WASHINGTON (AP) — Charlie McAvoy scored twice and Fraser Minten had the shootout winner as the Boston Bruins beat the Washington Capitals 3-2 on Saturday.

Minten beat Washington’s Logan Thompson with a backhand shot in the ninth round of the shootout to give the Bruins their third win in five games and help Boston gain ground in the Eastern Conference wild-card race.

Rasmus Sandin had a goal and an assist and Matt Roy also scored for the Capitals, who have lost two of their last three.

After a scoreless first period, the Capitals picked up their pressure to open the second, and it paid off. Just 1:15 minutes into the middle period, Roy fired an 86-mph slap shot past Boston’s Jeremy Swayman and into the top corner to give Washington the lead. It was Roy’s his first goal since Nov. 17, ending a 45-game scoring drought.

Minutes later, McAvoy fired a one-timer through traffic and past Thompson to even the score at 1. McAvoy has points in six straight games and 15 of his last 16 contests overall.

Sandin became the third defenseman to get on the board when his shot from point knuckled past Swayman, giving the Caps a 2-1 edge.

Following a couple of power-play chances for the Bruins, including a 5-on-3 opportunity halfway through the third, McAvoy tied the game by deflecting Pavel Zacha’s shot past Thompson and eventually forcing overtime.

Swayman had 25 saves in the win. Thompson stopped 32 shots in the loss.

SENATORS 2, DUCKS 0

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Linus Ullmark made 23 saves for his second shutout of the season and Ottawa blanked Anaheim.

Michael Amadio and Thomas Chabot scored for Ottawa. Shane Pinto had two assists. It was the 14th shutout of Ullmark’s career. The Senators have won four of five.

Ville Husso stopped 27 shots for Anaheim.

Nick Cousins won a battle along the boards at center which sprung Pinto down the ice. Pinto fed Amadio on a 2-on-1 and he made no mistake, beating Husso short-side 3:54 into the second period.

At the 9:21 mark of the second, the Senators capitalized on a turnover. Pinto intercepted a pass and found Chabot in the high slot for his seventh of the season and second career short-handed goal.

Anaheim challenged for goaltender interference but was unsuccessful.

JETS 3, AVALANCHE 1

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Kyle Connor reached 30 goals for a franchise-record eighth time and added an assist, Connor Hellebuyck made 28 saves and Winnipeg beat NHL-leading Colorado.

Connor broke a tie with Ilya Kovalchuk for the most 30-goal seasons in Thrashers/Jets history. Connor has reached the 30-goal mark in every season of his nine-year NHL career except for the 56-game COVID-19 shortened campaign when he had 26.

Alex Iafallo and Cole Perfetti, with an empty-netter, also scored for the Jets. Mark Scheifele had to two assists for push his season total to 51, one more than his previous best.

Martin Necas ended Hellebuyck’s shutout bid with 1:16 left.

Mackenzie Blackwood made 15 saves for the Avalanche. They had won six in a row on the road.

RANGERS 4, WILD 2

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Igor Shesterkin made 46 saves and Vladislav Gavrikov had a goal and two assists as New York extended its winning streak to four games with a win over Minnesota.

Noah Laba, Jaroslav Chmelar and Vincent Trocheck also scored for New York, which won for the fifth time in six games despite being outshot 48-18.

Matt Boldy and Danila Yurov scored for the Wild, who dropped their second straight and lost for the third time in four games. Filip Gustavsson had 14 saves.

New York had a 9-6 edge in shots in the opening period and led 2-0. The Wild carried play the rest of the way, outshooting the Rangers 42-9 over the final two periods — including 21-1 in the third, but were unable to solve Shesterkin.

HURRICANES 4, LIGHTNING 2

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov each had a goal and an assist and Carolina defeated Tampa Bay.

Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour coached his 600th career game for the franchise and picked up his 367th career win, the most for a head coach at the 600-game mark, besting Tampa Bay’s Jon Cooper, who set the previous record of 364.

Jordan Martinook broke a third period tie and Frederik Andersen stopped 17 shots. Logan Stankoven added an empty-net goal.

Yanni Gourde and Charle-Edouard D’Astous scored for Tampa Bay, which fell to 3-7 since the Olympic break. Andrei Vasilevskiy finished with 31 saves.

