Tomas Hertl, who has 31 goals, will miss the road trip because of an injury that he sustained Sunday against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Hertl was shoved into the boards from behind by Lightning defenseman Emil Lilleberg.

"He'll get tests done," Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon said. "I think he had some done (Monday) and again some more (Tuesday) to determine exactly what we're dealing with, but he'll be missing this trip."

In the meantime, Vegas (42-20-8, 92 points) will try to build upon its lead over the Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers in the Pacific Division. The Golden Knights have won three games in a row by a combined margin of 15-6.

Minnesota (40-26-5, 85 points) will play on short rest after losing 3-0 on the road against the Dallas Stars on Monday night. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for the Wild, who are trying to hang on to one of two wild-card playoff berths in the Western Conference.

Marc-Andre Fleury could get the start in net for the Wild one night after Filip Gustavsson manned the crease against the Stars. Fleury, 40, is 12-8-1 with a 2.72 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage in 22 games this season.

Fleury has faced the Golden Knights four times in his career, posting a 1-3-0 record with a 4.41 GAA and an .873 save percentage in those contests. He played for Vegas for four seasons from 2017-21.

Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin also hopes to return to the ice after sitting out Monday's game against the Stars because of a lower-body injury. The 31-year-old Brodin missed almost a month of action earlier this season because of a lower-body injury.

Wild coach John Hynes said he wanted to be cautious to avoid another long setback.

"We're trying to be really cognizant of a player being off for a long time with the type of injury he had," Hynes said. "(We're) making sure we're putting him in a situation where he can come back and play at a high level."

Brodin has 19 points (4 goals, 15 assists) and a plus-11 rating in 39 games this season.

The Golden Knights' options in net include Adin Hill (26-11-5, 2.51 GAA, .907 save percentage) and Ilya Samsonov (16-9-3, 2.78 GAA, .892 save percentage). Hill is 2-4-0 with a 2.53 GAA and an .896 save percentage in seven career games against Minnesota, and Samsonov is 0-2-1 with a 4.06 GAA and an .872 save percentage in three games versus the Wild.

This is the third and final game between the teams during the regular season. Vegas has won each of the first two meetings -- a 3-2 road win on Dec. 15 and a 4-1 win on home ice Jan. 12.

The Wild are 18-15-2 at home this season. The Golden Knights are 15-13-5 on the road.

Fantilli also scored to begin the comeback in the second period for the Blue Jackets, who inched within two points of the idle Montreal Canadiens for the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot.

Columbus' Boone Jenner and Kirill Marchenko added goals and Elvis Merzlikins made 30 saves in regulation and overtime before stopping all three Islanders shots in the shootout.

Pierre Engvall, Kyle Palmieri and Anders Lee scored for the Islanders, who lost after regulation for the second straight game but moved within a point of the Canadiens. Palmieri had the potential game-winning goal overturned due to interference with Merzlikins with 9.6 seconds left in regulation. Ilya Sorokin recorded 27 saves.

Canucks 4, Devils 3 (SO)

Rookie Jonathan Lekkerimaki scored a goal in regulation, then notched the deciding tally of a shootout to give Vancouver a dramatic win in Newark, N.J.

The Canucks trailed 3-2 with 36 seconds left in regulation before Conor Garland deposited the equalizer after a scramble in front of New Jersey's net. Pius Suter also tallied for the Canucks, and Thatcher Demko had 22 saves.

Timo Meier scored two goals for New Jersey and Erik Haula produced the Devils' other tally. Jacob Markstrom made 25 saves. The Devils are 1-3-1 in their past five games overall and 2-5-1 in their past eight home games.

Stars 3, Wild 0

Jake Oettinger made 32 saves as Dallas blanked visiting Minnesota.

Wyatt Johnston, Matt Duchene and Mason Marchment provided the offense for the Stars, who have won back-to-back games and have logged points in five straight contests (3-0-2). Roope Hintz added a pair of assists.

Filip Gustavsson stopped 26 shots for the Wild, who saw their three-game winning streak end.

Red Wings 5, Utah Hockey Club 1

Despite losing starting goaltender Petr Mrazek to an injury less than two minutes into the game, Detroit defeated Utah in Salt Lake City. Alex Lyon took over and stopped 16 shots.

Alex DeBrincat had a goal and an assist and Elmer Soderblom, Marco Kasper, Austin Watson and Tyler Motte also scored for the Red Wings, who won for just the third time in 12 games.

Dylan Guenther got the goal for the Utah Hockey Club, who had won three of their previous four games. Karel Vejmelka made nine saves.

Alex DeBrincat had a goal and an assist and Elmer Soderblom, Marco Kasper, Austin Watson and Tyler Motte also scored for the Red Wings (33-31-6, 72 points), who won for just the third time in 12 games.

Detroit, which got two assists from Simon Edvinsson, is three points out of the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

Petr Mrazek made a save on Dylan Guenther 1:38 into the game, was injured and went to the locker room. That was the only shot Mrazek faced. He was replaced by Alex Lyon, who stopped 16 shots.

Guenther got the goal for the Utah Hockey Club (32-28-11, 75 points), who had won three of their last four and are six points out of the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. Karel Vejmelka made nine saves.

Kasper was credited with the marker that gave the Red Wings a 2-1 lead 1:34 into the second period. His attempted pass from along the goal line went in off the leg of Utah's Lawson Crouse. DeBrincat got an assist for his 500th career point.

