The Pittsburgh Penguins’ Rickard Rakell, center, reaches up for the puck during the second period of an NHL game against the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday in Philadelphia.
                                 AP photo

The Pittsburgh Penguins’ Rickard Rakell, center, reaches up for the puck during the second period of an NHL game against the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday in Philadelphia.

AP photo

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<p>The Pittsburgh Penguins’ Evgeni Malkin, left, makes his move as the Philadelphia Flyers’ James van Riemsdyk, right, gives chase during the second period of an NHL game Sunday in Philadelphia.</p>
                                 <p>AP photo</p>

The Pittsburgh Penguins’ Evgeni Malkin, left, makes his move as the Philadelphia Flyers’ James van Riemsdyk, right, gives chase during the second period of an NHL game Sunday in Philadelphia.

AP photo

<p>The Philadelphia Flyers’ Noah Cates, center, reacts to his goal on the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Louis Domingue, center left, during the second period of an NHL game Sunday in Philadelphia.</p>
                                 <p>AP photo</p>

The Philadelphia Flyers’ Noah Cates, center, reacts to his goal on the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Louis Domingue, center left, during the second period of an NHL game Sunday in Philadelphia.

AP photo

PHILADELPHIA — Noah Cates had two goals and an assist, Martin Jones made 37 saves and the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-1 on Sunday.

Morgan Frost added a goal and an assist and Travis Konecny scored an empty-netter for the Flyers, who won their second straight after losing six in a row.

Sidney Crosby scored for the playoff-bound Penguins.

“We just weren’t good enough,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. “I was hopeful that we were going to have a better effort.”

The Penguins entered in third place in the Metropolitan Division, two points ahead of Washington. Pittsburgh has two games remaining and would play the Rangers in the first round of the playoffs by staying in third place. If Washington jumps ahead of the Penguins, Pittsburgh would meet the Eastern Conference-leading Florida Panthers in the opening round.

“Wasn’t our best,” Crosby said. “It’s not always going to be your best, you still have to find ways to win. We’ve got two games left here to make sure we’re playing the right way going into the playoffs. You definitely want to be playing well, wherever that seeds you so be it.”

Philadelphia is merely playing out the season. The Flyers entered with the second-worst record in the East, and several regulars are sidelined for the remainder of the season. A mix of AHL call-ups and young players looking to establish themselves in the NHL gave Philadelphia a surprising lift against the more-talented Penguins.

Cates is one of them. A fifth-round pick in 2017, Cates recorded his first multi-goal performance and now has five tallies in 13 career games. He joined the Flyers after his college team, Minnesota-Duluth, was eliminated from the NCAA tournament.

The 23-year-old Cates scored both goals in nearly identical fashion, the first a deflection of Keith Yandle’s slap shot from in front of the net with 13:11 left in the second period to put Philadelphia ahead 2-0, and the second a redirection of Ivan Provorov’s slap shot on the power play with 10:22 to play to make it 3-0. It was a rare tally on the man-advantage for Philadelphia, which entered last in the NHL on the power play by converting just 12 percent of its chances.

Frost scored on a rebound with 4:11 left in the first to put the Flyers on the board.

Frost, 23, centered the third line with Cates and 23-year-old Owen Tippett.

“Nice to be around some younger guys,” Cates said. “We’re chatting a little bit, helping each other out and obviously producing a little bit, so it’s nice.”

Said Jones, “A lot of these young guys are starting to feel more comfortable out there, they’re getting an opportunity to play, they’re taking advantage. It’s great for them.”

Crosby recorded his 31st of the season and team-leading 84th point with 3:33 left.

Lightning 8, Panthers 4

SUNRISE, Fla. — Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos each had two goals and two assists, Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 37 shots and the Tampa Bay Lightning snapped Florida’s franchise-record 13-game winning streak with a win over the Panthers.

Victor Hedman had four assists for Tampa Bay. Nicholas Paul scored twice and Brayden Point and Cal Foote also scored for the Lightning, who remained alive in the race with Toronto for the No. 2 spot behind Florida in the Atlantic Division.

