NHL roundup: Flyers top Bruins 2-1 in OT, inch closer to playoff return

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Porter Martone capped a fantastic first week in the NHL with a power-play goal to put the Philadelphia Flyers even closer toward ending a miserable playoff drought with a 2-1 overtime victory over the Boston Bruins on Sunday.

The 19-year-old Martone — who just wrapped his season at Michigan State — is just the boost the Flyers needed down the stretch to earn that coveted playoff spot. His first career NHL goal in his fourth game put the Flyers into third place in the Metropolitan Division with five regular-season games left for them.

Flyers fans erupted when Martone capitalized on the man advantage — courtesy of David Pastrnak’s hooking penalty — with 2:29 left in OT.

The Flyers needed this win to get in Eastern Conference playoff position for the first time since Jan. 12.

The Bruins tied the game at 1-1 only 35 seconds into the third period when Pavel Zacha knocked one past Dan Vladar on the power play for his 29th goal of the season.

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Christian Dvorak took a perfect touch pass from Martone, the Flyers’ 2025 first-round draft pick, and finished a 2-on-1 with a wrister past Joonas Korpisalo for the early 1-0 lead. Still buzzing from the early goal, Flyers fans erupted only moments later when Travis Konecny and Boston’s Charlie McAvoy briefly scrapped near the net.

Elsewhere in the NHL on Sunday:

SENATORS 6 HURRICANES 3

OTTAWA, Ont. (AP) — Brady Tkachuk scored twice and Ottawa beat Carolina to move into the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

Ottawa moved a point ahead of the New York Islanders for the final playoff spot with five games left. The Senators are five points behind Boston for the first wild card.

Carolina leads the East, two points ahead of Tampa Bay. The Hurricanes missed a chance to clinch the Metropolitan Division.

Both teams were playing the second half of back-to-back games, with Ottawa scoring twice in a 3:42 span in the third to take a 5-2 lead.

Shane Pinto made it 4-2 on a power play, beating Frederik Andersen to the short side. Ridly Greig then won a race to the net and, while Andersen made the initial save, the side was wide open for Tkachuk to bury his second of the game.

Carolina’s Taylor Hall wristed a shot past Linus Ullmark with 2:30 remaining to make it 5-3, but Claude Giroux added an empty-netter for Ottawa.

WILD 5 RED WINGS 4

DETROIT (AP) — Kirill Kaprizov completed the sixth hat trick of his NHL career on the power play with 1:51 remaining to lead Minnesota to a win over Detroit.

The Wild led 4-1 before allowing Detroit to score three times in the third period and tie it. A penalty on Patrick Kane paved the way for Kaprizov to score his third goal.

The Red Wings led the Atlantic Division and were tied for the most points in the Eastern Conference the morning of Jan. 25, with a 12-point playoff cushion. They’ve lost 12 of 20 games since to fall out of a spot with five left to play.

Matt Boldy and Mats Zuccarello each had an assist on the go-ahead goal. Vladimir Tarasenko and Boldy each scored for the Wild after Albert Johansson had a goal in the first.

J.T. Compher, Axel Sandin-Pellikka and Kane scored on Filip Gustavsson to rally back. Gustavsson finished with 18 saves, while Detroit’s Cam Talbot allowed five goals on 20 shots.

PENGUINS 5 PANTHERS 2

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Rickard Rakell scored twice, Sidney Crosby had a goal and two assists, and Pittsburgh beat fading Florida.

The teams faced off Saturday night and the Penguins beat them 9-4, officially eliminating the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions from playoff contention.

Rakell scored his first goal for the Penguins with 48 seconds left in the first period on the power play, assisted by Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. His second came with 1:52 left in the second period.

Bryan Rust and Elmer Soderblom also scored for the Penguins. Carter Verhaeghe and Cole Schwindt each scored for the Panthers.

DEVILS 3 CANADIENS 0

MONTREAL (AP) — Jacob Markstrom made 18 saves for his first shutout of the season and New Jersey beat Montreal, ending the Canadiens’ eight-game winning streak hours after they clinched a second straight playoff berth.

The Canadiens got the playoff spot when Detroit lost 5-4 to Minnesota. They are the first Canadian team to secure a playoff berth this season.

Cody Glass, Timo Meier and Connor Brown scored for New Jersey as it fights to keep its slim post-season chances alive. Jack Hughes had two assists.

The Devils won their 11th consecutive game in Montreal, the longest active run in the NHL against a single opponent. The Canadiens haven’t beaten New Jersey at the Bell Centre since a 2-1 overtime victory on Dec. 14, 2017.

Jacob Fowler made 17 saves for Montreal. The Canadiens capped an undefeated five-game trip with a 4-3 shootout win over the Devils in New Jersey on Saturday.

Montreal’s Cole Caufield remained a goal short of 50 for the second straight game after scoring his 48th and 49th on Thursday against the New York Rangers.

RANGERS 8 CAPITALS 1

NEW YORK (AP) — Charlie Lindgren allowed eight goals on 32 shots as the defence melted down in front of him, and Washington blew a major opportunity to keep pace in the Eastern Conference playoff race by losing to the already-eliminated New York.

They now face a daunting task to get in: three points back with four games left to play. The Columbus Blue Jackets, New York Islanders and Philadelphia Flyers are ahead of them in the chase for third in the Metropolitan Division, with those teams plus the Detroit Red Wings and Ottawa Senators also in the way for the East’s second and final wild-card spot.

That precarious position made this close to a must-win game for Washington, and it got off to a rough start. Former Capitals winger Conor Sheary scored 23 seconds in against Lindgren, who was making his first start since March 12 after Logan Thompson played the previous 10 games.

After going into the first intermission tied, following a breakaway goal from Connor McMichael, the bottom fell out in the second period.

A second consecutive delay of game penalty for putting the puck over the glass 7 seconds after the first expired paved the way for a Rangers power-play goal when Mika Zibanejad’s shot banked in off J.T. Miller’s left skate. Will Cuylle scored twice over the ensuing six minutes, and goals by Adam Sykora and Adam Fox put the deficit out of reach.

BLUES 3 AVALANCHE 2

DENVER (AP) — Robert Thomas broke a tie with 2:50 left to complete his first NHL hat trick and St. Louis kept their late post-season charge rolling with a victory over Colorado to open a home-and-home set.

The teams will meet again Tuesday in St. Louis.

The Blues are 13-3-3 since the NHL returned from the Olympic break in late February. They have 78 points as they chase the last Western Conference wild-card spot, which is currently occupied by Nashville with 81 points. Los Angeles (81), San Jose (79) and Winnipeg (78) are in the mix, too.

Thomas pushed his goals total to 21. He scored the winner off Jimmy Snuggerud’s third assist. Joel Hofer finished with 26 saves, weathering a flurry of activity in the third period after losing a skate blade.

The Avalanche were coming off a 2-0 win over Dallas on Saturday. They’re on the brink of wrapping up the Central Division and top seed in the Western Conference. In addition, they’re six points ahead of Carolina in the race for the Presidents’ Trophy.

Parker Kelly and Brent Burns scored for Colorado. The 41-year-old Burns also had an assist in his 1,001st straight game. He was honoured before the game for No. 1,000, with teammates, past and present, offering congratulations in a video tribute.

Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 25 shots. The Avalanche were 0-for-3 on the power play.

The Associated Press