Watson gave Detroit a two-goal lead 9:51 into the third period when his mid-air tip of a shot deflected in a high arch and then down over the shoulder of Vejmelka and into the net. It was Watson's first goal since Dec. 31, 2023.

DeBrincat added an empty-net goal, his team-leading 33rd of the season, with 2:54 left and Motte scored with 1:28 remaining.

The game was tied 1-1 after the first.

Guenther opened the scoring with a power-play goal 3:46 into the game on a one-time shot from the inside part of the left circle. It was his team-leading 26th of the season.

But Soderblom tied it 1:22 later. In his return after missing a game with a lower-body injury, Soderblom capitalized on a one-timer from the inside edge of the right circle on a 2-on-1 rush off a pass from Vladimir Tarasenko.

Wyatt Johnston, Matt Duchene and Mason Marchment provided the offense for the Stars (45-21-4, 94 points), who have won back-to-back games and have points in five straight contests (3-0-2).

Roope Hintz added a pair of assists as Dallas improved to 7-2-2 in its last 11 and 9-2-2 against the Wild over the last 13 meetings.

The Stars have a five-point lead on the third-place Colorado Avalanche in the Central Division with a game in hand.

Oettinger's 12th career shutout saw the Stars' netminder improve to 11-2-0 over his last 13 home starts.

Filip Gustavsson stopped 26 shots for the Wild (40-26-5, 85 points), who saw their three-game winning streak come to an end.

Minnesota, 6-4-1 over its last 11, sits in the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference, four points ahead of the St. Louis Blues.

Dallas scored twice in 58 seconds to open a 2-0 lead after 40 minutes.

Johnston opened the scoring, tipping a Thomas Harley shot past Gustavsson on a power play at 15:01 for his 26th goal of the season.

With the assist, Harley extended his point streak to four games (three goals, three assists).

Duchene doubled the Stars lead at 15:59, snapping a shot past a screened Gustavsson for his 27th. Duchene, who paces Dallas with 71 points in 70 games, has points in five straight contests (two goals, three assists).

Marchment added an empty-netter with 42.4 seconds remaining in the third period for his 18th of the season.

Monday was the third of four meetings between the Stars and Wild. Dallas edged host Minnesota 2-1 on Nov. 16 and the visiting Wild beat the Stars 3-2 in overtime on Dec. 27. The Stars and Wild wrap up the season series on April 6 in Minnesota.

While the Kings are seeking their seventh straight home win and to extend their home point streak to 15 games, the Rangers are attempting to stay afloat in the wild-card race Tuesday night when the teams get together in Los Angeles.

The Kings (39-21-9, 87 points) are trying to earn home-ice advantage over the Edmonton Oilers while also attempting to close a five-point gap with the Vegas Golden Knights atop the Pacific Division. Los Angeles is helping both causes thanks to a dominant stretch that has seen them go 11-0-3 on home ice since its last regulation home loss on Jan. 20 against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Los Angeles saw its home dominance continue with a pair of impressive 7-2 victories over the Carolina Hurricanes and Boston Bruins in a weekend back-to-back set. On Sunday against Boston, 16 players recorded a point and the night before 13 players notched at least one point.

"It's impressive," Los Angeles coach Jim Hiller said after the Kings scored seven goals on consecutive days for the third time in team history. "That one, I think, we share with everybody, with our fans, with the city."

Adrian Kempe scored Saturday and then assisted on goals by Anze Kopitar and Andrei Kuzmenko on Sunday when the Kings allowed the first goal 19 seconds into the contest and scored the final five goals.

Kempe is on the verge of his third 30-goal season and has four goals and seven assists during the home points streak.

Kopitar scored in both games and has five goals over his past 11 contests. Quentin Byfield also scored in both games, giving him eight goals in his past 10 contests along with goals in seven straight home games.

Byfield and Kempe also scored while Kopitar registered two assists when the Kings rolled to a 5-1 rout in New York on Dec. 14.

New York's lopsided defeat to the Kings was part of its 4-15-0 skid that knocked them out of playoff contention. The Rangers (34-31-6, 74 points) are 18-13-5 since that skid but also 10-11-2 since their 10-game points streak Jan. 5-23.

New York avoided its second four-game losing streak this month by coming alive in the third period following a lackluster opening 40 minutes in a 5-3 home win over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday afternoon.

The Rangers were outshot 39-12 but scored four times in the third by getting two goals from Jonny Brodzinski, a tally by K'Andre Miller and an empty-net goal by J.T. Miller.

"It was kind of a mixed bag," said J.T. Miller, who was goalless in his previous nine games. "They probably outplayed us for most of the game today, but we stuck with it. I thought our best period was in the third period. You definitely don't want to give up that many after you give up the lead, what, three times? We'll take the points this time of year though."

The Rangers had one shot on goal through the first period and tied their season low for shots on goal. It was the second time in three games they were held under 15 shots and seventh time in 10 games they were held under 25 shots.

Fantilli also scored to begin the comeback in the second period for the Blue Jackets (32-29-9, 73 points, who inched within two points of the idle Montreal Canadiens (33-27-9, 75 points) for the final Eastern Conference wild card spot.

