JARRED TINORDI

Mika Zibanejad had his eighth career hat trick, Igor Shesterkin stopped 38 shots for his second shutout of the season and the New York Rangers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-0.

Logan O’Connor scored twice in a 22-second span in a five-goal second period, and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Rangers 7-3, ending New York’s seven-game winning streak.

While the fisticuffs never materialized, the Washington Capitals made a season-opening 5-1 victory against the division-rival New York Rangers memorable for Alex Ovechkin’s 731st and 732nd goals and Hendrix Lapierre’s first.

Mathew Barzal broke a tie late in the third period and the New York Islanders beat the Boston Bruins 4-1 on Saturday night to even the second-round playoff series at two games apiece.

The Boston Bruins beat the Washington Capitals 3-1 to close out their first-round series in five games and advance in the playoffs.

Michael Raffl scored from a tight angle with 1.8 seconds remaining and the Washington Capitals beat the short-handed Boston Bruins 2-1 in the teams’ regular season finale.

Brad Marchand had two of his three goals and set up another in Boston’s five-goal second period.

New York Rangers' Chris Kreider celebrates his goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Boston Bruins, Saturday, March 13, 2021, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)BOSTON – Chris Kreider scored his team-leading 14th goal, Artemi Panarin had an assist in his first game back since leaving the team, and the New York Rangers beat the Boston Bruins 4-0 Saturday to halt a three-game losing streak. “You put him in the lineup and then it looks like we have more swagger,” Rangers coach David Quinn said. “You see a game like that and it's: ‘Are we tired or are we out of shape?’” Boston coach Bruce Cassidy said. Ad“I think right away we couldn't sustain our game,” Boston forward Nick Ritchie said.