National Hockey

DALLAS (AP) — Jason Robertson, coach Pete DeBoer and the Central Division champion Dallas Stars took a breath when the regular-season finale was tied at the end of regulation. Their fans had been cheering throughout those closing seconds.

NEW YORK (AP) — Simon Holmstrom scored the go-ahead goal in the third period, Ilya Sorokin stopped Sidney Crosby on a late penalty shot and the playoff-bound New York Islanders edged the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-4 on Wednesday night.

TAMPA, Fla. — Auston Matthews fired 12 shots on net and chimed another off the crossbar. The Maple Leafs sniper desperately chasing history had another chance at a yawning cage blocked by a defender completely unaware the puck was headed his way.

TAMPA, Fla.

NEW YORK (AP) — Simon Holmstrom scored the go-ahead goal in the third period, Ilya Sorokin stopped Sidney Crosby on a late penalty shot and the playoff-bound New York Islanders edged the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-4 on Wednesday night.

ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — Ryan Leonard is not joining the Washington Capitals for the playoffs after all, and will return to Boston College for his sophomore season.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Wild signed goalie Marc-Andre Fleury to a one-year, $2.5 million contract extension on Wednesday, bringing back the veteran for his age-40 season. Fleury, who turns 40 on Nov.

BROSSARD, Que. — The Montreal Canadiens' brass is committed to reversing the team’s trend of missing the playoffs. But general manager Kent Hughes and executive vice-president Jeff Gorton won’t deviate from their long-term plans to do so.

DENVER (AP) — Nathan MacKinnon is so quick and so forceful on the ice that sometimes there’s a crunching noise that follows him into the offensive end.

Sixteen teams, each one needing to win 16 games over four rounds of best-of-seven series to lift the Stanley Cup, has been the way the NHL decides its champion for nearly four decades. That isn't changing any time soon.