ISLANDERS 3, FLAMES 2

NEW YORK (AP) — Simon Holmstrom scored twice and New York raced to an early lead and held on to beat Calgary.

Casey Cizikas also scored for New York and David Rittich made 30 saves as the Islanders won for the third time in four games.

Mikael Backund and Blake Coleman scored for Calgary, which slipped to 2-5-1 in its last eight games. Devin Cooley started in the net for the Flames and allowed three goals on 10 shots in the first period. Dustin Wolf replaced Cooley to start the second period and finished with 17 saves.

Holmstrom gave the Islanders a 2-0 lead with his first goal of the game when he collected a pass from Luke Schenn and scored on a shot over Cooley’s blocker at 16:35 of the first. It was Schenn’s first assist at UBS Arena since being acquired by the Islanders from St. Louis at the trade deadline.

DEVILS 6, KINGS 4

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Jack Hughes scored the go-ahead goal with 2:29 to play and Jake Allen made 27 saves as New Jersey edged Los Angeles.

Hughes put the Devils ahead 5-4 in the seesaw game with a power-play goal. Nico Hischier scored twice and Cody Glass, Arseny Gritsyuk and Timo Meier — with a last minute empty-netter — also scored.

Anze Kopitar scored twice for Los Angeles — to establish a Kings franchise points record — and Artemi Panarin and Taylor Ward also scored.

Ward had put the Kings ahead 3-2 at 11:43 of the middle period after Kopitar and Panarin scored in less than two minutes as Los Angeles battled back from an early 2-0 deficit.

But Gritsyuk tied the contest just 25 seconds into the third.

Hischier’s second goal put New Jersey ahead at 12:42 of the third before Kopitar scored to tie it again.

Glass scored his career-best 15th goal at 7:56 of the first, beating Anton Forsberg with a fluttering shot. Hischier made it 2-0 at 11:04. Forsberg had 22 saves.

SABRES 3, MAPLE LEAFS 2, SO

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Jack Quinn scored the tying goal and also connected in a shootout, Alex Tuch ended the tiebreaker and Buffalo beat Toronto to rebound from its first loss since the Olympic break.

Buffalo was coming off a 2-1 home loss to Washington on Thursday night that ended an eight-game winning streak. The Atlantic Division-leading Sabres stretched their advantage over second-place Tampa Bay to four points and remained two points behind Carolina in the Eastern Conference.

Toronto played its first game since captain Auston Matthews’ season-ending knee injury. Matthews tore the medial collateral ligament in his left knee Thursday night at home in a 6-4 victory over Anaheim on a knee-on-knee hit from Radko Gudas. Gudas was given a major penalty and ejected, then suspended five games for kneeing.

Defenseman Owen Power also scored for Buffalo, and Alex Lyon stopped 16 shots.

Max Domi scored for Toronto in his 800th NHL game. Dakota Joshua also scored, and Joseph Woll made 30 saves.

SHARKS 4, CANADIENS 2

MONTREAL (AP) — Macklin Celebrini had two goals and an assist to lead San Jose to a win over Montreal.

Collin Graf had a goal and two assists and Mario Ferraro also scored for San Jose, which ended Montreal’s three-game winning streak. John Klingberg finished with two assists, and Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 25 shots.

Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki scored for Montreal, and Noah Dobson had two assists. Jakub Dobes made 17 saves.

The Canadiens held third place in the Atlantic Division, four points behind the division-leading Buffalo Sabres with two games in hand, heading into Saturday’s games.

The Sharks were one point shy of the Los Angeles Kings for the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot, with two fewer games played.

BLUE JACKETS 2, FLYERS 1, SO

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kirill Marchenko scored his 25th goal and lifted a backhander over Dan Vladar in the third round of a shootout to give Columbus a victory over Philadelphia.

The Blue Jackets extended their points streak to nine games as they fight Detroit for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. They are 5-0-4 during the streak.

Marchenko opened the scoring on a wrist shot 4:21 into the first period. Alex Bump tied it on a tip with 9:36 left in the period.

Jet Greaves made 18 saves for Columbus. Vladar stopped 27 shots.

STARS 3, RED WINGS 2, OT

DALLAS (AP) — Defenseman Thomas Harley scored 2:05 into overtime to give streaking Dallas a win over Detroit.

