NHL roundup: Expansion Vegas clinches Pacific Division title

William Karlsson's highlight-reel, between-the-legs, short-handed goal midway through the third period broke a 2-2 tie and proved to be the game-winner as the expansion Vegas Golden Knights clinched the Pacific Division title with a 3-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Karlsson and Shea Theodore each had a goal and an assist and Oscar Lindberg also scored for Vegas, which finished 29-10-2 at T-Mobile Arena during the regular season. Marc-Andre Fleury had 29 saves for the Golden Knights to pick up his 404th career victory, breaking a tie with Grant Fuhr for 11th place on the all-time wins list.

Karlsson's game-winner, his 42nd goal of the season, came with defenseman Jon Merrill serving a tripping penalty. The 25-year-old center scooped the puck up near center ice along the left boards and, as a diving Martin Jones came out to try and stick-check the puck away, Karlsson slid the puck between his legs and flipped it back over the blocker of Jones.

Joe Pavelski had a goal and an assist and Marc-Edouard Vlasic scored for San Jose, which dropped its third straight game. Jones finished with 35 saves for the Sharks, who play their final three games at home and have a magic number of two to clinch their 13th playoff berth in 14 seasons.

Penguins 5, Canadiens 2

Phil Kessel and Riley Sheahan each had a goal and an assist as two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh clinched a playoff berth with a victory over visiting Montreal.

Patric Hornqvist, Carl Hagelin and Conor Sheary also scored goals and Evgeni Malkin added a pair of assists for Pittsburgh, which qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs a franchise-record 12th consecutive season, the longest active streak in the NHL.

Matt Murray finished with 24 saves and Sidney Crosby registered his 58th assist of the season for the Penguins, who improved to 29-8-2 at home. Crosby also won 22 of 24 faceoffs in the contest.

Bruins 5, Panthers 1

Jake DeBrusk had two goals and an assist in his return from an upper-body injury and Tuukka Rask made 30 saves to help lead host Boston past Florida.

DeBrusk had missed the last eight games with his injury, but made his presence felt quickly with an assist on Nick Holden's first-period goal before netting his 15th goal of the season later in the period. He added his 16th late in the second.

Holden (4th goal), Ryan Donato (4) and Patrice Bergeron (29) accounted for the rest of the offense as the Bruins moved one point clear of Tampa Bay for first place in the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference with their fourth win in five games.

Rangers 2, Hurricanes 1

Ryan Sproul and Kevin Hayes scored in the second period, and visiting New York held off Carolina for a victory that eliminated the hosts from playoff contention.

Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist came through with 40 saves as the Rangers swept all four meetings from the Hurricanes this season. He stopped 15 of 16 shots in the final period.

Carolina required a miracle, as even after winning Friday night at Washington, it needed to win its remaining four games and have the New Jersey Devils go without a point the rest of the season in order to have a chance to slide into the Eastern Conference playoff field. The Hurricanes had won four of their previous five games.

Devils 4, Islanders 3

Taylor Hall scored two goals as New Jersey moved closer to clinching an Eastern Conference wild-card spot with a win over visiting New York.

The Devils moved five points ahead of the Panthers in the race for the second wild card in the East. New Jersey has four games left while Florida has five games remaining.

Stefan Noesen and Blake Coleman also scored for the Devils, who won for the fourth time in five games (4-0-1). Goalie Keith Kinkaid recorded 27 saves.

Stars 4, Wild 1

John Klingberg had a goal and an assist and goaltender Kari Lehtonen stopped 33 of 34 shots as host Dallas defeated Minnesota to stay alive in the hunt for a wild-card spot in the upcoming Stanley Cup Playoffs.

It was the final home game of the season for the Stars, who won for just the second time in their past 11 games and staved off elimination for playoff consideration with St. Louis losing later against Arizona.

The Wild had a seven-game point streak -- which was a season-best -- snapped and lost in regulation for the first time since March 13. Minnesota remains in third place in the NHL's Central Division, with St. Louis and Colorado breathing down its neck.

Coyotes 6, Blues 0

Antti Raanta had 34 saves while picking up his third shutout of the season, and Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Richard Panik each had a goal and an assist to lead host Arizona past St. Louis.

Raanta improved to 15-5-4 since Jan. 4 with his 11th career shutout. Luke Schenn, Jakob Chychrun, Alex Goligoski and Zac Rinaldo also scored for Arizona, which won 10 games in March for just the fifth time in franchise history.

Despite the loss, the Blues remain in the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference tied with Colorado with four games to go. Although the two teams are tied in points, St. Louis holds the head-to-head tiebreaker. The two teams end the season with a game in Denver.

Sabres 7, Predators 4

Sam Reinhart had a hat trick, and Buffalo emerged from a lamp-lighting second period with five goals en route to a rout of host Nashville.

The two teams combined for seven goals in the busy second period, but the Sabres scored three straight goals in the last five minutes of the period, with Reinhart scoring twice in a 134-second spurt to first tie the game at four and go ahead 5-4.

Reinhart added a third goal at the 8:17 mark of the third period, giving him his 21st, 22nd and 23rd goals of the season for the Sabres, who won for the second time in three games after a four-game losing streak. Jack Eichel had five assists in the contest.

Canucks 5, Blue Jackets 4 (OT)

Thatcher Demko survived a late barrage of goals and made 26 saves on 30 shots to earn his first NHL victory as Vancouver edged visiting Columbus in overtime.

Alex Edler scored the winning goal 1:21 into the extra session. He fired in a quick shot while given loads of time with the puck by the side of the net and motioning to pass.

The Canucks led 4-1 with just under six minutes left in the third period, but the Blue Jackets rallied with three goals in just over two minutes to force overtime.

Jets 3, Maple Leafs 1

Josh Morrissey and Dustin Byfuglien scored 70 seconds apart to key a three-goal second period and goalie Connor Hellebuyck made 28 saves as Winnipeg beat host Toronto.

The Jets recorded their 11th win in March with the victory, a franchise record for most in a calendar month. The Jets are all but sealed into the second spot in the Central Division.

The night was a double downer for the Maple Leafs, who had a two-game winning streak snapped. The club, which will finish third in the Atlantic Division, lost rookie defenseman Travis Dermott early in the first period when he blocked a shot with his left foot.

Flames 3, Oilers 2

Mikael Backlund collected a goal and an assist and Mike Smith stopped 34 shots in keeping the NHL's top point producer Connor McDavid off the scoresheet as host Calgary snapped a seven-game losing streak with a win over Edmonton.

The Oilers dominated play -- and scoring chances -- over the final two periods, but Smith held the fort all the way to the final buzzer.

McDavid was blanked for just the third time in 18 games.

Red Wings 2, Senators 0

Jimmy Howard recorded his first shutout of the season, and Detroit stretched its winning streak to three games by edging visiting Ottawa.

Howard made 31 saves while notching his first shutout since Oct. 22, 2016 and 24th of his career. Dylan Larkin and Andreas Athanasiou had the goals for the Red Wings, who have been eliminated from playoff contention.

Anthony Mantha, Niklas Kronwall, Nick Jensen and Egveny Svechnikov were credited with assists.

--Field Level Media