The saying should go: If you can’t join ’em, beat ’em.

That’s how the Rangers went about their business in a back-to-back slate this weekend against two teams in the thick of the Eastern Conference wild-card race. After defeating the Red Wings on Saturday afternoon, the Blueshirts clobbered the Capitals 8-1 on Sunday night in what was an extremely consequential game for Washington.

The Blueshirts were officially eliminated from playoff contention over a week and a half ago, but they’ve been playing better hockey and winning more than they have all season long.

“There’s no easy games, but obviously teams that have that sense of desperation and really something to play for, I think, shows that we haven’t really gave up on the year and packed it in,” said Adam Fox, who, along with Will Cuylle and Mika Zibanejad, led the Rangers with three points. “Like we said, we’re still trying to build on something and gain momentum and establish something here that we can take positively into the summer and build on that.”

It’s great to see.”

I think the group’s done a great job since the break of just being focused, trying to come out and compete and just play hard and try and build on that.”

Sunday’s win was their fifth in the past six games. It marked their largest win of the season.

The Rangers are playing like a team that’s on the same page.

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST NHL STANDINGS AND RANGERS STATS

The young players have made a world of difference in the lineup and in the locker room. They’re fighting — literally and figuratively — for the Rangers crest and for each other.

Cuylle posted his first career hat trick and finished the game one assist shy of a Gordie Howe hat trick. The 24-year-old wing scored two of the Rangers’ five goals in the second period before he dropped the gloves with Capitals defenseman Jakob Chychrun.

In addition to Cuylle, Tye Kartye and Noah Laba also dropped their gloves during the contentious matchup.

“It’s great to have it in a game like today where we had a full 60-minute effort from everyone, everyone contributing,” Cuylle said. “I’m just happy with the result.”

Conor Sheary may have had the slowest start of any Ranger, but he’s finishing strong.

Notching his sixth goal since March 10, the 33-year-old cleaned up a loose puck in front to open the scoring 23 seconds into the game. It was Sheary’s third goal in the past five games and 17th point through 58 games.

The Rangers simply owned the second period.

More than doubling Washington’s shots on goal in the middle frame, 16-7, the

The home team exploded for five goals in the second period. Two scores on the power play bookended the surge, with J.T. Miller registering his 17th goal of the season before Fox capped the lopsided period.

“I think our guys have something to play for, and that’s how they’re approaching it,” head coach Mike Sullivan said. “We’re playing some pretty good teams that have a lot at stake. I think we beat some pretty good teams lately. I think that’s just a testament to how hard our players are competing out there. I think we’re trying to build a team game and we’re trying to stack some wins on top of each other where we can continue to define, refine what Rangers hockey looks like.”

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The 5-4 loss suffered by the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday afternoon against the Minnesota Wild may prove to be the one that hurts the most in what has been a string of disappointing setbacks. 

The Red Wings, who trailed entering the third period 4-1, mounted a furious comeback rally attempt to knot the score at 4-4. But a careless penalty from veteran Patrick Kane, who had tied the game just minutes earlier, proved disastrous. 

Star forward Kirill Kaprizov completed his sixth career hat trick on the ensuing power-play with 1:51 left in regulation, breaking the 4-4 stalemate with what proved to be the game-winner. 

For the sixth time in their last eight games, the Red Wings walked away with zero points in the standings. That setback, combined with the victory by the Ottawa Senators over the Metropolitan Division-leading Carolina Hurricanes later in the day, put a serious dent in Detroit's fading playoff chances. 

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Even more disappointing was that the Red Wings managed just eight shots on goal through the first 40 minutes of play, while their undisciplined puck play led to prime chances for the Wild, which they converted. 

"My thoughts, I guess to put it gently, is it's really disappointing," explained head coach Todd McLellan afterward. "Fifteen seconds in (after the start of the second period), we win a draw, and we're getting scored on because we, what word do I use, lollygag around and don't advance the puck." 

