Riding a three-game home losing streak (0-1-2), the Islanders will face a scorching Tampa Bay Lightning squad in an afternoon matchup Saturday in Sunrise, Fla.

After losing 4-3 to the Calgary Flames last week, coach Patrick Roy's Islanders (32-29-10, 74 points) watched winger Kyle Palmieri appear to notch the go-ahead goal Monday in the final 10 seconds of a 3-all match against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

However, the score was denied for goaltender interference and upheld after a lengthy review by officials in Toronto -- infuriating everyone in home blue and orange.

"If Toronto is afraid to overturn calls made by the referee, we don't need Toronto," said the fiery Roy after the Islanders lost 4-3 in a shootout.

As most of the Islanders headed to the tunnel, Palmieri stood and sarcastically clapped for the officials after New York failed to tally against Columbus goaltender Elvis Merzlikins in the shootout.

The bad vibes carried over to Wednesday, as the Vancouver Canucks drubbed New York 5-2 to finish a four-game homestand at 1-1-2, leaving Roy's club trailing the Montreal Canadiens by one point for the No. 2 wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference entering play Friday.

Snagging four of eight possible points while pursuing the Canadiens and competing with the New York Rangers, Blue Jackets and Detroit Red Wings in the chase for the wild card isn't ideal.

Palmieri has been key offensively by netting eight of his 22 goals in the past 18 games.

Netminder Ilya Sorokin has posted a 27-21-6 record with a 2.76 goals-against average and a .905 save percentage in 54 games.

By contrast, the Lightning (42-25-5, 89 points) have flattened their opposition in the first two games of a three-game homestand, topping the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-1 on Tuesday and the Utah Hockey Club 8-0 on Friday. The latter win was revenge for a 6-4 loss at Utah last Saturday.

Milestone moments and overall achievements have stood out in the two games.

Brayden Point recorded his 300th career goal on Thursday, while Ryan McDonagh had two assists against Utah in his 1,000th game.

Nikita Kucherov managed seven points in the two wins, pushing his total to 105 in 68 games and leaving him behind only Colorado's Nathan MacKinnon, who has 108 in 73 outings. Darren Raddysh set a career high on Thursday with his 34th point after posting 33 in 2023-24.

Tampa Bay's attack netted eight goals for the fifth time this season and boosted its goals per game to 3.57, second only to the Eastern Conference-leading Washington Capitals.

In the crease, Andrei Vasilevskiy stuffed 25 Utah shots for his 40th career shutout and sixth this season, matching the Winnipeg Jets' Connor Hellebuyck for top honors. His teammates aided him with 23 blocked shots.

"The game (in Utah) did not look like tonight," Cooper said, citing Thursday's tighter defensive play. "It just goes to show that it really matters how you play in your own end, which does have an effect on how you play in the other end.

"These games over the last couple we've had here, they don't happen often. ... But we're doing (the right thing), and when it's constantly on repeat, good things are going to happen for you."

The Lightning are 26-8-2 at home including a 15-2-1 stretch since Jan. 1.

The two clubs will play again on Tuesday in Elmont, N.Y.

"We'll get him through warmups and see," Maurice said, "but he's healed past that. We expect him to play."

Marchand, acquired from the Boston Bruins on March 7 for a conditional second-round draft pick in 2027, has not been able to play for Florida because of an upper-body injury.

Marchand, 36, has 21 goals and 26 assists to go with a minus-8 rating in 61 games this season. He had been Boston's captain since the beginning of the 2023-24 campaign.

A Stanley Cup champion with Boston in 2010-11 and a four-time All-Star, Marchand recorded 422 goals and 976 points in 1,090 games with the Bruins.

Marchand, acquired from the Boston Bruins on March 7 for a conditional second-round draft pick in 2027, has not been able to play for Florida because of an upper-body injury.

He skated on the Panthers' second line in practice for the second day in a row on Thursday. Sam Bennett, who did not practice on Wednesday, was at center, and Mackie Samoskevich was at left wing.

"We'll see how everyone comes back to the rink (on Friday), and then (after) the morning skate, we'll make the decision whether Brad is in or not," Florida coach Paul Maurice said.

Marchand, 36, had played his entire 16-season career with the Bruins, recording 422 goals and 976 points in 1,090 games. He has 21 goals and 26 assists to go with a minus-8 rating in 61 games this season. He had been Boston's captain since the beginning of the 2023-24 campaign.

