Sunday was a relatively relaxed day with just five games. Though there was a tense overtime period in North Carolina and 17 goals across the league.
Philadelphia Flyers v Washington Capitals
1-3
The Capitals maintained their lead atop the Metropolitan Division with a 3-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers.
Tom Wilson, Travis Boyd and Jakub Vrana scored and Braden Holtby made 35 saves Washington, who are a point ahead of the New York Islanders.
Jakub Voracek scored the for the Flyers, who are 2-5-0 in their past seven and sit eight points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference. Brian Elliott made 27 saves.
Vrana has seven points (4g, 3a) in his last seven meetings with the Flyers and Alex Ovechkin assisted Wilson‘s goal for 20pts (10g, 10a) in his last 19 games.
Up Next:
Leafs v Flyers – Wednesday, March 27 (7pm)
Canes v Capitals – Tuesday, March 26 (7pm – NBCSN)
Arizona Coyotes v New York Islanders
0-2
The New York Islanders moved within a point of first place in the Metro Division by defeating the Arizona Coyotes 2-0.
The Islanders lead the Pittsburgh Penguins by two points for second place. All three teams have six games remaining, with the Isles and Caps playing in Washington on the final day of the regular season.
New York got goals from Jordan Eberle and Brock Nelson, whilst Robin Lehner made 31 saves for his fifth shutout of the season. The Isles lead the league with 10 shutouts this season.
Barry Trotz coached his 1,600th regular-season game. He is seven away from tying former Islanders coach Al Arbour for third on the NHL’s all-time list for most games coached.
Darcy Kuemper made 24 saves in his 17th start for the Coyotes, who finished 0-3-1 with four goals on a four game road trip and sit two points behind the Colorado Avalanche in the race for the second western wild card.
Arizona have 79 points in 76 games, the same as the Minnesota Wild. Their next three games are against Chicago, Colorado and Minnesota.
Up Next:
Blackhawks v Coyotes – Tuesday, March 26 (10pm – ESPN+)
Islanders v Blue Jackets – Tuesday, March 26 (7pm)
Montreal Canadiens v Carolina Hurricanes
1-2 (OT)
The Carolina Hurricanes extended their lead in the Eastern Conference wild card race after rallying to a 2-1 overtime comeback win against the Montreal Canadiens.
The Canes, who have won two in a row and four of their last five, lead the Canadiens by three points for the first wild card. Carolina are two points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for third place in the Metropolitan Division with a game in hand.
Curtis McElhinney made 28 saves for the hosts and Trevor van Riemsdyk equalized 14:21 into the third period to send the game to overtime.
Andrei Svechnikov won it at 3:15 of overtime, whilst becoming the youngest player (18 years and 363 days) in franchise history to score an overtime goal. All 20 of his goals have come at even strength.
Paul Byron scored for Montreal, becoming the 10th Canadiens player with at least 30 points this season, the first time the franchise has had 10 reach the mark since 2005/06.
Carey Price made 38 saves for the visitors, who have won three in a row are are two points ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second wild card.
Price made 38 saves for the Canadiens (40-28-8), who had won three in a row and are two points ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second wild card.
The Hurricanes are 12-3-1 in the second of back-to-back games this season, including winning 10 straight.
Up Next:
Panthers v Canadiens – Tuesday, March 26 (7:30pm – ESPN+)
Canes v Capitals – Tuesday, March 26 (7pm – NBCSN)
Colorado Avalanche v Chicago Blackhawks
1-2 (OT)
The Colorado Avalanche gained ground in the Western Conference wild card race despite a 2-1 overtime loss to the Chicago Blackhawks.
Alexander Kerfoot scored and Phillip Grubauer made 40 saves for the Avs, who had won two in a row and lead the Arizona Coyotes and Minnesota Wild by two points for the second western wild card.
Nathan MacKinnon‘s assist was his first in four games.
Artem Anisimov tied the game for Chicago in the third period, before Duncan Keith became the 48th defenseman in NHL history over the age of 35 to score a regular-season overtime goal.
Corey Crawford made 19 saves for the Blackhawks, who ended a three-game losing streak and sit five points behind the Avs.
The game was the second of a home-and-home, the Avalanche defeated the Blackhawks 4-2 in Colorado on Saturday.
Up Next:
Knights v Avalanche – Wednesday, March 27 (10pm – NBCSN)
Blackhawks v Coyotes – Tuesday, March 26 (10pm – ESPN+)
Columbus Blue Jackets v Vancouver Canucks
5-0
Columbus moved within two points of the second wild card in the Eastern Conference with a 5-0 win over the Vancouver Canucks.
Sergei Bobrovsky made 21 saves in seventh shutout of the season for the Blue Jackets, who picked up a point on the Montreal Canadiens in the wild card race after they lost 2-1 in overtime to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Pierre-Luc Dubois had a goal and an assist, Josh Anderson scored twice, Ryan Dzingel and Oliver Bjorkstrand scored for Columbus, who ended a three-game losing streak.
Thatcher Demko made 28 saves for the hosts, who are seven points behind the Colorado Avalanche for the second wild card in the Western Conference with six games left.
Vancouver lost at home for the second night in a row after losing 3-1 to the Calgary Flames on Saturday. It was also the 10th time this season the Canucks have been shutout, the most in the NHL.
Up Next:
Islanders v Blue Jackets – Tuesday, March 26 (7pm)
Ducks v Canucks – Tuesday, March 26 (10pm)
KEY
ALL TIMES U.S. EASTERN
Artistry of Sport 
Leave a Reply