"So now it's in our net, and our team right now, as soon as it doesn't go our way, we crumble for a while, and then we pick ourselves up off the mat, but it's too late, and we did it again today. Pattern." 

While Detroit struck first shortly after the opening puck drop, it was their only shot on goal for the first 14 minutes of the opening frame. When the Wild led 4-1 late in the period, it marked the fifth time in their last seven games that they had trailed by at least three goals. 

Despite the valiant comeback effort, it proved for naught after Kane's needless penalty, in which he tripped Quinn Hughes well away from the play, that ultimately proved to be the difference. 

“It hurts, it hurts," McLellan said about that play. "We get the comeback, and we take a penalty 150 feet from our net, not even in the play. It hurts."

Time is quickly running out for the Red Wings, who will own the NHL’s longest playoff drought if they fall short this season, now that the Buffalo Sabres have ended theirs.  

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NEW YORK (AP) — Charlie Lindgren allowed eight goals on 32 shots as the defense melted down in front of him, and the Washington Capitals blew a major opportunity to keep pace in the Eastern Conference playoff race by losing to the already-eliminated New York Rangers 8-1 on Sunday night.

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.

Cuylle completed his first NHL hat trick with 31.5 seconds left, Vincent Trocheck scored earlier in the third and Igor Shesterkin made 20 saves for the Rangers, who won for the fifth time in six home games. They had just nine victories at Madison Square Garden in their first 34 before this homestand began.

Up next

Capitals: Visit the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night.

Rangers: Host the playoff-bound Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday in their home finale.

MONTREAL (AP) — Jacob Markstrom made 18 saves for his first shutout of the season and the New Jersey Devils beat Montreal 3-0 on Sunday night, ending the Canadiens' eight-game winning streak hours after they clinched a second straight playoff spot.

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 postseason 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 night against the New York Rangers.

Meier scored on a tap-in midway through the first period after a shot from Hughes went through Fowler’s legs and hit the post. Glass burst through the neutral zone and beat Fowler late in the second.

Brown added an empty-netter.

Up next

Devils: Host Philadelphia on Tuesday night.

Canadiens: Host Florida on Tuesday night.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

The Detroit Red Wings suffered a crushing 5-4 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Sunday night, a game that may have lasting implications on their fading playoff hopes and left fans fixated on one pivotal sequence.

Detroit appeared out of contention entering the third period, trailing 4-1, but mounted an impressive comeback with three unanswered goals to tie the game. Veteran forward Patrick Kane delivered the equalizer in dramatic fashion, scoring on a slick backhand shot with under six minutes remaining. The goal ignited hope among fans that the Red Wings could secure at least a point.

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However, that optimism quickly turned to frustration as on his very next shift, Kane was assessed a tripping penalty against Quinn Hughes, a call that proved decisive. Replays appeared to show Kane extending his stick into Hughes’ skates, sending the Wild to the power play at a critical moment late in the game.

Patrick Kane, after scoring the tying goal in a wild 3 goal comeback, takes one of the most needless, stupid penalties I've ever seen late in the 3rd period, leading to a Minnesota goal & a regulation loss for Detroit with their season on the line.

Can't believe it. #LGRWpic.twitter.com/z9YQirClyp

— Ryan Hana (@RyanHanaWWP) April 5, 2026

Minnesota capitalized with star winger Kirill Kaprizov blasting a one-timer past goaltender Cam Talbot with under two minutes remaining, sealing the victory and completing a dramatic momentum swing.

The sequence sparked intense reaction among Detroit fans with Ryan Hana of the Winged Wheel Podcast heavily criticizing the penalty, calling it “one of the most needless, stupid penalties” he has ever seen. Others pushed back, arguing the play was routine and unlikely to be called in many situations.

Regardless of perspective, the loss carries significant weight as Detroit has just five games remaining and their path to the postseason is narrowing. The Red Wings now find themselves chasing both the New York Islanders and the Ottawa Senators, sitting two points back of both clubs in a razor thin playoff race.

