Suddenly the scoreboard is showing an abundance of favorable results for the Washington Capitals.

A late season surge is also helping their cause and the Capitals attempt to keep gaining ground in a crowded Eastern Conference playoff race Sunday night when they visit the New York Rangers.

Washington (39-29-9, 87 points) trailed the Boston Bruins by six points for the final wild-card spot following a 3-1 loss in Boston on March 7. Since then, the Capitals are 8-3-2 in their past 13 games and are now one point behind the Ottawa Senators for the last wild-card spot with five games left.

The Philadelphia Flyers and Detroit Red Wings also have 88 points but have a game in hand on Washington. Columbus also has 88 points and has played the same number of games as the Capitals.

The Capitals inched closer after earning a 6-2 victory over the visiting Buffalo Sabres on Saturday. They are taking the ice in New York after Detroit hosts the Minnesota Wild and Philadelphia hosts the Bruins in Sunday afternoon games.

Washington also will take the ice in New York two hours after Ottawa starts its home game with the Carolina Hurricanes.

“We can only control what we do out there for 60 minutes and we’re just trying to do everything we can to stay alive and get ourselves in,” Washington forward Ryan Leonard said.

On Saturday, the Capitals scored three goals in the opening period and Jakob Chychrun, Aliaksei Protas and Connor McMichael each finished with a goal and an assist.

The Rangers lost two of three meetings with the Capitals earlier this season and are playing better of late. Following a six-game losing streak (0-5-1), New York is 4-1-0 in the first five contests of a seven-game homestand.

New York has scored 19 goals over its last five games and aided the Capitals’ cause by cruising to a 4-1 win over Detroit on Saturday night.

Rookie Gabe Perreault recorded his first career hat trick while first-year forward Jaroslav Chmelar also scored. The Rangers played five rookies Saturday and since March 2, New York’s first-year players have 17 goals and 38 points.

“Means a lot,” said Perreault, who has 10 goals in 44 games this season after appearing in five games last season. “Teammates made some nice plays, so had a couple of easy ones tonight. But it definitely feels good to get the hat trick, but most importantly, get the win.”

Perreault became just the fourth Rangers rookie in the past 30 years to score a hat trick, joining Chris Kreider (2013), Derek Stepan (2010) and Jan Hlavac (2000).

“At the start, I was kind of fighting it the first couple of shifts, so I didn’t necessarily think I was going to finish like that, but once we started generating chances and I got that first one and that second, you’re obviously thinking about the third one,” Perreault said. “Lucky enough, I was able to get out there and get the third one.”

–Field Level Media

The first Sunday night game at Comerica Park in Detroit this season was supposed to be a special event. Then came the bad news on Saturday afternoon.

Justin Verlander was scheduled to make his home first start in a Detroit Tigers uniform since Aug. 20, 2017, against the St. Louis Cardinals. However, the 43-year-old right-hander was placed on the 15-day injured list due to left hip inflammation.

Verlander said the injury wasn’t serious but the organization didn’t want to take any chances this early in the season.

“It’s frustrating for me, obviously,” he said. “I also know a lot of fans were excited about [Sunday] night.”

Verlander won the first of his three Cy Young Awards in 2011 with the Tigers. He pitched in Detroit from 2005-17 and later played for the Houston Astros, New York Mets and San Francisco Giants before returning to Detroit as a free agent. Of his 266 career wins, 183 came as a member of the Tigers.

Right-hander Keider Montero was recalled from Triple-A Toledo and is expected to take the mound in Verlander’s place during the finale of a three-game series.

The team had marketed the nationally televised event as Verlander’s long-awaited return, but the fans and TV audience will have to settle for Montero’s 29th start in a Tigers uniform.

Montero was 5-3 with a 4.37 ERA in 20 appearances with Detroit last season, including 12 starts. He gave up five runs in 5 2/3 innings of relief in his lone career outing against the Cardinals last May but didn’t figure into the decision in the 11-4 loss.

