BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Tage Thompson’s scored four times, including the go-ahead goal with 4:34 remaining, and the Buffalo Sabres beat the Devils 5-2 on Friday night to put a dent in New Jersey’s late-season playoff push.

Thompson’s natural hat trick rallied Buffalo from a 2-0 deficit, and he capped the outing with an empty-netter with 6 seconds left.

The loss left the Devils five points behind the Washington Capitals, who hold the Eastern Conference’s eighth and final playoff spot. New Jersey lost for just the third time this season — 16-2-1 — when leading after one period.

Buffalo, meanwhile, stayed mathematically in the race by moving into 12th in the East, a point a ahead of Pittsburgh, and six behind the Capitals.

JJ Peterka, with his fifth goal in four games, also scored an empty-net goal. Alex Tuch had two assists to extend his point streak to seven games, in which he’s combined for a goal and nine assists. Devon Levi stopped 28 shots.

Max Willman and Jesper Bratt scored for the Devils, who blew a chance to win three straight for just the fifth time this season. Jake Allen stopped 31 shots in dropping to 4-3 since being acquired in a trade with Montreal.

After scoring twice in the second period, Thompson completed his sixth-career three-or-more-goal outing by batting down Rasmus Dahlin’s shot from the left point. The puck dribbled under Allen, and Thompson used his lengthy reach to sweep the puck in behind the goalie.

Thompson’s surge began after Willman deflected in Luke Hughes’ point shot and Bratt had a shot deflect in off Peterka’s stick to stake the Devils to a 2-0 lead 10:31 into the first period.

Thompson responded by scoring 28 seconds into the second period off Timo Meier’s turnover in the neutral zone. He then tied it with 2:31 left into the period after being set up in the middle by Tuch, who forced John Marino to cough up the puck at the left boards.

Hughes’ assist on Willman’s goal was the rookie defenseman’s 41st point of the season. He now ranks third on the team’s rookie list, one point ahead of Scott Niedermayer, and one behind Viacheslav Fetisov. Will Butcher holds the record with 44 points in 2017-18.

UP NEXT

Devils: Host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night.

Sabres: Host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night.

___

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

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A class-action suit was filed Wednesday in federal court in New York arguing that the major junior hockey system in North America violates U.S. antitrust law.

The lawsuit, brought by divisions of the World Association of Icehockey Players Unions and two individual former major junior players, takes aim at the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League and Western Hockey that make up the Canadian Hockey League, as well as the NHL. The plaintiffs allege the leagues exploit teenagers in the sport by restricting their ability to pick where to play and, as a result, limiting their compensation.

The NHL is named as a defendant for its role in supporting and financing the CHL. Lawyers allege in the complaint that the NHL and its teams “exert substantial influence and control over major junior defendants, thereby facilitating major junior defendants’ conspiracy.”

The lawyers call the system “a cartel (that) artificially suppresses and standardizes compensation by denying players their freedom of choice, freedom of movement and freedom to play for the club of their choice.”

The CHL had no immediate comment on the complaint.

“We have just been made aware of the complaint, filed by WAIPU, an organization that has not been certified to represent any CHL players,” the league said in a statement sent to The Associated Press. “Until we can thoroughly review the document, we are unable to provide comment as to the legitimacy of its contents.”

Representatives for the CHL and NHL were not given advance notice and did not receive the complaint until Wednesday morning after it was filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.

Eight of the CHL’s 60 teams are based in the U.S.: Five in Washington state, two in Michigan and one in Pennsylvania. The rest are in Canada, but one expert in sports labor law does not think that is a problem, given that many antitrust situations extend beyond the U.S.

“They’re doing business in the United States, and the end users of the most successful products are going to be, presumably, NHL hockey players both in the U.S. and Canada,” said Michael LeRoy, a University of Illinois labor law professor. “I don’t think that’s a problem.”

Each U.S. state and Canadian province is assigned to one of the three leagues — the QMJHL, OHL or WHL — and players from them who want to play in the CHL cannot choose among them. They are then drafted, and the team owns each player’s rights for his entire junior-age career.