Wyatt Johnston had a goal and an assist, and Michael Bunting also scored for the Stars. Jake Oettinger stopped 22 of 24 shots. Harley scored his seventh OT goal in regular-season games.

The Stars are 14-0-1 in their last 15 games, matching the longest point streak in club history. Their 1998-99 Stanley Cup team had a streak of 12 wins and three ties.

Simon Edvinsson and Lucas Raymond scored for the Red Wings, who rallied from a 2-0 deficit in the third period but dropped their third straight (0-2-1). John Gibson made 21 saves.

Bunting’s goal, on a power play for a 2-0 lead in the second period, was his first since being acquired from Nashville on March 5.

Dallas has won four straight and owns the second-most points in the league, three behind Central-leading Colorado.

For most of his NHL career, Simon Holmstrom’s success has been tied at the hip to Jean-Gabriel Pageau.

For whatever reason, the winger seems to have an innate chemistry with Pageau as his center — something the Islanders have been happy to indulge, but a fact that’s sometimes prevented Holmstrom from moving up in the lineup, and which has sometimes stopped coach Patrick Roy from tinkering with his lineup the way he might like.

That’s why moving Holmstrom up to play on Brayden Schenn’s line raised an eyebrow ahead of Saturday’s 3-2 win over the Flames.

And that’s why it’s extra meaningful for Holmstrom to have scored twice in a strong all-around performance with Schenn on his left side instead of Pageau.

“Just from watching him the past couple games, obviously he’s very talented at both ends of the ice. Honestly, I had no idea what type of player he was when I walked in here,” Schenn told The Post. “He surprised me a lot. Very talented, very skilled with the puck, very good both ends of the ice and he can skate. Definitely a 200-foot player and fun to play with.”

Schenn, who already bought Holmstrom a Rolex watch as payment for taking the No. 10 — Holmstrom switched to 92 — got him another gift Saturday with a feed off the rush for his first goal.

His second, ironically, came from Pageau when the Islanders were shorthanded late in the first — Roy didn’t split the pair on the penalty kill — but there was plenty to be encouraged about with the Schenn-Holmstrom duo, whose line was completed by Anthony Duclair, at 5-on-5 as well.

“Anthony Duclair had a good game, I love the way he played in his own zone,” Roy said. “… Simon had a nice play with Schenner.”

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST NHL STANDINGS AND ISLANDERS STATS

Realistically, Roy will probably end up going back to Pageau and Holmstrom at some point before the playoffs, if only because the safe bet all year has been that the lines will change, and because the duo is so reliable.

Knowing he doesn’t need to be wedded to that option, though, could be key going into the playoffs.

“It definitely helps to build chemistry with the guys you’re playing with,” Holmstrom said. “I think everyone here, we have such a tight group, we can all play together. So I don’t think it makes that big of a difference [to move things around], but takes some time to develop chemistry as well.”

Saturday was David Rittich’s first career win against the Flames, the team he spent the first five seasons of his career with.

“About time,” Rittich said. “I know my record against them since I left Calgary, it’s not great. It was terrible. So I’m glad I finally got a win against them.”

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The shorthanded Detroit Red Wings appeared headed for another damaging regulation loss on Saturday evening against the Dallas Stars, having registered just eight shots on goal and trailing 2–0 through 40 minutes.

However, what followed was a gutsy comeback effort that, while it did not ultimately result in a victory, is something Detroit can feel good about as they return home.

Goals from Simon Edvinsson and Lucas Raymond knotted the score for the Red Wings in the third period, helping them gain a huge point in the standings.

But they couldn't quite complete the comeback effort, as Stars defenseman Thomas Harley ripped a shot past goaltender John Gibson, giving Dallas a 3-2 overtime win at American Airlines Center. 

Headed home with a point out of this one pic.twitter.com/TTVsrgkWSy

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) March 15, 2026

The Red Wings are still in the second Wild Card position with 80 points; the Boston Bruins, who defeated the Washington Capitals on Saturday, also have 80 points but are in the first Wild Card spot. 

Bookmark The Hockey News Detroit Red Wings team site to stay connected to the latest news, game-day coverage, and player features. 