Boone Jenner and Kirill Marchenko added goals for the Blue Jackets, who hadn't led in any of their previous six games (0-5-1). Elvis Merzlikins made 30 saves in regulation and overtime before stopping all three Islanders shots in overtime.

Pierre Engvall, Kyle Palmieri and Anders Lee scored for the Islanders (32-28-10, 74 points), who lost after regulation for the second straight game but moved within a point of the Canadiens. Palmieri had the potential game-winning goal overturned due to interference with Merzlikins with 9.6 seconds left in regulation.

Goalie Ilya Sorokin recorded 27 saves.

Engvall opened the scoring at the 13:16 mark of the first, when he swooped into the right faceoff circle and fired a shot past Merzlikins once Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski left his shooting lane.

Palmieri doubled the lead with 1:19 left. Bo Horvat passed from the goal line to Palmieri, who streaked into the slot and buried a shot under Merzlikins' glove.

The Blue Jackets briefly tied the score by scoring on two of their five second-period shots. Merzlikins earned an assist by batting away the puck from Noah Dobson's shot off the back boards and passing to Dante Fabbro, who dished to Fantilli in the neutral zone. Fantilli shuffled the puck for several steps before sending a shot past Dobson as he kneeled and beyond Sorokin's glove at the 5:31 mark.

Jenner tied the score with a short-handed goal with 2:47 left. Another Dobson shot bounced off bodies in the crease and to Sean Monahan, who returned Monday after missing the last 28 games with a wrist injury. Monahan chipped the puck into the neutral zone to Jenner whose shot glanced off Dobson's ankle and fluttered past Sorokin.

The Islanders retook the lead with 48 seconds remaining when Lee, battling for position with Erik Gudbranson -- who missed the previous 66 games with a shoulder injury -- in front of Merzlikins, redirected a shot by Reilly. The goal stood upon a challenge by the Blue Jackets.

Marchenko tied the game with 7:04 left, when Monahan won a faceoff against Horvat deep in the Columbus zone before Marchenko's shot sailed past Sorokin as he was screened by several players.

The Canucks trailed 3-2 with 36 seconds left in regulation before Pius Suter deposited the equalizer -- his second goal of the night -- after a scramble in front of New Jersey's net.

The game remained tied through overtime. Vancouver's Jake DeBrusk scored in the second round of the shootout and Jesper Bratt pulled the Devils even in the third round before Lekkerimaki ended the proceedings.

The Canucks improved to 1-1-1 over the first three stops of a six-game road trip. Vancouver (33-26-12, 78 points) moved to within three points of the idle St. Louis Blues for the final Western Conference playoff spot.

Suter now has six goals in his past seven games. Lekkerimaki scored the Canucks' other goal in regulation time.

Vancouver goalie Thatcher Demko stopped 22 of 25 shots, including a game-saving sprawl to deny Paul Cotter in overtime. Demko looked sharp in his return to the ice after missing Vancouver's previous 15 games recovering from a lower-body injury.

The Devils are 1-3-1 in their past five games overall and 2-5-1 in their past eight home games.

Timo Meier scored two goals for New Jersey (37-28-7, 81 points), and Erik Haula produced the Devils' other tally. Jacob Markstrom made 25 saves.

The Canucks opened the scoring midway through the first period when Marcus Pettersson sent a nice pass to a wide-open Suter in the slot for a one-timer.

Meier collected the equalizer during a power play 10:24 into the second period, off assists from Dawson Mercer and Bratt.

The teams exchanged goals within a 45-second span in the third period. Meier tallied his second of the game at 11:02, but Lekkerimaki quickly responded to again level the score.

Soon after that quick flurry, Haula restored New Jersey's lead 13:25 into the third frame. Haula won a faceoff in Vancouver's zone, then deposited the rebound after Brian Dumoulin's initial shot was stopped.

The Flames (33-25-11, 77 points) sit four points behind the St. Louis Blues for the second wild-card position in the Western Conference, but hold three games in hand.

They return home after winning the final three games of a four-game road swing.

"I'm really pleased with the way the guys played on the road trip," coach Ryan Huska said. "Now, it's going home and making sure we're going to keep the momentum going."

After opening their trip with a one-sided loss in Toronto, the Flames swept the trio of New York-area squads, including the New Jersey Devils, thanks to comeback victories in each contest.

"This group has so much heart, so much compete, and we need to bring our best every night from here on out," said forward Matt Coronato, who is riding a three-game goal-scoring streak in which he has tallied four times. "I think our energy level (will) be high. We're excited for these last games."

Calgary has 13 contests remaining in the regular season.

The Flames also appear to be gaining reinforcements at a critical moment. After missing the last game, defenseman MacKenzie Weegar (lower-body injury) and forward Joel Farabee (illness) are expected to return. Captain Mikael Backlund, who has missed the past five games due to an upper-body issue, also practiced fully on Monday.

"We have to see how he reacts after practice," Huska said. "We'll kind (of) go from there."

The Kraken (30-36-5, 65 points) have not been officially eliminated from Stanley Cup playoff contention, but it is only a matter of time as they sit 16 points out with 11 games remaining.

Seattle arrives having lost two straight games, the latest a 5-4 defeat to the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday.

"I think everyone in this room knows we've got to be better and play harder," forward Kaapo Kaako said after scoring twice in Edmonton. "There were good times out there (in Edmonton) when we played pretty good. We got good chances and it was a pretty tight game in the end.

