WASHINGTON (AP) — Tom Wilson tied it with 68 seconds left in regulation, Evgeny Kuznetsov and T.J. Oshie scored in the shootout and the Washington Capitals kept their faint playoff hopes alive by coming back to beat the Buffalo Sabres 5-4 Wednesday night.
Wilson’s goal was the first tying or go-ahead goal in the final two minutes this season by the Capitals. The win pushed Washington within five points of the second and final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with 12 games to play.
Oshie and Kuznetsov also scored in regulation, and Alex Ovechkin cut the Capitals' deficit to one goal midway through the third period before Wilson tied it on a 6-on-4 goal with goaltender Charlie Lindgren pulled for an extra skater.
Lindgren stopped Alex Tuch and Tage Thompson in the shootout after making 23 saves in regulation and overtime.
Ilya Lyubushkin, JJ Peterka, Tyson Jost and Zemgus Girgensons scored in regulation for Buffalo. Ukko-Pekka Lukkonen made 35 saves for the Sabres, who have lost seven of nine.
WILD 8, BLUES 5
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Ryan Hartman had two goals and an assist as surging Minnesota beat St. Louis in a game in which Blues goalie Jordan Binnington was ejected for throwing a punch.
Binnington was whistled for a match penalty at 12:25 of the second period. After giving up a goal — the Wild’s fifth — to Hartman, Binnington left the crease and went after Hartman, swinging his blocker glove at the forward’s face. Minnesota goalie Marc-Andre Fleury skated the length of the ice to confront the unmasked Binnington, but the two were separated by officials and Binnington was sent off the ice.
Joel Eriksson Ek added a goal and two assists for the Wild. John Klingberg, Oskar Sundqvist, Mason Shaw, Hartman and Alex Goligoski scored for Minnesota in the second period. Three of the goals came in a span of 1:58. Ryan Reaves scored in the third. Fleury recorded 31 saves and hiked his record to 6-0-0 in his last six starts.
Pavel Buchnevich had his second career hat trick and Jakub Vrana added two goals for St. Louis, which held a 3-1 lead after the first period.
ISLANDERS 6, DUCKS 3
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Kyle Palmieri had a career-high four points with a goal and three assists, Brock Nelson scored two goals and linemate Pierre Engvall added a goal in New York’s win over Anaheim.
Nelson scored the tiebreaking goal late in the second period and added another in the third to secure his second straight 30-goal season for the Islanders, who snapped a two-game skid. Engvall matched his career high with his 15th goal by scoring in his third consecutive game for the Isles.
Hudson Fasching and Zach Parise also scored and Ilya Sorokin made 20 saves in a bounce-back performance for New York.
Kevin Shattenkirk scored two goals and Max Jones scored 25 seconds after the opening faceoff for the Ducks, who have lost four of five despite earning a point in eight of their previous nine games. John Gibson stopped 17 shots.
AVALANCHE 2, MAPLE LEAFS 1, SO
TORONTO (AP) — Nathan MacKinnon was the only scorer in the shootout as Colorado defeated Toronto.
Mikko Rantanen scored in regulation for Colorado, which got 18 saves from Alexandar Georgiev.
Morgan Rielly scored for Toronto. Ilya Samsonov stopped 28 shots.
After a frantic overtime in which both teams had terrific chances, MacKinnon beat Samsonov on a nice deke on the Avalanche’s second shot.
Georgiev then denied Mitch Marner for Colorado, which improved to 4-4 in shootouts. Toronto dropped to 0-2 in shootouts.
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The Associated Press
