Eight games played on Tuesday had playoff implications:
Tampa Bay Lightning 4, Boston Bruins 0 -- The Lightning defeated the Bruins for the first time in four games this season, and pulled even with them in points atop the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference. The Lightning, who were without injured captain Steven Stamkos (lower body), and Bruins each have 110 points, but Boston is first in the division and conference because it has played one fewer game. The Bruins have three games remaining and the Lightning have two games left.
Florida Panthers 2, Nashville Predators 1 -- The Panthers climbed within four points of the Philadelphia Flyers for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference with one game in hand. They also prevented the Predators from clinching first place in the Central Division and Western Conference. Nashville leads the second-place Winnipeg Jets by three points for first place in the division and conference, and the Vegas Golden Knights by four points in the conference race. Each team has two games left.
-- The Jets (50-20-10) reached 50 wins for the first time in franchise history and remained alive in the race for first place in the Central Division, the Western Conference and the League, closing within three points of the Predators with two games remaining. With his third overtime goal in his past eight games, Kyle Connor became the first rookie to reach 30 goals this season.
-- The Blue Jackets, who trailed 4-1 in the second period, remained six points ahead of the Panthers, leaving them one point from clinching a playoff berth. Columbus, which is 13-1-1 in its past 15 games, also pulled into a tie in points with the idle Pittsburgh Penguins for second in the Metropolitan Division. The Penguins hold the tiebreaker because they have more regulation/overtime wins. Each team has two games left, including one against each other in Columbus on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET; FS-O, ATTSN-PT, NHL.TV).
New Jersey Devils 5, New York Rangers 2 --The Devils climbed one point ahead of the Flyers for the first wild card from the East, and are one point behind the Blue Jackets and Penguins with two games remaining. New Jersey, which is 6-0-1 in its past seven games, remained five points ahead of Florida.
New York Islanders 5, Philadelphia Flyers 4 --Philadelphia dropped into the second wild card in the East, four points ahead of the Panthers. The Flyers have two games remaining. The Panthers have three left.
-- The Golden Knights, who have clinched first place in the Pacific Division, remained alive in the race for first in the Western Conference and the League. With two games remaining, they trail the Predators by four points.
Dallas Stars 4, San Jose Sharks 2 -- The Sharks let a 2-0 lead slip away and wasted a chance to solidify their hold on second place in the Pacific. They lead the third-place Los Angeles Kings by two points with each team having two games left. The fourth-place Anaheim Ducks trails the Sharks by three points with three games left.