Junior hockey players have not had a union for collective bargaining with leagues. This move is similar to efforts in recent years by minor league baseball players to unionize, which led to a deal with Major League Baseball in 2022.

LeRoy also compared the situation to yearslong fights against the NCAA by college athletes for name, image and likeness rights and changes to make transferring easier — which junior hockey players don’t have.

“Ironically (the suit) points out that the NCAA has a much freer system of athletic labor than is involved here,” LeRoy said.

The lawsuit seeks an injunction declaring the geographical draft restrictions, contracts and agreements in place unenforceable, along with damages for players for compensation and from league profits. Plaintiffs are asking for a jury trial.

The two individual former major junior players who are part of the suit are Isaiah DiLaura and Tanner Gould. DiLaura, 23, is from Lakeville, Minnesota, and Gould, 19, is from Calgary, Alberta.

“Teenage players continue to be treated like disposable objects, just like I was,” DiLaura said in a news release. “I am hoping this lawsuit will put an end to that.”

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TORONTO (AP) — William Nylander had two goals and two assists as the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the slumping New York Islanders 5-2 on Monday night.

John Tavares had a goal and an assist, Calle Jarnkrok and Auston Matthews also scored and Justin Holl had two assists for Toronto, which is 3-0-1 in its last four and 6-2-1 in its last nine. Ilya Samsonov had 31 saves.

Anders Lee scored twice for New York in its ninth loss in 10 games (1-6-3). Ilya Sorokin had 33 saves.

Trailing 2-1 in the second period, Toronto it on a power play at 7:53 when Samsonov caught the Islanders on a long change with a stretch pass. Nylander quickly fed Tavares, who moved in alone and backhanded his 21st goal of the season upstairs against his former team.

The Leafs, who lost 3-2 in overtime to the Islanders here on Nov. 21, then took their first lead 1:40 later when Nylander used a delicate flip pass to send Jarnkrok in alone to score his 11th.

Sorokin stopped Michael Bunting’s penalty shot later in the period, but Nylander buried his second of the night and 26th overall with 3:28 left in the middle period after stealing the puck from Scott Mayfield in the offensive zone.

Matthews sealed the win with his 25th at 7:44 of the third on a breakaway off a pass from Holl.

New York opened the scoring with 22.2 seconds left in the first when Lee swatted home a loose puck in the crease for his 16th after Brock Nelson’s shot glanced off Samsonov’s shoulder and hit the post.

The Toronto goaltender was sharp on a number of chances earlier in the period, including a terrific blocker stop at full stretch on Casey Cizikas.

Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe tweaked his top-6 forward group during the first intermission, reuniting Tavares and Nylander, and slotting Mitch Marner alongside Matthews.

Toronto tied it at 5:07 of the second when Nylander scored off the rush after a nice play from Tavares.

Lee put New York back ahead 1:10 later on a one-timer that fooled Samsonov for his 17th.

SAMSONOV ON A RUN

Samsonov made his third straight start and fourth straight appearance. Samsonov came in 14-4-2 record and a .919 save percentage, while Matt Murray was 11-5-0 with a .911 save percentage as part of Toronto’s goaltending tandem.

BRODIE NEARING RETURN

Maple Leafs D T.J. Brodie took part in his first on-ice session with teammates since suffering a rib injury earlier this month. Keefe said the defenseman won’t be available until at least Friday when Toronto hosts Ottawa. Brodie has been limited to just 28 games in 2022-23 after also suffering an oblique injury in the fall.

DEBUTS AND RETURNS

New York D Samuel Bolduc made his NHL debut. The 22-year-old from Quebec had eight goals and 26 points in 40 AHL games this season. ... Also, Islanders F Kyle Palmieri and D Adam Pelech returned to the lineup after long injury absences.

UP NEXT

Islanders: At Ottawa on Wednesday night to wrap up a two-game trip.

Maple Leafs: Host the New York Rangers on Wednesday night in the second of a five-game trip.