Already playing without Dylan Larkin and Andrew Copp, the Red Wings announced on Saturday morning that both Michael Rasmussen and Michael Brandsegg-Nygård would be unavailable. 

However, veteran David Perron made his second debut with Detroit since being re-acquired last week from the Ottawa Senators after being activated from Injured Reserve. 

The Red Wings were rather listless through 40 minutes, as the Stars got goals from both Wyatt Johnston and the newly-acquired Michael Bunting. 

Detroit showed signs of life in the third period, and got a gift when Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger accidentally knocked the puck through his own five-hole while trying to cover up a rebound from Simon Edvinsson's shot a moment earlier. 

Minutes later, with time becoming a factor for Detroit, Lucas Raymond tied the score after he capitalized on a nifty backhand feed from Emmitt Finnie and knocked the puck out of the air into the net. 

The comeback effort fell just short thanks to Harley's overtime goal seconds after Oettinger stopped chances from both Moritz Seider and Marco Kasper.

Gibson finished with 21 saves, while Oettinger stopped 22 shots. 

The Red Wings will return home for critical matchups beginning Monday against the Calgary Flames and then the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.

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The Los Angeles Kings (27-24-15) put together a valiant effort in the second period, scoring three goals after trailing 0-2, but came up just short against the New Jersey Devils (33-31-2), falling 6-4 on Saturday. 

Anze Kopitar once again made history today, officially surpassing Marcel Dionne for the most points scored in the Kings' franchise history with 1,308, but still couldn't win the game. 

CROWN HIM 👑

Anze Kopitar passes Marcel Dionne in his final NHL season to become the @LAKings' all-time points leader! pic.twitter.com/X9aiKdctHQ

— NHL (@NHL) March 15, 2026

After trailing in the first period 0-2, the Kings came back in the second period and took a 3-2 lead, looking to be in control heading into the final period. Despite improved defensive and offensive efforts the rest of the way, LA ran out of steam down the stretch. 

LA lost key face-off moments in the clutch and gave up two power-play goals in the closing minutes of the final frame, a recurring problem for them all season. 

Devils Strike Early

It was a hot offensive start for the Devils early on. Devils forward Cody Glass finished a play from the slot after receiving a backhand pass from Arseny Gritsyuk at 12:02, beating Kings goaltender Anton Forsberg for the one-timer shot to give New Jersey a 1-0 lead.

Just over three minutes later, New Jersey extended their lead 2-0, after Nico Hischier finished the rebound, cleaning off the Kings' attempt to get on the boards. The Devils outshot the Kings 14-11 in the opening frame. Despite trailing, Los Angeles was still in it, but was making costly errors. 

Although the Kings were competitive in the period, unforced turnovers and failed clears allowed the Devils to capitalize early. New Jersey to hold their commanding 2-0 lead. 

King's Storm Back

The Kings immediately looked much better on offense and defense to start the second period. 

Five minutes into the period, Anze Kopitar scored for LA on the power play, tying Marcel Dionne's record for most points in Kings history, immediately shifting the momentum to Los Angeles' favor. 

Less than two minutes later, the Kings continued to build on their momentum, this time Artemi Panarin taking it himself, skating around the back of the net and creating open space on the slot to tie the game 2-2. 

LAK Goal - Tie game!

Panarin with a terrific effort, great patience in the offensive zone, buries his shot through traffic. 2-2,.

— Zach Dooley (@DooleyLAK) March 15, 2026

Los Angeles continued to play excellent defense in the period, holding the Devils to just four shots. Brandt Clarke provided energy by doing the dirty work, with three assists and three points, including one to Taylor Ward, who scored on a one-timer to give the Kings their first lead. 

The Kings flipped the switch in this period, dominating the second and looking like the much better team after that slow start.

Los Angeles had a chance to extend its lead to 4-2 after a 2-on-1 led by Panarin and Kopitar, but Kopi's shot just rang off the crossbar, and the lead would remain 3-2, ending the second. 

Devils Clutch It Out

The Devils responded very quickly in the final frame, just 25 seconds in after the puck dropped in the third period. Arseni Gritsyuk tied the game 3-3 after a great pass by  Lenni Hämeenah, bringing the Devils back into it. 