Marchand has acclimated himself to his new surroundings since the trade.

"He's part of the group, and he's had the opportunity to get all the social parts out of the way," Maurice said. "He's dying to get into the game and play the game with the guys out there."

Florida (43-25-3, 89 points) has been idle since posting a 4-3 shootout victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday.

The Panthers are tied with the Tampa Bay Lightning for second place in the Atlantic Division, one point behind the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Lightning breezed to an 8-0 win Thursday over the Utah Hockey Club (32-29-11, 75 points), who have lost two games in a row.

Starting goalie Karel Vejmelka surrendered four goals on 11 shots Thursday before being pulled midway into the second period. Jaxson Stauber gave up four goals on 10 shots in relief.

"It was really disappointing the way we came out, didn't win enough battles, didn't get on the inside," Utah coach Andre Tourigny said. "Everybody's in the same boat -- coaches, players. ... We all have to look ourselves in the mirror. The good thing is we're playing tomorrow."

The Utah Hockey Club fell behind 2-0 just 4:20 into the game and then allowed four goals in the second period.

"That was terrible, from the start to the finish, we didn't play nearly the style of game that we wanted to play, and it showed," Utah defenseman Mikhail Sergachev said. "We have to make a decision if we want to be in the playoffs or not. This is kind of a punch in the face."

Sergachev played his first game in Tampa since being traded during the offseason. He was with the Lightning from 2017 to 2024 and helped them win Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021. He was honored with a video tribute during the first period.

"It's tough to talk about it right now, honestly, after a game like that," Sergachev said. "But I said in between periods that I really appreciated it. It was great. ... Thanks for the warm reception. The fans are great, everybody's great. It was supposed to be a special night."

The Canadiens are scrambling down the stretch of the regular season to secure a spot in the postseason.

"We need results," Montreal forward Brendan Gallagher said. "We're not getting them. We need to rise to the challenge here."

But the Hurricanes aren't interested in taking a dip either as they'll aim to avoid consecutive losses -- something they haven't experienced in more than a month.

The Hurricanes (43-24-4, 90 points) have lost two of their last three games following an eight-game winning streak. Carolina has had two days off since a 3-1 home loss to Nashville on Tuesday night.

The Canadiens (33-29-9, 75 points) have a four-game losing streak (0-2-2) after Thursday night's 6-4 setback at Philadelphia.

"Everybody is disappointed," Montreal coach Martin St. Louis said. "If you take a snapshot of where we are right now, it should still be fun. We just have to remind them of that."

So getting the spirits up will be one area of emphasis for the Canadiens' quick turnaround. They need a full group effort to get back on track.

"We need everybody," St. Louis said. "To me, it's a little bit of pressure vs. pleasure. You got to have fun with this, the 10 or 11 games we have left."

Taylor Hall has been a good source of offense for Carolina. The former Hart Trophy recipient has racked up four goals across the past two games. Those are also the team's last four goals.

Hall has been on a good stretch with 10 points (six goals, four assists) in the last nine games. He said it's critical that both ends of the ice are taken care of properly.

"If you're on for a goal against, you always feel a little culpable," Hall said. "There's something you could have done better at the end of the day."

But for the Hurricanes, the key to their stretch drive could be if Sebastian Aho's line can get rolling. That group has generally lagged in some recent games.

"It has been the case for a while now for our line," Aho said. "We're creating a bunch and getting good looks, but obviously, it doesn't matter. Other guys have been bailing us out as of late. We've had some good wins as of late, but as a top line, we've got to produce."

Carolina has been in flux with its lineup as winger Andrei Svechnikov has missed the past seven games with an upper-body injury. Svechnikov said Thursday that he expects to be in the lineup against Montreal.

The Hurricanes will have Frederik Andersen in the crease.

The Canadiens thumped the Hurricanes 4-0 on Feb. 25 at Montreal in the first meeting of the season. Patrik Laine and captain Nick Suzuki each had one goal and two assists and Sam Montembeault made 20 saves in that game.

Laine recorded his 18th goal of the season Thursday.

Montreal and Carolina also will meet at the end of the regular season in less than three weeks at Montreal.

Buffalo's Tage Thompson, Peyton Krebs, Tyson Kozak and Alex Tuch each had a goal and an assist. Defensemen Bowen Byram and Rasmus Dahlin each had two assists, and James Reimer made 23 saves for the Sabres, who have won five of seven.

