National Hockey

NASHVILLE — The Nashville Predators have put forward Austin Watson on a long-term injury loan to their American Hockey League affiliate, a week after he earned reinstatement from the NHL.

VANCOUVER — The scoring slump was over, but the questions remained for Pierre-Luc Dubois. Dubois had a goal and an assist as the Columbus Blue Jackets pounded the Vancouver Canucks 5-0 Sunday night to improve their NHL playoff chances.

UNIONDALE, N.Y. — Jordan Eberle and Brock Nelson scored to back Robin Lehner's fifth shutout of the season as the New York Islanders beat the Arizona Coyotes 2-0 Sunday.

CHICAGO — Duncan Keith is a two-time Norris Trophy winner because of his defence , not his scoring skills. This night was different. When the Blackhawks needed it most, Keith played the role of power forward perfectly Sunday.

RALEIGH, N.C. — Andrei Svechnikov scored with 1:45 left in overtime as the Carolina Hurricanes rallied to beat the Montreal Canadiens 2-1 Sunday night in a matchup with Eastern Conference playoff implications.

UNIONDALE, N.Y. — The New York Islanders used a smothering defence and some timely scoring to move closer to a playoff berth.

DETROIT — The Detroit Red Wings recalled defenceman Dylan McIlrath from Grand Rapids of the AHL under emergency conditions and assigned defenceman Libor Sulak to Grand Rapids.

TORONTO — The Toronto Maple Leafs signed goaltender Joseph Woll to a three-year entry-level contract on Sunday. The 20-year-old native of Dardenne Prairie, Mo., had a 13-21-3 record and .

WASHINGTON — Even though the Washington Capitals didn't have peak emotional energy from the drop of the puck, they had Braden Holtby. They're used to this by now.

While the bulk of contenders duke it out to secure playoff spots, the Tampa Bay Lightning sit comfortably atop the NHL with nothing left to play for.