Jonathan Marchessault had two goals and an assist, Adin Hill made 28 saves and the Vegas Golden Knights ended the Toronto Maple Leafs’ seven-game winning streak with a 6-2 drubbing on Tuesday.
Ivan Barbashev, Mason Morelli, William Karlsson and Nicolas Roy also scored for Vegas, who never trailed en route to a win that ended a 1-4-1 swoon.
Tyler Bertuzzi and Ryan Reaves scored for Toronto as the Leafs’ top-flight offensive threats were frustrated all night.
Auston Matthews, who leads the NHL with 52 goals, was held off the scoresheet for just the second time since Jan. 15. He had totalled 14 points in his previous six games.
Red Wings on their longest win streak in 5 years
Shayne Gostisbehere scored two goals to lead the Detroit Red Wings in an 8-3 rout over the Washington Capitals, extending their winning streak to six games.
The last time the Red Wings won at least six straight was in the 2018-19 season.
Lucas Raymond, J.T. Compher, Patrick Kane, Dylan Larkin, David Perron and Joe Veleno all had multiple points in Detroit’s highest-scoring game since Nov. 15, 2017.
Detroit’s run has put the Red Wings (32-20-6) in position to end a seven-year play-off drought.
Hendrix Lapierre, Michael Sgarbossa and Max Pacioretty each scored for Washington, who had been 4-0-1 in their previous five games.
Josi, Predators run win streak to 6
Captain Roman Josi had two goals and an assist as the Nashville Predators won their sixth straight game, a 4-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators.
Gustav Nyquist contributed a goal and two assists, and Juuse Saros made 24 saves as the Preds returned from a flawless five-game road trip and matched a season-high with a sixth consecutive victory.
The winning streak has pushed Nashville (33-25-2) into the final projected play-off spot in the Western Conference.
NHL: Panthers win Game 6 to return to Stanley Cup Final
Sergei Bobrovsky had a shutout until the final minutes and the Florida Panthers held on for a 2-1 victory over the New York Rangers to reserve a spot in the Stanley Cup Final for the second straight season on Saturday.
Sam Bennett scored in the first period and Vladimir Tarasenko tallied in the third for the Panthers, who will face either Edmonton or Dallas for the Cup, with that series set to start on June 8.
Bobrovsky finished with 23 saves and turned away 69 of 74 shots over the final three games – all wins for Florida.
Florida will play for the Cup for the third time after it was swept by Colorado in 1996 and lost 4-1 to Vegas last season.
If Edmonton advances, Game 1 of the title round will be on Florida’s ice. If Dallas wins the West, the Stars will have home-ice advantage for the series.
The Rangers were held scoreless until Artemi Panarin scored with 1:40 remaining but were unable to find the equalizer.
New York had a 2-1 lead in the series before losing three straight games, meaning for the 11th consecutive year the team that finished with the NHL’s best regular season record won’t go on to win the Stanley Cup.
NHL: Oilers beat Stars for 3-2 lead in Western final
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored twice on the power play and Stuart Skinner took a shutout late into the third period as the Edmonton Oilers defeated the top-seeded Dallas Stars, 3-1 to take a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference final on Friday night.
Philip Broberg had the other goal and Evan Bouchard had a pair of assists for the Oilers, who can advance to their first Stanley Cup Final since 2005-06 with a win at home in Game 6 on Sunday night.
Skinner was perfect until Wyatt Johnson’s goal with 5:51 remaining. He held the Stars scoreless the rest of the way to finish with 19 saves in his second straight win after losses in Games 2 and 3.
There hadn’t been a power-play goal by either team in this series until Nugent-Hopkins scored on a rebound 18 seconds after a penalty in the first period. He struck again just 16 seconds after the Stars took a penalty early in the second period for a 2-0 advantage.
Dallas was limited to six shots on goal halfway through the game and dropped to 4-6 at home this postseason. The Stars are 0 for 11 on the power play in this series.
NHL: Panthers hold off Rangers for 3-2 lead in East final
Anton Lundell snapped a tie midway through the third period and Sam Bennett had a goal and an assist to give the Florida Panthers a 3-2 win over the New York Rangers and a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference final on Thursday night.
Gustav Forsling also scored for the Panthers, who can book a return trip to the Stanley Cup Final with a win at home in Game 6 on Saturday.
If a seventh game is necessary, it will be at Madison Square Garden on Monday.
The Panthers, who got 25 saves from Sergei Bobrovsky, lost to Vegas last year in the championship series.
Chris Kreider scored a short-handed goal and Alexis Lafreniere tallied in the final minute, but the Rangers couldn’t find the equaliser and lost their second straight.
New York is 3-5 in its last eight playoff games after opening with seven consecutive wins.
The go-ahead goal came after the Rangers lost the puck in the Florida end. Eetu Luostarien got the puck, found Lundell at the New York blue line. His shot from the right circle beat Igor Shesterkin, although it may have hit off the stick of Rangers defenseman Braden Schneider.
Bennett’s empty-net goal proved necessary when Lafreniere made it a one-goal game with 50 seconds left.
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