Read reports of games played in the NHL on Saturday.
Leon Draisaitl hit the 50-goal mark with his hat trick and the Edmonton Oilers outscored the Anaheim Ducks 6-0 on Saturday night.
Jack Campbell blocked 36 shots for a first shutout this season and the Oilers confirmed their place in the playoffs.
Zach Hyman, Darnell Nurse and Connor McDavid also threaded the needle for the Edmonton squad, which went 13-2-1 in its last 16 outings.
The Oilers are coming off two straight shutouts after being able to get just one this season. Stuart Skinner pitched in front of the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday.
The Ducks for their part suffered a seventh loss in a row, a high for them this season.
Tommy Novak scored one goal and added three assists as the Nashville Predators beat the St. Louis Blues 6-1 on Saturday.
Luke Evangelista had a goal and an assist, while Cody Glass and Colton Sissons also had a goal. Juuse Saros stopped 21 shots for the Predators, who have won two of their last three games.
The Predators kept their playoff chances alive, now three points behind the Winnipeg Jets for the eighth and final spring ball spot in the Western Conference. The Predators have played one game less than the Jets.
Calle Rosen scored and Thomas Greiss made 29 saves for the Blues, who had won four of their last five games. This loss puts the team on the verge of an official mathematical elimination from the playoffs this year.
Novak scored the first goal after just 4:46 of play, with a good wrist shot that hit the post and then entered the net. Glass, who was celebrating his 24th birthday, then scored a few minutes later by redirecting Novak’s shot on the power play.
Sissons scored a shorthanded goal 7:36 into the second period, before Evangelista added to send the Predators into the locker room with a 4-0 lead after 40 minutes.
Rosen scored 8:36 into the third period to end Saros’ shutout hopes. His shot snuck through traffic and beat the Predators goaltender.
Trenin netted unassisted and Tomasino, playing his 100th NHL game, added late on the power play.
Dougie Hamilton, Erik Haula, Jesper Boqvist and Timo Meier all finished with a goal and an assist as the New Jersey Devils beat the Chicago Blackhawks 6-3 on Saturday for their second straight win.
Ryan Graves also scored, while Dawson Mercer added an empty-netter for the Devils, who now have 104 points, one shy of the first-place Carolina Hurricanes in the Metropolitan Division. Devils points leader Jack Hughes had two assists.
Andreas Athanasiou had a goal and an assist for the Blackhawks, who have now lost their last eight games. Tyler Johnson scored in a third straight game, while rookie Lukas Reichel scored on a deflected shot.
Defender Hamilton scored his 20th goal of the campaign, reaching that milestone for the first time in 11 league seasons. Haula found the back of the net for the third game in a row.
Devils backup goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood made 14 saves. Alex Stalock stopped 34 shots for the Blackhawks.
Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews returned to action after a two-month absence for medical reasons.
The 34-year-old Toews was on the opening faceoff and playing his first game since Jan. 28 in Edmonton against the Oilers. He picked up an assist on Athanasiou’s net in the third period.
The Devils outshot the Blackhawks 10-4 after a scoreless first period.
Hamilton scored the game’s first goal 6:19 into the second period with a slapshot. Ondrej Palat had given him the disc.
Johnson, left alone, then tied the game 1-1 just 85 seconds later, scoring his 11th goal of the season.
The Blackhawks took a 2-1 lead thanks to Reichel’s goal on a deflection. Athanasiou came into the area, skated behind the opposing net, eventually coming back to the crease and shooting through traffic. Reichel took the opportunity to redirect the throw.
Haula snuck through the defense and tied the game 2-2 after 15:31 of play in the second period. With just 1:32 left in the period, Boqvist came to the net and used his hands to beat both defenders and the goalie.
Graves went there with a backhand shot to the top of the net to make it 4-2 early in the third period.
Athanasiou made it 4-3 halfway through the final period, but Mercer wrapped up the start with an empty-net goal.
Alex Tuch scored his second career hat trick, Jeff Skinner had a goal and an assist and the Buffalo Sabers beat the Philadelphia Flyers 6-3 on Saturday.
