Tuesday in the NHL | The Capitals reach the playoffs by beating the Flyers

TJ Oshie scored into an empty net in a rare instance of a forward replacing the goalie with the score tied Tuesday, helping the Washington Capitals advance to the playoffs with a 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers.

John Tortorella pulled Samuel Ersson because his club needed to win in regular time to sneak into spring ball.

Oshie broke the tie at 17:00 in the third period.

Charlie Lindgren made 27 saves, trailing only Erik Johnson.

“He was arguably our best player,” said Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery. He’s been fantastic all year. He earned his chance to play two nights in a row and he stood up once again. »

Alexander Ovechkin collected a 31^e goal this season and an 853^e in the NHL, deflecting a Dylan McIlrath shot.

Washington overcame a series of six losses, from late March to early April.

In the first round starting this weekend, the Capitals will face the New York Rangers, who led the league with 114 points this season.

“It means a lot,” said Oshie, one of the few remaining players from the 2018 Stanley Cup-winning Capitals roster.

Associated Press

Golden Knights take 3^e rank of their division

Brayden McNabb, Michael Amadio and Nicolas Roy scored and the Vegas Golden Knights moved into third place in the Pacific Division with a 3-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night.

The Golden Knights have won their last three games.

Logan Thompson stopped 23 shots for the Golden Knights. His shutout chances were destroyed with 3:58 remaining when Jason Dickinson found the back of the net.

Petr Mrazek stopped 34 pucks for the Blackhawks, who have lost five straight games.

The first overall pick in the last NHL draft, Connor Bedard, had an assist.

Mark Anderson, Associated Press

The Canucks are Pacific Division champions

Thatcher Demko stopped 39 shots in his return from a knee injury and the Vancouver Canucks beat the Calgary Flames 4-1 on Tuesday.

The Canucks thus won the Pacific division title.

Demko was in net for his first time since March 9, in a 5-0 victory for his team against the Winnipeg Jets.

Tyler Myers scored and added an assist. Nils Hoglander, Dakota Joshua and JT Miller also scored in the victory.

Brayden Pachal scored for the Flames and goaltender Jacob Markstrom blocked 27 of the 31 shots he faced.

Both teams were scoreless in two power plays in the game.

Flames defenseman Oliver Kylington competed for a 200^e career regular season game in the NHL.

Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press

The Panthers beat the Maple Leafs and finish first in their section

Sam Bennett and Sam Reinhart scored 10 seconds apart in the second period and the Florida Panthers defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-2 on Tuesday.

With their victory, as well as the defeat of the Boston Bruins, the Panthers finished the season in first place in the Atlantic Division. The Panthers will face the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the playoffs.

Carter Verhaeghe and Brandon Montour also scored in the victory and Anthony Stolarz blocked 24 shots.

Mitchell Marner and Noah Gregor scored for the Maple Leafs. Joseph Woll stopped 37 shots.

The Maple Leafs will play the Bruins in the first round.

Verhaeghe opened the scoring for the Panthers, he who had been absent since the 1^er April due to an upper body injury.

Colby Guy, Associated Press

The Jets finish ahead of the Avalanche

Kyle Connor scored twice, Tyler Toffoli broke a tie in the third period and the Winnipeg Jets defeated the Seattle Kraken 4-3 on Tuesday night.

With their victory, the Jets finish second in the Central Division and will have home ice advantage in their first round duel against the Colorado Avalanche.

Nikolaj Ehlers also scored, while Mark Scheifele and Josh Morrissey had two assists.

Connor Hellebuyck stopped 20 shots for the Jets, who will play their final game of the season on Thursday against the Vancouver Canucks.

Yanni Gourde scored and added an assist in the loss. Tomas Tatar and Tye Kartye also found the back of the net for the Kraken. Philipp Grubauer made 20 saves.

Associated Press

Werenski scores two goals and the Blue Jackets beat the Hurricanes

Zach Werenski had two goals and two assists, Jet Greaves made 38 saves and the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Carolina Hurricanes 6-3 on Tuesday night.

The Hurricanes, who finished second in the Metropolitan Division, gave eight regular players on their roster a night off.

The Hurricanes had the second-best record (52-23-7, 111 points) in the Eastern Conference, behind the New York Rangers.

This is the sixth straight year the Hurricanes have qualified for the playoffs.

The Blue Jackets missed the playoffs for a fourth consecutive season.

Luca Del Bel Belluz scored in his first NHL game.

James Malatesta, Johnny Gaudreau and Alexander Nylander also scored for the Blue Jackets.

Teuvo Teravainen scored twice and Jesperi Kotkaniemi also found the back of the net for the Hurricanes.

Making his first start since February 29, Spencer Martin stopped 19 shots.

Mitch Stacy, Associated Press

The Senators end the season with a victory against the Bruins

Jiri Smejkal scored his first career goal midway through the second period and the Ottawa Senators defeated the Boston Bruins 3-1 on Tuesday night.

Defender Jakob Chychrun made it 2-0 less than a minute after Smejkal’s goal.

This was the final regular season game for both teams.

The Florida Panthers took first place in the Atlantic Division by beating the Maple Leafs on Tuesday. Thus, the Bruins will face the Maple Leafs in the first round.

Artem Zub completed the scoring into an empty net with 1:48 remaining. Anton Forsberg blocked 34 pucks.

Pavel Zacha scored for the Bruins and Linus Ullmark stopped 17 shots.

Smejkal, who played his 20^e match in the league, opened the scoring by beating Ullmark between the pads.

Doug Alden, Associated Press