, however, and he was traded to the Calgary Flames in the middle of last season.

He got shipped two more times this season, but seems to have found a home in Los Angeles, at least through the rest of this season.

"It's really hard to believe, to be honest with you," Hiller said. "I don't think in our wildest dreams could we have expected him to come in and, we know he had the big year in Vancouver, but he really seems to have got his game back."

Kuzmenko had a goal and an assist in a 4-1 win against the visiting Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday, completing a three-game season sweep of the NHL points leader. He has five points (two goals, three assists) in the past two games, helping the Kings (42-29-3, 93 points) hold off the Edmonton Oilers (43-26-5, 91 points) for second place in the Pacific Division entering Wednesday.

"He's come in and I think he's seen the effort that guys play with and the commitment to playing both ends of the rink hard and he's bought in right away," Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper said. "You watch him off the puck, how hard he's tracking back and everything, and that kind of energy is leading to him getting rewarded on the other end as well."

The Kings will be going for a three-game sweep against Utah in its inaugural season.

Utah (34-29-12, 80 points) has won two straight, most recently toppling the visiting Calgary Flames 3-1 on Tuesday night.

Karel Vejmelka made 33 saves in his 18th consecutive start in goal for Utah, the longest streak in the NHL since 2019.

"You know, it's fun to play every night in front of our home crowd," Vejmelka said. "They give us some special energy, and it's kind of cool to play, especially those kinds of games. We are still in the hunt, so we need every point."

Utah entered Wednesday eight points out of the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference with seven games left. The Minnesota Wild, who Utah is chasing for the final wild-card spot, have hit a rut, losing four of their past five (1-3-1) entering Wednesday.

"I think the group likes big games, they like the stage," Utah coach Andre Tourigny said. "From the season opener to the way we played (in a 6-4 win against the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning on March 22), there were a lot of key games where they stepped up and they were ready."

The Stars (49-21-4, 102 points) went 11-2-2 in March, the second-best record in the NHL over that month behind only the St. Louis Blues, who went 12-2-1. Dallas closed out the month with a pair of wins against the Seattle Kraken to sweep a four-game road trip and extend its winning streak to six. They're also 7-0-2 in their past nine to pull within four points of the division-leading Winnipeg Jets on whom they hold a game in hand.

Even though the Stars have been seemingly unstoppable of late, Dallas still feels its game isn't where it needs to be as the postseason nears.

"The wins matter, but we're trying to get our game ready for the playoffs," center Matt Duchene said. "We'd love to take that top seed, that's obviously a goal, but we're going to have to play great teams no matter what position we finish, and we want to make sure our game is where it needs to be. If it is, it gives us the best chance to win in the playoffs. That's the goal right now, and I think we're taking good steps toward that."

Dallas entered Wednesday tied with the Carolina Hurricanes for the best penalty kill percentage in the NHL, with an 84.7 success rate when short-handed. The Stars have allowed just five goals on 37 opposing power plays over their past 13 games.

Roope Hintz was named the NHL's Second Star of the Week for the week ending March 30 after posting nine points in four games, with each outing being a multi-point effort. The 28-year-old center has 27 goals and 37 assists for 64 points in 68 games, as he attempts to reach the 30-goal mark for the fourth consecutive season. He's one assist shy from matching his career best (38) in that category set in 2022-23 and is on pace to surpass 70 points for the third time.

The Predators, meanwhile, are in Dallas looking to snap a four-game losing streak during which they've been outscored 16-8. Half of those goals against came in their most recent outing, an 8-4 setback at the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday.

Down 4-1 early in the second period against Columbus, Nashville (27-40-8, 62 points) responded with a pair of tallies less than a minute apart to pull within one before the Blue Jackets widened the gap again.

"I think for us, it was a tough game, but the effort was there, the compete was there," coach Andrew Brunette said. "We self-inflicted a little bit. There's some things we can learn and we can be better at. ... Understand game management, shift management got us in trouble on three goals, things that as a young team right now that we have to learn and get better at."

After winning four straight from March 4-11, the Predators have dropped nine of their past 11 (2-8-1).

Ryan O'Reilly is one goal away from 300 but has scored only once in his past 14 games, while picking up five assists in that span.

"We just know if we keep winning our games we're going to be in the playoffs, and that's our goal," coach Jim Montgomery said Tuesday after the Blues' 2-1 overtime win against the Detroit Red Wings.