“We didn’t anticipate needing rotation help this week,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “But it came up and we have someone who arguably could have been on the team from the get-go. And now he gets an opportunity to help us. We’re very lucky to have someone of his caliber, who’s pitched in some of the biggest moments in the last couple of years to come up and be ready to go.”

The Tigers will be looking for a sweep. Detroit’s bats heated up on Saturday, as it clobbered four home runs in an 11-6, rain-delayed victory.

Kerry Carpenter, Zach McKinstry, Gleyber Torres and Matt Vierling each supplied their first home runs of the season. The Tigers had just two home runs, both by catcher Dillon Dingler, in their first seven games.

Montero will be opposed by right-hander Kyle Leahy (0-1, 7.20 ERA). In his first start this season, Leahy gave up four runs and eight hits in five innings in a 4-2 to the New York Mets on Monday.

“I made a lot of good pitches with runners on, but then I made some not-great pitches to let those runners get on,” Leahy said. “Definitely, a lot to learn from this one and be better as it goes.”

Leahy’s fastball velocity went down from the first inning, when he averaged 95.8 mph. It was closer to 93 mph the rest of the way. Leahy is still getting used to starting after being used as a reliever his first three seasons.

“That’s just part of the transition for my body getting used to this again,” Leahy said. “I felt really good early, and I thought I pitched with not my best stuff (Monday) and still competed as hard as I could. That’s just a build-up thing, and hopefully I’ll be better off as the year goes.”

Leahy has made two relief appearances against Detroit in his career and was tagged with a loss both times. His ERA in those games is 10.13 after allowing three runs on four hits in 2 2/3 innings.

-Field Level Media

The Montreal Canadiens have a basket of Easter eggs to hunt when they play host to the New Jersey Devils on Sunday in the second half of a home-and-home series.

Not only are the Canadiens (45-21-10, 100 points) on a quest to claim both halves of the mini-series after winning a 4-3 shootout clash on Saturday. They are now on a realistic push to chase the Atlantic Division crown thanks to an eight-game winning streak.

With six games remaining in the regular season, Montreal sits second in the Atlantic Division, two points back of the Tampa Bay Lightning and tied with the Buffalo Sabres, with one game in hand.

A single point will clinch a playoff spot, but the Canadiens — who last hit the century mark in the 2016-17 season — are looking for more.

“I feel 100 points is good, but we’re trying to get the best possible position for us to start (the playoffs) at home,” goaltender Jakub Dobes said. “We’re trying to finish first.”

Running their winning streak to eight came on a wild ride. The Canadiens staked a 3-0 lead before the midway point of the second period, but the Devils clawed back.

Oliver Kapanen scored the shootout winner in the fifth round to end a perfect five-game road swing.

Now to bring those winning ways to their sure to be frenzied fans.

“I know there’s gonna be a lot of energy in the building,” Montreal coach Martin St. Louis said. “We’re trying to earn that every game. I think they see we try to battle hard every game and respect that. I think that’s the foundation of our success.”

The Devils technically are still alive in the playoffs but will need all kinds of help and have no room for error.

New Jersey (39-34-3, 81 points) is seven points outside a playoff spot with six games remaining.

Even so, forcing extra time after falling behind by a trio of goals is a sign the Devils plan to go down swinging.

“Even if they scored we just kept working,” said forward Jesper Bratt, who continues to pile up the points. “We knew we were going to somehow get a goal if we kept working, kept the momentum up, and that’s what happened.”

As their likely disappointing season winds down, the Devils certainly have plenty of players making their mark.

Bratt has collected seven goals and 15 assists over the past 14 games, while Dawson Mercer has scored three goals in his past two games, Captain Nico Hischier has collected 10 points during a seven-game point streak (two goals, eight assists) and Jack Hughes has racked up 33 points (13 goals, 20 assists) in 19 games following the Olympic break.

Getting another crack at the Canadiens, and a chance to play spoilers, gives the Devils a bit more motivation on top of the revenge factor.

“Bell Centre, a good atmosphere again,” defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler said. “It’s kind of like a mini-series. We want to go there (Sunday) and do our best.”

–Field Level Media