Crosby scored to set an NHL record with his 20th season averaging at least one point per game, breaking a tie with Wayne Gretzky. Blake Lizotte and Kevin Hayes also scored for the Penguins, who have lost three in a row.

Tristan Jarry stopped eight of 12 shots for Pittsburgh before he was replaced by Alex Nedeljkovic, who finished with 15 saves.

Wild 4, Capitals 2

Frederick Gaudreau scored a pair of goals and Minnesota handed Washington a rare loss in Saint Paul, Minn.

Matt Boldy finished with a goal and an assist for the Wild, who snapped a two-game skid. Jon Merrill added a goal. Matt Roy and Brandon Duhaime scored one goal apiece for Washington, which lost in regulation for only the second time in its past 12 games.

Washington's Alex Ovechkin tallied three shots on goal in 19:03 of ice time but did not find the back of the net. Ovechkin remained at 889 career goals, five shy of matching Wayne Gretzky's all-time record.

Stars 5, Flames 2

A quartet of Stars collected a goal and an assist to lead visiting Dallas past Calgary.

Matt Duchene, Mikael Granlund, Roope Hintz and Mikko Rantanen each tallied a goal and a helper for the Stars, who are riding a four-game winning streak and sit four points behind the Winnipeg Jets for top spot in the Central Division. Wyatt Johnston also scored, and Casey DeSmith stopped 46 shots.

Nazem Kadri scored both goals for the Flames, who had a four-game winning streak snapped. Dustin Wolf stopped 14 shots.

Flyers 6, Canadiens 4

Hours after firing their head coach, Philadelphia received two goals apiece from Sean Couturier and Matvei Michkov in a home victory over Montreal.

With the team riding a six-game losing streak (0-5-1), the Flyers parted ways with John Tortorella earlier Thursday. Brad Shaw took over behind the bench on an interim basis, and the players delivered an inspired effort in his debut.

Couturier and Michkov each added an assist, while Tyson Foerster and Nicolas Deslauriers also scored for Philadelphia. Samuel Ersson made 26 saves, sending Montreal to its fourth straight defeat (0-2-2). Alex Newhook, Cole Caufield, Christian Dvorak and Patrik Laine scored for the Canadiens, while Jakub Dobes made 24 saves.

Senators 4, Red Wings 3

Ottawa opened up a three-goal lead then held off a furious rally by host Detroit.

Thomas Chabot, Tim Stutzle, David Perron and Michael Amadio scored for the Senators. Linus Ullmark made 31 saves as Ottawa, which leads the Eastern Conference wild-card race, won the season series 3-1.

Lucas Raymond had a goal and an assist for the Red Wings. Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko also scored, while Alex Lyon and Cam Talbot combined for 28 saves.

Lightning 8, Utah Hockey Club 0

Jake Guentzel scored twice and goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy tied for the league lead with his sixth shutout as Tampa Bay walloped visiting Utah.

Guentzel broke a tie with Edmonton's Leon Draisaitl with his NHL-leading 16th power-play tally in a four-goal second period, while Nikita Kucherov hit the net and dished three assists. Vasilevskiy made 25 saves for his 40th career shutout.

Brayden Point potted his 300th career goal and had an assist, Oliver Bjorkstrand scored twice, and Victor Hedman added a goal and two assists. Gage Goncalves also tallied. Utah goalie Karel Vejmelka surrendered four goals on 11 shots before being replaced by Jaxson Stauber, who stopped six shots.

Avalanche 4, Kings 0

Martin Necas and Logan O'Connor scored 92 seconds apart in a three-goal second period and Mackenzie Blackwood turned away 22 shots as surging Colorado beat Los Angeles in Denver.

Necas finished with two goals and an assist and Jonathan Drouin had a goal and an assist as Blackwood notched his fourth shutout of the season and third with Colorado. Cale Makar had two assists for the Avalanche, who have won four in a row. Nathan MacKinnon picked up an assist to extend his home point streak to 23 games.

David Rittich made 22 saves for Los Angeles, which had its four-game winning streak snapped.

Blues 3, Predators 2

Dylan Holloway scored twice, including the tiebreaker with 7:41 left, as visiting St. Louis extended its winning streak to eight games with a victory over Nashville.