St. Louis' 10th win in a row came in heroic fashion against the visiting Red Wings. Jordan Kyrou's 32nd goal tied the game with 29 seconds left in regulation, then Cam Fowler scored with 1:33 to go in overtime.

The winning streak that started on March 15 has propelled the Blues (41-28-7, 89 points) into playoff position. Beating Detroit allowed the team to jump the Minnesota Wild for the top wild-card spot in the Western Conference entering Wednesday.

Robert Thomas has been an offensive spark during the current streak, with two goals and 15 assists in that stretch. Thomas has points in nine of the 10 games, with a goal and 11 helpers coming in the last five contests.

On the other end of the ice, goalie Jordan Binnington is playing like he did in 2019, when the Blues won 11 straight en route to the franchise's first Stanley Cup. Since helping Canada win the 4 Nations Face-Off in February, he is 11-2 with a 2.00 goals-against average. He has started in six games during the winning streak and has allowed only four goals in his last four appearances, posting a .963 save percentage (103 for 107) in that span.

While the Blues are focused on a playoff run, the Penguins (30-34-11, 71 points) are shifting focus toward next season. Although they have not been eliminated, they entered Wednesday eight points back of the Montreal Canadiens for the last Eastern Conference wild card with only seven games remaining. That's one fewer game than Montreal, and four teams stand between the Penguins and the Canadiens.

Pittsburgh's last game, a 1-0 overtime win Sunday against the visiting Ottawa Senators, marked the debut of Ville Koivunen, a 21-year-old prospect the team received as part of the Jake Guentzel deal with the Carolina Hurricanes before the 2024 trade deadline.

Koivunen skated on the second line along with Rickard Rakell, who leads the Penguins with 32 goals, and finished with seven shot attempts in more than 17 minutes of ice time.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said the Finnish prospect has the ability to become a top-six forward.

"We love his offensive instincts, his ability to make a play, and he has a little swagger to him," the coach said. "He plays with moxie. He doesn't just throw the puck away, hangs on a puck (and) protects pucks. He sees it pretty good."

Sullivan also confirmed that Evgeni Malkin will travel with the team on the three-game, four-day trek that starts in St. Louis. The former Hart Trophy winner, who last played on March 23 because of an upper-body injury, has 46 points (15 goals, 31 assists) in 62 games.

Montreal (35-30-9, 79 points) stayed two points ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets and New York Rangers for the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot after concluding a season sweep of the Florida Panthers with a 3-2 Tuesday win in overtime. The teams also played Sunday in Florida, with the Canadiens winning 4-2.

The victories followed a five-game winless streak (0-3-2) for Montreal, which was on the wrong side of the cut line as recently as Saturday.

"I almost feel like we've been better coming back than holding a spot," Montreal coach Martin St. Louis said. "You hope you get better at it every time. To me, we can't be tight as a group because we are in the playoff picture right now. It's the old cliche, ‘stick to the process' and all that, but it's really true."

The Canadiens stuck to it and found two points on Tuesday, with captain Nick Suzuki providing the heroics for the Canadiens by scoring with 8.4 seconds left in regulation and ending the game 29 seconds into overtime to top Florida.

As defenseman Kaiden Guhle put it, every game is "do-or-die" these days -- and recent games have shown a playoff-like atmosphere in the iconic Bell Centre.

"The pressure is on us, and you want that pressure," he said. "I think we're thriving with it right now and when the fans are how they (were on Tuesday), and the energy that's in the building and you score with eight seconds left to tie it and win in overtime, it's pretty unbelievable."

Lane Hutson has continued to dazzle. He dished out three assists -- including helpers on Suzuki's tying and winning goals -- to break Montreal's record for a rookie defenseman. With 57, he sits just four shy of Larry Murphy's NHL mark.

"Elite players always rise to occasions, and I feel he's probably done that his whole life," Suzuki said of the NHL's reigning Rookie of the Month. "Big games don't really get in his head. He just goes out there and does whatever he can to help the team."

Forward Oliver Kapanen, a 21-year-old who made his NHL debut on Oct. 10 in Boston, was expected to join the Canadiens later on Wednesday.

While Boston (30-36-9, 69 points) won its first two games against Montreal in October and December, a current nine-game skid (0-8-1) leaves it at the bottom of the conference standings for the first time since 1997.

The Bruins' woes continued with a 4-3 Tuesday loss to the Washington Capitals, despite two David Pastrnak goals. It was another strong performance for interim coach Joe Sacco's club but a second straight one-goal defeat.

