CAROLINA HURRICANES CENTER Elias Lindholm (16) gets stopped by Buffalo Sabres goaltender Anders Lindback during the third period of an NHL hockey game on Monday in Buffalo, N.Y. Buffalo won 4-3.
With their fourth straight win, the Rangers improved to 51-21-7 for a league-best 109 points. With three games remaining, the Rangers are two points ahead of Anaheim for the Presidents’ Trophy. New York has four more (46-42) regulation and overtime wins, a tiebreaker.
The Rangers have won the Presidents’ Trophy once in their 88-year history, in the 1993-94 season — the last time the franchise won the Stanley Cup.
Columbus, the NHL’s hottest team, had won nine in a row, but won’t make the playoffs.
Sabres 4, Hurricanes 3
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Tyler Ennis scored his 20th goal and the Sabres avoided clinching a last-place overall finish.
Mikhail Grigorenko, Brian Gionta and Johan Larsson also scored for Buffalo, which entered the game a regulation loss away from guaranteeing the best odds at the first pick in June’s NHL draft.
Anders Lindback made 49 saves.
Jets 2, Wild 0
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Blake Wheeler and Drew Stafford scored, Ondrej Pavelec made 32 saves and the Jets gave their playoff push a big boost, preventing the Wild from clinching a wild-card spot.
The Wild stayed stuck on 96 points after their first loss by more than one goal in 34 games since Jan. 19. They must finish the regular season on the road, where they’ve won 10 straight games to set a franchise record, with visits to Central Division rivals Chicago, Nashville and St. Louis.
Canucks 2, Kings 1 (SO)
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Chris Higgins scored in the shootout and Eddie Lack made 36 saves.
Daniel Sedin scored in regulation as the Canucks solidified second place in the Pacific Division with 97 points, four ahead of Calgary and the Kings. The Canucks, who now control their playoff destiny, have two games remaining.
Dwight King scored for the defending Stanley Cup champion Kings, who moved into a third-place tie at 93 points with Calgary. However, the Flames own a tiebreaker with more regulation and overtime wins.
Stars 5, Sharks 1
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Jamie Benn scored twice, Colton Sceviour scored in the first 30 seconds, and the Stars beat the Sharks on a night when both teams were eliminated from the playoff picture.
Patrick Eaves and Ryan Garbutt also scored for the Stars, who have won seven of their last eight road games and seven of 10 overall.
Joe Thornton scored for the Sharks, 5-9-2 in their past 13 home games. They failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 2002-03.
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