Connor McDavid scored a hat trick and added a pair of assists, leading the Edmonton Oilers to a 5-2 victory over the host San Jose Sharks on Wednesday night.
Edmonton (40-29-10, 90 points) improved to 6-1-1 in its past eight games and moved two points ahead of the idle Vegas Golden Knights atop the Pacific Division.
Jack Roslovic and Vasily Podkolzin each had a goal and an assist for the Oilers, and Evan Bouchard added a pair of helpers.
Edmonton goaltender Connor Ingram made eight saves on 10 shots but was replaced by Tristan Jarry to start the third period. Jarry stopped all four shots he faced.
Macklin Celebrini and Kiefer Sherwood tallied for the Sharks (37-33-7, 81 points), who lost for just the second time in seven games. Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 21 shots.
Sabres 5, Rangers 3
Zach Benson scored twice and Buffalo recovered for a win against host New York.
Ryan McLeod and Jason Zucker each had a goal and an assist for the Sabres, who moved into sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Division. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 17 saves.
Alexis Lafreniere scored twice, Adam Fox had a goal and an assist, and Igor Shesterkin made 22 saves for the Rangers, who had won two straight and five of their previous six games.
Capitals 4, Maple Leafs 0
Logan Thompson made 21 saves and visiting Washington kept its slim Stanley Cup playoff hopes alive with a win over Toronto.
It was Thompson’s third shutout of the season, two of them coming against Toronto. Dylan Strome and Martin Fehervary each had a goal and an assist for the Capitals. Ryan Leonard and Cole Hutson logged a goal apiece. Washington is three points behind Ottawa for the second Eastern Conference wild card and three points behind Philadelphia for third place in the Metropolitan Division.
Joseph Woll allowed three goals on 17 shots for Maple Leafs, who have lost three straight (0-2-1) and will miss the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
