Wednesday night saw just four games with 28 goals, a shootout, and another David Pastrnak hat trick.
Montreal Canadiens v Philadelphia Flyers
4-5 (SO)
The Toronto Maple Leafs lost ground in their race for second place in the Atlantic Division with a 5-4 shootout loss to the Philadelphia Flyers.
Auston Matthews had a goal and an assist, Connor Brown, Nazem Kadri and William Nylander also scored, and Frederik Andersen made 40 saves for Toronto, who trail the Boston Bruins by six points.
Travis Konecny, Radko Gudas, Sean Couturier and Ryan Hartman scored in regulation for the Flyers, who would have been eliminated from Stanley Cup Playoff contention with a regulation loss.
Carter Hart made 38 saves and Couturier had the deciding goal in the fifth round of the shootout for Philly, who are eight points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the second eastern wild card.
SHOOTOUT
** Winning Shot
Up Next:
Leafs v Senators – Saturday, March 30 (7pm)
Flyers v Canes – Saturday, March 30 (1:30pm – ESPN+)
New York Rangers v Boston Bruins
3-6
The Boston Bruins extended their lead for second place in the Atlantic Division with a 6-3 win over the New York Rangers.
David Pastrnak had a hat trick and recorded five points for the Bruins, who lead the Toronto Maple Leafs by six points with five games to go.
It was the young Czech’s third hat trick of the season for Boston, who have won 12 in a row at home – the sixth-longest such streak in their history. Pastrnak had a hat trick in the Stanley Cup Playoffs last year.
Jake DeBrusk, Patrice Bergeron and Charlie McAvoy also scored, Brad Marchand had three assists, and Jaroslav Halak made 20 saves for the hosts.
Mika Zibanejad scored twice, Ryan Strome also scored and Henrik Lundqvist made 26 saves for New York, who lost for the first time in their last five games in Boston.
Up Next:
Blues v Rangers – Friday, March 29 (7pm)
Panthers v Bruins – Saturday, March 30 (1pm)
Dallas Stars v Calgary Flames
2-1
The Dallas Stars extended their wild-card lead with a 2-1 victory over the Calgary Flames.
The visitors lead the Colorado Avalanche by three points and the Arizona Coyotes by five points for the first wild card from the Western Conference. They’re four points behind the St Louis Blues for third place in the Central Division.
Alexander Radulov and Miro Heiskanen scored for Dallas, who have won two in a row and three of five. Ben Bishop made 20 saves on 20 shots before being replaced. Anton Khudobin made 15 saves in relief of his injured teammate.
TJ Brodie scored and David Rittich made 21 saves for the Flames, who remain six points ahead of the San Jose Sharks for top spot in both the Pacific Division and Western Conference. The Sharks have a game in hand.
Up Next:
Stars v Oilers – Thursday, March 28 (9pm)
Ducks v Flames – Friday, March 29 (9pm)
Vegas Golden Knights v Colorado Avalanche
3-4
The Vegas Golden Knights failed to clinch a Stanley Cup playoff berth after being defeated 4-3 defeat by the Colorado Avalanche.
Paul Stastny and Reilly Smith scored, and Malcolm Subban made 26 saves for the Knights, who needed just one point to clinch a spot in the Playoffs. They remain third in the Pacific Division, five points behind second-place San Jose Sharks. Vegas has lost three straight games (0-2-1).
Paul Stastny and Alex Tuch each scored one and assisted another for Vegas.
Tyson Barrie scored one and assisted two, Nathan MacKinnon scored one, assisted one, Matt Calvert and Gabriel Bourque also scored for the Avalanche who are 5-1-0 in their last six games.
Philipp Grubauer made 34 saves on 37 shots for the hosts.
Up Next:
Wild v Knights – Friday, March 29 (10pm)
Coyotes v Avalanche – Friday, March 29 (9pm – ESPN+)
KEY
ALL TIMES U.S. EASTERN
Artistry of Sport 
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