TIMO MEIER

Nino Niederreiter scored his debut goal for the Nashville Predators, who beat the San Jose Sharks 4-1 in Prague in the NHL regular-season opener.

The NHL playoff race is going into its final few days with both Western Conference wild-card slots still unsettled.

Timo Meier set a San Jose franchise record with five goals on Monday, and the Sharks used a huge first period to beat the Los Angeles Kings 6-2.

Washington star Alexander Ovechkin and high-scoring Edmonton teammates Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl headline the rosters for the NHL All-Star Weekend announced Thursday.

Jonathan Marchessault scored twice and the Vegas Golden Knights became the first NHL team to clinch a playoff berth, beating the San Jose Sharks 5-2 for their eighth straight victory.

(AP Photo/Andy Clayton-King, File)The Minnesota Wild traded goalie Devan Dubnyk and forward Ryan Donato to the San Jose Sharks in two separate deals Monday, continuing their makeover under general manager Bill Guerin. The selection the Sharks sent to the Wild was originally Pittsburgh's, first dealt to San Jose on Feb. 24 for forward Patrick Marleau. The Wild now own two 2021 picks from the Penguins, who traded next year's first-rounder to Minnesota for forward Jason Zucker. Donato, who is the son of former Bruins stalwart Ted Donato, has 29 goals and 28 assists in 130 career NHL games. The 26-year-old Soucy had seven goals, seven assists and a team-leading plus-16 rating in 55 games in his first full NHL season.