Heatley's goal turns back Devils

Dany Heatley scored on a power play with 5:48 to play and the Atlanta Thrashers overcame the benching of leading scorer Ilya Kovalchuk with a 3-2 victory over the Devils last night at East Rutherford, N.J. Kovalchuk, whose 33 goals tied him for the league lead heading into the game, was disciplined by coach Bob Hartley for missing a team meeting earlier in the day.

Garnet Exelby and Patrik Stefan also scored and Pasi Nurminen had 15 saves as the Thrashers ended a two-game losing streak and spoiled the 1,000th game for New Jersey Devils coach Pat Burns.

Brian Gionta and Patrik Elias scored for the Devils, who had a three-game win streak ended.

Sharks 4, Penguins 2 -- Patrick Marleau had a goal and an assist to lead host San Jose over Pittsburgh, which became the first team to be officially eliminated from playoff contention. Brad Stuart, Tom Preissing, and Alexander Korolyuk also scored for San Jose, which improved to 8-1-1 over its last 10.

Konstantin Koltsov and Milan Kraft scored for the Penguins in the third period.

Islanders 4, Sabres 2 -- Oleg Kvasha had a goal and two assists, helping visiting New York gain ground in the playoff race.

Mariusz Czerkawski and Mattias Weinhandl each had a goal and assist, and Roman Hamrlik also scored.

Stars 3, Wild 1 -- Stu Barnes's shorthanded goal with 8:37 left broke a tie and helped Dallas stretch its home unbeaten streak to 10 games.

Oilers 7, Coyotes 2 -- Ethan Moreau scored twice to cap a franchise-record five goals in a span of 5:38 and Edmonton routed reeling Phoenix at Glendale, Ariz.

Capitals 4, Panthers 1 -- Brian Willsie scored the first of four third-period goals for Washington in a victory at Sunrise, Fla.

Blue Jackets 4, Blackhawks 3 -- Luke Richardson scored his first goal in 183 games with 2:51 left in the third period and visiting Columbus defeated Chicago to end a five-game losing streak.