___

AP NHL: www.apnews.com/hub/NHL and www.twitter.com/AP_Sports

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EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Two days after they and the Vegas Golden Knights each won a hard-fought Game 7 to move on, the Dallas Stars figured there might be an emotional letdown at the start of the Western Conference final.

They filled that void with hit after hit, got one early goal, and played the trademark lockdown style that made them one of the best defensive teams in the NHL during the regular season. The result was a hard-hitting 1-0 victory in Game 1 on Sunday night that served notice to Vegas that a spot in the Stanley Cup Final won’t come easily.

“We were skating, we were on top of them, we were creating a lot of offense from good play, good defensive structure all over the ice,” coach Rick Bowness said. “That’s Dallas Stars hockey.”

That brand of hockey worked especially well after John Klingberg scored on the Stars’ first shot 2:36 in and with goaltender Anton Khudobin locked in. Khudobin’s rebound control was excellent in stopping all 25 Vegas shots he faced on the way to his first shutout in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

“It always goes to your career record,” said Khudobin, who entered this year without a postseason start on that record. “At the same time, most of it, I’m happy with the win.”

The recipe for this win was a barrage of hits. In true Stars fashion, the game had almost double the amount of total hits (96) than shots on goal (50).

With physicality the focus, Dallas took it to top-seeded Vegas, which has the size to bang bodies but couldn’t match the Stars’ jump from the drop of the puck.

“It took us a while to get our legs going,” Golden Knights defenseman Nate Schmidt said. “We didn’t come out to play from the start of the game.”

The Stars came out hitting and got the boost they needed when it looked like surprise Vegas starter Marc-Andre Fleury didn’t get reset after Dallas captain Jamie Benn’s shot attempt was blocked, and Klingberg fired the loose puck past him into the net.

Playing with a lead allowed Dallas players to throw their bodies around. If the Golden Knights didn’t know what to expect from the Stars, they do now, and the competition level will be higher than the first two rounds.

“This is going to be a different series,” Vegas coach Peter DeBoer said. “They’re a heavy, veteran team and you’ve got to work to get inside and you’ve got to work for pucks and puck battles. They’re not going to hand you offense, and you’ve got to be willing to compete for pucks.”

After having the play dictated to them for the first two periods, the Golden Knights dominated the third but couldn’t crack Khudobin, who has been thrust into the No. 1 role with Ben Bishop injured. As good as Khudobin was, Fleury matched him almost save for save, stopping 23 after allowing the goal to Klingberg.

“He was fresh. He’s played well against Dallas, and he gave us a great game,” DeBoer said. “I thought he was our best player.”

But Fleury couldn’t help his teammates generate offense, and they were shut out for the second time in three games. Credit on that goes to the Stars, who took advantage of suspended Golden Knights forward Ryan Reaves′ absence to set a more physical tone to begin this series.

“It was a good effort,” Benn said. “We played on our toes tonight, found a way to get one early there, and I thought (Khudobin) made a lot of great saves, especially in the third period, and we found a way to squeak it out.”

NOTES: This was the Stars’ first 1-0 regulation playoff win since 2000, the year after they won the Cup. ... Nick Cousins replaced Reaves in the lineup and delivered a big hit early. ... Mattias Janmark played for Dallas after leaving Game 7 against Colorado with injury. ... Bishop and defenseman Stephen Johns remained unfit to play for the Stars. ... Forward Andrew Cogliano was a healthy scratch so Dallas could keep Game 7 hero Joel Kiviranta in. ... Fleury started for just the fourth time in the postseason. Robin Lehner played the other 12.

UP NEXT

Game 2 is Tuesday after the Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Islanders open the East final Monday.

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TORONTO (AP) T.J. Oshie and Tom Wilson scored, Braden Holtby made 30 saves and the Washington Capitals beat the Boston Bruins 2-1 in round-robin play Sunday to clinch the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference and set up a first-round matchup against former coach Barry Trotz's New York Islanders.

Boston, which won the Presidents' Trophy as the top team during the NHL regular season that was cut short in March, lost all three of its seeding games and fell to fourth in the East. The Bruins will face the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round in a rematch of the 2019 East final.