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Ever since the coaching carousel stopped a year ago and Pete DeBoer did not have a seat, it’s been obvious that someone would jump at the chance to hire him in this year’s cycle.

That someone, it turns out, was the Islanders, who jumped the market on Sunday by making DeBoer their replacement for Patrick Roy, having fired Roy with four games left in the regular season.

Reports indicated DeBoer signed a deal with four years of term after this one ends, which means general manager Mathieu Darche envisions him behind the Islanders bench until — at least — Matthew Schaefer is 22 years old and on his second contract.

Setting aside the very immediate task of pulling the Islanders out of their morass and into the playoffs, these will be pivotal seasons if the franchise is to win a championship with the core it’s currently constructing.

The move to hire DeBoer is one of the most important Darche will make as GM.

The 57-year-old DeBoer has a long and decorated track record. He led the Stars to the Western Conference final in each of his three years there, has taken both the Devils and Sharks to a Stanley Cup Final and holds a career 9-0 record in Game 7s. He was an assistant coach for Team Canada at both the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics and the 4 Nations Face-Off.

Just about the only thing missing from a résumé that, after he debuts with the Islanders on Thursday will include being behind an NHL bench in every season since 2008, is a Stanley Cup championship.

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST NHL STANDINGS AND ISLANDERS STATS

Even with four days of runway before his first game in charge, though, the main way DeBoer can bring an immediate impact is the natural spark that comes with a new voice.

He may be able to tweak certain things about how the Islanders play, but changing their system entirely would be a heavy lift at this stage of the season. DeBoer also is not bringing any assistant coaches with him for now — Benoit Desrosiers, Ray Bennett, Bob Boughner and Sergei Naumovs all retained their jobs as of Sunday. Boughner worked with DeBoer when both were in San Jose.

That is not to downplay the consequences of this move. Quite the opposite.

For a team that seemed to be tuning out Roy, a new voice will matter significantly. Making a coaching move at this point in the season instead of waiting also sends a clear signal that Darche will not hesitate to make changes to the roster during the offseason.

Whether it’s enough to get the Islanders into the playoffs, though, remains to be seen.

DENVER —

First Period

The Avalanche had a goal overturned in the early stages when Ross Colton batted a rebound out of the air past Blues netminder Joel Hofer. However, earlier in the sequence, Jack Drury was well offside, and the goal was correctly disallowed.

Robert Thomas gave the Blues a 1–0 lead at 11:59, one-timing a pass from Jimmy Snuggerud from the slot. The Avalanche were sloppy in their own zone, and St. Louis capitalized.

Parker Kelly scored his 20th goal of the season with 4:50 remaining in the period, redirecting a point shot from Brent Burns to tie the game at one.

Jonatan Berggren was sent to the box late in the first period for hooking Nathan MacKinnon, and the opening frame ended in a 1–1 tie. St. Louis held an 11–8 edge in shots on goal, while the Avalanche carried 1:49 of power-play time into the second period.

Second Period

Brent Burns sniped his 12th goal of the season from the point at 3:40 to give the Avs a 2-1 lead. Nick Blankenburg and Brock Nelson earned assists on the play.

However, 29 seconds later, the Blues responded immediately. Dylan Holloway floated the puck from his own end to center ice, where it was picked up by Snuggerud, and he set up Thomas again off the rush to make it a 2-2 game. 

With 8:37 left in the period, Martin Necas left the puck for Nathan MacKinnon at the point and MacKinnon skated into the open lane and fired a wrister on net, but Hofer made the glove save.

Colorado was forced to kill a penalty with 7:27 to go in the period after Nazem Kadri tripped up Alexey Toropchenko as they battled for a puck along the boards. 

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Porter Martone capped a fantastic first week in the NHL with a power-play goal in the NHL 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 games left for them this season.

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 score 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.

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.

SENATORS 6, HURRICANES 3

OTTAWA, Ontario (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 last 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 of the game.

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 Florida.

The teams faced off Saturday night and the Penguins beat them 9-4, 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 on 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.

