SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Pavel Zacha scored the winning goal with 2:21 to go in regulation and Boston defeated Florida 4-3 on Tuesday night.
The Bruins also broke a tie with Florida atop the Atlantic Division and now hold a two-point lead, although the Panthers have played one less game.
Charlie McAvoy, David Pastrnak and Trent Frederic also scored for the Bruins and Jeremy Swayman made 18 saves.
Evan Rodrigues, Sam Reinhart and Carter Verhaeghe scored for the Panthers while Sergei Bobrovsky made 17 saves.
Elsewhere in the NHL on Tuesday:
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RANGERS 6 FLYERS 5 (OT)
NEW YORK (AP) — Adam Fox scored 36 seconds into overtime and the New York Rangers became the first NHL team to clinch a playoff spot this season, beating Philadelphia following a wild third period.
Alexis Lafreniere had two goals and Igor Shesterkin made 36 saves for the Rangers, who lead the league with 100 points after giving coach Peter Laviolette his 800th career win.
New York technically secured its third consecutive playoff berth just by getting to overtime and earning one point after Detroit lost to Washington in OT. But after the teams traded seven goals in a frenetic third period, it didn’t take long for Fox to finish the night in style with a wrist shot from the high slot for his 15th goal, adding to the star defenseman’s career high.
Vincent Trocheck, Mika Zibanejad and Jonny Brodzinski also scored for the Rangers, who extended their Metropolitan Division lead to three points over Carolina.
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PENGUINS 4 HURRICANES 1
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Sidney Crosby had a goal and two assists and the Penguins scored two goals on five shots in the second period, spoiling Jake Guentzel’s return to Pittsburgh with a victory over Carolina.
Bryan Rust scored his 23rd of the season and his seventh goal in 10 games. Jesse Puljujarvi added his third of the season — and second in as many games for the Penguins, who were outshot 31-14 in the last two periods. Drew O’Connor added an empty-net goal at 18:04 of the third.
Crosby scored his 35th goal of the season and became the first active player, and 14th in NHL history, with 15 or more 40-assist seasons. The Penguins snapped a three-game losing streak and rebounded from an overtime loss at Colorado on Sunday, when they squandered a four-goal lead.
Alex Nedeljkovic, Carolina’s second-round draft pick in 2014, stopped 38 shots for Pittsburgh.
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CAPITALS 4 RED WINGS 3 (OT)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Dylan Strome scored twice, Charlie Lindgren made 30…