Kinkaid lifts the Devils
Former Union standout goalie stops 35 shots for New Jersey
Published 11:22 pm, Saturday, March 24, 2018
Newark, N.J.
Keith Kinkaid made 35 saves and the New Jersey Devils took another major step toward making the playoffs for the first time since 2012 with a 2-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night.
Nico Hischier and Kyle Palmieri scored for New Jersey, which has elevated its playoff chances with wins in five of seven games — including outstanding efforts in beating the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins and the Eastern Conference-leading Lightning on consecutive nights.
Rangers 5, Sabres 1: Jimmy Vesey had two goals and an assist, Alexandar Georgiev stopped 43 shots, and the New York Rangers beat Buffalo. Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad and Neal Pionk each added a goal and an assist as the Rangers completed a sweep of the three-game season series and improved to 13-3-0 in the past 16 meetings with the Sabres.
Blackhawks 3, Islanders 1: Anton Forsberg stopped 28 shots to help Chicago snap a five-game losing streak.
Avalanche 2, Golden Knights 1 (SO): Gabriel Landeskog beat Marc Andre-Fleury with a nifty move in the shootout and Colorado kept expansion Vegas from clinching a playoff spot. Semyon Varlamov stopped all three shots in the shootout. He finished with 39 saves, including seven in overtime. Carl Soderberg was back on the ice after missing two games with an illness and contributed with a first-period goal. Colorado remains in the thick of the playoff picture as the team picked up its 26th home win, which is tied for the third-most in Avalanche history.
Sharks 5, Flames 1: Evander Kane scored twice to give him six goals in his past two games against Calgary and San Jose won its seventh straight game.
Maple Leafs 4, Red Wings 3: Nazem Kadri scored with 7:26 left in regulation, helping Toronto extend its club-record home winning streak to 13 games.
Capitals 6, Canadiens 4: Evgeny Kuznetsov and Tom Wilson each scored twice and Nicklas Backstrom had four assists for Washington. Jay Beagle and T.J. Oshie also scored for Washington (44-24-7), which strengthened its grip on first place in the Metropolitan Division.
Hurricanes 5, Senators 2: Phillip Di Giusseppe and Jordan Staal each had a goal and an assist to lead Carolina. Brock McGinn, Noah Hanifin and Jeff Skinner also scored, and Cam Ward stopped 34 shots to help preserve the Hurricanes' slim playoff hopes. Carolina remained nine points behind New Jersey for the last wild card in the Eastern Conference with seven games remaining.
Panthers 4, Coyotes 2: Denis Malgin snapped a tie with 3:45 left and Florida overcame a two-goal deficit by scoring four times in the third period. Vincent Trocheck had two goals and an assist for the Panthers, who remained three points behind New Jersey for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot. Florida has two games in hand on the Devils.
Blues 2, Blue Jackets 1: Jake Allen made 33 saves, Alexander Steen scored on St. Louis' first shot of the game, and the Blues stopped Columbus' 10-game winning streak. Vladimir Tarasenko also scored for St. Louis, which has won five in row.
Wild 4, Predators 1: Devan Dubnyk stopped 19 shots and Jason Zucker scored his 30th goal and added an assist to lead Minnesota.