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Brady Tkachuk scored twice and the Ottawa Senators beat the Carolina Hurricanes 6-3 on Sunday night to move into the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

Ottawa moved a point ahead of the New York Islanders for the last 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.

Dylan Cozens and Tim Stutzle also scored for Ottawa, and Ullmark stopped 25 shots. Defenseman Jake Sanderson played his 300th NHL game. He had an assist.

Logan Stankoven and Andrei Svechnikov also scored for Carolina, and Andersen made 25 saves.

Up next

Hurricanes: Host Boston on Tuesday night.

Senators: Host Tampa Bay on Tuesday night.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

When the pregame hype reel was released on social media for Sunday’s game against Ottawa, the sight of Nicolas Deslauriers walking in and his jersey being hung ended up being a signal that Carolina was prepared to have at least one player sit out. It turns out two players didn’t make the trip to Ottawa—Jordan Staal and Jordan Martinook—and the effort on the ice showed that the Canes had moved into preservation mode as Ottawa ran away with the game 5-2.

The loss means that Carolina failed to clinch the Metropolitan Division as Pittsburgh won in regulation for the second day in a row against a Florida team that has given up on the season.

Ottawa meanwhile was looking to at least salvage some points to stem the bleeding from dropping four of their last five and take advantage of other results during the day to stay in the Wild Card 2 spot and inch closer to Boston in the first spot.

The game started well for the Hurricanes, as Carolina reacted to losing their Power Play Goal games streak on Saturday by starting a new one. The Canes earned the penalty when Seth Jarvis went down the ice on a breakway and was held by Jordan Spence to the point where he ended up in the goalie net, hitting the cross bar. Jarvis was OK, and on the ensuring power play a red hot Nikolaj Ehlers was able to get close to the net, thread a great pass over to Logan Stankoven who potted it to put the Hurricanes up 1-0.

Once that power play was finished, though, the Senators basically took control of the game. There wasn’t a period where the Senators were outshot by the Canes, and less than two minutes after Stankoven gave Carolina the lead Ottawa tied it back up on a Power Play goal of their own by Dylan Cozens. Less than a minute later, Tim Stützle took advantage of a misplay on the puck, skated in on goalie Frederik Andersen, and made a great move at the crease to push the puck by the goalie to give the Senators a 2-1 lead.

Carolina still had some fight, though, as the first period wound down. Carolina was able to keep possession of the puck in the Ottawa zone in the last few seconds, and when a shot went toward Linus Ullmark he was unable to fully cover it in sight of the referee and Andrei Svechnikov kept batting at the puck to get it into the goal and knot the score right at the end of the period.

The good vibes for the Canes were over after that, though, as Ottawa took control of the game. Brady Tkachuk provided the dagger 8:33 into the period with a tip in from a point shot by Artem Zub. While Carolina didn’t surrender another goal in the second, the mood and play on the ice indicated that the Canes went into self-preservation mode.

The third period put the final nail in the game when Carolina was unable to take advantage of another power play, and Shane Pinto would score a few minutes later to put the game out of reach for Ottawa at 4-2. The rest of the goals were window dressing as Tkachuk made it 5-2, and then Taylor Hall finally got his 300th career goal late in the period to bring Carolina back to within two. The goal came with some netfront presence by the veteran, and it did give Carolina a shred of hope with a little over two minutes left.

The Hurricanes would pull Andersen and try to stage a rally, but Claude Giroux nailed the empty net, and Carolina heads back home with their winning streak snapped at three, 6-3.

Ullmark was able to make 25 saves on 28 shots playing the second night in a row after backstopping the Senators against Minnesota on Saturday. Andersen was a victim of the missing stalwarts of Staal and Martinook, making 25 saves on 30 shots.

Carolina heads back to Raleigh to face off against another desperate playoff team in Boston on Tuesday night for their last regular season home game. They’ll once again have a chance to clinch the division, and this time they’ll so without keeping an eye on Pittsburgh as the Penguins somehow scored three days off and won’t play again until Thursday.