"We've just got to find a way in these games."

As disappointing as the season has been, the Kraken have seen some positives. Possibly the biggest being that their two future cornerstone players in Matty Beniers and Shane Wright have taken steps forward.

Beniers, the 2021 second overall pick who won the Calder Trophy as the league's top rookie thanks to a 24-goal campaign in 2022-23, has shown a more rounded game as he hunts for the 20-goal mark.

Wright, the fourth pick in 2022, is tied with Beniers at 17 goals and has become an everyday NHLer after experiencing some growing pains.

"Wrighter has obviously taken a step ever since, really, December," veteran forward Jordan Eberle said in an interview with the team's website. "He makes a lot of little plays. His speed is very underrated. His shot is underrated. He's got a lot of tools that make him an offensive threat. I see the confidence coming into his play.

"I think it's the same confidence for Matty too. He keeps growing as a player. He's engaged. I've always said the things that impressed me with him were his defensive play and the way he controls the puck (in all situations). Both are very cerebral players with hockey IQs off the charts."

Washington (47-15-8, 102 points) is the only team to punch its ticket to the NHL postseason, and the Jets (48-19-4, 100 points) can secure their own playoff berth with a victory.

The Capitals are coming into Winnipeg red-hot, having swept a three-game homestand with victories over Detroit, Philadelphia and Florida. The most recent result, a 6-3 win over the Panthers, came on Saturday.

"We're all excited and we're all happy to take care of business at home and carry that momentum out on the road," center Connor McMichael said. "We've got some tough opponents coming up ... obviously in Winnipeg and Minnesota, so it's going to be a big test for us."

Beyond that sweep at home, the first-place Capitals have put together a run of nine wins over their last 10 contests. However, that's not something anyone in Washington is leaning on as a measure of future success.

"We're always trying to get better," Capitals defenseman John Carlson said. "In that stretch, we probably found a lot of ways to win in a few of them. You need those things. Nothing is going to be perfect down the stretch here.

"The more ways you can find a win, the more confidence you have in reaching back in different situations."

While Carlson emphasizes the importance of finding different ways to win, the Jets' top line has been relying on their team's depth to do just that.

The NHL's highest-scoring line, featuring Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele and Gabriel Vilardi, has mostly been kept off the board over their last four games, with Connor scoring twice, Scheifele picking up two assists and Vilardi not finding the scoresheet at all.

Jets head coach Scott Arniel is confident the trio will begin to combine for more offense soon. (Vilardi sustained an upper-body injury Sunday in a 5-3 loss to Buffalo and is considered week-to-week.)

"They've had a lot of chances," Arniel said. "Players and lines go through stretches where it just doesn't seem to go in the net, but the number of opportunities over the last few games has been really good. The idea is just to keep getting inside, keep shooting the puck and keep making those plays."

The lack of finish by Winnipeg's top line added to the disappointment of a missed chance to earn a postseason spot Sunday against Buffalo, during a game in which the Jets outshot the Sabres 36-17.

"At the end of the day, we're focusing on our game each night," Jets forward Brandon Tanev said about bouncing back from that defeat. "Shift by shift, practice by practice, you know, that mentality. There are some positives to take out of that game ... (we'll be) ready for the next one here soon."

Washington captain Alex Ovechkin enters the game seven goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky's all-time NHL goals record.

On the injury front, Jets blueliner Neal Pionk remains out week-to-week with an undisclosed injury.

As a result, their showdown Tuesday night in St. Louis will have outsized importance.

The Blues (37-28-7, 81 points) are riding a six-game winning streak into this matchup. They earned a pair of 4-1 victories over the Chicago Blackhawks and Nashville Predators on Saturday and Sunday.

St. Louis has suffered just two regulation losses since Feb. 8. They have gone 13-2-2 over that span.

"We believed in ourselves the whole way," Blues center Robert Thomas said about his team's recent success. "We thought we were playing pretty good hockey for a good chunk of the year and weren't getting the results. We stuck with it and now we're getting those results. Been really impressed, especially with our third periods. The last two games, our third periods have been really good.

"That's what teams with confidence, good teams, do to keep on winning."

The Canadiens (33-27-9, 75 points) have also been red-hot, earning points in 12 of the last 13 games (8-1-4). They erased a three-goal third-period deficit against the Colorado Avalanche Saturday before losing 5-4 in a shootout.

"We have a very confident group right now," Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said. "I found we came in waves in the third. It wasn't just one line. We came in waves, and I think we gave them trouble."

The Blues rolled with the same lineup since the 4 Nations Face-Off break until illnesses and minor injuries finally forced some changes.

Forwards Pavel Buchnevich (illness) and Oskar Sundqvist sat out Sunday's game, as did defenseman Nick Leddy. The Blues' top forward prospect Dalibor Dvorsky made his NHL debut while forward Alexandre Texier and defenseman Matthew Kessel were also plugged into the lineup.

The Blues have allowed just nine goals during their six-game streak with Montgomery using both Jordan Binnington and Joel Hofer in goal.

"As a D-core, we're confident," Blues defenseman Justin Faulk said. "We've got a lot of older guys back there, a couple younger guys, but they're playing well. They've stepped in and they're doing their job.

"When you got two goalies playing behind you as well, that helps the group. It calms the group. We're feeling good and hopefully it keeps rolling."