Cam Fowler scored the tying goal less than a minute before Holloway's winner for the Blues, who overturned a 2-0 deficit. St. Louis' Robert Thomas had two assists, and Joel Hofer made 16 saves.

Fedor Svechkov and Brady Skjei tallied for the Predators, who have lost six of eight (2-5-1). Juuse Saros finished with 18 saves.

Kraken 6, Oilers 1

Jaden Schwartz scored twice as host Seattle collected five goals in the second period en route to a blowout of Edmonton.

Jani Nyman, Andrei Burakovsky and Jared McCann each collected one goal and one assist while Matty Beniers added a score for the Kraken, who set a franchise record for goals in a period during a home game and snapped a three-game skid (0-2-1). Joey Daccord made 36 saves.

Zach Hyman scored for the Oilers, who have lost three of four games. Calvin Pickard stopped 24 of 29 shots before Olivier Rodrigue turned aside 7 of 8 shots in relief in his NHL debut.

Sharks 6, Maple Leafs 5 (SO)

Macklin Celebrini scored the shootout winner as host San Jose overcame Toronto scoring twice in the final minute of the third period to force overtime.

Tyler Toffoli tallied twice in regulation and added an assist while William Eklund had a goal and an assist for the Sharks, who improved to 3-2-0 over their past five. Collin Graf and Alexander Wennberg also scored in regulation. Timothy Liljegren added two assists, and Alexandar Georgiev made 30 saves.

William Nylander scored twice, John Tavares had a goal and an assist and Auston Matthews and Scott Laughton also tallied for Toronto, which took over the sole position of first place in the Atlantic Division. Mitch Marner had three helpers for the Maple Leafs, Matthew Knies added a pair of assists and Joseph Woll stopped 30 shots.

Toronto scored twice in the final minute of the third period to force overtime.

Tyler Toffoli tallied twice in regulation and added an assist while William Eklund had a goal and an assist for the Sharks (20-42-9, 49 points), who improved to 3-2-0 over its past five.

San Jose's Collin Graf and Alexander Wennberg also scored in regulation. Timothy Liljegren added two assists, and Alexandar Georgiev made 30 saves.

William Nylander scored twice, John Tavares had a goal and an assist and Auston Matthews and Scott Laughton also tallied for Toronto (43-25-4, 90 points), which took over the sole position of first place in the Atlantic Division thanks to the standings point.

Mitch Marner had three helpers for the Maple Leafs, Matthew Knies added a pair of assists and Joseph Woll stopped 30 shots.

With 58.3 seconds remaining in regulation, Tavares pulled Toronto within one, redirecting a Marner shot past Georgiev.

Nylander tied it 5-5 with 14 seconds left in regulation, snapping a Marner pass into the net.

Earlier, Toffoli netted his second of the night to give San Jose a 5-3 lead on a power play at 3:02 of the third period, converting an Eklund cross-ice feed.

Wennberg gave San Jose a 3-1 lead at 1:39 of the middle frame, snapping a shot under Woll's blocker.

Toronto cut the margin to one on a power play at 4:46 as Matthews poked home the loose puck off Marner's point shot.

The Sharks retook a two-goal lead as Woll played the puck off Eklund and into his own net at 13:18 of the middle frame.

Laughton made it 4-3, one-timing a David Kampf pass past Georgiev at 15:13 of the second for his first goal as a member of the Leafs.

San Jose outshot Toronto 16-10 in the opening period and led 2-1 after 20 minutes.

Toffoli opened the scoring 7:50 into the first period, banging home the rebound off Lucas Carlsson's shot.

Nylander tied it 1-1 at 14:40 on a power play, tapping in the rebound off Knies' shot.

San Jose retook the lead short-handed at 17:45 as Graf beat Woll with a wrist shot to the far side.

Necas finished with two goals and an assist and Jonathan Drouin had a goal and an assist as Blackwood notched his fourth shutout of the season and third with Colorado. Cale Makar had two assists for the Avalanche (45-25-3, 93 points), who have won four in a row and are 12-1-1 in their last 14 games.

Nathan MacKinnon picked up an assist to extend his home point streak to 23 games. He has an NHL-best 108 points, three ahead of Tampa Bay's Nikita Kucherov.

David Rittich made 22 saves for Los Angeles (40-22-9, 89 points), which had its four-game winning streak snapped.