"We have to have that sticktoitiveness, that mindset where regardless of what happens, we're going to play hard right to the very end," Sacco said.

Pastrnak has six multi-goal games and 37 total tallies.

Despite the Bruins' faded playoff hopes, all they can do is focus on what is to come. Goaltender Jeremy Swayman did that in a 28-save effort and has seen that mindset carry throughout the dressing room.

"You can't really point a finger. It's the way it's going right now and we're not going to dwell on the past," Swayman said. "We have to stay in the present. And even then, I thought we had to push after (Washington made it 3-2 in the third period). It just goes to show what kind of team we have here and what we can do and keep pushing, no matter what."

Earning points in eight of their past 10 matches (7-2-1), the Lightning (44-25-5, 93 points) have jelled on offense and defense as the 82-game slate winds down.

Against the Senators (39-29-6, 84 points), who grid into the No. 1 wild-card spot, coach Jon Cooper's club is 2-1-0 with the only setback taking place in a 5-4 loss on Oct. 19 in Ottawa.

Two months ago, shortly before the break for the 4 Nations Face-Off, Tampa Bay recorded victories in a rare playoff-style, two-game series in Florida, winning 4-3 and 5-1.

The wins had a first-round playoff feel to them: Two games on the same sheet of ice over three days with an off day in between.

That may happen again in an actual postseason environment.

With eight matches left, the second-place Lightning are the hottest of the three Atlantic Division teams pursuing the division's top spot.

The three-time Stanley Cup champions trail the Toronto Maple Leafs by one point and lead the Florida Panthers by one in the Atlantic Division.

"It gets tough down the stretch when you're battling for position," Cooper said after his group won 4-1 at the New York Islanders on Tuesday. "You don't want to roll into the playoffs with your 'B' game going. You want to have your A game and want everybody to be on the same page.

"We're in a battle ourselves. Ultimately, we're not in a playoff spot yet. Depending on how things go, if you have a chance to get home ice, you'd like to get it."

If the Lightning capture the Atlantic and Ottawa stays put, they would have home ice against the Senators in the first round of the playoffs.

Right winger Nikita Kucherov had two assists in the win in Elmont, N.Y., extending his point streak to nine games (five goals, 14 helpers), while Jake Guentzel's 38th tally tied Brayden Point for the team high.

Ottawa is reeling a bit after another bad but not unexpected loss on Tuesday, suffering a 5-2 setback to the Buffalo Sabres to open a four-game homestand.

At the time sitting in last place in the Eastern Conference, the Sabres blitzed the home side for three goals near the match's midpoint and went on to their fifth win in six matches (5-1-0).

The win also allowed Buffalo to climb out of the East's cellar, leapfrogging the floundering Boston Bruins, who have lost nine straight, and, strangely, sweep the four-game season series with the Senators.

The Sabres outscored Ottawa 17-5 this season.

"I think if you're going to criticize the first period, it's easy to say no urgency," Ottawa coach Travis Green said after his club went scoreless over three power plays in the frame. "You get three power plays, you hope to get one. They got a little momentum off their kill."

Ottawa played without Brady Tkachuk (upper body) after the captain was hurt in Sunday's 1-0 overtime loss at the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Forward Drake Batherson was minus-5 against Buffalo, and the Senators lost again to goaltender James Reimer, who is an NHL all-time-best 19-6-4 in his career against them.

The Atlantic-leading Maple Leafs (45-25-4, 94 points) enter this crucial contest with a two-point advantage over the Panthers (44-26-4, 92 points) and a one-point lead ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Toronto is 6-1-1 in its past eight games.

After dropping a chance for two points in a 6-5 shootout loss to the San Jose Sharks on Thursday, the Maple Leafs defeated the Los Angeles Kings 3-1 on Saturday before taking out the Anaheim Ducks 3-2 one day later.

"I thought the team competed hard (against Anaheim)," Toronto coach Craig Berube said. "I thought we were a little tired and gassed, or it looked like it anyway, but we did a good job defending. We did what we had to do to win the game."

Mitch Marner, Max Domi and Steven Lorentz each scored a goal and Joseph Woll stopped 29 shots for the Maple Leafs.

Marner extended his point streak to five games (two goals, six assists) with his goal in the second period.

Marner expressed pride in his team's effort across the three-game California swing.

