Dawson Mercer scored his first career hat trick on Tuesday, guiding the New Jersey Devils to a 5-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Dougie Hamilton and Timo Meier were the other Devils scorers, while Vitek Vanecek made 22 saves.
Bryan Rust signed the goal for the Penguins, who are one point behind the Panthers, holders of the last available playoff spot in the East.
Pittsburgh has taken part in the Spring Ball every year since 2006.
It is the longest such streak in the four major North American sports.
Rust completed a fourth straight season with at least 20 nets.
Tristan Jarry blocked 32 shots in a losing cause.
Martin Necas scored at 4:19 in overtime on Tuesday to give the Carolina Hurricanes a 3-2 win over the Ottawa Senators.
Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Brady Skjei also scored for the Hurricanes.
The team has a three-point cushion ahead of New Jersey at the top of the Metropolitan Division.
Antti Raanta blocked 25 pucks for Carolina, which deserved a third win in a row.
Claude Giroux and Brady Tkachuk fought back for the Senators, who lost a third straight game.
Tkachuk has nine goals in his last 12 games.
20-year-old Finn Leevi Merilainen made 34 saves in his NHL debut.
Zach Aston-Reese scored twice as the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-2 on Tuesday.
Alexander Kerfoot and Auston Mathews, in an empty net, scored the other goals for the Maple Leafs. Joseph Woll stopped 24 shots, while Sam Lafferty had two assists.
Jack Roslovic and Eric Robinson scored for the Blue Jackets, who got 46 saves from Jet Greaves in their NHL debut.
Woll was urgently recalled from the American League after Matt Murray suffered a head injury in Saturday’s 5-2 loss to the Maple Leafs.
In his ninth NHL start, Woll improved his season record to 4-1-0.
Toronto scored the game’s first goal after five minutes when Aston-Reese beat Greaves for their ninth goal of the season. Roslovic answered for the Blue Jackets, however, to tie the game 1-1.
Kerfoot put the Maple Leafs ahead again midway through the second period, scoring his ninth goal of the season as well.
Aston-Reese then scored his second goal of the game and a career-high 10 goals in a season, giving them a 3-1 lead. Robinson closed the gap with a pinpoint shot that beat Woll upside, but Matthews sealed the win for the Maple Leafs with his 38th goal of the season, into an empty net.
