TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Matthew Knies scored a game-winning goal in overtime to record his second hat trick of the season, and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3 on Wednesday night.
Toronto opened up a three-point lead on Tampa Bay for first place in the Atlantic Division with four games left for each team.
Knies finished off his hat trick with 1:04 left in the overtime.
Mitch Marner had a goal and three points and Auston Matthews had three assists. Anthony Stolarz finished with 25 saves.
FLYERS 8, RANGERS 5
NEW YORK (AP) — Tyson Foerster scored a hat trick and rookie Aleksei Kolosov made 24 saves as Philadelphia downed New York to put the Rangers on the brink of elimination from the playoff race.
After Sean Couturier scored at 11:55 of the third to put the Flyers ahead 5-4, Foerster scored his second and third goals of the game to cement the win. Garnet Hathaway, Travis Sanheim, Jakob Pelletier and Owen Tippett also scored for Philadelphia.
Vincent Trocheck, Artemi Panarin, Jonny Brodzinski, J.T. Miller and Chris Kreider scored for the Rangers, who trail Montreal by eight points for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Rangers and Canadiens each have four games left.
Mika Zibanejad had four assists for New York.
WILD 8, SHARKS 7, OT
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Joel Eriksson Ek scored a career-high four goals in his return from a lower-body injury, Kirill Kaprizov had his second of the game in overtime in his first game back and Minnesota outlasted San Jose.
Minnesota began the night two points behind St. Louis for the second wild card in the Western Conference, with the Blues playing a late game at Edmonton.
Eriksson Ek missed the previous 21 games. Kaprizov also returned from a lower-body injury after missing the last 28 games and 40 of the 43. He had surgery in late January.
Kaprizov — who also had an assist — scored his 25th goal of the season at 1:01 of overtime to end it after Will Smith tied it for San Jose with 52 seconds left in regulation.
DUCKS 4, FLAMES 3, OT
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Cutter Gauthier teamed with Frank Vatrano to tie it with a late burst, then scored at 1:11 of overtime to give Anaheim a victory over Calgary.
Soon after Yegor Sharangovich and Matt Coronato scored in a 1:42 span to give Calgary a 3-1 lead, Vatrano started the rally with 3:57 left. Gauthier tied it eight seconds later.
In overtime, Gauthier took a centering pass from Leo Carlsson and beat goalie Dustin Wolf with a wrist shot from the high slot to the top, right corner.
Ville Husso stopped 36 shots for the Ducks.
OILERS 4, BLUES 3
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Connor Brown scored twice, Connor McDavid had three assists in his return to the lineup and injury-riddled Edmonton moved within a hair of wrapping up a playoff spot, beating St. Louis.
The Oilers would have clinched a postseason berth if the Calgary Flames lost in regulation rather than overtime in Anaheim.
Vasily Podkolzin and Viktor Arvidsson also scored to help the Oilers snap a two-game losing streak. Calvin Pickard made 23 saves.
The Associated Press
