3 with 18.9 seconds left in the second.That’s the way things went early — one counter after another.Columbus scored 53 seconds

DENVER (AP) Colton Sissons and Filip Forsberg each scored twice Jonathan Marchessault Jersey , backup goaltender Juuse Saros stopped 33 shots and the Nashville Predators became the first NHL team to clinch a playoff spot this season by beating the Colorado Avalanche 4-2 on Friday night.The streaking Predators are 13-0-1 in their last 14 games and haven’t lost in regulation since Feb. 17 against Detroit.Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog had the goals for an Avalanche team that returned home after earning two straight road wins, including Thursday in St. Louis. The loss snapped Colorado’s string of nine straight games with a point. The squad still remains in the thick of the playoff chase.Semyon Varlamov turned back 24 shots as he started both games of a back-to-back for the first time this season.CAPITALS 6, ISLANDERS 3WASHINGTON (AP) – T.J. Oshie, Nicklas Backstrom and Matt Niskanen scored as Washington swept a home-and-home set against slumping New York.Alex Chiasson had a goal and two assists for the Capitals, who hammered the Islanders 7-3 in New York on Thursday. Jakub Vrana’s goal gave Washington a 5-1 lead with 9:04 remaining. Lars Eller added an empty-netter, and Braden Holtby made 22 saves.Washington broke a tie with idle Pittsburgh for sole possession of first place in the Metropolitan Division. The Capitals’ four-game winning streak is their longest since taking five in a row from Dec. 28 to Jan. 9.Evgeny Kuznetsov, Washington’s second-leading scorer, left in the second period and did not return after sustaining an upper-body injury.Holtby, the 2016 Vezina Trophy winner as the NHL’s top goaltender, had lost seven of eight and did not play in the previous four games.Mathew Barzal, Brock Nelson and John Tavares scored for the Islanders, who have lost 10 of 11.WILD 4, GOLDEN KNIGHTS 2LAS VEGAS (AP) – Jason Zucker, the only NHL player raised in Nevada, scored a goal and assisted on another to lead Minnesota over Vegas.The Wild, who had lost two in a row and four of seven, completed a 3-0 season sweep of the Pacific Division leaders. Charlie Coyle, Matt Dumba and Zach Parise also scored for the Wild, and Alex Stalock stopped 26 shots.Erik Haula and Ryan Carpenter scored for the Golden Knights, who dropped to 24-9-2 at home and have lost four straight in T Mobile Arena.Marc-Andre Fleury Marc-Andre Fleury Jersey , who fell to 2-8-0 in 10 starts against the Wild, made 26 saves. It was the first time Fleury lost back-to-back games in regulation this season.DUCKS 4, RED WINGS 2ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) – Corey Perry scored a tiebreaking goal late in the second period, John Gibson made 28 saves and Anaheim defeated skidding Detroit.Nick Ritchie, Derek Grant and Ryan Kesler each had a goal for the Ducks, tied with Los Angeles for third place in the Pacific Division. Anaheim has 84 points – also the same amount as Colorado and Dallas, which hold the two wild-card spots in the Western Conference.Gustav Nyquist scored in his third straight game for the Red Wings, who lost their ninth in a row to match their longest slide since dropping nine straight in February 1986. Mike Green also had a goal and Jimmy Howard made 32 saves in Detroit’s eighth consecutive road loss.SHARKS 7, FLAMES 4CALGARY, Alberta (AP) – Evander Kane scored four goals to lead San Jose past Calgary.Tomas Hertl had a goal and an assist for the Sharks, who have won three straight and four of five. Kevin Lebanc and Eric Fehr also scored, and Martin Jones made 30 saves.It was the first NHL hat trick for Kane, acquired from Buffalo just before the Feb. 26 trade deadline.Micheal Ferland had a goal and an assist for the Flames, who are four points out of a playoff spot. Troy Brouwer, Mark Jankowski and Johnny Gaudreau also scored for Calgary.Three nights after stopping all 28 shots he faced against the Oilers, Calgary goalie Mike Smith had a rough outing as he made just 14 saves before being replaced by David Rittich early in the third period.SENATORS 3, STARS 2, OTOTTAWA, Ontario (AP) – Mike Hoffman scored at 3:26 of overtime and Ottawa beat Dallas to win its third game in a row for just the second time this season.Marian Gaborik and Matt Duchene also scored for the Senators Nate Schmidt Jersey , and Craig Anderson made 23 saves. Ottawa won on home ice for the first time since Feb. 17.Tyler Seguin and Tyler Pitlick had the goals for the Stars. Ben Bishop, who stopped 22 shots, made his first start since missing five games with a knee injury sustained March 5 against the Senators. Bishop has a 9-0-4 career record against Ottawa.Dallas has lost four straight, its longest skid of the season.