Montreal has staged comebacks in its last three games while staying in the playoff fight. The Canadiens' late push to force overtime against the talented Avalanche was especially impressive.

"We believe, in here, that we can play against anyone," Montreal forward Juraj Slafkovsky said.

"It's easy to roll over, and that's just not what we do on our team," Montreal captain Nick Suzuki said on Saturday. "The guys just kept battling, getting chances. We really took over the game and we could have probably got a few more in the third. So it's a big point."

The Canadiens won the earlier meeting between the teams 5-2 on Oct. 26 in Montreal. Jake Evans, Kirby Dach and Joel Armia each had a goal and an assist in that game.

The well-traveled forward will look to show his former team a thing or two on Tuesday when the Hurricanes open a four-game homestand against the Predators in Raleigh, N.C.

Jankowski scored a goal for the second time in as many games on Sunday to help Carolina post a 5-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks. He has six goals in seven games since being acquired from Nashville for a fifth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. He scored just four goals for Nashville in 41 games.

Like Jankowski, Taylor Hall continues to make his presence known. The former Hart Trophy recipient recorded his second hat trick of the season and sixth of his career to pace Carolina (43-23-4, 90 points) to its ninth win in 10 games.

"Dynamite, really," Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind'Amour said of the 33-year-old Hall, who has 11 points (six goals, five assists) in 20 games since being acquired in a three-team trade on Jan. 24. "Every shift, it felt like he was impactful (and) all around it.

"He's been really good since he showed up here, but hadn't quite got rewarded for what he has been doing and (Sunday) he did."

Frederik Andersen has yielded just eight goals while winning his last five starts. The 35-year-old made 35 saves versus the Ducks, one day after the Los Angeles Kings shellacked his team.

"Just turning the page quickly, mentally, was the biggest thing," Andersen said of the team's quick response to that setback. "Obviously, you're going to have some games like (Saturday) when things just go against you. You're going to have that, and you're going to have to respond.

"I thought we all came ready to play. (We) turned the page quick and it feels good."

The Hurricanes likely feel good about their play at home. They have won five in a row in Raleigh to improve to 27-7-1 at home this season.

Conversely, the Predators (26-36-8, 60 points) fell to 8-22-5 away from Music City this season after dropping a 4-1 decision to the St. Louis Blues on Sunday.

Filip Forsberg scored a power-play goal to extend his point streak to four games (three goals, three assists) for Nashville, which has lost five of its last six contests overall (1-4-1).

"The second period was really good. I thought we kind of took it to them and really didn't give them anything," Forsberg said. "... Third period, I thought we came out pretty good, too. It's an even game, back and forth. They get the goal off the rush, but we're still creating a ton of chances on the power play there at the end.

"Sadly, the theme of the season, we can't get the puck to go in. If you get one of those two chances there, it's a 3-2 game, you never know what's going to happen."

Forsberg leads the Predators in goals (28), assists (37) and points (65). The 30-year-old Swede notched three assists and Jonathan Marchessault also recorded a three-point performance (two goals, one assist) in Nashville's 5-2 win over Carolina on Dec. 23.

The matchup between the two Eastern Conference clubs will be the first meeting in Florida, and the first since the Lightning (40-25-5, 85 points) topped the Penguins (29-32-11, 69 points) 5-2 in Pittsburgh on Jan. 12.

Two consecutive regulation losses have hurt the Lightning's chances of climbing atop the Atlantic Division. They are four points behind the first-place Florida Panthers (43-25-3, 89 points) with one game in hand over the reigning champions. The second-place Toronto Maple Leafs (42-25-3, 87 points) will host the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night, while the Panthers are idle until Friday.

Tampa Bay essentially went bust in Las Vegas when it allowed the Golden Knights to build a three-goal first-period lead en route to a 4-2 outcome on Sunday night.

After their second straight setback, the Lightning ended their road trip 1-2-0 with a 16-17-3 overall record away from home.

"Kind of the message here with the guys is ‘let's start building something here,'" said forward Brandon Hagel, whose team won both meetings in Pittsburgh. "(The postseason) is not just a light switch that turns on 12 games from now."

One of six Lightning players with at least 20 goals, center Anthony Cirelli (24 goals, 26 assists) will skate in his 500th career game Tuesday.

Nikita Kucherov tallied against Vegas in the game's closing seconds to mark the winger's eighth time reaching the 30-goal plateau over 11 campaigns.

While Pittsburgh is a proud group led by captain Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson, the club's 11 losses after regulation have been incredibly damaging to coach Mike Sullivan's group.

That was true again Sunday as the Pens opened their swing through Florida with a 3-1 lead midway through the second period against the Panthers.

However, that advantage slipped away as Florida stormed back to win in a shootout. Pittsburgh failed to score on any of its three shots against goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky in the 4-3 loss.

The Metropolitan Division squad fell to 1-6 in the one-on-one session as Rickard Rakell, Crosby and Bryan Rust were all denied by the two-time Vezina Trophy winner.

The reality is that the wild-card standings and the remainder of the schedule are stacked against Pittsburgh. Even if it ends the campaign on a 10-game winning streak, the club would finish with 89 points, historically short of the number needed to qualify for the playoffs.

Still, that has not deterred the Penguins, who are 5-1-1 in their past seven matches at a time when winning appears counterproductive.

