fourth-most in franchise history.CAPITALS 4, BLUES 2ST. LOUIS (AP) – Nicklas Backstrom started a three-goal second period, Braden Holtby made 34 saves, and Washington won for the seventh time in eight games and 11th in the last 13.Alex Ovechkin got his league-leading 46th goal, and Alex Chiasson and A

SEATTLE (AP) — John Barr understood it was likely a foregone conclusion and yet as NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman spoke nearly 3 Anthony Beauvillier Jersey ,000 miles away, he found himself getting emotional watching the televisions in the packed bar.Barr was among fans watching Tuesday morning as Seattle was awarded an NHL expansion franchise following a unanimous vote by the Board of Governors in Sea Island, Georgia, ending a lengthy dance between the league and the city that will finally see professional hockey return to the city. Seattle was the first U.S. city to win the Stanley Cup back in 1917. More than 100 years later, they’ll have that chance again.“I was always optimistic but I didn’t think it was ever a guarantee. Might have got a little watery eyed there,” said Barr, who has headed up the NHLtoSeattle.com website and been a voice for hockey fans in Seattle. “It’s been a long haul and there’s been some ups and downs but I think the wait is worth it.”The Seattle ownership group organized the watch party as a central gathering spot to celebrate the announcement and hand out swag a short distance from the Seattle Center, where the yet-to-be named team will begin play in a reconstructed Seattle Center Arena in 2021.“Is there a better hockey morning than this morning in Seattle?” said Mayor Jenny Durkan, who took a little of the suspense out of Bettman’s announcement by revealing the outcome of the vote about 10 minutes early. “This is just a great thing for Seattle and I’m so honored to be part of it.”Dave Tippett, an adviser for the ownership group who had a front row seat for all the behind the scenes work that went into the pitch to the NHL, joined the fans in Seattle while his bosses were in Georgia.“It’s been coming a long time. The turning point for me Authentic Brock Nelson Jersey , and this was before I was involved, was watching the season tickets go on sale and in 10 minutes sold 12,000 tickets,” Tippett said. “We knew there was an unbelievable following here so it’s been fun to get to know people here and get to experience some of the excitement of bringing a team here.”For now, the NHL will serve to satisfy Seattle’s winter sports itch that’s existed since the SuperSonics left for Oklahoma City in 2008. There’s also hope that the rebuilt arena and the foundation being laid by the NHL’s 32nd franchise will help bring the NBA back.If there was a tinge of disappointment, it came with the decision that the team won’t start until the 2021-22 season.The initial was hope for a 2020 start, but arena renovations may not be done in time. As it stands, team President Tod Leiweke said the hope is the building will open in the first quarter of 2021. The first team to call the facility home will likely be the WNBA’s Seattle Storm, before the NHL team begins in the fall.“I’ve been at this eight years so it’s going to be another two years for 2020, another one for 2021, I can do it Cal Clutterbuck Jersey ,” Barr said. “They have all the information. I think it’s the right call. We want to launch this right.” TORONTO (AP) William Nylander and Auston Matthews each had two goals and an assist as the playoff-bound Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Buffalo Sabres 5-2 on Monday night.Andreas Johnsson also scored as Maple Leafs extended a franchise record with their 48th win and matched the team mark for points (103) set in 2003-04. Backup goalie Curtis McElhinney stopped 32 shots to help Toronto win for the 15th time in the last 17 at home.Matthews extended his point streak to seven games in Toronto’s 28th home win of the season. He has five goals and 10 points on his run.Sam Reinhart got his career-high 24th goal for the last-place Sabres, and Jason Pominville also scored. Chad Johnson finished with 31 saves.KINGS 3, AVALANCHE 1LOS ANGELES (AP) – Dustin Brown’s short-handed goal helped Los Angeles move back into third place in the Pacific Division with a win over Colorado.Torrey Mitchell and Kyle Clifford also scored for the Kings, who are one point ahead of Anaheim. Jonathan Quick made 27 saves and the Kings won their third consecutive home game.Alexander Kerfoot had a power-play goal and Jonathan Bernier stopped 22 shots for the Avalanche.Colorado leads St. Louis by one point for the second Western Conference wild card, but the Blues have a game in hand. The Avalanche host the Blues on Saturday in the final game of the regular season for both.PANTHERS 3, HURRICANES 2SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) – Alexander Petrovic scored the tiebreaking goal in the third period and Florida snapped a three-game skid.Evgenii Dadonov and MacKenzie Weegar also scored to help the Panthers pull five points behind idle New Jersey for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference. Florida has four games remaining, one more than the Devils. Roberto Luongo stopped 26 shots.Derek Ryan and Trevor van Riemsdyk scored for Carolina, and Scott Darling finished with 32 saves.On the go-ahead goal, Petrovic shot from the boards above the right circle and beat Darling with 7:58 left for his second of the season.WILD 3, STARS 0ST. PAUL Eric Tangradi Jersey Womens , Minn. (AP) – Zach Parise scored twice and Devan Dubnyk made 22 saves to blank his original team, pushing Minnesota to the brink of the playoffs.Playing for the first time in nearly three years without stalwart defenseman Ryan Suter, the Wild wrapped up their home schedule with a postseason-caliber performance punctuated by a staggering 21-3 shots advantage in the third period. Joel Eriksson Ek added an empty-net goal as the Wild finished 27-6-8 at Xcel Energy Center, currently the second-best home record in the NHL.Cam Talbot made 37 saves for the Oilers, who lost their fifth straight game and ensured a sub-80-point finish for the eighth time in the nine years.The Wild reached 98 points to match the fourth-most in franchise history.CAPITALS 4, BLUES 2ST. LOUIS (AP) – Nicklas Backstrom started a three-goal second period, Braden Holtby made 34 saves, and Washington won for the seventh time in eight games and 11th in the last 13.Alex Ovechkin got his league-leading 46th goal, and Alex Chiasson and Andre Burakovsky also scored for the Capitals. Holtby won for the fourth time in his last five starts, and improved to 7-0-0 in seven career starts against St. Louis.Vladimir Tarasenko and Patrik Berglund scored for the Blues, who lost their second straight. Jake Allen finished with 30 saves.JETS 6 http://www.officialislanders.com/authentic-adidas-casey-cizikas-jersey , SENATORS 5OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) – Blake Wheeler scored twice and Winnipeg held off Ottawa.Andrew Copp had a goal and an assist, and Josh Morrissey, Brandon Tanev and Mathieu Perreault also scored for the Jets, who pulled five points behind first-place Nashville in the Central Division with three games remaining. Adam Lowry and Mark Scheifele each had two assists, and Connor Hellebuyck stopped 32 shots.Thomas Chabot and Matt Duchene each scored twice and Christian Wolanin got his first NHL goal for Ottawa, which was playing its final home game of the season. Craig Anderson finished with 34 saves.—