Reilly Smith scored twice during Vegas’ three-goal third period and also had an assist as the Golden Knights rallied for a 4-1 victory over the Seattle Kraken to clinch the Pacific Division title on Wednesday in Las Vegas.
It was the 31st multi-goal game of Smith’s career and his second of the season. Jack Eichel had two assists and Shea Theodore and Mitch Marner added goals for Vegas (39-26-17, 95 points), which will face the Utah Mammoth in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Carter Hart finished with 22 saves for the Golden Knights, who extended their point streak to a season-high 10 games (7-0-3). It is the third Pacific Division title in four years and sixth in nine seasons for Vegas, which improved to 7-0-1 since John Tortorella replaced Bruce Cassidy as head coach.
Shane Wright scored a goal for Seattle (34-36-11, 79 points), which is 2-7-1 over its past 10 games. Nikke Kokko made 22 saves for the Kraken, who play their final game of the season on Thursday at Colorado.
Stars 4, Sabres 3 (SO)
Wyatt Johnston scored the shootout winner for Dallas in a victory at Buffalo.
Esa Lindell and Justin Hryckowian finished with a goal and an assist each for the Stars, who ended the regular season on a five-game winning streak. Mavrik Bourque added his 20th goal of the season, and Jake Oettinger made 21 saves.
Zach Benson had a goal and an assist for the Sabres, whose four-game winning streak ended. Buffalo also got regulation goals from Josh Norris and Alex Tuch. Owen Power logged two assists, and Colten Ellis stopped 25 shots.
Senators 3, Maple Leafs 1
Drake Batherson and Warren Foegele scored power-play goals and Ottawa defeated visiting Toronto in the regular-season finale for both teams.
Dylan Cozens added an empty-net goal for the Senators, and Claude Giroux contributed two assists. Former Maple Leafs goalie James Reimer stopped 19 shots for the Senators, who won the season series with Toronto 3-1-0.
William Nylander scored for Toronto in a game that lacked much of the bite that usually is associated with a Battle of Ontario clash. Dennis Hildeby made 35 saves.
Panthers 8, Red Wings 1
Mike Benning scored his first two NHL goals, Wilmer Skoog tallied his first two assists in his third game and Mikulas Hovorka got his first point in his fourth contest as Florida dominated Detroit in Sunrise, Fla.
Luke Kunin had two goals and an assist, Cole Reinhardt added a goal and an assist, Matthew Tkachuk and Marek Alscher each had two assists and Daniil Tarasov made 24 saves for the Panthers.
Justin Faulk scored the lone goal for the Red Wings, who went 2-6-2 in their last 10 games of the season. Cam Talbot made eight saves in relief of John Gibson, who allowed four goals on 11 shots and exited in the second period after getting hit in the face with the puck.
Rangers 4, Lightning 2
Tye Kartye scored the game’s first two goals in a three-point showing and visiting New York ended its season on a high note with a win over playoff-bound Tampa Bay.
Mika Zibanejad notched a power-play goal and an assist, Gabe Perreault netted a goal and J.T. Miller dished out two assists. Goaltender Dylan Garand made 29 saves and moved to 2-0-1.
Oliver Bjorkstrand and Corey Perry scored goals for the Lightning. In his second appearance this season, Brandon Halverson stopped 17 shots.
Blackhawks 5, Sharks 2
Louis Crevier scored two third-period goals and Chicago scored five straight to rally for a season-ending win against visiting San Jose.
Sam Rinzel, Ryan Greene and Nick Lardis also scored, Connor Bedard had two assists and Spencer Knight made 15 saves for the Blackhawks, who had lost four in a row and nine of 10 (1-8-1).
Mario Ferraro and Michael Misa scored, Kiefer Sherwood had two assists and Yaroslav Askarov made 19 saves and turned away a penalty shot for the Sharks, who have lost four of five (1-3-1) entering their finale on Thursday at Winnipeg.
–Field Level Media
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