"Shows a lot about the character and leadership in this room, is that we're in here to keep fighting hard, keep playing really hard," said Rust, who raised his goal total to 25 with two, plus an assist, against the Panthers. "It doesn't really matter where we are, kind of what's going on.

"I think we're in here to still prove something and still be a good hockey team."

Crosby notched two assists against Florida, bringing his team-high points total to 78 in 70 games. Rakell leads with 32 goals in 71 contests.

After facing the Lightning, Pittsburgh ends its three-game road trip at the Buffalo Sabres.

Toronto squandered a 2-0 lead on Saturday night and then folded in a 5-2 road loss to the Nashville Predators.

It was not so much that their three-game winning streak was snapped, but it was the way in which it happened.

The Maple Leafs (42-25-3, 87 points) will be looking to take it out on the Flyers (28-35-9, 65 points), who dropped their fifth in a row Sunday -- a 7-4 loss against the host Chicago Blackhawks.

"We should be pissed off," John Tavares said after scoring Toronto's first goal in the defeat. "I mean, it's a great opportunity to end a really good week, the way we bounced back from a stretch that wasn't going our way.

"We weren't playing the way that we talked about -- our standard and the level of play we expect on a nightly basis."

Toronto was constantly caught trying to defend odd-man rushes and gave up five straight unanswered goals.

"That's mental," Toronto coach Craig Berube said. "I haven't seen mental mistakes like we made (Saturday) in a while. They looked more hungry than us in the second period. They didn't give us a lot of room, but we didn't fight for it either. It was a total flip that they did. What we did to them in the first, they did to us in the second.

"And we had breakdowns that cost goals. And there was no reason for it."

The loss leaves Toronto second in the Atlantic Division, two points behind the Florida Panthers (43-25-3, 89 points).

"The inconsistency is obviously not ideal, especially this time of year," Auston Matthews said after registering two assists on Saturday. "We have a bad outing, and we string together a couple good games and kind of another letdown like this. That's on us to make sure that we're consistent every night, no matter what the situation, no matter what the game presents."

Toronto's Scott Laughton will face his former team on Tuesday after being traded at the NHL deadline on March 7.

The Maple Leafs have won both games this season against the Flyers, who have lost 10 of 11 after their sloppy performance on Sunday.

"It's tough because we were putting in some good efforts these last few games against good teams and didn't get the results," Flyers captain Sean Couturier said. "(Sunday), it seemed like we were off, we were slow. Feels like we gave them easy goals, and it's just unacceptable against this kind of team."

Travis Konecny ended a 13-game goalless streak on Saturday in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Dallas Stars and scored again on Sunday.

"He's our best player, and if we want to have a chance to win, he's one of those guys that, you know, needs to produce," Couturier said. "But, it's not only just scoring goals. I think he's going more to the net, being inside and not just waiting on the outside."

Flyers coach John Tortorella wasn't happy with his team's effort in the second end of a back-to-back.

"As sloppy as both teams were, I thought at the beginning of the second period they outworked us," Tortorella said. "I just don't think we had the right effort at that time. We needed to play north more. We need to get our forechecking going like they did at the beginning of the second, to give ourselves a chance."

Arniel told reporters the injury is not related to Vilardi getting struck in the ear with the puck in the first period of Sunday's 5-3 loss to the Buffalo Sabres.

Vilardi, 25, ranks third on the Jets with 61 points (27 goals, 34 assists) and has played in all 71 games this season for the Central Division leaders. He plays on the top line with Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele.

Vilardi has 175 points (90 goals, 85 assists) in 270 career games with the Los Angeles Kings (2020-23) and Jets. Los Angeles drafted him with the 11th overall pick in 2017.

Coach Dean Evason confirmed that the 30-year-old veteran will return to the lineup for Monday's game at the New York Islanders, his first action since sustaining a sprained right wrist on Jan. 7.

Monahan tallied 41 points (14 goals, 27 assists) in 41 games before the injury. He is in his first season with the Blue Jackets after signing a five-year, $27.5 million deal in July.

Monahan has 579 points (258 goals, 321 assists) in 805 career games with the Calgary Flames, Montreal Canadiens, Winnipeg Jets and Blue Jackets. Calgary drafted him with the No. 6 overall pick in 2013.

Seven different players scored for Los Angeles. Drew Doughty's goal at 8:46 of the second period began the burst. Quinton Byfield and Tanner Jeannot each logged a goal and an assist, while Anze Kopitar, Warren Foegele, Andrei Kuzmenko, and Samuel Helenius also scored for Los Angeles, which is tied with Edmonton for second in the Pacific Division with a third straight win and eighth in the last nine.

Brandt Clarke, Adrian Kempe and Joel Edmundson each dished out two assists, and Darcy Kuemper made 11 saves as the Kings improved to 11-0-3 in their last 14 at home.

Elias Lindholm and Morgan Geekie scored goals while Jeremy Swayman allowed seven goals on 23 shots for Boston, which is on a six-game winless streak (0-5-1).

Sabres 5, Jets 3

Ryan McLeod had a goal and three assists and James Reimer made 33 saves for visiting Buffalo in a win against Winnipeg.

It was McLeod's first career four-point game. JJ Peterka, Rasmus Dahlin and Tyson Kozak also scored and Jacob Bernard-Docker added two assists for the Sabres, who had lost two straight.

