Member » While Taylor Hall and Nico Hischier

NEWARK Connor Brown Jersey , N.J. (AP) have been getting much of the credit for New Jersey’s surprising playoff push, goaltender Keith Kinkaid has been the one carrying the Devils back to the postseason the past two weeks.Kinkaid made 35 saves and the Devils took another major step toward making the playoffs for the first time since 2012 with a 2-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night.Hischier and Kyle Palmieri scored for New Jersey, which has elevated its playoff chances with wins in five of seven games – including outstanding efforts in beating the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins and the Eastern Conference-leading Lightning on consecutive nights.”Keith has been a difference maker,” Devils coach John Hynes said of Kinkaid, who had 75 saves the past two nights. ”He has really come in and played well. He has made key saves at key times. He obviously won quite a few games and been a real important factor for us in remaining competitive in the playoff race. We would like to see him continue that at that level, as well.”Kinkaid is 11-3 in his last 14 decisions since taking over the No. 1 goaltender’s job after Cory Schneider was hurt in late-January and keeping it after Schneider returned.Coupled with Florida’s come-from-behind win over Arizona, the Devils are three points ahead of the Panthers in the race for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with seven games left in the regular season. Florida has two games in hand.”I felt good last year with ups and downs, but once you get on a roll, confidence can take you a long way and I feel as comfortable as ever,” Kinkaid said.The Devils had to work for this one. They took a 2-0 lead into the third period and saw the margin halved when Ondrej Palat scored on a power play early.Kinkaid saved the lead – and the win – with a diving save on a close-in attempt by Ryan McDonagh with just over two minutes to play and the net wide open. McDonagh said his shot hit the goalpost and Kinkaid then covered it.”I hadn’t been getting those bounces Frederik Andersen Jersey , but nice to get a few,” Kinkaid said.Andrei Vasilevskiy had 29 saves as the Lightning lost for only the third time in 16 games (12-3-1).”We didn’t have that urgency to play with a team that was flying tonight,” Tampa Bay forward Chris Kunitz said.Hischier, who set up Hall’s overtime winner in Pittsburgh on Friday night, gave the Devils the lead, tapping the rebound of a shot by fellow rookie Will Butcher into an open net at 17:51 of the first period.Palmieri doubled the lead at 10:59 of the second period, beating Vasilevskiy with a snap shot from between the circles for his 21st goal.”We didn’t give them much the whole night,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. ”They capitalized on a rebound that squirted out and a goal-scorer making a goal-scoring move. We did a lot of things, but couldn’t find the back of the net tonight.”Kinkaid stopped 24 shots in the first two periods, and benefited in the second when Nikita Kucherov Womens Jake Gardiner Jersey , the league’s leading scorer, missed the net on a breakaway.The Lightning were furious with linesman Steve Miller late in the second period when J.T. Miller was hit with a delay of game penalty for a faceoff violation with Tampa Bay about to go on a power play. Miller kicked three players out of the faceoff circle, starting with Steven Stamkos of the Lightning, Travis Zajac of the Devils and then Miller, who refused to comment on the penalty.NOTES: The Devils signed G Cam Johnson to a one-year, entry-level contract, which will start next season. He is a college free agent who completed his senior season at the University of North Dakota. … D Ben Lovejoy was out of the Devils’ lineup for the first time since Dec. 30 and replaced by Mirco Mueller, who was playing for first time since Feb. 22. Mueller had an assist on Hischier’s goal.UP NEXTLightning: Return home to face Arizona on Monday.Devils: Host Carolina on Tuesday in second of four-game homestand.— DENVER (AP) — The Colorado Avalanche had New York boxed in from the start.All game, really, with Colorado going on 10 power plays to keep the Rangers on the defensive throughout.Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen set the early tone with power-play goals in the first period Matt Bartkowski Jersey Womens , helping the Avalanche end a six-game slide with a 6-1 win over the Rangers on Friday night.Colorado finished with its most power-play opportunities since Oct. 16, 2008, when the team had 11 against Philadelphia.“The way we’ve been struggling lately it feels so good to get a win,” defenseman Tyson Barrie said.Gabriel Landeskog added a goal off his right skate, Alexander Kerfoot tipped in a shot, Rantanen deflected in yet another and Ryan Graves closed out the scoring with his first career NHL goal as a struggling Avalanche squad won for the first time since Dec. 19.Colorado finished 3 of 10 on the power play, with two of the goals scored following a 5-minute boarding call on former Avalanche player Cody McLeod just 2 1/2 minutes in.“It’s been losing hockey. It’s been negative — negative video, a negative vibe around the rink,” MacKinnon said. “It’s nice to finally end it.”To Rangers coach David Quinn, this loss boiled down to one thing — all those penalties. The Avalanche had 15:23 of power-play time.“You have zero chance to win a hockey game in that way Youth John Tavares Jersey ,” Quinn said. “It wasn’t our night from the get-go. We created a lot of our own problems with the penalties.”Philipp Grubauer made 24 saves, including one on a penalty shot by Jimmy Vesey late in the third.Ryan Strome scored the Rangers’ lone goal midway through third period on a night they were outshot by a 47-25 margin. Alexandar Georgiev attempted to keep things close while giving Henrik Lundqvist a night off. Lundqvist was pulled Wednesday after allowing six goals in a loss to Pittsburgh.Barrie had three assists to give him 278 career points, the most by a defenseman in franchise history. Barrie broke the mark held by John-Michael Liles.“Finally nice to get it out of the way and put it behind me,” Barrie said. ” It’s something I can look back on and take pride in it. Johnny’s a great guy and a great player, so it’s nice to pass him and take him out to dinner.”After the morning skate, the Avalanche reiterated over and over the importance of a fast start to break out of their 0-4-2 skid.This helped their cause: Going on the power play early when McLeod slammed the face of defenseman Samuel Girard into the glass on a big hit. MacKinnon scored on a high wrist shot over Georgiev’s glove at 4:40, with Rantanen adding another 2:13 later when his pass went in off the stick of New York defenseman Neal Pionk.“It’s hard to play games when you sit that long in the box,” Rangers forward Mats Zuccarello said. “At the end of the day, they were the better team than us.”Colorado was getting all the bounces, with Landeskog knocking in a goal with his right skate midway through the second period. The Avalanche led 5-0 in the third before Strome ended Grubauer’s shutout bid on a breakaway.Graves scored his first career goal following a rebound in the third. He was selected by New York in the fourth round of the 2013 draft Nazem Kadri Jersey , before being dealt to Colorado last February.“Regardless of who we were playing, it’s pretty sweet,” Graves said of his goal.NOTES: Rangers C Kevin Hayes missed the game with an upper body injury. … Avalanche G Semyon Varlamov remains day-to-day with a lower body injury. … The Avs are stumping for Landeskog to make the All-Star team through the “Last Men In” vote from the fans. There were buttons and signs that read, “Vote Gabe in.” … MacKinnon and Landeskog each have 25 goals this season.UP NEXT:Rangers: Stop No. 2 on a three-game trip will be Sunday in Arizona.Avalanche: Open a five-game trip Tuesday in Winnipeg.