TAMPA, Fla. - T.J Oshie had three goals and an assist, Justin Williams and John Carlson had early third-period goals, and the Washington Capitals clinched a playoff spot by beating the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-3 on Saturday night.

Oshie scored twice, including an early power-play goal, as the Capitals took a 2-0 lead midway through the first. He completed the hat trick with an empty-netter during the final minute. Oshie has 10 goals and 19 points in 14 games against Tampa Bay.

Williams had a redirection goal 3:14 into the period before Carlson swatted a thigh-high puck home to make it 4-2 at 5:30.

Washington also got four assists from Nicklas Backstrom, and Braden Holtby stopped 26 shots.

Nikita Kucherov had two goals, and Alex Killorn had the other goal for the Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 30 saves.

Kucherov got Tampa Bay within a goal with 4-3 with 1:30 left, but Oshie sealed it with his third goal.

The Lightning tied it at 2 late in the first as Kucherov, on a power play set up by Oshie's high-sticking penalty, and Killorn had goals 16 seconds apart.

Killorn stopped a 16-game goal drought, while Kucherov got his 32nd goal this season and 100th overall.

Alex Ovechkin assisted on Oshie's goal and tied Florida's Jaromir Jagr for the most points against Tampa Bay with 83. He has played the Lightning 63 times.

Ovechkin, who has one goal in his last 13 games, had a couple of quality chances stopped by Vasilevskiy during the first.

NOTES: Capitals LW Andre Burakovsky returned after missing 15 games with a hand injury. ... Tampa Bay played without with centers Tyler Johnson (five games), Cedric Paquette (five games) and Vladislav Namestnikov (three games), who are all out with lower-body injuries. Center Steven Stamkos, out since right knee surgery in November, went through a full practice Friday but is not ready to play. ... Washington LW Marcus Johansson left due to illness. ... The Capitals have outscored their opponents 73-33 in the first period.

UP NEXT:

Capitals: Play the first of three straight at home against Calgary on Tuesday night.

Lightning: Complete a three-game homestand against Arizona on Tuesday night.

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PITTSBURGH - The depleted Pittsburgh Penguins defense has taken another hit. Coach Mike Sullivan says defenseman Ron Hainsey is week-to-week with an upper-body injury.

The Penguins acquired the 35-year-old Hainsey just before the trade deadline. Hainsey has one assist in 10 games since joining Pittsburgh. The Penguins called up Derrick Pouliot from their AHL affiliate in Wilkes Barre/Scranton ahead of Friday night's game against New Jersey to fill in for Hainsey.

Pittsburgh is already missing injured defensemen Kris Letang, Olli Maatta and Trevor Daley, though all three are expected back by the playoffs.

Sullivan said center Evgeni Malkin will sit out Friday with an upper-body injury. Sullivan added Malkin, who is fifth in the league in scoring with 72 points, had been dealing with the injury for some time.

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EDMONTON, Alberta - Patrick Maroon scored twice, Leon Draisaitl had a goal and two assists, and Connor McDavid added three assists as the Edmonton Oilers beat up on the Boston Bruins 7-4 on Thursday night.

Benoit Pouliot, Anton Slepyshev, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Milan Lucic also scored for the Oilers, who moved one point ahead of Calgary for third place in the Pacific Division.

David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand, Dominic Moore, and David Krejci had a goal each for the Bruins, who had a four-game winning streak snapped.

The Oilers jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on a pair of goals 59 seconds apart by Maroon, who upped his career-high goal total on the season to 24.

Edmonton got another goal three minutes later as David Desharnais hooked around the net and sent the puck in front to Pouliot, who poked it past goalie Tuukka Rask. It was Pouliot's second goal in two games after breaking a 28-game scoreless drought against Dallas on Tuesday.

Boston got one back on a power play with 7 1/2 minutes remaining in the opening frame when Marchand made a perfect pass to set up Pastrnak at the side of the net for his 31st goal of the season, and fifth in his last five games.

The Bruins made it 3-2 with two minutes to go in the first, as Marchand was left alone at the side of the net to score his 37th goal of the season and 12th in his last 11 games.

The Oilers scored again with 51 seconds remaining when Slepyshev batted the rebound of McDavid's shot out of the air and past Rask.

Edmonton made it 5-2 two minutes into the second on the power play as Drake Caggiula's pass went off Bruin forward Riley Nash's skate and into the net. Rask was replaced in the Boston net by Anton Khudobin.