Nino Niederreiter, Colin Miller and Nikolaj Ehlers scored for the Jets, who had won four of their past five games. Eric Comrie made 12 saves.

Blackhawks 7, Flyers 4

Ryan Donato scored twice and Tyler Bertuzzi notched a goal and two assists as Chicago snapped a seven-game losing streak with a home victory over Philadelphia.

Connor Bedard, Joe Veleno and Pat Maroon each registered a goal and an assist for Chicago, which had been 0-6-1 in its previous seven games. The Blackhawks had scored only 10 goals during their seven-game slide before torching Flyers goalie Ivan Fedotov for seven goals on 29 shots.

Travis Konecny and Jamie Drysdale each contributed a goal and an assist for Philadelphia, which has lost five games in a row. Travis Sanheim and Bobby Brink also scored against Chicago netminder Spencer Knight, who finished with 24 saves.

Golden Knights 4, Lightning 2

Ilya Samsonov turned away 35 of 37 shots to lead Vegas to its third straight victory, beating the Lightning in Las Vegas.

Jack Eichel, Tomas Hertl, Nicolas Roy and Nicolas Hague scored goals and Alex Pietrangelo had two assists for Vegas, which extended its Pacific Division lead to five points with the victory.

Nick Paul and Nikita Kucherov scored goals and Andrei Vasilevskiy finished with 26 saves for Tampa Bay, which fell four points behind first-place Florida in the Atlantic Division.

Blues 4, Predators 1

Justin Faulk picked up a goal and an assist and Robert Thomas earned three assists to lead host St. Louis past Nashville for its sixth straight victory.

Jordan Kyrou, Alexandre Texier and Brayden Schenn added goals for the Blues. Jake Neighbours had two assists and Jordan Binnington made 31 saves. St. Louis has gone 13-2-2 in its last 17 games to climb into the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference playoff race.

Filip Forsberg scored for the Predators, who are 1-4-1 in their last six games. Justus Annunen made 14 saves.

Panthers 4, Penguins 3 (SO)

Aleksander Barkov scored the only goal of the shootout to give Florida a come-from-behind win over Pittsburgh in Sunrise, Fla.

Sam Reinhart scored twice and Anton Lundell got the other marker for the Panthers, who won for only the third time in seven games. Sergei Bobrovsky made 24 saves.

Bryan Rust had two goals and an assist and Evgeni Malkin also scored for the Penguins, who lost for the second time in seven games. Sidney Crosby had two assists to stretch his point streak to seven games (six goals, six assists). Tristan Jarry stopped 27 shots.

Hurricanes 5, Ducks 2

Taylor Hall scored a third-period hat trick and visiting Carolina beat Anaheim.

Mark Jankowski and Jordan Martinook also scored for the Hurricanes, who bounced back after having their eight-game winning streak snapped in Los Angeles on Saturday. Former Ducks player Frederik Andersen made 35 saves, including 19 in the third period, as Carolina extended its lead over third-place New Jersey in the Metropolitan Division to 10 points.

Alex Killorn and Trevor Zegras scored for the Ducks, who have lost three of four, as they try to remain in the Western Conference wild-card race. Lukas Dostal made 32 saves.

Seven different players scored for Los Angeles (39-21-9, 87 points). Drew Doughty's goal at 8:46 of the second period began the game-winning run.

Quinton Byfield and Tanner Jeannot each logged a goal and an assist, while Anze Kopitar, Warren Foegele, Andrei Kuzmenko, and Samuel Helenius also scored for Los Angeles, which moved in front of the Edmonton Oilers for second in the Pacific Division with a third straight win and eighth in the last nine.

Brandt Clarke, Adrian Kempe and Joel Edmundson each dished out two assists, and Darcy Kuemper made 11 saves as the Kings improved to 11-0-3 in their last 14 at home.

Elias Lindholm and Morgan Geekie scored goals while Jeremy Swayman allowed seven on 23 shots for Boston (30-33-9, 69 points), which is on a six-game winless streak (0-5-1).

In the second period, Los Angeles took control for good as Doughty slid down to blast home the rebound of a Mikey Anderson shot that Swayman kicked back into the circle at 8:46.

Kuzmenko's second Kings goal in as many games with 2:22 left doubled the hosts' lead. Kempe recovered a puck that was dumped from the other end, circled the net and fed a pass from behind the end line to Kuzmenko to slap past Swayman from a tight angle on the right side.

The Kings' run continued in the third as Kevin Fiala corralled a puck at center and sent Byfield down the middle for a blocker-side wrister at 4:05 and Jeannot deflected a point shot at 9:20.

Helenius clinched the second seven-goal effort in as many nights for Los Angeles with 3:57 left. A wrister from the left circle marked his second NHL goal.

The Bruins scored just 19 seconds in when Cole Koepke fed Lindholm to slide home a backhand goal from the slot, but they lost the lead in the final minute of the first period while being held without a shot for the final 11:42.

Kopitar tied the score on the first Kings shot at 2:43, taking Kempe's feed through the slot and beating an outstretched Swayman. The hosts took their first lead with 28.8 seconds left in the first as an open Foegele buried Phillip Danault's centering pass at the left post.

Geekie tied the score 2:07 into the second after Pavel Zacha forced a turnover and threaded a pass down the middle.

