Corey Perry capped his third career hat-trick with his NHL-leading 50th goal during a dynamic four-point performance as the Anaheim Ducks kept pace in a tight playoff race with a 6-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday.
Rookie Cam Fowler, Teemu Selanne and Jason Blake also scored as Anaheim rebounded from back-to-back losses to stay in a seventh-place tie with Chicago in the Western Conference standings. Both clubs have 95 points apiece and two games to go.
The Ducks’ victory eliminated the Calgary Flames, but the 10th-place Dallas Stars still have a chance with 91 points and a game in hand.
Photo: Reuters
Perry became just the third 50-goal scorer in Ducks history and the Western Conference’s first 50-goal scorer since Calgary’s Jarome Iginla in 2007 to 2008.
Dan Boyle and Ben Eager scored for the Sharks.
BLACKHAWKS 4, BLUES 3
In Chicago, Jonathan Toews scored with a low shot from the left circle at 3:19 of overtime to give the Chicago Blackhawks a victory over St Louis and move within two points of a clinching a playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Toews beat Ty Conklin on the short side after taking a long lead pass from Duncan Keith and racing in with Blues defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo in close pursuit.
Marian Hossa, Tomas Kopecky and Nick Leddy scored in the second period to help the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks erase a two-goal deficit.
St Louis’ Chris Stewart scored midway through the third to set up overtime. T.J. Oshie had a goal and an assist, and David Backes also scored for the Blues, who are out of the playoffs for the second straight season.
KINGS 3, COYOTES 2, SO
In Los Angeles, Kyle Clifford had the tying goal late in the second period, Jarret Stoll also scored and the Los Angeles Kings clinched their second straight playoff berth.
Stoll also had the deciding goal in the tiebreaker, his ninth in 10 shots this season and eighth in a row. Jonathan Quick made 33 saves.
Lee Stempniak and Taylor Pyatt scored first period goals for Phoenix and Ilya Bryzgalov made 31 saves.
The Coyotes need one more point to secure their second straight postseason berth.
OILERS 6, FLAMES 1
In Calgary, Alberta, Jarome Iginla scored three goals and added an assist as the Edmonton Oilers routed Calgary, a few minutes before the Flames were eliminated from the Western Conference playoff race.
With one game left, Calgary is two points behind Chicago and Anaheim.
Iginla has 42 goals. Alex Tanguay had a goal and two assists, Rene Bourque and Curtis Glencross also scored, Mikael Backlund had three assists, and Miikka Kiprusoff made 22 saves.
Magnus Paajarvi scored for the Edmonton Oilers.
HURRICANES 3, RED WINGS 0
In Raleigh, North Carolina, Cam Ward made 42 saves for his second shutout in a month as the Carolina Hurricanes beat Detroit to remain alive for a playoff spot.
Jeff Skinner and Derek Joslin scored in the second period and Erik Cole added a goal in the third. The Hurricanes have won seven of nine to move to 89 points and remain in the hunt for just their second postseason berth since they won the 2006 Stanley Cup.
Eric Staal added three assists to help Carolina beat Detroit for the first time since 2006.
Jimmy Howard made 29 saves for the Central Division champion Red Wings, who lost star left winger Henrik Zetterberg to a lower-body injury. Zetterberg, who collided with Carolina defenseman Bryan Allen midway through the first period, has a team-best 80 points.
CAPITALS 5, PANTHERS 2
In Washington, Mike Knuble and Jason Chimera scored power-play goals in the first period as the Washington Capitals won its fourth straight game to move to the brink of clinching the top seed in the Eastern Conference.
Sean Collins, called up over the weekend because of injuries to several Washington defensemen, padded the lead in the second period with his second career NHL goal. Matt Hendricks made it 4-0 in the third period, and Alex Ovechkin scored his 301st NHL goal into an empty net.
In other NHL games, it was:
‧ Bruins 3, Islanders 2
‧ Devils 4, Maple Leafs 2
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