Jordan Greenway and Kyle Okposo also scored for the Sabers, while Casey Mittelstadt had three assists. The Sabers won their fourth game in five starts. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen blocked 39 shots.
Morgan Frost scored twice for the Flyers, while Travis Konecny also scored on his return after missing the last 16 games with an upper-body injury. Felix Sandstrom made 23 saves.
With the loss, the Flyers are officially eliminated from the playoffs.
The Sabers changed the game with four goals in less than four minutes in the final minutes of the first period and the opening minutes of the second.
Tuch scored his first goal of the game 1:25 into the first half, over Sandstrom’s shoulder. Greenway made it 3-1 on a rebound, and Skinner then made it 4-1 after 3:46 of play.
Tuch scored a second goal in the second period, shooting over Sandstrom’s blocker.
Konecny scored his 28th of the season 5:11 into the third period, but Tuch got his hat trick a bit later, with less than four minutes left in the game.
Ilya Samsonov made 30 saves for the Toronto Maple Leafs and the team won 3-0 against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.
Michael Bunting, William Nylander and Radim Zohorna all scored for the Maple Leafs (44-20-10).
Mads Sogaard, who started the game in goal, allowed three goals on 16 shots. Cam Talbot stopped just four shots in the final 20 minutes.
Talbot started the third period for the Senators (37-34-5), while Sogaard was not on the bench.
The loss could destroy the Senators’ chances of making the playoffs.
Trailing 3-0, the Senators had a chance to close the gap on the power play, but they weren’t able to take advantage of it. Going for broke, the team retired their goalie with five minutes left in regulation time.
Bunting opened the scoring early in the second period, taking advantage of a loose puck to beat Sogaard.
Midway through the period, the Maple Leafs won the face-off and Nylander took the opportunity to beat Sogaard under the arm to make it 2-0. It was Nylander’s first goal in four games and his fourth in nine games.
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 38 saves as the Tampa Bay Lightning shut out the New York Islanders 5-0 on Saturday night.
Lightning star players Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos scored 1:48 apart in the second period.
The Lightning confirmed their berth in the playoffs for the sixth straight year and they will once again face the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round of playoffs.
The Lightning, who have been to the Stanley Cup Finals for the past three years, winning top honors in 2020 and 2021, have reached the playoffs in nine of Jon Cooper’s 10 full seasons at the helm.
Mikhail Sergachev, Tanner Jeannot and Brayden Point also moved the ropes for Team Florida.
Vasilevskiy had two shutouts in his last three games and it was his fourth shutout of the season.
The Islanders hold a two-point lead over the Florida Panthers for first overall in the Eastern Conference draft.
Carter Verhaeghe scored four goals as the Florida Panthers crushed the Columbus Blue Jackets 7-0 on Saturday night.
Verhaeghe’s dream night saw him hit the 40-goal mark for the first time in his NHL career.
Sam Reinhart added a goal and two assists for the Panthers, who edged the Pittsburgh Penguins for eighth and last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Nick Cousins and Eric Staal also scored for the Panthers. Anthony Duclair and Aleksander Barkov both contributed to three goals for his side.
Alex Lyon was perfect on 21 shots for his first shutout this season. The Florida team recorded a third consecutive road win.
Michael Hutchinson stopped 42 shots for the Blue Jackets, who were shut out for the fifth time this season.
David Pastrnak completed his 14th career hat trick by hitting the target with 2:26 remaining in the game as the Boston Bruins defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 on Saturday.
The Bruins posted their 59th win this season, coming within three of the record held jointly by the Detroit Red Wings (1996) and the Tampa Bay Lightning (2019). The Bruins still have six games left in the season.
Pastrnak scored his 54th, 55th and 56th goals of the season, allowing him to reach 100 points for the first time in nine years in the NHL.
Charlie McAvoy also hit the target for the Bruins, who have won nine of their last 10 games. Jeremy Swayman stopped 21 shots.
Bryan Rust found the back of the net twice for the Penguins, scoring his first multi-goal game since Feb. 1, 2022. Jake Guentzel tied the game with 7:30 to go in the third commitment.
Tristan Jarry saved 32 pucks, but was unable to block Pastrnak’s one-timer in the final minutes.
