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Uniondale, N.Y. • Evgeny Kuznetsov scored in regulation and had the only goal in the shootout to lift the Capitals to a 4-3 win over the New York Islanders on Saturday and keep Washington's playoff hopes alive.
Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby stopped all three Islander attempts in the shootout and Washington snapped a five-game losing streak and moved within two points of Columbus for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot.
The Capitals are 9-2-0 in last 11 games at Nassau Coliseum.
Both teams had chances in overtime. Holtby denied Brock Nelson point-blank at 3:35 and Evgeni Nabokov stopped Alexander Ovechkin in the closing seconds of the five-minute extra session.
Stars 5, Lightning 2 • In Tampa, Fla., Jamie Benn had two goals and an assist to lead Dallas past Tampa Bay.
Tyler Seguin had his team-leading 35th goal, and Vernon Fiddler and Antoine Roussel also scored for Dallas. Kari Lehtonen stopped 27 shots.
The victory lifted Dallas past Phoenix into the second wild-card position in the Western Conference. The Stars last reached the postseason in 2008.
Devils 3, Hurricanes 1 • In Raleigh, N.C., Dainus Zubrus scored two goals and New Jersey earned a point in its seventh straight game.
The Devils improved to 4-0-3 during a stretch that has given their playoff chances a significant boost.
Cory Schneider stopped 26 shots for the Devils, including all eight he faced in the third period of his second straight victory. EASTERN CONFERENCE
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
z-Boston 78 53 18 7 113 251 167
y-Pittsburgh 78 49 24 5 103 237 195
x-Montreal 79 45 27 7 97 212 199
N.Y. Rangers 79 43 31 5 91 212 190
x-Tampa Bay 78 42 27 9 93 229 211
Philadelphia 77 39 29 9 87 215 218
Detroit 78 37 27 14 88 211 222
Columbus 77 39 31 7 85 215 207
New Jersey 78 34 28 16 84 191 200
Toronto 79 38 33 8 84 229 248
Washington 78 35 30 13 83 222 236
Ottawa 78 33 31 14 80 226 261
Carolina 78 34 33 11 79 196 215
N.Y. Islanders 77 31 35 11 73 215 254
Florida 78 27 43 8 62 185 256
Buffalo 77 21 47 9 51 148 229
WESTERN CONFERENCE
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
x-St. Louis 77 52 18 7 111 243 173
x-Anaheim 77 50 19 8 108 249 198
x-San Jose 78 49 20 9 107 239 189
x-Colorado 77 50 21 6 106 237 206
x-Chicago 78 44 19 15 103 255 205
x-Los Angeles 78 45 27 6 96 196 164
Minnesota 78 40 26 12 92 195 194
Dallas 77 38 28 11 87 225 218
Phoenix 78 36 28 14 86 209 221
Winnipeg 79 35 34 10 80 220 232
Nashville 77 34 32 11 79 195 231
Vancouver 77 34 32 11 79 185 209
Calgary 78 33 38 7 73 200 228
Edmonton 78 27 42 9 63 193 259
NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. x-clinched playoff spot y-clinched division z-clinched conference
Saturday's Games
Washington 4, N.Y. Islanders 3, SO
Boston 5, Philadelphia 2
Colorado 4, St. Louis 0
Winnipeg 4, Toronto 2
Montreal 5, Detroit 3
Dallas 5, Tampa Bay 2
Ottawa 3, N.Y. Rangers 2
New Jersey 3, Carolina 1
Minnesota 4, Pittsburgh 0
Los Angeles at Vancouver, late
Nashville at San Jose, late
Saturday's Games
St. Louis at Chicago, 10:30 a.m.
Dallas at Florida, 3 p.m.
N.Y. Islanders at Columbus, 4 p.m.
Buffalo at Philadelphia, 5:30 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Colorado, 6 p.m.
Anaheim at Edmonton, 6 p.m.