Boston fought back a couple minutes later, getting a short-handed goal from Moore.

Draisaitl made it 6-3 Edmonton seven minutes into the second, picking off a pass at mid-ice and going the distance to score his 60th point, the most ever in an NHL season by a German-born player.

Edmonton added another power-play goal with five minutes left as a puck hit Lucic and got past Khudobin. It was the second game in a row that the Oilers have scored seven goals, and the first time they had done that at home since 1988.

Krejci scored on a Boston man advantage with 32 seconds left in the middle period.

NOTES: There was no scoring in the third, but a brief scare when Boston forward Matt Beleskey was hit in the right side of the head with a shot from Patrice Bergeron in the game's final minute. He was slow to get up, but skated off with the assistance of Bergeron.

UP NEXT

Bruins: Travel to play at Toronto on Sunday.

Oilers: Host Vancouver on Saturday.

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CALGARY, Alberta - Brad Marchand scored his league-leading 36th goal of the season and David Backes returned after getting hurt to score the game winner and the Boston Bruins defeated Calgary 5-2 on Wednesday night to end the Flames' 10-game winning streak.

Marchand is also tied with Chicago's Patrick Kane and Edmonton's Connor McDavid for the top spot in the NHL with 76 points.

Backes got tied up with Flames defenseman Mark Giordano and was taken into the corner boards 12 minutes into the game. He was favoring his leg as he was helped off the ice.

But he returned seven minutes into the second period and on his second shift back he broke a 2-2 tie. Backes took a pass from David Krejci on a 3-on-2 and from 30 feet whipped a wrist shot over the glove of Chad Johnson.

David Pastrnak scored twice, and Matt Beleskey also scored for Boston. The Bruins' fourth straight win moves them within three points of the second-place Ottawa Senators in the Atlantic Division.

Alex Chiasson and Dougie Hamilton scored for Calgary.

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NEW YORK - A U.S. district court upheld an arbitrator's ruling that reduced Calgary Flames defenseman Dennis Wideman's suspension for knocking a linesman to the ice in a game last season.

The NHL says in a statement released Wednesday night that it disagrees with the court's decision but understands the standard needed to overturn the decision. The league says it is ready to turn the page.

Wideman was suspended 20 games for hitting linesman Don Henderson and knocking him down during a game against the Nashville Predators on Jan. 27, 2016.

Commissioner Gary Bettman upheld that suspension, but neutral discipline arbitrator James Oldham ruled that Wideman did not intend to injure Henderson and reduced the suspension to 10 games.

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PHILADELPHIA - Wayne Simmonds scored the 200th goal of his career and Steve Mason made 23 saves to lead the Philadelphia Flyers to a 4-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night.

Sean Couturier, Claude Giroux, and Dale Weise also scored for the Flyers, who closed within five points of the idle New York Islanders for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Making the postseason remains a long shot for Philadelphia with just 13 games remaining and four teams to pass.

Philadelphia snapped a three-game losing streak while handing the defending Stanley Cup champions their fourth shutout of the season.

The road-weary Penguins completed an eight-day, five-game road trip that took them through four time zones as they traveled 4,763 miles. The journey got longer due to Tuesday's snowstorm in the Northeast, which caused the Penguins to fly home from Calgary late Monday night rather than directly to Philadelphia. Pittsburgh arrived in Philadelphia late Wednesday morning.

With 95 points, Pittsburgh remained two behind idle Washington for first place in the Metropolitan Division and the best record in the NHL.

Mason posted his third shutout of the season and the 33rd of his career. He saved some of his best work for late in the game, making three strong stops within four minutes of each other with under 10 minutes remaining.

First, he denied Oskar Sundqvist's short-handed chance from right in front with 9:55 remaining. Then, Mason made a good pad save on Nick Bonino with 6:48 left before fully extending his left pad to deny Ian Cole's slap shot.

Simmonds scored his 29th of the season and 200th of his career while tying teammate Brayden Schenn for the NHL lead with his 15th on the power play with 13:40 left in the second period to put Philadelphia up 2-0. Shayne Gostisbehere took the initial shot and Simmonds put the rebound over a sprawling Matt Murray.

Couturier put Philadelphia on the board a minute into the second when he also went high over Murray from close range after the puck deflected to him right in front of the net.

Murray had to go to the bench with 11:34 left in the period when he was inadvertently hit in the head by Philadelphia's Travis Konecny, but was able to stay in the game.

