Islanders keep wild-card hopes alive

LOS ANGELES - Andrew Ladd scored a pair of goals Thursday night, including the go-ahead tally less than eight minutes into the third period, as the New York Islanders continued surging into the All-Star Break with a 3-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens at Barclays Center. Josh Bailey also scored and Thomas Greiss made 21 saves for the Islanders, who have won five of six (5-0-1) to climb out of last place in the Eastern Conference and into the wild-card race. Shea Weber scored in the second period for the Canadiens, who were trying to extend their points streak to four games. Carey Price recorded 39 saves. Oilers 4, Sharks 1 Edmonton shrugged off fatigue and playing on the road to grind out a victory over San Jose to move into a virtual first-place tie with the Sharks. The Oilers, 7-0-1 in their last eight games after road wins on consecutive nights over Anaheim and San Jose, snapped the Sharks’ season-high six-game winning streak. San Jose and Edmonton enter the break with a division-leading 64 points apiece with the Sharks playing one fewer game. Rookie Drake Caggiula scored at 11:31 of the third period to break open a one-goal game. The Oilers’ Connor McDavid added an empty-net goal - his 17th - at 18:08. Kings 3, Hurricanes 0 Marian Gaborik and Trevor Lewis scored 38 seconds apart late in the third period, and Peter Budaj recorded his fifth shutout of the season as Los Angeles defeated Carolina. Budaj recorded his 16th career shutout. He stopped 22 shots to move into a tie for second in the league with his fifth shutout of the season. Kyle Clifford’s empty-net goal capped the scoring while Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward made 26 saves. Capitals 5, Devils 2 Washington continued its torrid pace with a victory over New Jersey at the Prudential Center. The league-leading Capitals received a pair of goals from Evgeni Kuznetsov, including an empty-netter, a goal and an assist apiece from Alex Ovechkin and Andre Burakovsky, a goal from Lars Eller and 27 saves from Braden Holtby. Stefan Noesen and Adam Henrique scored for the Devils. Flyers 2, Maple Leafs 1 Roman Lyubimov snapped a 13-game goalless streak, as well as a third-period tie, scoring with 2:37 remaining in regulation to give Philadelphia a win over Toronto at the Wells Fargo Center. Wayne Simmonds also scored for the Flyers, and Michal Neuvirth, starting in place of Steve Mason on the second end of back-to-back games, stopped 27 shots to improve to 6-4-0. William Nylander scored for the Maple Leafs. Bruins 4, Penguins 3 Brad Marchand scored two goals in the second period as Boston came from behind for a victory over Pittsburgh. Patrice Bergeron and Riley Nash also scored for the Bruins. Justin Schultz, Phil Kessel and Patric Hornqvist scored for the Penguins. Elsewhere it was: Panthers 2, Lightning 1 (OT); Flames 3, Senators 2 (OT); Jets 5, Blackhawks 3; Predators 4, Blue Jackets 3; Stars 4, Sabres 3; Coyotes 3, Canucks 0; Wild 5, Blues 1. - Agencies