NHL Capsules: New York Islanders outlast Penguins in shootout

PITTSBURGH – John Tavares and Anthony Beauvillier scored in the shootout to lead the New York Islanders over the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 on Friday night.

Beauvillier opened the shootout with a goal, and Tavares snapped a wrist shot past Marc-Andre Fleury in the next round. Sidney Crosby scored in the shootout for Pittsburgh, but Jaroslav Halak, making his first start since Dec. 29, stopped Phil Kessel and Nick Bonino.

Anders Lee scored his 28th goal of the season, while Brock Nelson got his 17th and Casey Cizikas his eighth for the Islanders, who moved into the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. New York is tied with Boston at 82 points, but the Islanders have a game in hand on the Bruins. The Islanders have 18 wins in 31 games since Doug Weight was named interim coach on Jan. 17, replacing Jack Capuano.

Halak, a former All-Star, made 37 saves.

Stars 6, Sharks 1

DALLAS – Adam Cracknell got his first hat trick in seven NHL seasons and Dallas handed San Jose its fifth straight loss.

Cracknell opened the scoring in the first period, capped a three-goal flurry in the second and beat goalie Aaron Dell on a short-handed breakaway in the third for his career-high 10th goal of the season.

The Sharks entered two points ahead of Anaheim and Edmonton in the Pacific Division despite their longest losing streak of the season. San Jose has been outscored 16-5 during the stretch.

Brett Ritchie, Jamie Benn and John Klingberg also scored for the Stars.

Joe Thornton scored for San Jose on the power play in the second period. Dell had 23 saves.

Dallas’ Kari Lehtonen made 20 saves four nights after shutting out San Jose.

Ducks 3, Jets 1

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Andrew Cogliano scored late in the second period, Jonathan Bernier made 17 saves and Anaheim beat Winnipeg.

Corey Perry and Jakob Silvferberg also scored for Anaheim, which is now tied with San Jose for the lead in the Pacific Division with eight games remaining for both teams. The Sharks lost 6-1 to Dallas, giving the Ducks renewed hope of winning the division title for the fifth season in a row.

Bernier’s outstanding play in relief of John Gibson has been a big reason why the Ducks are in contention for another division banner, improving to 7-0-1 in his last eight games. They’ve won three straight overall.

Josh Morrissey scored a power-play goal and Michael Hutchinson made 32 saves for the Jets, who did not pick up a point in eight games this season against Anaheim, San Jose and Edmonton, the top three teams in the Pacific Division.

Lightning 2, Red Wings 1 (OT)

DETROIT – Nikita Kucherov scored 3:28 into overtime to lift Tampa Bay over Detroit.

Situated on the edge of the crease, Kucherov redirected a hard pass from Brayden Point into the net.

The Lightning are one point behind the Boston Bruins and New York Islanders for the final Eastern Conference wild card.