"It's not an easy road trip in any way. Three games in four nights, to get used to a three-hour time change," he said. " (The) San Jose game wasn't easy. We made some big mistakes that they counted on, but I thought we battled back to get a point, which is great. And then these last two, both teams very good, very hard to play against. We knew these are important points, we wanted to get them. I'm just happy with us digging in and battling for them."

The Panthers will present a different challenge for the Maple Leafs, and the Florida squad has recent history on its side by coming out on top in each of the past three meetings. Most recently, Florida posted a 3-2 win over Toronto on March 13.

The Panthers enter the contest on little rest after falling to the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 in overtime on Tuesday.

Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki haunted Florida by scoring the tying goal with 8.4 seconds left in the third period before pocketing the winner just 29 seconds into overtime.

Tuesday represented the Panthers' second consecutive loss to Montreal. They fell 4-2 to the Canadiens on home ice on Sunday.

Niko Mikkola and Mackie Samoskevich each scored for the Panthers on Tuesday, while Vitek Vanecek made 18 saves in the losing effort.

Sergei Bobrovsky should return to the crease for the Panthers on Wednesday. The two-time Vezina Trophy recipient owns an impressive 15-8-1 career record against Toronto.

Samoskevich had this to say when asked about what the Panthers should expect in Wednesday's clash with Toronto.

"I'm sure they'll come out firing, they'll be feeling good right at the start, so we got to be ready right away and I'm sure the building will be juiced just like this one. So, gotta get our minds right tonight and be ready for tomorrow."

The Hurricanes (45-24-4, 94 points) have won 11 of their last 13 games to move within 11 points of the Metropolitan Division-leading Capitals (48-17-9, 105 points).

Washington recorded a 4-3 win over the Boston Bruins on Tuesday night to move within one point of the Winnipeg Jets for first place overall in the NHL standings. The Hurricanes have been idle since posting a 6-4 victory over the New York Islanders on Sunday.

Capitals superstar captain Alex Ovechkin scored his 891st career goal Tuesday, moving within four of breaking Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky's NHL record. Ovechkin, who has a team-leading 38 goals in 58 games this season, shot wide at an empty net late in the game.

Ovechkin and Dylan Strome each had a goal and an assist, and Charlie Lindgren made 21 saves for the Capitals, who had lost three in a row (0-2-1).

"It was a big win in general," Lindgren said. "Obviously, the previous three games hadn't gone our way, so just to get back in the win column and get that taste of winning again, even though it was only three games, it still (stunk) and it was about time we turned it around. ... Overall, we'll take two points."

Washington forward Ryan Leonard, 20, was plus-1 in 14:14 of ice time while playing on a line with Strome and Aliaksei Protas in his NHL debut. The Capitals' top prospect, Leonard signed a three-year entry-level contract on Monday after his Boston College team was eliminated by Denver in the NCAA playoffs.

"Happy for him," Ovechkin said. "He played solid, physical, controlled the puck well, and he has a great future."

Washington defenseman Dylan McIlrath played 10:33 in his first NHL game action since Dec. 23 in Boston, stepping into the lineup to fill in for the absent Matt Roy (personal reasons).

Carolina's Seth Jarvis scored two goals in the win against the Islanders. Sebastian Aho had a goal and two assists, Logan Stankoven also scored, and Pyotr Kochetkov made 27 saves.

"You've got to find ways, whatever way you've got to do it," Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "It wasn't the prettiest of games, but there were some really nice goals. It was kind of the good and the bad mixed in there."

Carolina's power-play unit has connected in each of the last four games.

"Always nice to score, but yeah as a unit you work (together) and you can tell that we have scored a few as of late," said Aho, whose power-play goal on Sunday was his first since March 1. "We were feeling the puck a little bit and making better plays. It's just (a matter of) having a little confidence there, so it's been good."

Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal missed the game with a lower-body injury.

Lindgren made 24 saves to help Washington record a 3-1 win over Carolina on Dec. 20, and former Capital Dmitry Orlov had two goals to lead the Hurricanes over Washington 4-2 on Nov. 3. The teams' final meeting will be in Washington, D.C., on April 10.

Washington scored twice in both the first and third periods en route to breaking a three-game skid (0-2-1). Goals from Nic Dowd and Ovechkin gave the Capitals a 2-0 lead. Boston came back to tie before Dylan Strome and Tom Wilson scored in the third.

David Pastrnak scored twice, Morgan Geekie had two assists and Vinni Lettieri also found the net for Boston, which has lost nine straight (0-8-1).

