Four more teams clinch playoff berths, Oilers captain Connor McDavid narrows the gap in the scoring race, and Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon’s home points streak is over. Get the details and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

NHL.COM: The Dallas Stars clinched a playoff berth by defeating the Vancouver Canucks 3-1. Jamie Benn snapped a 1-1 tie in the third period and Roope Hintz had a goal and two assists for the Stars (46-19-9), who won their sixth straight game and sit second in the overall standings with 101 points. J.T. Miller replied for the 45-20-8 Canucks as they slipped to fifth overall with 98 points.

Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen turned in a 24-save shutout to blank the Detroit Red Wings 4-0 as his club also secured a playoff spot. Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis each had a goal and two assists for the 46-21-7 Hurricanes as they hold third place in the overall standings with 99 points. James Reimer stopped 29 shots for the Red Wings (36-30-7) as they remain two points out of the final Eastern Conference wildcard berth with 79 points.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Wings forwards Patrick Kane and Austin Czarnik missed this game due to illness.

The Florida Panthers dropped a 3-2 decision to the New York Islanders but still clinched a postseason spot. Semyon Varlamov turned aside 26 shots while Jean-Gabriel Pageau’s tie-breaker in the second period was the game-winner. Vladimir Tarasenko and Aleksander Barkov scored for the 46-22-5 Panthers, who dropped to seventh overall with 97 points. The Islanders (31-26-15) kept their playoff hopes alive as they’re four points out of the final Eastern wildcard with 77 points.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Panthers head coach Paul Maurice expressed displeasure with his team’s performance following this game. They’ve dropped six of their last seven contests. They did have some good news as defenseman Aaron Ekblad returned to action after being sidelined for the last six games.

Montreal Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki reached the 30-goal plateau for the first time in a 4-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers. Juraj Slafkovsky extended his points streak to nine games for the Canadiens (28-32-12) as they won three straight games for the first time this season. Owen Tippett matched his career high of 27 goals for the 36-28-10 Flyers, who cling to third place in the Metropolitan Division with 82 points.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Canadiens’ win enabled the idle Boston Bruins (42-17-15) to clinch a playoff berth. The Bruins sit fourth in the overall standings with 99 points. Speaking of the Flyers, Ivan Fedotov had his KHL contract terminated, potentially opening the door for the 27-year-old goaltender to come to Philadelphia to begin his NHL career.

Meanwhile, the New York Rangers downed the Colorado Avalanche 3-2 on a shootout goal by Vincent Trocheck. Igor Shesterkin kicked out 39 shots for the Rangers (49-20-4) as they lead the league with 102 points. Nathan MacKinnon’s home points streak ended at 35 games as the 46-21-6 Avalanche hold sixth place in the overall standings with 98 points.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren returned to action after missing four games with a lower-body injury.

Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid (NHL Images).

Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid had a goal and two assists to lead his club over the Los Angeles Kings by a score of 4-1. Leon Draisaitl collected three assists as the Oilers improved to 44-23-4 and sit second in the Pacific Division with 92 points. Arthur Kaliyev scored for the Kings (38-23-11) as they tumbled into the final Western wildcard berth with 87 points.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: McDavid reached the 120-point mark for the third straight season, becoming the seventh player in NHL history to achieve this milestone. With 122 points, he’s just two points behind league leader Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning and one behind MacKinnon.

The Vegas Golden Knights got two goals from Ivan Barbashev and a 39-save effort from Logan Thompson for a 4-1 victory over the slumping Winnipeg Jets. The Golden Knights (40-25-8) vaulted over the Kings into third place in the Pacific with 88 points. Sean Monahan scored for the 44-23-6 Jets, who are winless in their last five games (0-4-1) but still hold third place in the Central Division with 94 points.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: This is starting to look like a rerun of last season where the Jets played well through most of the season only to stumble down the stretch. They’re not in danger of missing the playoffs (yet) but their recent struggles are becoming a concern for Jets followers, or at least for those in the Winnipeg media.

A hat trick by Logan Cooley carried the Arizona Coyotes to an 8-4 upset of the Nashville Predators, snapping the latter’s 18-game points streak. Clayton Keller had a goal and three assists and rookie Josh Doan collected two assists for the 31-37-5 Coyotes. Jason Zucker tallied twice for the Predators (43-26-4) as they hold the first Western wildcard with 90 points.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Doan joined Brian Mullen and Dale Hawerchuk as the third player in franchise history with at least four points in their first two games. His father, Shane, had three points.

Toronto Maple Leafs forward Tyler Bertuzzi scored twice to beat the Washington Capitals 5-1. Mark Giordano scored in his return to the Leafs lineup since being sidelined by a concussion on Feb. 29. The Leafs (41-22-9) hold third place in the Atlantic Division with 91 points. Nic Dowd scored for the 36-27-9 Capitals (81 points) as they still hold the final Eastern wildcard.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Following the game, the 40-year-old Giordano dedicated his goal to his father, who passed away on Feb. 15th. He’s also the second-oldest defenseman in Leafs history to score a goal. Speaking of Leafs defenseman, Timothy Liljegren missed this game with an upper-body injury and is expected to be sidelined for several more games.

The St. Louis Blues remain in the Western playoff chase with a 5-3 victory over the Calgary Flames. Pavel Buchnevich scored two goals while Jordan Binnington made 25 saves and picked up two assists for the 39-30-4 Blues (82 points) as they sit five points behind the Kings. Andrei Kuzmenko tallied twice for the Flames (33-34-5).

Minnesota Wild forward Joel Eriksson Ek scored his 30th goal of the season and Matt Boldy had two points to defeat the San Jose Sharks 3-1. The win kept the Wild’s fading playoff hopes alive as they improved to 35-28-9 but sit eight points behind the Kings with 79 points. The 16-48-8 Sharks have won just once in their last 10 games. They played without winger Alexander Barabanov, who is listed as week-to-week with a lower-body injury.

Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin scored twice and Sidney Crosby had two assists to nip the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2. The Penguins (32-30-10) have won two straight. Cole Sillinger had a goal and an assist for the 23-38-12 Blue Jackets.

The Ottawa Senators got a 19-save shutout from Anton Forsberg in a 2-0 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. Claude Giroux and Parker Kelly were the goalscorers for the 32-36-4 Senators. Petr Mrazek stopped 32 shots for the 21-47-5 Blackhawks.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot missed this game with a lower-body injury but he’s not expected to be sidelined for long.

Three straight third-period goals lifted the Seattle Kraken over the Anaheim Ducks 4-2. Jared McCann picked up three assists for the 30-29-13 Kraken. Jakob Silfverberg had a goal and an assist for the 24-45-4 Ducks.