Kuemper made multiple key stops on Boston's first power play after the hosts took the lead in a second period that featured a near-goalie fight that was broken up after Kuemper knocked off Boston's Marat Khusnutdinov's helmet.

Mark Jankowski and Jordan Martinook also scored for the Hurricanes (43-23-4, 90 points), who bounced back after having their eight-game winning streak snapped in Los Angeles on Saturday. Former Duck Frederik Andersen made 35 saves, including 19 in the third period, as Carolina extended its lead over third-place New Jersey in the Metropolitan Division to 10 points.

Alex Killorn and Trevor Zegras scored for the Ducks (30-32-8, 68 points), who have lost three of four as they try to remain in the Western Conference wild-card race. Lukas Dostal made 32 saves.

Carolina was 1-for-3 on the power play; Anaheim was 0-for-6.

Zegras knocked in the rebound of Jacob Trouba's shot to pull the Ducks within 3-2 with 3:23 remaining in the third period, but Hall took a pass from Jesperi Kotkaniemi and slid a backhander past Dostal with 2:47 left.

Hall scored into an empty net with 1:58 remaining to complete his sixth career hat trick and first with Carolina.

Jankowski gave the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead at 7:59 of the second period. Brent Burns' point shot was blocked but Tyson Jost sent the rebound toward the net. Jankowski, below the goal line at the left post, backhanded the puck in.

Killorn tied it 1-1 at 13:04 of the second. After a Carolina turnover, Killorn entered the zone two-on-one with Leo Carlsson, kept the puck and fired between Andersen's pads from the left circle.

Carolina regained the lead 93 seconds later. Shayne Gostisbehere's shot from the high slot caromed off the end boards and back out in front where Martinook backhanded it past Dostal to make it 2-1.

Taylor Hall made it 3-1 with a power-play goal at 2:32 of the third period, scoring on the rebound after Dostal made the initial save when Jackson Blake drove to the net.

Dostal robbed Carolina's Jalen Chatfield with his glove with about seven minutes remaining in the game to keep the score 3-1.

Andersen answered by stopping Ryan Strome on a breakaway moments later.

Jack Eichel, Tomas Hertl, Nicolas Roy and Nicolas Hague scored goals and Alex Pietrangelo had two assists for Vegas (42-20-8, 92 points), which extended its Pacific Division lead to five points with the victory.

Nick Paul and Nikita Kucherov scored goals and Andrei Vasilevskiy finished with 26 saves for Tampa Bay (40-25-5, 85 points), which fell to four points behind first-place Florida in the Atlantic Division after the Panther's win over Pittsburgh earlier Sunday.

Vegas took a 1-0 lead at the 11:02 mark of the first period on a power-play goal by Roy, who roofed a crossing pass from William Karlsson over Vasilevskiy's right shoulder.

Two-and-a-half minutes later, Hertl made it 2-0 with his fourth goal in two games, snapping a wrist shot from the top of the slot around defenseman Victor Hedman and past Vasilevskiy's blocker side.

Eichel extended the lead to 3-0 with 48 seconds left in the period with a one-timer from the left circle into the top far corner off a Zach Whitecloud pass.

Tampa Bay, playing its third road game in four nights, finally broke through late in the second period when Paul finished a two-on-one rush with a wrist shot from the right circle into the top far corner.

The Lightning pulled Vasilevskiy for an extra attacker with three minutes remaining and Hague sealed the win 18 seconds later with an empty-netter.

Kucherov ended the scoring with a 6-on-4 power-play goal with just five seconds remaining, one-timing a shot from the right circle for his 30th goal of the season.

Hertl left the game with 5:49 remaining and didn't return after landing heavily with his left shoulder and arm against the bottom of the end boards after Vasilevskiy stopped his breakaway try. Defenseman Emil Lilleberg picked up a two-minute boarding penalty on the play.

Jordan Kyrou, Alexandre Texier and Brayden Schenn added goals for the Blues (37-28-7, 81 points). Jake Neighbours had two assists and Jordan Binnington made 29 saves.

The Blues have gone 13-2-2 in their last 17 games to climb into the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference playoff race.

Filip Forsberg scored for the Predators (26-36-8, 60 points), who are 1-4-1 in their last six games. Justus Annunen made 14 saves.

The Blues caught the Predators in the middle of a line change to take a 1-0 lead 12:13 into the game. Neighbours pushed the puck up right wing and fed Thomas, who was coming down the middle off the rush.

Thomas dropped a pass to Kyrou, who snapped a quick shot through Annunen. It was Kyrou's team-leading 30th goal of the season, and his sixth in his last six games.

St. Louis stayed on the attack and got two point-blank opportunities during a goalmouth scramble.

Then the Blues upped their lead to 2-0 with a power-play goal, with Texier scoring from the left flank off Thomas' pass.

The Predators cut their deficit to 2-1 with a power-goal 64 seconds into the second period. Forsberg cut through the right circle and fired a shot through the legs of Blues defenseman Ryan Suter and past the screened Binnington.

Forsberg, who has 28 goals for the season, has three goals and three assists in his last four games.

Thomas punched in a loose puck just moments into the third period, but the play had been whistled dead.

Faulk increased the Blues' lead to 3-1 with 9:30 to play by jumping up on right wing on the rush and firing a shot into the upper-left corner of the net.

Schenn's empty-net goal with 38 seconds left iced the game.