NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Jack Hughes had a goal and an assist, Mackenzie Blackwood had 25 saves and the New Jersey Devils defeated the Ottawa Senators 5-3 and clinched a playoff berth on Saturday night.

New Jersey could have clinched its first postseason berth since 2018 with a win, but it happened before their first intermission when the Florida Panthers lost to the New York Rangers in regulation.

Jesper Bratt, Dawson Mercer and Dougie Hamilton scored for the Devils and Tomas Tatar scored an empty netter with 42.3 seconds left to put things away.

Brady Tkachuk, Thomas Chabot and Mark Kastelic scored for the Senators and Dylan Ferguson had 30 saves.

Tkachuk scored his 33rd goal of the season to give the Senators the 1-0 lead 3:14 into the first period. The Devils responded midway through the first period with Hughes’ 40th goal of the season on a breakaway, going five-hole to tie it.

Nick Holden gave the puck away and Bratt scored his 31st goal of the season on the breakaway 2:24 into the second period to give New Jersey the 2-1 lead. Mercer’s 23rd of the season came just over a minute later.

The Senators answered midway through the second period when Thomas Chabot scored his 11th goal of the year to cut the deficit to 3-2. They knotted things up 16:03 into the second when Kastelic scored his fifth of the season.

Hamilton scored 3:34 into the third period to give the Devils the lead. His 19th goal breaks the franchise record for goals in a season by a defenseman, surpassing Scott Stevens – the Devils great whose number is hanging in the rafters – record of 18 in 1993-94.

NOTES: This was the first game for the Devils backup Blackwood since Feb. 19. … Nico Hischier has a six-game point streak after recording two assists.

UP NEXT

Senators: Host the Florida Panthers on Monday night.

Devils: Play at New York Islanders on Monday night.

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Boeser scores go-ahead goal to help Canucks top Stars, sweep season series

Maple Leafs take tough loss despite strong start against Hurricanes

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Texas’ recent history has been marked by underachievement. Now, the Longhorns can change all that behind interim coach Rodney Terry.



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DALLAS — Brock Boeser scored the go-ahead goal in the second period and the Vancouver Canucks held the Dallas Stars scoreless on four power plays, including one late in the third period, for a 3-1 win Saturday night.

Jack Rathbone and Dakota Joshua also scored for Vancouver, which swept the three-game season series against Dallas and has won the past six meetings dating to last season. Thatcher Demko made 19 saves to help the Canucks open a three-game road trip with a victory.

Ryan Suter scored the lone goal for Dallas, which closed out a 1-1-1 homestand.

With the game tied at 1, the Canucks took control with two goals in the second period.

Boeser’s goal four minutes into the period made it 2-1. Rathbone increased the lead just 1:33 later on a straightaway shot past third-stringer Matt Murray, who was giving the Stars’ Jake Oettinger a night off. Usual backup Scott Wedgewood has been injured the past month.

It could have been worse for the Stars, who survived a power play that included a stretch of 5-on-3 toward the end of the second. The Canucks outshot the Stars 11-4 in the period.

The Stars took a 1-0 lead on Suter’s goal from the blue line despite the Canucks controlling the action for much of the first 10 minutes, including a 5-0 advantage on shots.

Vancouver tied it with a short-handed goal by Joshua with 1:30 left in the opening period. It was the 14th short-handed goal for the Canucks, the most in the NHL. Vancouver has scored 10 short-handed goals in their past 17 games.

STINGY CANUCKS

The Stars’ Miro Heiskanen set a franchise record with 20 points — four goals, 16 assists — in his previous 12 games, but was held without a point Saturday. The last team to hold him to zero points was also the Canucks on Feb. 27.

UP NEXT

Canucks: at Chicago to face the Blackhawks on Sunday.

Stars: at Chicago to take on the Blackhawks on Tuesday night.

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