Hischier would get it going again, scoring his second goal of the day as the Devils converted on the power play, regaining the lead for New Jersey. The Kings were having trouble again winning faceoffs and stopping the power play. 

NJD Goal - Power-play goal for the Devils puts the hosts ahead with 7:18 on the clock. 4-3.

— Zach Dooley (@DooleyLAK) March 15, 2026

But the Kings had one more push, and Kopitar delivered once more, finishing off the assist from Panarin and Clarke to pass the franchise record for most points in Kings history. 

The play was immediately stopped, as the entire Kings bench swarmed the ice for Kopitar, hugging him and congratulating him for making history. 

1,308.

Anze Kopitar is officially the @LAKings all-time leading scorer.

— LA Kings PR (@LAKingsPR) March 15, 2026

But all of that didn't mean a thing to the Devils, who weren’t concerned at anything but winning the game.

After a penalty was called against the Kings, the Devils capitalized on another power play, this time from Jack Hughes, who scored at 2:29, restoring New Jersey’s lead at 5-4. 

All the great energy and effort the Kings had built was an afterthought as they looked drained in the final minutes of the final frame. 

Los Angeles tried to get another run, but an empty-net goal scored by the Devils capped off the 6-4 victory for New Jersey, holding off late. 

Key Stats

Kopitar finished with two goals and set the record for the most points scored in the Kings' history. 

Panarin recorded a goal, three points, and two assists, while Clarke contributed three assists in one of his most productive playmaking games of the season.

Not a good loss for the Kings because the San Jose Sharks won today and are now one point ahead of Los Angeles. The Kings had an opportunity to move closer to the Edmonton Oilers and the Vegas Golden Knights, but failed to capitalize late. 

The Kings will end their five game road trip on Monday at 4:00 PM PT against the New York Rangers. 

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The Calgary Flames mounted a late push but couldn’t overcome a rough opening period, falling 3–2 to the New York Islanders on Saturday night in Long Island.

The opening frame belonged almost entirely to the Islanders, who jumped out to a quick lead and never looked back. At 10:36 of the first period, Casey Cizikas opened the scoring after battling for the puck along the boards. The veteran forward pulled it free from the corner, circled out from beside the net, and jammed the puck past Flames starter Devin Cooley for his eighth goal of the season to make it 1–0.

New York doubled its lead later in the period. At 16:35, Simon Holmstrom joined the rush and took a feed from newly acquired Brayden Schenn before snapping a shot past Cooley. The goal, Holmstrom’s 15th of the season, gave the Islanders a 2–0 advantage.

The Islanders weren’t done there. Late in the period, while shorthanded, Jean‑Gabriel Pageau moved the puck ahead to Holmstrom, who was driving up the ice. Holmstrom slipped the puck through Cooley’s five-hole at 19:35, giving New York a commanding 3–0 lead heading into the intermission.

The Flames made a change to start the second period, bringing in Dustin Wolf in relief of Cooley. The move helped stabilize Calgary defensively as the Flames tightened things up and prevented further damage.

Despite generating a few chances, neither team found the back of the net in the middle frame, leaving the Flames with a three-goal deficit heading into the third period.

Calgary finally broke through early in the third.

Kevin Bahl helped start the play before Olli Maatta fired a shot toward the net. Flames captain Mikael Backlund got a piece of it in front, tipping the puck past David Rittich to spoil the shutout bid and cut the lead to 3–1.

Calgary kept pushing, and midway through the period they pulled even closer. Yan Kuznetsov sent a pass ahead to Blake Coleman, who streaked in from the blue line. Coleman protected the puck beautifully, moving from backhand to forehand before sliding it past Rittich to make it 3–2.

The Flames pressed for the equalizer late, but the Islanders held on to secure the win.

Three Takeaways

1. Backlund Climbs the Record Book

Backlund’s goal was the 230th of his career and his 15th of the season, moving the Flames captain into fourth place on Calgary’s all-time goals list.

2. Slow Start Costly

The first period proved decisive. Calgary was outplayed early and forced to chase the game after surrendering three goals, including one shorthanded.

3. Veteran Leadership Sparked the Comeback

Backlund and Coleman led the Flames’ third-period push, providing both goals and driving the offensive pressure as Calgary attempted to erase the deficit.