Maple Leafs Beat Blue Jackets, NHL Scores

By ESPN

William Nylander and Leo Komarov each had a goal and an assist and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-2 on Wednesday night.

Auston Matthews and Nazem Kadri also scored, and Frederik Andersen had 32 saves as Toronto stayed in the thick of the playoff hunt in the Atlantic Division. Nikita Zaitsev scored an empty-net goal after the Blue Jackets pulled their goalie for a sixth skater near the end.

David Savard and Brandon Saad scored for Columbus, which lost for the first time in the last five games. Backup goaltender Joonas Korpisalo stopped 27 shots. The Blue Jackets stayed in third place in the Metropolitan Division, two points behind leader Washington and one behind Pittsburgh. They play the Capitals in Washington on Thursday night.

Islanders 3, Rangers 2

After getting off to a slow start, the New York Islanders rallied with a strong third period to get a big win in their playoff push.

Andrew Ladd scored the tiebreaking goal with about 7 1/2 minutes remaining to lift the Islanders to a 3-2 victory over the crosstown-rival Rangers on Wednesday night.

Anders Lee had a goal and an assist, and Nikolay Kulemin also scored for the Islanders, who pulled two points behind Boston for the Eastern Conference's second wild-card spot. Anthony Beauvillier had two assists and Thomas Greiss stopped 34 shots.

"We might not have had our best night, we just stuck with it, then found a way," said Islanders captain John Tavares, who had an assist on Ladd's winner. "I think that's what matters most. I think going forward, we just know we have to be a lot better in some areas. We just keep believing. There's still 10 games to go, and you play 82 for a reason."

On the tiebreaking goal, the Islanders were on the power play when Tavares fired a shot from the left side that deflected to Lee at the left side of the net. Lee then sent a backhand pass in front to Ladd, who fired it past Raanta for his 20th with 7:22 to go.

Ducks 4, Oilers 3

If the Anaheim Ducks and Edmonton Oilers were looking to send a message to one another ahead of a possible matchup in the playoffs, it didn't take.

Instead, the Ducks were left relieved that a first period no-show didn't end up costing them the win -- and the Oilers hoping the two points lost taught them a valuable lesson.

Rickard Rakell scored the go-ahead goal, Hampus Lindholm had a goal and two assists, and the Ducks defeated the Oilers 4-3 on Wednesday night.

"We weren't very happy with our first period, but the team responded like we wanted to," said Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf, who had three assists. "We kept pushing."

Jonathan Bernier made 29 saves, and Josh Manson and Patrick Eaves also scored as Anaheim passed Edmonton for second place in the Pacific Division with nine games remaining for both teams.

Wednesday, March 22 Scoreboard

Toronto 5, Columbus 2

New York Islanders 3, New York Rangers 2

Anaheim 4, Edmonton 3

Thursday, March 23 Schedule (All Times Central)

Tampa  Bay at Boston, 6 p.m.

Columbus at Washington, 6 p.m.

New Jersey at Toronto, 6:30 p.m.

Carolina at Montreal, 6:30 p.m.

Pittsburgh at Ottawa, 6:30 p.m.

Arizona at Florida, 6:30 p.m.

Vancouver at  St. Louis, 7 p.m.

Calgary at Nashville, 7 p.m.

Philadelphia at Minnesota, 7 p.m.

Dallas at Chicago, 7:30 p.m.

Edmonton at Colorado, 8 p.m.

Winnipeg at Los Angeles, 9:30 p.m.

Friday, March 24 Schedule (All Times Central)

New York Islanders at Pittsburgh, 6 p.m.

Tampa Bay at Detroit, 6:30 p.m.

San Jose at Dallas, 7:30 p.m.

Winnipeg at Anaheim, 9 p.m.

Saturday, March 25 Schedule (All Times Central)

Philadelphia at Columbus, 1 p.m.

Vancouver at Minnesota, 1 p.m.

Toronto at Buffalo, 6 p.m.

Ottawa at Montreal, 6 p.m.

Chicago at Florida, 6 p.m.

Carolina at New Jersey, 6 p.m.

Boston at New York Islanders, 6 p.m.

Arizona at Washington, 6 p.m.

Calgary at St. Louis, 6 p.m.

San Jose at Nashville, 7 p.m.

Colorado at Edmonton, 9 p.m.

New York Rangers at Los Angeles, 9:30 p.m.

Sunday, March 26 Schedule (All Times Central)

Minnesota at Detroit, 11:30 a.m.

Dallas at New Jersey, 4 p.m.

Philadelphia at Pittsburgh, 6 p.m.

Vancouver at  Winnipeg, 7 p.m.

New York Rangers at Anaheim, 8 p.m.