Tonight William Nylanders Toronto was set against Dallas at away. And for the fifth match in a row, the Swede found the goal. He pushed in a return as he gave his team the lead with 4-2 in the third period.

He himself focused on the team when commenting on the match. In the dense Eastern Division, Toronto needs to continue to win to reach the long-awaited playoffs later this spring.

- We have to keep winning. We are the ones chasing the table right now so we have an endgame feeling. We have to be on our toes in every match, Nylander tells the Toronto Star.

It was Toronto who took the lead in the first period through Auston Matthwes, but Dallas acknowledged shortly before the break. In the second period, it was Toronto again who took the lead - a lead that they then held the game out.

With three seconds left of the match, Andreas Johnsson determined the final result in open box. The match ended 5-3.

Ovetjkin paid tribute to Kobe Bryant

In Washington, Nashville was visiting and wearing a jersey with Kobe Bryant's number 24 on his back, Alexander Ovetjkin warmed up.

When the match started, Alexander Ovetjkin carried his regular, and Bryant's former, number 8, and he paid tribute to the deceased basketball icon by making one of the team's goals, to 2-3. But by the time the final signal went, his Washington had lost by 4-5.

- He was a legend and an amazing man and athlete. It is about respect and remembering him and his daughter, Ovetjkin told reporters in the locker room after the match.

The goal, Russia's 693rd in the NHL career, placed him in ninth place on the all time list of best goalkeepers. He thus passed Steve Yzerman, who stood first in the queue of congratulations.

- You have had a fantastic career so far and it looks like you will continue to steam and you will never stop playing. Good luck and continued success, Steve Yzerman said in a prerecorded message shown at the Jumbotron in Washington.

Swung several times

But much more than that goal, Washington did not have to rejoice.

The match swung several times and the team took turns in being in the lead, dropping it. In the third period, Nashville turned 3-4 to 5-4 and that home team couldn't turn. The first of those goals came in numerical disadvantage when Ryan Johansen got the puck from Washington goalkeeper Braden Holtby and tricked it into goal.

"It's not part of our game plan," Washington coach Todd Reirden said disappointed after the game.

- We made mistakes and they scored goals and took the point.