Both teams had great opportunities when the game was still scoreless. With 7:50 left in the first period, Jeff Malott intercepted a clearing attempt by Colorado in the right circle and was alone on Blackwood, but the goaltender made the save.

Early in the second period, the Avalanche nearly got the first goal when a deflection went to the front of the net, but Rittich stopped Valerie Nichushkin's wrister to keep it scoreless.

Colorado then scored two quick goals to break the tie. O'Connor got the first one when Makar stickhandled down the left side, slid a pass into the slot to O'Connor, who tipped a floater over Rittich's left shoulder and in at 5:25.

Just 1:32 later, Samuel Girard took a shot from the point that went behind the net. Necas picked it up and jammed it inside the post at 6:57 to give the Avalanche a 2-0 lead.

Later in the period, Warren Foegele went off for goaltender interference, giving Colorado its second power play. The Avalanche took advantage when Necas' one-timer from the left circle beat Rittich at 15:29.

Mikey Anderson took a tripping minor early in the third period and Drouin buried a pass from MacKinnon at 4:56.

Jani Nyman and Andrei Burakovsky both collected one goal and one assist, while Matty Beniers and Jared McCann each added a score for the Kraken (31-36-6, 68 points), who set a franchise record for goals in a period during a home game and snapped a three-game winless skid.

Goaltender Joey Daccord made 36 saves.

Edmonton had won the previous nine meetings between the Pacific Division clubs.

Zach Hyman scored for the Oilers (41-26-5, 87 points), who were without their top two scorers in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl and have lost three of four games.

Calvin Pickard stopped 24 of 29 shots after being given a mercy pull after two periods. Olivier Rodrigue, a 2018 draft pick summoned from the minors with Stuart Skinner on the shelf due to injury, made his NHL debut in relief and surrendered one goal against eight shots.

Edmonton remains third in the division, two points behind the Los Angeles Kings. Seattle is 17 points out of a playoff spot with nine games remaining.

Schwartz sent the Kraken off and running with a power-play goal 78 seconds into the middle frame, a nifty redirect of Burakovsky's feed at the doorstep.

Schwartz doubled the lead two minutes later by intercepting a clearing attempt, working to the right faceoff dot and whipping a shot into the cage. It was his fourth goal in a three-game streak.

Nyman extended Seattle's edge at 10:50 of the period by deflecting Adam Larsson's point shot, and then Beniers made it a four-goal lead 16 seconds later with a tap-in from the edge of the crease set up by Kaapo Kakko.

The Kraken were not done. Burakovsky made it 5-0 at 12:41 when he had the presence to find a puck lying at his feet when a point shot hit him. He slid it into the cage.

Hyman cracked Daccord's shutout hopes with a rebound goal at 4:59 of the third period, his fifth goal in as many games.

McCann responded four minutes later when he batted a puck out of the air and into the net to round out the scoring.

Wyatt Johnston and Mikael Granlund also scored for the Stars (47-21-4, 98 points), who are riding a four-game winning streak and sit four points behind the Winnipeg Jets for top spot in the Central Division and Western Conference. Both teams have 10 games remaining.

Stars goaltender Casey DeSmith made a season-high 46 saves.

Nazem Kadri scored both goals for the Flames, who had a four-game winning streak snapped. Dustin Wolf stopped 14 shots.

Calgary (34-26-11, 79 points) is six points back of the St. Louis Blues in the chase for the Western Conference's second wild-card spot. The Flames do have three games in hand.

Despite Calgary owning the early momentum, Hintz opened the scoring at 7:09 of the first period when he gained the puck during a broken play and buried a shot from the slot.

After his team had two apparent goals disallowed, Kadri put the Flames on the board at 8:12 of the second period by working to the front of the net and lifting a sharp-angled shot.

However, the Stars pulled ahead with a pair of goals 76 seconds apart. Johnston restored the Dallas lead at 12:55 of the second period when he drove to the net and converted his own rebound.

Granlund then made it a 3-1 game with a tap-in tally set up Mason Marchment as the Flames defenders floundered in their coverage.

Kadri provided his team a huge spark 16 seconds into the third period with a power-play goal. A shot from the right faceoff dot resulted in his 30th goal of the season and seventh goal in a five-game streak.

The Flames pushed for the equalizer -- outshooting the Stars 15-0 to start the third period -- but Rantanen tapped home a rebound at 13:22 to restore Dallas' two-goal lead.

