New Jersey Devils 3 - 4 Vancouver Canucks
In a thrilling matchup at the Prudential Center, Conor Garland tied the game with just 36 seconds left in regulation, helping the Vancouver Canucks secure a 4-3 shootout victory against the New Jersey Devils. This marked the return of Thatcher Demko, who made an impressive 22 saves after missing 15 games due to a lower-body injury. Jonathan Lekkerimaki clinched the win for Vancouver with a decisive goal in the fourth round of the shootout. The Canucks, who had previously lost two games in a row, are now within close reach of a playoff spot, trailing the St. Louis Blues by three points for the second wild card in the Western Conference. On the Devils' side, Timo Meier scored twice, and Erik Haula extended his goal streak, yet New Jersey fell short, losing their third consecutive game. Despite the loss, the Devils remain third in the Metropolitan Division, showing resilience with contributions from key players like Nico Hischier, who extended his point streak.

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New York Islanders 3 - 4 Columbus Blue Jackets
The Columbus Blue Jackets snapped a six-game losing streak with a dramatic 4-3 shootout victory over the New York Islanders at UBS Arena. Key contributions came from Adam Fantilli, Kirill Marchenko, and Boone Jenner, each scoring for the Blue Jackets, with goalie Elvis Merzlikins making 30 crucial saves. Notably, Marchenko's goal marked his first point in six games, while Boone Jenner's short-handed goal was a pivotal momentum shifter. The Islanders' Kyle Palmieri, Anders Lee, and Pierre Engvall scored, but the team squandered a lead in the third period for the third consecutive game despite their strong offensive start and a 27-11 shot advantage through the first two periods. The result leaves the Blue Jackets just two points shy of the Montreal Canadiens for the final Eastern Conference wild card spot, while the Islanders remain a point behind Montreal. The game was notable for the disallowed potential game-winner by Palmieri due to goaltender interference and for Sean Monahan's impactful return with two assists after missing 28 games.

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Dallas Stars 3 - 0 Minnesota Wild
Oettinger makes 32 saves, Stars shut out Wild DALLAS -- Jake Oettinger made 32 saves to help the Dallas Stars shut out the Minnesota Wild 3-0 at American Airlines Center on Monday. It was Oettinger's second shutout this season and 12th in the NHL.

“I love playing against those guys. People from all over, your hometown, are going to be tuning in. Just fun to play well against those guys. Guys have always played good for me against them, they help me out. They know how important these games are for me,” said Oettinger, who is from Lakeville, Minnesota. “It takes a lot of good bounces [to get a shutout]. Casey [DeSmith] and I both have had some bad bounces in games where we could have had shutouts, we could have had better nights, and you don’t get the bounces. So, when you get the bounces to go your way, it’s fun.” Wyatt Johnston, Matt Duchene, and Mason Marchment scored, and Roope Hintz had two assists for Dallas (45-21-4), which has points in five straight games (3-0-2).

The Stars moved six points back of the Winnipeg Jets for first place in the Central Division with one game in hand.

“You can tell when [Oettinger]’s feeling it and dialed in like that. He’s got that swagger,” Dallas coach Pete DeBoer said. “You can just tell. They looked like they could shoot all night and he wasn’t going to let anything in. When he’s got that feel, that’s obviously a really good feeling on our bench.”

Filip Gustavsson made 26 saves for Minnesota (40-26-5), which had won three straight and remained four points ahead of the St. Louis Blues for the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference with one game in hand.

“I thought we played a really hard game. I thought our structure was really sound. I thought we played the style of game that you need to do to play against [Dallas]. Unfortunately, we didn’t get rewarded on the score sheet,” Minnesota coach John Hynes said. “We had a lot of good looks. I thought Oettinger played really well, came up big when he needed to for them. Couldn’t find a way to break through. Overall, it’s one of those ones where you feel like you deserve better, but we didn’t get it.”

Gustavsson kept the game scoreless late in the first period when he made a well-executed poke check on Dallas forward Mikko Rantanen on a breakaway.

Oettinger responded at 1:55 of the second period by making a key glove save in the dying seconds of a Wild power play.

“We had our looks. At the end of the day, [Oettinger] is a good goalie and made some big stops,” Minnesota defenseman Zach Bogosian said. “We had quite a few chances there in the third right around the blue paint, but we just couldn’t bang it home tonight, but we showed each other that if we shoot the puck and get bodies in front of bodies, it makes it tough on them. We just have to continue doing that.”

Johnston gave the Stars a 1-0 lead at 15:01 of the second when he deflected a Thomas Harley point shot on the power play.

“It’s trying to find the angle, find the open ice. It’s something we talked about before the face-off, looking for that,” Johnston said. “[Harley] obviously did a great job of getting to the middle of the ice and opening up some options. For me, it’s just finding that open ice and giving him a target. He hit my blade perfectly.” Duchene extended the lead to 2-0 at 15:59 on a wrist shot from the left face-off circle with Jamie Benn screening Gustavsson.

“They’re a good team so they’re going to create chances every now and then. I thought most of the time we did well. Obviously, a couple of things we can clean up defensively as well,” Rantanen said. “Offensively, we can try to work a little bit tighter and try to create a little bit more.”

Marchment scored into the empty net at 19:17 of the third period for the 3-0 final.

“We are just focused on what’s going on in our room. I think if you are standings watching, we can only control what we can control, so we are worried about what’s going on in this room,” Bogosian said.

NOTES: Rantanen was hit by a deflected puck in the face in the second period but returned to the game wearing a bubble face shield. ... Minnesota defenseman Declan Chisholm was injured blocking a shot and did not play in the second half of the game, with his last shift coming at 11:19 of the second period. There was no update on his status postgame.

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Utah Hockey Club 1 - 5 Detroit Red Wings
In a gritty matchup marked by challenging conditions, the Detroit Red Wings triumphed over the Utah Hockey Club 5-1 at Delta Center, despite registering only 14 total shots. Alex DeBrincat led the charge with a goal and an assist, while Elmer Soderblom and Marco Kasper contributed to the scoreboard, ending Detroit's six-game road losing streak. Goalie Petr Mrazek exited early due to injury, prompting Alex Lyon to step in and save 16 of 17 shots. Utah's Dylan Guenther opened the scoring with a power-play goal, which marked his 50th career goal and 100th NHL point, but the Red Wings retaliated with five unanswered goals. Austin Watson and Tyler Motte dominated the third period, capitalizing on a slushy ice surface that led to unconventional goals. The win brought the Red Wings within three points of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, while Utah remained six points behind the St. Louis Blues for a playoff position in the West. Patrick Kane's assist was notable as it made him the first Red Wings player 36 or older to reach 50 points in a season since Henrik Zetterberg.

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