David Pastrnak and Taylor Hall scored in a 50-second span bridging the first and second periods Friday night and goalie Jeremy Swayman recorded his first NHL shutout as the host Boston Bruins completed a two-game sweep of the New York Islanders with a 3-0 win.
Curtis Lazar added an empty-netter with 1:12 left for the Bruins, who have won three straight since acquiring Hall and Lazar from the Buffalo Sabres on Monday.
The win Friday, coupled with the Bruins' 4-1 victory over the Islanders on Thursday, pulled fourth-place Boston within four points of second-place New York in the East Division. The Bruins extended their lead over the idle New York Rangers to six points in the race for the final playoff spot in the East.
Swayman, pressed into duty earlier this month with starting goalie Tuukka Rask battling an injury and Jaroslav Halak sidelined due to COVID-19 protocol, stopped 25 shots as the Bruins killed off five power plays. Ilya Sorokin made 25 saves for the Islanders, who have lost back-to-back games by multiple goals for the first time this season.
Golden Knights 4, Ducks 0
William Karlsson and Chandler Stephenson both scored in the first five minutes of the second period and Vegas extended its winning streak to five games by shutting out host Anaheim.
Goaltender Robin Lehner made 16 saves in his first shutout of the season as Vegas won for the fifth time in its past six road games and improved to 3-0-0 on a four-game trip to Los Angeles and Anaheim.
Nicolas Roy and Brayden McNabb also had goals for Vegas, while Mark Stone had two assists to give him a team-leading 34. Ducks goaltender John Gibson had 47 saves in his return after Anthony Stolarz played the previous two games.
Canadiens 2, Flames 1
Tyler Toffoli scored two goals and Jake Allen made 28 saves as Montreal edged visiting Calgary.
With the score tied 1-1 in the third period, Joel Armia won a race to the puck behind the Flames' net. Armia immediately passed in front to Toffoli, who redirected the puck over the line at 15:45 for his second goal of the game. Toffoli notched his fifth multi-goal game of the season and ended his personal six-game scoring drought.
The win increased fourth-place Montreal's lead to six points over fifth-place Calgary in the race for the final North Division playoff berth. The Flames entered the game on a three-game win streak, including a 4-1 win at Montreal on Wednesday. Elias Lindholm scored Calgary's only goal.
Wild 3, Sharks 2
Fourth-liner Nick Bonino stayed hot with a goal and an assist in Minnesota's win over San Jose in Saint Paul, Minn.
Bonino and linemates Zach Parise (goal) and Nico Sturm finished plus-5 as the Wild boosted their record to 20-7-3 since Feb. 18. Mats Zuccarello scored for the third time in two games, and Cam Talbot allowed two goals on 22 shots to go to 10-2-2 in 14 starts since March 12.
Tomas Hertl and Evander Kane netted goals and Martin Jones made 15 saves for the Sharks, who lost their fourth straight and are 3-5-0 in April. Patrick Marleau skated in his 1,766th career game -- one short of tying Hall of Famer Gordie Howe for the most games played in NHL history.
--Field Level Media