Duchene's empty-net goal with 1:49 remaining sealed the result.

Flames forward Connor Zary left the game midway through the third period after Rantanen tripped and fell into him. Zary, who was in obvious pain, missed 15 games due to a knee injury sustained on Jan. 7.

St. Louis (39-28-7, 85 points) tied it at 2-2 with 8:03 remaining, when a wide-open Cam Fowler drove the puck by Nashville netminder Juuse Saros (18 saves).

Less than 30 seconds later, Holloway got to a loose puck in the slot, amid a host of Predators, and sent a wrister past Saros to give the Blues their first lead of the night and stun the home crowd.

Robert Thomas had two assists for the Blues, who managed just 21 shots on goal but held Nashville to 18.

The Blues have won eight in a row for the first time since April 2022. St. Louis, amid a 15-2-2 stretch, also swept the four-game season series by beating the Predators (27-37-8, 62 points) for a third time in 10 days.

Fedor Svechkov and Brady Skjei tallied first-period goals for Nashville, which has lost six of eight since winning four straight. The Predators' Jonathan Marchessault appeared to tie the contest with a goal just before the final horn, but review showed it came after time expired.

For the first time in four tries vs. St. Louis this season, Nashville opened the scoring. Just 2:48 in, Michael Bunting, stationed behind the Blues' net, sent a pass into the high slot for Svechkov to wrist over the right shoulder of St. Louis' Joel Hofer (16 saves).

The Predators made it 2-0 with 9:44 remaining in the first. On the power play, Skjei sent the puck through traffic and past Hofer.

St. Louis finally got on the board with 9:25 left in the second. Off a Nashville turnover, Holloway's drive went through the legs of the Predators' Michael McCarron and just by a late-reacting Saros.

Hofer has allowed five goals while winning four straight starts for the Blues, who have won three consecutive on the road.

Matt Boldy finished with a goal and an assist for Minnesota (41-27-5, 87 points), which snapped a two-game skid. Jon Merrill added a goal.

Matt Roy and Brandon Duhaime scored one goal apiece for Washington (47-16-9, 103 points), which lost in regulation for only the second time in its past 12 games.

Alex Ovechkin tallied three shots on goal in 19:03 of ice time but did not find the back of the net. Ovechkin remained at 889 career goals, five shy of matching Wayne Gretzky's all-time record.

Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson turned aside 28 of 30 shots to improve to 29-16-4.

Capitals goaltender Charlie Lindgren gave up three goals on 20 shots to fall to 16-12-3.

Boldy tallied the go-ahead goal to make it 3-2 in favor of the Wild with less than 10 seconds remaining in the second period. He scooped up a loose puck near the side of the crease and lifted it into the net.

The score remained unchanged until the final two minutes of the third period, when Gaudreau buried an empty-net goal to make it 4-2 for the Wild.

Minnesota grabbed a 1-0 lead six minutes into the first period. Wild forward Justin Brazeau set a screen in front of the crease, and Merrill fired a shot through traffic and into the net.

Washington responded 68 seconds later to even the score at 1-all. Roy followed the same blueprint as Merrill when he belted a shot through traffic and past Gustavsson.

Duhaime gave the Capitals a 2-1 lead with 11:11 remaining in the first period. He scored off a rebound that kicked out to the right circle.

The Wild pulled even at 2-all on a power-play goal by Gaudreau with 7:35 left in the second period. Gaudreau scored on a redirection off a long shot by Boldy.

Despite only one win in five outings, the Rangers (34-32-6, 74 points) sit just outside the Eastern Conference's second wild-card position in what has become a five-team turtle derby.

New York opened their sojourn with a 3-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday, a game in which they held a 1-0 lead at the midway point.

"There have been some games where we haven't been good at all, and I think we did a lot of good things (against the Kings), but it's getting tiring," forward Mika Zibanejad said. "I feel that over the last few weeks, we've been playing some good hockey but we still find a way to lose."

The Rangers, the regular-season champions of 2023-24, have remained in the race while the Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders, Columbus Blue Jackets and Detroit Red Wings have been stumbling, but they have not been able to find the form to consistently win.

Moral victories, such as a down-to-the-wire loss to a team as hot as the Kings, is worth zero and demoralizing.

"We need wins if we're going to do anything," defenseman Braden Schneider told the New York Post. "We can talk about a good effort or a good game, but it's the end of the year and we need two points to have it mean anything."