And even though Tampa Bay’s next game is home on Tuesday, the Lightning weren’t heading home after the game. They’re off to Washington, invited by President Joe Biden to visit the White House on Monday in celebration of their 2020 and 2021 Stanley Cup victories.

Sam Reinhart scored his 30th and 31st goals for Florida, which also got goals from Brandon Montour and Mason Marchment. Spencer Knight left in the second period after allowing five goals on 17 shots, and Sergei Bobrovsky played the final 27 minutes in net for the Panthers.

Maple Leafs 4, Capitals 3

WASHINGTON — Alex Ovechkin was injured, and Washington missed a major opportunity to move up in the standings by blowing a lead and losing in a shootout to Toronto.

Ovechkin crashed hard into the boards early in the third period and was ruled out with what the team called an upper-body injury. His status moving forward was not immediately clear.

The Capitals coughed up a two-goal lead they build not long after Ovechkin left the game in obvious pain. They left with just a point after Toronto’s Alex Kerfoot scored to end the seven-round shootout.

Jets 4, Avalanche 1

WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Adam Lowry, Blake Wheeler and Kyle Connor all scored in a span of 3:21 in the third period to help Winnipeg beat Colorado, handing the Avalanche their season-high fourth straight loss.

Nikolaj Ehlers also scored a late third-period goal for the Jets, who halted a four-game losing skid.

J.T. Compher scored early in the third period for the Avalanche, who have lost all four of those games in regulation.

Connor Hellebuyck made 30 saves for Winnipeg in his 65th game of the season and 380th with the team. That set a franchise record (Atlanta/Winnipeg) for games played by a goaltender, one more than Ondrej Pavelec.

Darcy Kuemper stopped 40 shots for the Central Division champions and top seed in the Western Conference.

Hurricanes 5, Islanders 2

NEW YORK — Max Domi scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period and Carolina got help from a rookie goaltender, boosting their Metropolitan Division lead by beating New York.

The Hurricanes won their fourth in a row and extended their edge over the second-place New York Rangers by four points. Carolina has two games left, including a visit to Madison Square Garden to face the Rangers on Tuesday night. New York has three games remaining.

Carolina tied franchise records for victories (52) and points (112). Both marks were set in the 2005-06 season, which culminated in the team’s sole Stanley Cup championship. Seth Jarvis, Derek Stepan, Jesper Fast, and Brendan Smith also scored for the Hurricanes.

Antti Raanta made 17 saves on 18 shots before appearing to suffer an injury in the second period. The Hurricanes are now missing their top two goaltenders after Frederik Andersen suffered an injury on April 16.

Ross Johnston and Ryan Pulock scored for the Islanders, who lost their fifth straight game. Semyon Varlamov made 29 saves on 32 shots.

Blue Jackets 5, Oilers 2

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Rookie Nick Blankenburg scored his first NHL goal and added an assist to help Columbus beat Edmonton, breaking a five-game losing streak and keeping the Oilers from clinching second place in the Pacific Division.

Eric Robinson and Jack Roslovic also scored, Oliver Bjorkstrand had a goal and two assists, and Cole Sillinger added a goal and an assist for Columbus.

Jakub Voracek notched three assists and Gus Nyquist had two helpers for Columbus, while Elvis Merzlikins stopped 33 shots in his 26th win.

Evander Kane and Leon Draisaitl scored for Edmonton, and Mikko Koskinen stopped 26 shots.

Red Wings 3, Devils 0

NEWARK, N.J. — Alex Nedeljkovic had 17 saves, Oskar Sundqvist and Tyler Bertuzzi each had a goal and assist and Detroit beat New Jersey.

The win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Red Wings and came a day after they were blown out by the Pittsburgh Penguins 7-2.

Sundqvist scored in the first period and Bertuzzi and Michael Rasmussen added late empty-net goals.

New Jersey goaltender Andrew Hammond made 21 saves as the Devils lost their seventh straight game at home.