David Pastrnak and Danton Heinen each had a goal and an assist in the first period and the Boston beat Carolina Hurricanes 4-1.
Brad Marchand had the game’s first goal, Hampus Lindholm added an empty-netter and Jeremy Swayman made 27 saves for Boston.
The Bruins won their third game in a row and moved four points in front of the Hurricanes, who have a game in hand, in a matchup of Eastern Conference playoff-bound teams. Boston finished a six-game road stretch at 4-2-0.
Carolina’s Jake Guentzel scored on a 5-on-3 power play in the second period, but the Hurricanes were left without a point for just the second time in their last 11 games.
PENGUINS 4, CAPITALS 1
WASHINGTON (AP) — Ryan Shea scored his first NHL goal and Michael Bunting his fourth with his new team, Alex Nedjelkovic made 30 saves and Pittsburgh beat Washington Capitals to move closer to a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Shea’s goal 25 games into his rookie season was also his first point in the league.
Despite Alex Ovechkin scoring on the power play for his 27th goal of the season and 849th of his career, the Capitals’ losing streak reached four, further endangering their chances of playing beyond the regular season. Charlie Lindgren, whose goaltending has carried them for the past month or so, struggled in allowing three goals on 23 shots with his heaviest workload in the NHL appearing to take a toll.
PANTHERS 6, SENATORS 0
OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Sergei Bobrovsky made 30 saves for his fifth shutout of the season, Matthew Tkachuk had a goal and two assists and Florida Panthers routed Ottawa.
Nick Cousins, Dmitry Kulikov, Anton Lundell, Sam Bennett and Sam Reinhart also scored to help Florida improve to 48-24-5. Panthers coach Paul Maurice moved into sole possession of fourth place on the NHL victory list with 865.
Joonas Korpisalo allowed four goals on 17 shots for Ottawa. Anton Forsberg gave up two on 14 shots in relief.
ISLANDERS 4, BLUE JACKETS 2
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Noah Dobson scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period and the New York Islanders stayed alive in their quest for the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot with a 4-2 win over Columbus.
Pierre Engvall and Bo Horvat scored first-period goals, and Ilya Sorokin stopped 25 shots for the Islanders, who have won three straight.
Kirill Marchenko had a goal and an assist, and Dmitri Voronkov also scored for Columbus, which had won its last two. Daniil Tarasov stopped 13 shots before leaving game with 2:07 left in the first period after a collision by the net. Jet Greaves made 24 stops in relief.
LIGHTNING 7, CANADIENS 4
MONTREAL (AP) — NHL points leader Nikita Kucherov scored his 43rd goal of the season and had two assists, Steven Stamkos and Nicholas Paul each scored twice and Tampa Bay beat Montreal Canadiens.
Holding the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, the Lightning improved to 43-26-7.
Matt Tomkins, a 29-year-old making only his fourth NHL start and the first since Nov. 7, made 26 saves for the victory. He has a 2-2-0 record, with both of his wins coming against the Canadiens in Montreal.
Michael Eyssimont and Brandon Hagel also scored for Tampa Bay.