Murray finished with 24 saves.

Giroux scored on a wrist shot from the slot that beat Murray with 4:16 left, and Weise finished the scoring with 47.3 seconds remaining.

The game featured the return of defenseman Mark Streit, the former Flyers assistant captain who was traded by Philadelphia on March 1.

NOTES: Flyers D Brandon Manning (upper body) missed his second straight game and forward Jordan Weal (lower body) also was out of the lineup. . Penguins forward Matt Cullen returned to the lineup after missing three straight games due to a lower-body injury. . Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz received a loud ovation when he was introduced while attending his first Flyers game. . The Penguins lead the season series 2-1. The teams will wrap it up March 26 in Pittsburgh. . Sidney Crosby remained one assist shy of tying Jaromir Jagr for second place on the Penguins' all-time list. Crosby has 639 assists. Mario Lemieux owns the club record with 1,033.

UP NEXT

Penguins: Return home to host the New Jersey Devils on Friday night.

Flyers: Play the second game of a back-to-back at New Jersey on Thursday night.

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LOS ANGELES - Anthony DeAngelo and Brendan Perlini scored in an 11-round shootout, Louis Domingue made 44 saves and the Arizona Coyotes defeated the Los Angeles Kings 3-2 on Tuesday night.

Max Domi scored two goals for the Coyotes, who have won three consecutive games for the second time this season. Domi tied it 2-all with less than a minute left in regulation.

Tyler Toffoli scored twice, including a power-play goal with 1:36 remaining that gave Los Angeles a 2-1 lead. Ben Bishop stopped 30 shots, but the Kings' playoff chances were dealt a second major blow in two nights.

Toffoli converted a one-timer from Jeff Carter, only to see Domi tie it at 2 with 44.3 seconds left. Domi was alone at the edge of the crease and easily scored after Derek Forbort failed to clear the puck for the Kings.

Domi tied the game at 1 with 14:21 remaining in the third period. The Coyotes capitalized on Jarome Iginla's turnover in the neutral zone, and Domi went top shelf over Bishop's left shoulder with his shot.

Toffoli snapped in the rebound of Jake Muzzin's shot 5:03 into the second, giving the Kings a 1-0 lead seconds after Shane Doan could have put the Coyotes ahead. Bishop never realized the puck was loose after stopping Doan's initial backhand, and Alec Martinez alertly knocked it away to prevent the tap-in by Doan and lead to a break the other way.

Los Angeles' need to come away with two points increased dramatically after its 3-1 loss to St. Louis on Monday. Not only did the Blues extend their lead over the Kings for the second wild card in the Western Conference to five points, they have a more favorable schedule down the stretch.

The Kings will play nine teams currently in playoff position over their final 13 games, with five of those on the road, while the Blues face just four opponents set to reach the postseason before the season wraps up on April 9.

But that hunger didn't necessarily manifest in the opening 20 minutes, as two offensive-zone penalties blunted the Kings. Dustin Brown's breakaway represented the best scoring chance for the Kings, who had 11 shots and won 13 of 18 faceoffs in the sleepy first.

NOTES: Toffoli had a point for the third straight game. . The Kings scratched D Brayden McNabb, with Kevin Gravel active for only the second time in the last seven games to take McNabb's place. . The Coyotes and Kings will conclude their four-game season series April 2 in Los Angeles.

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MONTREAL - Patrick Kane had a goal and two assists and Corey Crawford made 40 saves and the Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4-2 on Tuesday night.

Johnny Oduya, Artemi Panarin and Jonathan Toews, into the empty net, scored for the Blackhawks, who jumped past Minnesota and lead the Central Division with 93 points.

Paul Byron and Shea Weber scored for Montreal.

Carey Price made 20 saves as he became the third Canadiens goaltender to reach the 500-game milestone.

Only Patrick Roy (551) and Jacques Plante (556) have played more games between the pipes for Montreal.

The Canadiens have not beaten Chicago since 2014 (0-6-1).

Crawford is a big reason for the Hawks' recent success against the Canadiens.

The Montreal native, who was coming off a season-best 42-save effort against the Minnesota Wild on Sunday, has never lost to the Habs in regulation (7-0-2).

Crawford withstood a flurry of shots at the end of the first period to preserve Chicago's 1-0 lead.