— DENVER (AP) — Josh Anderson kept his toe on the blue line and then his fingers crossed.The goal he scored, ruled good on the ice, was upheld after a replay review for offside. Just the sort of break Columbus needed.Anderson broke a tie with 9:31 remaining, Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 27 shots and the Blue Jackets snapped a five-game skid by beating the Colorado Avalanche 6-3 on Tuesday night.“I don’t know if it was offside or not,” Anderson said. “I guess we got lucky there at the end.”Anderson batted in a loose puck under the pads of Philipp Grubauer for the winner, only to have the Avalanche challenge for offside. As he watched the replay on the big screen, Anderson knew it was going to be close. He also knew he hesitated before entering the zone and dragged his toe. He felt that might be the difference.Officials confirmed Anderson tagged up before teammate Nick Foligno entered the offensive zone.A good goal — and costly for Colorado, which was assessed a delay-of-game penalty. That led to a clinching power-play goal from Alexander Wennberg.“It’s a tough one to overturn,” Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. “But for us to make it work our way, for us to get a break our way, it’s a really good sign.”The challenge was worth a chance, Avalanche coach Jared Bednar reasoned.“We’re taking what I consider a 60-40, 70-30 (percent) shot at offside and if we don’t get it we have to kill a penalty,” Bednar explained. “We didn’t do either.”Pierre-Luc Dubois scored twice for Columbus, including an empty-netter. Oliver Bjorkstrand and Cam Atkinson also had goals.The Blue Jackets arrived in town early to acclimate to the altitude. The strategy worked, as they looked just as fresh in the third period as they did in the first.“This one was real big for us,” Wennberg said. “I don’t know if it’s a must-win http://www.officialknightsproshop.com/authentic-adidas-oscar-dansk-jersey , but you had to find a way to get off this losing streak. It was important.”A trio of defensemen, Nikita Zadorov, Samuel Girard and Erik Johnson, scored for Colorado, which dropped its fourth straight and fell to 3-12-2 since Dec. 21.“As a group we still made some bonehead mistakes that are just uncalled for, the forwards and the defensemen,” captain Gabriel Landeskog said. “We’re all under the same microscope there.”Grubauer made 31 saves in a start over Semyon Varlamov as the Avalanche search for consistency in net.Girard scored his first goal since Nov. 28 at 14:06 of the second period, and moments later it appeared Tyson Barrie just might increase the lead. But Bobrovsky made a save, with the deflection winding up on the stick of Artemi Panarin, who quickly launched it up the ice to a wide-open Atkinson. The Blue Jackets forward faked out Grubauer to tie it at 3 with 18.9 seconds left in the second.That’s the way things went early — one counter after another.Columbus scored 53 seconds into the game on a wraparound goal from Bjorkstrand. Johnson answered with a shot from the blue line before the Blue Jackets answered right back courtesy of Dubois’ 20th goal of the season.With 1:23 remaining in the first, Zadorov knotted it again with a shot from the blue line.Before the game, Colorado general manager Joe Sakic said he hasn’t lost any confidence in his squad despite the recent slide.“We believe in this group,” Sakic said. “I know the group believes in themselves.”NOTES: Blue Jackets forward Brandon Dubinsky and D Ryan Murray were out with lower-body injuries. Columbus D Dean Kukan and forward Boone Jenner each had two assists. … Sakic adamantly maintained he won’t part with either of his two first-round draft picks in any sort of trade-deadline deal. “If there’s a player that can help us, that isn’t going to include one of those (picks) or our top prospects, then we’ll look at that,” Sakic said. … Sakic will address a potential long-term deal with forward Mikko Rantanen over the summer. … Colorado went 1-4 on the homestand.UP NEXTBlue Jackets: At the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday.Avalanche: Start a three-game trip Thursday in Washington.