With Washington up 1-0, Ovechkin scored on the power play with 4:17 left in the first. John Carlson's initial shot from the high slot took a deflection off the skate of Strome in front and right to Ovechkin, who settled the puck and scored it into an open side of the net.

Blues 2, Red Wings 1 (OT)

Defenseman Cam Fowler's goal with 1:33 left in overtime gave host St. Louis its 10th straight victory, a come-from-behind win over Detroit.

Jordan Kyrou got the other Blues' goal, assisted by Fowler, and Jordan Binnington stopped 20 shots. Binnington was the NHL's Third Star for the month of March after going 8-2-0 with a 2.21 goals-against average and .910 save percentage.

J.T. Compher scored for the Red Wings, who are struggling to stay alive for an Eastern Conference wild-card playoff spot. Cam Talbot made 35 saves.

Canadiens 3, Panthers 2 (OT)

Nick Suzuki scored twice, the tying goal with 8.4 seconds left in regulation and the overtime winner, as Montreal edged visiting Florida.

Suzuki beat Vitek Vanecek with a wraparound 29 seconds into the extra period for his 25th of the season. In the last seconds of the third period, Suzuki, the Canadiens' captain, tapped in a Lane Hutson feed to force overtime.

Hutson added three assists, giving him 57 on the season, passing Chris Chelios (55, 1984-85 Canadiens) for the second-most assists by a rookie NHL defenseman. Hutson now trails only Larry Murphy (60, 1980-81 Los Angeles Kings). Niko Mikkola and Mackie Samoskevich scored for the Panthers.

Ducks 4, Sharks 3 (SO)

Mason McTavish scored the only goal of the shootout and added three assists in regulation as Anaheim edged visiting San Jose.

Trevor Zegras and Sam Colangelo each had a goal and an assist and Jackson LaCombe scored for Anaheim, which wrapped up a 3-2-0 homestand by completing a three-game season sweep of the Sharks. Lukas Dostal made 28 saves.

Shakir Mukhamadullin, Alexander Wennberg and Marc-Edouard Vlasic scored goals and Alexandar Georgiev stopped 34 shots for the Sharks, who have lost three straight.

Oilers 3, Golden Knights 2

Leon Draisaitl scored his league-leading 52nd goal to highlight a three-goal second period for Edmonton, which held on for a win in Las Vegas.

Jake Walman and Viktor Arvidsson also scored and Evan Bouchard had two assists for the Oilers, who extended their third-place lead in the Pacific Division to nine points over the Calgary Flames. Edmonton's Calvin Pickard stopped 20 of 22 shots.

Nicolas Roy and Pavel Dorofeyev each scored for Vegas, which had a six-game winning streak snapped. Adin Hill, making his fourth straight start, finished with 17 saves. The Golden Knights officially clinched a playoff spot midgame when Calgary lost in regulation at Utah.

Sabres 5, Senators 2

Rasmus Dahlin and Alex Tuch each had a goal and an assist for visiting Buffalo, which completed a season sweep of its four games with Ottawa.

Mattias Samuelsson had two assists, and James Reimer made 33 saves for the Sabres.

Claude Giroux and Jake Sanderson tallied for the Senators, who have lost five of their past eight games (3-4-1). Linus Ullmark turned aside 17 shots.

Lightning 4, Islanders 1

Jake Guentzel and Victor Hedman scored the game-winning and insurance goals in the second period for Tampa Bay during a victory in Elmont, N.Y.

Oliver Bjorkstrand opened the scoring in the first and Nick Paul added an empty-netter late in the third for the Lightning, who have won four straight. Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point had two assists apiece, Guentzel added an assist, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 28 saves.

Bo Horvat scored in the first for the Islanders, who lost their sixth straight game (0-4-2). Ilya Sorokin recorded 20 saves.

Blue Jackets 8, Predators 4

Kirill Marchenko's third career hat trick and career-best four points sparked a big night for Columbus en route to an easy win over visiting Nashville.

The three-goal, one-assist night also allowed the Russian forward, 24, to post his first 30-goal season. Marchenko was one of seven players who recorded multiple points for the Blue Jackets, who logged a third win in four games.

Filip Forsberg, Michael Bunting, Justin Barron and Jordan Oesterle all scored and Luke Evangelista assisted on two for the Predators, who took their fourth consecutive loss.

Kings 4, Jets 1

Anze Kopitar, Andrei Kuzmenko and Adrian Kempe each had a goal and an assist as Los Angeles defeated visiting Winnipeg, completing a three-game season sweep.

