BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Alex Tuch had two goals and an assist as the Buffalo Sabres beat the New Jersey Devils 5-4 on Friday night.
Dylan Cozens and Jack Quinn each had a goal and an assist, Tage Thompson scored his 44th goal, and JJ Peterka had two assists to help the Sabres snap a four-game skid and win for the third time in 13 games (3-8-2). Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 27 saves to win for the first time in seven starts.
Buffalo remained on the fringes of contention for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot, pulling six points behind Pittsburgh for the second wild card.
Jack Hughes had two goals and an assist for the Devils, who have lost five of six (1-3-2). Kevin Bahl added a goal and an assist, and Yegor Sharangovich also scored. New Jersey pulled Akira Schmid after the goalie allowed three goals on seven shots in the first 10:55. Vitek Vanecek made 17 saves in relief.
New Jersey, two points behind first-place Carolina in the Metropolitan Divisioin, entered the night needing one win to clinch a playoff berth for the first time since 2018, and reach 100 points in the standings for the first time since 2012.
BLUE JACKETS 5, ISLANDERS 4, OT
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Boone Jenner scored 40 seconds into overtime and Columbus rallied to beat New York.
Johnny Gaudreau, Liam Foudy, Kent Johnson and Eric Robinson also scored, and Jack Roslovic added two assists for Columbus, which is tied with San Jose for the worst record in the NHL. Michael Hutchinson stopped 34 shots in his first win with the Blue Jackets.
Brock Nelson had two goals, Kyle Palmieri had a goal and an assist, and Zach Parise also scored for the Islanders, who moved three points ahead of Pittsburgh for the Eastern Conference’s first wild card. Ilya Sorokin stopped 22 shots.
AVALANCHE 3, COYOTES 1
DENVER (AP) — Cale Makar had a goal and two assists in his return to the lineup, Nathan MacKinnon also had a goal and two assists, and Colorado beat Arizona.
J.T. Compher had a goal, Valeri Nichushkin added two assists and Alexandar Georgiev stopped 17 shots for Colorado.
The Avalanche are in third place in the Central Division with 90 points — two behind first-place Dallas and one behind Minnesota. Colorado has played one fewer game than the Stars and Wild.
Clayton Keller scored and Karel Vejmelka had 28 saves for Arizona, which has dropped two in a row.
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