In the second, the 32-year-old took a mighty Weber slap shot off his mask from just a few feet out. The Blackhawks goalie was stunned but stayed in the game.

Crawford was beaten twice in the third period.

Byron slapped a bouncing puck over his shoulder at 12:42 before Weber scored on a slap shot from the point at 16:32.

Crawford has never conceded more than two goals in a game against Montreal - his highest save percentage against any opponent.

Both the Canadiens and Hawks came into Tuesday's matchups with 8-2-0 records in their past 10 games.

Chicago was outshot 11-4 in the first period, but the visitors made the most of their good chance when Kane scored at 12:23, capitalizing on a mistake by Alexei Emelin at center ice then firing a wrister off the post and in.

Oduya made it 2-0 at 10:49 of the second period when his slap shot from the point took a slight deflection off Byron's arm - enough to elude Price.

Emelin was again to blame for Chicago's third goal. The Canadiens defenseman inexplicably changed sides mid-rush, leaving Panarin all alone in front of the goal.

With time on his side, Panarin roofed the puck on Price 47 seconds into the third period.

Emelin finished the game with a minus-3 rating.

Chicago's Artem Anisimov left the game in the first period with a left leg injury and did not return.

NOTES: Defenseman Brandon Davidson, acquired at the trade deadline, got his second start with Montreal, replacing Nathan Beaulieu on the blue line. . The Clarkson Cup-winning Canadiennes de Montreal (CWHL) were honored in a pregame ceremony.

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WASHINGTON - Alex Ovechkin ended the longest goal-scoring drought of his career as the Washington Capitals held on to beat the Minnesota Wild 4-2 Tuesday night and snap a season-worst four-game losing streak.

Ovechkin hadn't scored in 10 games or had an even-strength goal in 18 before firing a one-timer by league save percentage leader Devan Dubnyk in the second period. Ovechkin's 28th goal of the season came 1 second after a power play expired.

Nate Schmidt, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Jay Beagle also scored for the NHL-leading Capitals, who recaptured sole possession of first in the Metropolitan Division. Nicklas Backstrom had three assists.

Goaltender Braden Holtby put on a show, stopping 32 of the 34 shots he faced as the Capitals won for the first time since March 4 and moved two points up on the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Minnesota lost for the fifth time in seven games despite goals from Matt Dumba and Eric Staal and 36 saves by Dubnyk.

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LOS ANGELES - Magnus Paajarvi scored a power-play goal, Jake Allen made 38 saves and the St. Louis Blues extended their winning streak to five games with a 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Monday night.

David Perron scored late in the second period and Alexander Steen added an empty-net goal with 6.5 seconds left for the Blues, who lead the Kings by five points for the second wild card in the Western Conference.

Dustin Brown scored with 2:55 remaining and Jonathan Quick stopped 23 shots, but the Kings failed to earn a point for the first time in Quick's six starts since returning from a groin injury.

Quick made an acrobatic initial save on Perron's one-timer, but the puck trickled free underneath the goalie and Perron tapped it in for his 14th goal of the season 13:37 into the second.

Paajarvi then redirected Patrik Berglund's shot to give the Blues a 2-0 lead 1:10 into the third.

It was Paajarvi's first power-play goal since April 6, 2013, when he scored for Edmonton in a 4-1 loss to the Kings.

Brown banged in a rebound to make it 2-1 late after Allen landed face-first to stop Drew Doughty's shot. The Kings had the puck in the offensive zone for much of the closing minutes but could not come up with the tying goal.

Both teams were cautious to start, not necessarily a surprise given the high stakes. However, the tenor of the game changed in the closing 15 seconds of the first period when Quick did the splits to deny Paul Stastny's backhand, and the chances continued to pile up after the break.

Dmitrij Jaskin hit the post during a St. Louis power play, and Robert Bortuzzo put a great chance over the net with Quick out in front of his crease. The Kings' line of Tanner Pearson, Jeff Carter and Tyler Toffoli each had promising looks during one particular blitz, with Los Angeles piling up 21 shots in the second without scoring.

Jaskin was helped to the locker room and did not return because of an upper-body injury after a frightening collision with Bortuzzo in the second. Jaskin was trying to make a play on the puck and never saw Bortuzzo in front of him, plowing into the stationary 221-pound defenseman.

NOTES: Steen picked up his 30th assist on Perron's goal, giving him at least 30 in a season for the fourth time. . Brown broke a six-game scoreless streak and now has 499 career points.

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