Trevor Moore scored the other goal for the Kings, who logged their second victory in a row. Darcy Kuemper stopped 18 of 19 shots.

Cole Perfetti scored the lone goal for the Jets, whose three-game winning streak ended. Connor Hellebuyck made 16 saves.

Utah Hockey Club 3, Flames 1

Barrett Hayton's early-second-period goal held up as the winner thanks to stellar goaltending by Karel Vejmelka as Utah held on for a victory over Calgary in Salt Lake City.

Vejmelka, who made his 18th consecutive start between the pipes, stopped 33 shots. Kevin Stenlund and Clayton Keller also scored for Utah, which has won two straight.

Rasmus Andersson replied for the Flames, whose playoff hopes took a huge hit. Dustin Wolf stopped 25 shots.

Los Angeles swept the season series with the Jets, winning the three games by a combined 10-3 margin.

The Kings (42-23-9, 93 points) are 28-4-4 on home ice and have the best home points percentage (.833) in the NHL.

Trevor Moore scored the Kings' other goal. Darcy Kuemper stopped 18 of 19 shots to earn his 26th win of the season.

Acquired from the Philadelphia Flyers at the trade deadline, Kuzmenko has been sparked by the change of scenery. Kuzmenko has nine points (four goals, five assists) in 14 games with Los Angeles, after recording a modest 20 points in 44 games before the trade.

The loss ended Winnipeg's three-game winning streak. The Jets (51-20-4, 106 points) remain atop the NHL standings.

Cole Perfetti scored the Jets' only goal, and Connor Hellebuyck stopped 16 of 19 shots.

Los Angeles built an early lead on two goals within an 82-second span in the first period, starting with Moore's tip-in at the 8:28 mark. A Jets turnover in the neutral zone set up the Kings' next tally, as Kopitar's 19th goal finished off a nice tic-tac-toe passing play.

Perfetti put Winnipeg on the board 11:40 into the second period, taking the shot himself on a two-on-one rush with Kyle Connor. Emerging from the penalty box just as a Kings power play ended, Perfetti was in perfect position to take the puck and spark the Jets' scoring play.

Kuzmenko restored the Kings' two-goal lead on another two-on-one play and another neutral-zone turnover. Kuzmenko poked the puck away from Jets defenseman Logan Stanley, then used Kempe as a decoy before burying a wrist shot 16:07 into the second period.

Winnipeg had two power-play chances during the third period but couldn't narrow the deficit. Kempe sealed Los Angeles' win with an empty-net goal with 55 seconds left.

McTavish, who was the third shootout participant for the Ducks, skated in and showed great patience as he waited for Sharks goalie Alexandar Georgiev to make a move, then slid the puck between the goalie's legs.

Trevor Zegras and Sam Colangelo each had a goal and an assist and Jackson LaCombe scored for Anaheim (33-33-8, 74 points), who wrapped up a 3-2-0 homestand by completing a three-game season sweep of the Sharks. Lukas Dostal made 28 saves.

Shakir Mukhamadullin, Alexander Wennberg and Marc-Edouard Vlasic scored goals and Georgiev stopped 34 shots for the Sharks. San Jose (20-44-10, 50 points) has lost three straight, getting outscored 17-5 in those games, not counting Anaheim's extra "goal" for the shootout win.

Ducks forward Zegras opened the scoring just over two minutes into the first period off a faceoff in the Sharks' end. McTavish won the draw back to Colangelo, whose shot was tipped in by Zegras.

The Sharks tied it 1-1 at 5:28 of the first as Mukhamadullin's long shot from the point somehow slipped through the legs of Dostal, who misplayed the puck.

LaCombe scored at 8:13 of the first on a power play. His long wrister from the point beat a screened Georgiev to the blocker side.

Colangelo scored with 59 seconds left in the opening frame to make it 3-1. Georgiev made the first save, but he lost sight of the puck and Colangelo was able to poke it into an empty cage.

Mukhamadullin left the game with an injury early in the third period and did not return after being tackled by Ducks forward Frank Vatrano in front of the Sharks' bench.

Vlasic scored his first goal of the season to pull the Sharks to within 3-2 at 4:08 of the third.

Wennberg took a pass out of the corner from teammate William Eklund and one-timed a shot past Dostal to tie the game 3-3 late in the third, setting the stage for overtime followed by the shootout.