The Los Angeles Kings hosted the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, and to prepare for that outing, the Maple Leafs held a practice on Friday, holding media availability after the session.

Toronto defenseman Troy Stecher was a member of the Kings during the 2021-22 season - he played 13 regular-season games and four post-season contests - spoke about being Anze Kopitar's teammate for a short time and even shared a funny story about the Kings captain.

Stecher was asked if he had any specific memory about Kopitar from his short stint with the team.

"Yeah, actually… at the end of the season, we went there for family barbecue dinner, wrap-up party with all the guys and wives and kids, at his house," Stecher started. "I'd heard he had a pool, and there was no pool.

"So I was like, 'Kopi, where's your pool?' And he's like, 'follow me,'" Stecher said. "And then he clicked a button, and the ground, like, lowered up, and then the water started to fill in."

Stecher was impressed by Kopitar's fancy pool setup at his place. 

'Probably Montreal': Kopitar Reveals Where He Would Consider Playing Aside From Los AngelesIn an interview with Elliotte Friedman before the Los Angeles Kings' game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, Anze Kopitar revealed that if he ever had to play for a different team, it would be the Montreal Canadiens.

"I was like, 'this is the NHL, this is really cool.' So that was a pretty cool memory," the Leafs defenseman said.

Not only was Stecher a teammate of Kopitar's, but he also shared the ice with the Kings captain several times as an opponent in the Pacific Division. Stecher also had stints with the Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers in his 10-year NHL career.

On Saturday, they shared the ice for the last time in a thrilling overtime contest, which finished 7-6 in Los Angeles' favor. Stecher had 21:10 of ice time in that game, while Kopitar finished the game with 21:13 of ice time.

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MONTREAL (AP) — The Montreal Canadiens wrapped up their second straight playoff spot Sunday when Detroit fell 5-4 to Minnesota, making them the first Canadian team to secure a postseason berth.

Last season, Montreal took the final spot in the Eastern Conference before falling to Washington in five games in the first round.

Montreal dropped a 3-0 decision to New Jersey at home Sunday night. The Canadiens are third in the Atlantic Division, even in points with second-place Buffalo and five ahead of Boston.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

On Sunday morning, the New York Islanders (89 points) fired Patrick Roy despite holding onto the third seed in the Metropolitan Division.

BREAKING: Islanders Fire Head Coach Patrick Roy, Hire Peter DoBoer With Four Games To GoRoy is out. DeBoer comes in with four games to go.

But by Sunday afternoon, Pete DeBoer's new squad lost its spot to the Philadelphia Flyers (89 points, one game in hand), who beat the Boston Bruins 2-1 in overtime. That moved the Islanders to the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

That result also guaranteed that the Islanders will be on the outside looking in when they return to play on Thursday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs. 

The Ottawa Senators (90 points) beat the Hurricanes, so the Islanders are now a point out of a wild-card spot.

We will see just how far out of a playoff spot the Islanders are when Toronto comes to town for a 7 PM showdown on Thursday. 

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Rickard Rakell scored twice, Sidney Crosby had a goal and two assists and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Florida Panthers 5-2 on Sunday.

The teams faced off Saturday night and the Penguins beat them 9-4, 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 on 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.

Pittsburgh's Arturs Silovs stopped 29 shots after tandem mate Stuart Skinner was ruled out with an upper-body injury. Daniil Tarasov allowed five goals on 23 shots in defeat.

Up next

Penguins: Visit the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night.

Panthers: Visit the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

The Matchup: New Jersey Devils (39-34-3) versus the Montreal Canadiens (45-21-10)

The Time: 7:00 PM EST

The Broadcast: TV — MSGSN; Radio — Devils Hockey Network

The Game Preview: I had it here.

The Rules: If you have been a reader here, you already know the rules. But for the rest, a reminder: please do not swear in the comment section, and keep comments relevant to the hockey game going on. Beyond that, do not attack any other commenters, and do not ask for or pass along illegal streams on this board.

LGD!