Sam Carrick has returned after missing the last game due to birth of a son, but fellow forward Matt Rempe may miss the rest of the regular season due to an upper-body injury suffered in Los Angeles.

The Ducks (31-32-8, 70 points) head into the third clash in a five-game homestand looking to build on a 6-2 victory over the visiting Boston Bruins on Wednesday.

It is only a matter of time before Anaheim, which has won two of three games, is officially eliminated from Stanley Cup playoff contention, but the Ducks are heading down the stretch with improved play.

The Boston game followed the template, starting with a dominant first period in which the Ducks outshot the visitors by a 15-5 margin and followed by a three-goal second period.

"Just a good game overall," said forward Alex Killorn, who collected a pair of assists. "A ton of shots, a ton of opportunities. Just really liked the way we played. Our (defense) was getting up the ice, we had a ton of possessions and we got rewarded."

"We challenged (our players) to come out and initiate the pace of the game," coach Greg Cronin said. "We wanted to try and create a difficult environment right from the beginning, and I thought we were able to do that for the better part of the game."

Although it has been a rough few seasons for the Ducks, they can see positive steps with their young players improving. For example, Leo Carlsson, the second overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, has collected 12 points (seven goals, five assists) in 13 games this month. Carlsson has netted 18 goals and 35 points in 65 games in his second NHL season, including a game-opening short-handed marker against the Bruins.

"He's got good instincts, got length, is quick, good hand-eye co-ordination," coach Cronin said. "Our penalty killing hasn't been great this year, so I'm trying to use these last 12 games to give other people an opportunity."

With the team riding a six-game losing streak (0-5-1) and likely to once again miss the playoffs, the Flyers (29-36-9, 67 points) parted ways with John Tortorella earlier Thursday. Brad Shaw took over behind the bench on an interim basis, and the players delivered an inspired effort in his debut.

Couturier and Michkov each added an assist, while Tyson Foerster and Nicolas Deslauriers also scored for Philadelphia. Samuel Ersson made 26 saves, sending Montreal (33-29-9, 75 points) to its fourth straight defeat (0-2-2).

Alex Newhook, Cole Caufield, Christian Dvorak and Patrik Laine scored for the Canadiens, while Jakub Dobes made 24 saves. Montreal holds the second Eastern Conference wild-card spot by one point.

Michkov opened the scoring just under two minutes into the game, shoveling the puck past Dobes following a great setup from Travis Konecny. Newhook tied it at 1-1 six minutes later, but Deslauriers' wrister and Couturier's deflection - just 62 seconds apart - created a two-goal lead for the hosts after one period.

Following a scoreless middle session, Montreal got within 3-2 on Caufield's 34th goal of the season just over two minutes into the third.

Foerster answered with a rebound goal to restore a two-goal cushion. The Canadiens challenged the play for goaltender interference, but the goal stood, giving the Flyers an immediate power play.

On the ensuing man advantage, Couturier scored on an offensive rush, giving the Flyers their first power-play goal since late February.

Montreal scored twice in the final seven minutes to keep things interesting, but in between those goals, Michkov buried his 22nd of the season on a 2-on-0 rush. The Russian rookie had a chance to record his first NHL hat trick in the waning seconds, but his shot from point-blank range clanked off the post.

Guentzel broke a tie with Edmonton's Leon Draisaitl with his NHL-leading 16th power-play tally in a four-goal second period, while Nikita Kucherov hit the net and dished three assists, giving him seven points over two matches.

In dealing Utah its sixth blanking, Vasilevskiy made 25 saves for his 40th career shutout as Tampa Bay (42-25-5, 89 points) got payback for Saturday's 6-4 loss in Salt Lake City.

Brayden Point potted his 300th career goal and had an assist, Oliver Bjorkstrand scored twice, and Victor Hedman added a goal and two assists. Gage Goncalves also tallied.

Ryan McDonagh posted two assists in his 1,000th game, and Yanni Gourde added two of his own.

With a third straight home victory, the Lightning boosted their home mark to 26-8-2 -- 15-2-1 since Jan. 1 -- and 20-12-0 against the Western Conference.

Utah (32-29-11, 75 points) saw goalie Karel Vejmelka surrender four goals on 11 shots through 29:14 before being replaced by Jaxson Stauber, who stopped six shots.

