NHL roundup: Caps alone atop Metro

Brett Connolly had a goal and an assist, and the Washington Capitals defeated the New Jersey Devils 4-1 on Tuesday night in Newark, N.J., to move into sole possession of first place in the Metropolitan Division. Andre Burakovsky, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Tom Wilson also scored for Washington. Nicklas Backstrom collected his 50th assist of the season, and Pheonix Copley made 20 saves. Kenny Agostino scored, and Mackenzie Blackwood made 18 saves for the Devils, who have lost two straight. Blues 7, Oilers 2 Jaden Schwartz capped his hat trick with a power-play goal at 18:48 of the third period as St. Louis defeated visiting Edmonton. David Perron added two goals and an assist, and Alex Pietrangelo and Pat Maroon also scored for the Blues. Jordan Binnington made 15 saves to improve to 14-3-0 in his past 17 starts. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zack Kassian scored for the Oilers. Mikko Koskinen stopped 17 of 20 shots before being pulled 5:42 into the second period after the Blues took a three-goal lead. Connor McDavid failed to tally a point, ending his 12-game scoring streak. Flames 4, Blue Jackets 2 Michael Frolik scored the winning goal in a two-point night, and David Rittich was sensational while making 31 saves as host Calgary defeated Columbus. The Flames moved three points ahead of the San Jose Sharks for top spot in the Pacific Division and the Western Conference. While Rittich had incredible fortune on his side with the Blue Jackets ringing four pucks off iron, he was outstanding all game, including a one-sided third period in which he stopped 11 shots. Andrew Mangiapane, Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk added goals for Calgary, which has won four of its past five games. Zach Werenski and Oliver Bjorkstrand scored for the Blue Jackets. Stars 4, Panthers 2 Alexander Radulov scored two goals, including the winner with 9:28 to play in the third period, and Tyler Seguin had four assists to lift host Dallas to a victory over Florida. Dallas is now four points ahead of idle Arizona for the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference. Florida lost its second straight and is now 4-2-0 in its past six games. Jamie Benn and John Klingberg collected the Stars' other goals. Aleksander Barkov tallied twice for the Panthers. Avalanche 3, Wild 1 Philipp Grubauer made 36 saves, Tyson Barrie, Tyson Jost and Ian Cole scored, and Colorado won at Saint Paul, Minn. The Avalanche won their second in a row to tighten the Western Conference wild-card race. Colorado moved within a point of the Wild and within two points of Arizona. The Coyotes currently hold the second wild-card spot. Zach Parise had a goal, and Devan Dubnyk stopped 35 shots for Minnesota. The Wild have lost two in a row, and they fell to 2-7-3 in their past 12 home games. Predators 3, Maple Leafs 0 Brian Boyle, Wayne Simmonds and Filip Forsberg scored goals, Pekka Rinne stopped 22 shots, and Nashville defeated visiting Toronto. Rinne has four shutouts this season, and the past two have been against the Maple Leafs. He has 55 career shutouts. Ryan Johansen had two assists for the Predators, who managed only 20 shots on goal but won their third in a row. Frederik Andersen finished with 17 saves for the Maple Leafs. Bruins 5, Islanders 0 Sean Kuraly scored two goals in a regular-season game for the first time in his career, and Tuukka Rask stopped all 13 shots he faced as Boston cruised to a win at Uniondale, N.Y. The Bruins have won two straight following a three-game losing streak. Boston allowed 15 goals in the skid but has given up just one goal in its last two games. Jake DeBrusk, Patrice Bergeron and Noel Acciari also scored for the Bruins. The Islanders lost for the second time in three games (1-2-0). New York goalie Robin Lehner, who played for the first time since sustaining what was believed to be a concussion on March 5, made 34 saves. Hurricanes 3, Penguins 2 (SO) Dougie Hamilton scored on the first attempt of a shootout, and that was enough for Carolina in a victory against Pittsburgh at Raleigh, N.C. The Hurricanes made it past regulation when Justin Williams scored the tying goal with 1:56 left in the third period after the Hurricanes opted to go with an extra skater. Pittsburgh's Kris Letang scored with 4:37 remaining, but the Penguins couldn't hold on. Red Wings 3, Rangers 2 Jimmy Howard made 41 saves, and Andreas Athanasiou scored twice as Detroit opened a five-game road trip by holding on for a victory over New York. Howard helped the Red Wings sweep the three-game season series with the Rangers by making at least 40 saves for the fifth time this season and 21st time in his career. Detroit's Frans Nielsen scored in the first period, and Athanasiou tallied in the second before adding an empty-net goal in the final minute. Ryan Strome and Brendan Smith were the Rangers' goal-scorers. Canadiens 3, Flyers 1 Goals from Brendan Gallagher, Shea Weber and Max Domi carried Montreal to a win at Philadelphia. Andrew Shaw tallied two assists and Carey Price stopped 32 shots for the Canadiens. Sean Couturier scored and Carter Hart made 33 saves for the Flyers, who took a second straight home loss for the first time since early January. --Field Level Media