Trotz coached Washington to its first Stanley Cup title in franchise history in 2018, then left in a contract dispute. Trotz went to the Islanders, while the Capitals hired his top assistant, Todd Reirden, as head coach. This is the first time they've faced off in a playoff series since.

''It'll be interesting,'' Wilson said. ''We know them well, some personnel and the coaching staff that we're familiar with, obviously a good rivalry, so we're excited for it and ready to go.''

Washington shook off a shootout loss to Tampa Bay and a regulation loss to Philadelphia to continue its years-long dominance of Boston. The Capitals have now won 17 of their past 19 games against the Bruins and by earning the third seed cannot play the top-seeded Flyers until the conference final.

It's unclear whether Norris Trophy finalist John Carlson will be ready for Game 1 against the Islanders after missing the all of round-robin play with an injury. The 30-year-old defenseman went down to the ice awkwardly in Washington's exhibition game vs. Carolina on July 29 and has practiced but not played since.

Jake DeBrusk scored and Tuukka Rask made 23 saves for Boston, which also got an assist from winger Ondrej Kase in his round-robin debut.

NOTES: With Carlson still out, rookie Martin Fehervary made his round-robin debut, replacing Radko Gudas on the Capitals blue line. ... Connor Clifton played on defense for the Bruins in place of Matt Grzelcyk.

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EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored the first of Arizona's three first-period goals, a healthy Phil Kessel had two assists and the Coyotes held on to beat the Nashville Predators 4-3 Sunday to open their Stanley Cup qualifier series.

The Coyotes made the most of their first postseason appearance since 2012, scoring three goals in the opening period on their way to building a 4-1 lead.

The Predators rallied behind two goals by Filip Forsberg, the second midway through the third period, to cut Arizona's lead to 4-3.

Darcy Kuemper, who stopped 40 shots, held off Nashville's late push and the Coyotes snatched momentum heading into Game 2 of the best-of-five series on Tuesday.

Christian Dvorak, Clayton Keller and Michael Grabner also scored for Arizona.

Ryan Ellis also scored for Nashville and Juuse Saros stopped 33 shots.

Nashville was sixth in the Western Conference when the season was halted because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Coyotes were beneficiaries of the new playoff format for the restart, earning a spot in the qualifier after ending the regular season 11th in the West.

The Coyotes had to deal with a distraction before arriving in Edmonton, learning general manager John Chayka had resigned the day the team left for the bubble.

Once the puck dropped in Edmonton, Arizona had the early jump and scored the opening goal - thanks to a double carom.

Ekman-Larsson scored it midway through the first period on a shot near the blue line that hit Nashville center Kyle Turris' skate, bounced off teammate Matt Duchene's body and floated over Saros' head into the net.

Dvorak scored less than three minutes later, punching in a rebound of Kessel's shot past Saros. Keller made it 3-0 on a power play, one-timing a pass from Dvorak over Saros' glove shoulder.

In danger of being run out of the rink, the Predators breathed a little life into their hopes with a lucky bounce of their own. Forsberg got it, firing a power-play shot that Kuemper initially stopped before caroming off Arizona defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson's skate into the net with 2.5 seconds left in the opening period.

The Coyotes erased any Nashville momentum late in the second period when Grabner, Arizona's short-handed specialist, broke free on a Predators power play and beat Saros to make it 4-1.

The Predators needed 30 seconds of the third period to gain it back, scoring when a shot by Ellis caromed off Ekman-Larsson's skate past Kuemper. Forsberg cut Arizona's lead to 4-3 on a power-play shot from the slot, but the Predators couldn't get anything else past Kuemper.

NOTES: Coyotes C Nick Schmaltz did not play after taking a shot to the head in Thursday's exhibition against Vegas. ... Rinne had started every Predators playoff game since 2010, a streak of 89 straight games. ... Kessel had his 21st multi-point playoff game, third among active players behind Patrick Kane (34) and Joe Pavelski (24). ... Forsberg is Nashville's all-time leading postseason goals scorer with 24.

UP NEXT

Game 2 is Tuesday in Edmonton.

Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.