As it did in Tuesday's 6-1 home win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, the home club excelled offensively again with accuracy on two of the opening four shots.

Guentzel found a rebound at the 90-second mark and tied Point for the team lead in goals. Hedman then flipped a wrister that Vejmelka tipped with his right-handed glove but could not bring in at 4:20.

The Lightning poured it on in the second, starting with Goncalves' chip of a long shot by Emil Lilleberg at 5:05. Kucherov made it 4-0 when he took a pass from Point on a rush and lifted a backhander past Vejmelka at 9:14 for goal No. 32.

Guentzel took the team lead from Point with his 36th marker before Bjorkstrand netted for the second time since joining the Lightning for a 6-0 edge.

Point and Bjorkstrand tallied in the third to match the club's season high of eight goals.

Thomas Chabot, Tim Stutzle, David Perron and Michael Amadio scored for the Senators (38-28-5, 81 points). Linus Ullmark made 31 saves as Ottawa, which leads the Eastern Conference wild-card race, won the season series 3-1.

Lucas Raymond had a goal and an assist for Detroit (33-33-6, 72 points), which is three points out of the East's second wild-card spot. Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko also scored, while Alex Lyon and Cam Talbot combined for 28 saves.

Detroit had 16 shots on goal in the first period yet trailed by two goals after it ended.

The Senators killed off an early penalty against Fabian Zetterlund, then scored when he came out of the box. Zetterlund set up Chabot, who lifted a shot from the slot that eluded Lyon's right shoulder.

Ottawa killed off two more penalties during the first 11 minutes, then made it 2-0 on Stutzle's goal at 13:01. He skated into the Detroit zone along the left side and beat Lyon on the short side.

The Senators killed off a David Perron penalty later in the period. The Red Wings got a fifth power play in the period with 40 seconds left when Tyler Kleven was called for tripping. It carried over to the second period but the Red Wings still couldn't break through.

Seconds later, Perron made it 3-0 against his former club. Following a Detroit turnover in the neutral zone, Perron wound up with a breakaway and beat Lyon on the glove side. Lyon was then pulled in favor of Talbot.

The Senators received their first two power plays during the second period but the score didn't change.

Detroit got its sixth power play with 15:21 remaining in the game. It finally ended Ullmark's shutout bid, as Kane scored off an Alex DeBrincat feed.

Amadio scored on a 2-on-0 breakaway at 8:41 for a 4-1 Senators lead.

Raymond made it a two-goal game again when he scored off a Marco Kasper feed at 11:50. Tarasenko scored from the slot at 15:30 off a J.T. Compher pass.

Tage Thompson, Peyton Krebs, Tyson Kozak and Alex Tuch each had a goal and an assist. Defensemen Bowen Byram and Rasmus Dahlin each had two assists, and James Reimer made 22 saves for the Sabres (30-35-6, 66 points), who have won five of seven.

Sidney Crosby scored to set an NHL record with his 20th season averaging at least one point per game. Blake Lizotte and Kevin Hayes also scored for the Penguins (29-34-11, 69 points), who have lost three in a row.

Tristan Jarry stopped eight of 12 shots for Pittsburgh before he was replaced by Alex Nedeljkovic, who finished with 15 saves.

Buffalo scored 27 seconds into the game when Thompson toe-dragged across the slot on a 2-on-1 before scoring his 36th goal of the season for a 1-0 lead.

Krebs scored on a redirection to extend the lead to 2-0 at 4:44 of the first.

Crosby fired the puck into the net from the slot to cut it to 2-1 at 11:11 and record his 80th point in his 72nd game this season. He passed Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky for the most seasons averaging a point a game.

The Sabres came back with five straight goals in the second period.

Kulich scored on a one-timer from the left hash marks at 3:36.

Mattias Samuelsson scored with a wrist shot from the right circle to make it 4-1 at 5:20 and end Jarry's evening.

Kulich greeted Alex Nedeljkovic with a wrist shot from above the left circle for a 5-1 lead at 11:34.

Kozak scored off a rebound to make it 6-1 at 12:02, and Tuch capped the second-period barrage with a wrist shot from the inside edge of the left circle for a 7-1 lead with 26 seconds left.

Lizotte was credited with a goal after he poked at the puck in the crease and it went off the skate of Dahlin and into his own net, cutting it to 7-2 at 2:16 of the third.

Hayes redirected a puck into the net to make it 7-3 at 13:54.