ST. PAUL, Minnesota: The New York Rangers clinched the NHL Metropolitan Division title in dramatic style on Thursday, as J.T. Miller scored the go-ahead goal in the third period, less than a minute after Minnesota had tied the game, to give the visitors a 3-2 win against the Wild.

With the regular season coming to a close and with each game taking added importance, there were other key results: Washington won after a shootout at Montreal; Chicago clinched a playoff spot with a victory over Vancouver; and Ottawa boosted its postseason chances with a win against Tampa Bay.

The Rangers improved to 26-11-2 away from home, setting a franchise record for road wins, and stayed in first place in the Eastern Conference — two points ahead of Montreal — with five games to go.

After Thomas Vanek scored for the Wild, Miller’s tip-in came 55 seconds later at the 6:48 mark of the third.

Dominic Moore scored against one of his eight former teams and Rick Nash followed in the first period with his 41st goal of the season for New York.

Jason Pominville scored and Matt Dumba had two assists for the Wild, whose five-game winning streak ended and who remained tied for fifth in the West.

Washington’s Troy Brouwer scored the winner in the fourth round of the shootout as the Capitals took a 5-4 win at Montreal.

Alex Ovechkin and Joel Ward each scored a pair of goals for Washington in regulation. With his first goal — the 473rd of his career and fourth in his last three games — Ovechkin became the Capitals’ all-time leading scorer, passing Peter Bondra.

Jeff Petry, Tom Gilbert, Lars Eller and P.K. Subban scored for the Canadiens.

Chicago reserved its postseason berth with a 3-1 win against Vancouver.

Jonathan Toews and Marcus Kruger scored in the third period after Teuvo Teravainen netted in the first. The Blackhawks remained a point behind St. Louis in the fight for second in the Central Division.

Derek Dorsett scored for the Canucks.

Ottawa’s Patrick Wiercioch scored 4:43 into overtime to give the Senators a 2-1 victory over Tampa Bay.

Mark Stone also scored for the Senators, who won despite again struggling on the power play, going 0 for 5 with the man advantage. They are 1 for 15 over the past three games.

Ottawa is three points behind Detroit and Boston, who are equal eighth in the East.

Jonathan Drouin scored the sole goal for the Lightning, which missed a chance to go joint top of the Atlantic Division.

St. Louis also clinched a playoff spot by beating Calgary 4-1.

Jaden Schwartz had a goal and an assist, while Paul Stastny, Jori Lehtera and Patrik Berglund also scored for the Blues, who had lost their previous three home games.

Sean Monahan scored his 30th goal for Calgary, with the 20-year-old becoming the youngest player in Flames history to reach that milestone.

Boston’s Zach Trotman scored his first career NHL goal with 2:08 remaining to lift the Bruins to a 3-2 win at Detroit.

An out-of-contention Columbus extended its winning streak to eight games by taking a shootout and winning 4-3 against the New York Islanders.

Florida goaltender Roberto Luongo earned his 400th career win while Jaromir Jagr had a goal and an assist to tie Ron Francis for fourth place on the NHL’s career points list and help the Panther rout Carolina 6-1.

Los Angeles moved into a share of eighth in the West by thrashing Edmonton 8-2, with Marian Gaborik and Jeff Carter scoring two goals apiece.