The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper The Spokesman-Review
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
Current Temperature
59°F
Current Conditions
Broken clouds
View complete weather report
Subscribe now

NHL capsules: Maple Leafs beat Sabres 5-2, tie franchise mark for points

Toronto Maple Leafs center William Nylander, right, celebrates his goal against the Buffalo Sabres with teammate Auston Matthews during second period NHL hockey action in Toronto on Monday, April 2, 2018. (Frank Gunn / Associated Press)
Associated Press

William Nylander and Auston Matthews each had two goals and an assist as the playoff-bound Toronto Maple Leafs beat the visiting Buffalo Sabres 5-2 on Monday night.

Andreas Johnsson also scored as Maple Leafs extended a franchise record with their 48th win and matched the team mark for points (103) set in 2003-04. Backup goalie Curtis McElhinney stopped 32 shots to help Toronto win for the 15th time in the last 17 at home.

Matthews extended his point streak to seven games in Toronto’s 28th home win of the season. He has five goals and 10 points on his run.

Sam Reinhart got his career-high 24th goal for the last-place Sabres, and Jason Pominville also scored. Chad Johnson finished with 31 saves.

Panthers 3, Hurricanes 2: Alexander Petrovic scored the tiebreaking goal in the third period and Florida snapped a three-game skid with a win over Carolina in Sunrise, Florida.

Evgenii Dadonov and MacKenzie Weegar also scored to help the Panthers pull five points behind idle New Jersey for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference. Florida has four games remaining, one more than the Devils. Roberto Luongo stopped 26 shots.

Derek Ryan and Trevor van Riemsdyk scored for Carolina, and Scott Darling finished with 32 saves.

On the go-ahead goal, Petrovic shot from the boards above the right circle and beat Darling with 7:58 left for his second of the season.

Wild 3, Stars 0: Zach Parise scored twice and Devan Dubnyk made 22 saves to blank his original team, pushing Minnesota to the brink of the playoffs in a win over Dallas in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Playing for the first time in nearly three years without stalwart defenseman Ryan Suter, the Wild wrapped up their home schedule with a postseason-caliber performance punctuated by a staggering 21-3 shots advantage in the third period. Joel Eriksson Ek added an empty-net goal as the Wild finished 27-6-8 at Xcel Energy Center, currently the second-best home record in the NHL.

Cam Talbot made 37 saves for the Oilers, who lost their fifth straight game and ensured a sub-80-point finish for the eighth time in the nine years.

The Wild reached 98 points to match the fourth-most in franchise history.

Capitals 4, Blues 2: Nicklas Backstrom started a three-goal second period, Braden Holtby made 34 saves, and Washington beat host St. Louis and won for the seventh time in eight games and 11th in the last 13.

Alex Ovechkin got his league-leading 46th goal, and Alex Chiasson and Andre Burakovsky also scored for the Capitals. Holtby won for the fourth time in his last five starts, and improved to 7-0-0 in seven career starts against St. Louis.

Vladimir Tarasenko and Patrik Berglund scored for the Blues, who lost their second straight. Jake Allen finished with 30 saves.

Jets 6, Senators 5: Blake Wheeler scored twice and Winnipeg held off Ottawa in Ottawa, Ontario.

Andrew Copp and Kyle Connor each had a goal and an assist, and Josh Morrissey and Brandon Tanev also scored for the Jets, who pulled five points behind first-place Nashville in the Central Division with three games remaining. Adam Lowry and Mark Scheifele each had two assists, and Connor Hellebuyck stopped 32 shots.

Thomas Chabot and Matt Duchene each scored twice and Christian Wolanin got his first NHL goal for Ottawa, which was playing its final home game of the season. Craig Anderson finished with 34 saves.

Kings 3, Avalanche 1: Dustin Brown’s short-handed goal helped Los Angeles move back into third place in the Pacific Division with a win over visiting Colorado.

Torrey Mitchell and Kyle Clifford also scored for the Kings, who are one point ahead of Anaheim. Jonathan Quick made 27 saves and the Kings won their third consecutive home game.

Alexander Kerfoot had a power-play goal and Jonathan Bernier stopped 22 shots for the Avalanche.

Colorado leads St. Louis by one point for the second Western Conference wild card, but the Blues have a game in hand. The Avalanche host the Blues on Saturday in the final game of the regular season for both.