Last-place Caps push Hurricanes
The closest thing the last-place Washington Capitals will come to a playoff series this season is a scheduling quirk that has them playing the first-place Carolina Hurricanes over and over and over again. The results have been surprisingly competitive.
The visiting Hurricanes defeated the Capitals 4-3 in a shootout Wednesday night, two days after beating their Southeast Division rivals 6-5 in overtime in Raleigh, N.C.
Washington won 3-1 and 5-1 in Raleigh as part of a recent road trip, and the clubs will meet again Friday in Washington for their fifth matchup in two weeks.
“What we thought would be a real negative of playing a team five times in seven games has become very entertaining,” Washington coach Glen Hanlon said.
Matt Cullen scored the only goal in the shootout, and the victory moved the Hurricanes within two points of Ottawa for first place in the Eastern Conference.
Sabres 5, Senators 4 (OT): At Buffalo, N.Y., Daniel Briere scored twice, including the winner with 47 seconds left in overtime, lifting Buffalo over Ottawa.
Buffalo improved to 47-23-6, marking the team’s most victories since winning 48 in 1983-84.
Sharks 2, Avalanche 1: At Denver, Marcel Goc broke a third-period tie with a rebound goal past rookie Peter Budaj, and San Jose bolstered its playoff hopes with a win over Colorado.
Flames 5, Coyotes 2: At Calgary, Alberta, Dion Phaneuf, Stephane Yelle and Kristian Huselius each had a goal and an assist to lead Calgary over Phoenix.
Blackhawks 4, Predators 3: At Chicago, Rene Bourque had a goal and two assists as Chicago handed Nashville its sixth loss in seven games.
Thrashers 5, Panthers 2: At Sunrise, Fla., Scott Mellanby and Marian Hossa scored third-period goals to lead Atlanta past Florida. The Thrashers moved within five points of eighth-place Tampa Bay in the Eastern Conference.
Maple Leafs 3, Islanders 2: At Toronto, Alexei Ponikarovsky scored a tiebreaking goal with 2:02 remaining and Toronto beat New York.
Devils 6, Penguins 4: At East Rutherford, N.J., Patrik Elias had three goals and two assists to lead New Jersey over Pittsburgh.
Off the ice
Toronto goalie Ed Belfour, who hasn’t played since March 10, underwent back surgery to repair a herniated disc. … The NHL fined Atlanta teammates Ilya Kovalchuk and Garnet Exelby $2,500 each for separate incidents in a Monday loss to Ottawa. Kovalchuk slashed winger Chris Neil across the right forearm, and Exelby knocked Tyler Arnason out of the game with a hard head-high hit.