Senators can't slow Canadiens
Chris Higgins scored the go-ahead goal and David Aebischer made 44 saves to help the Montreal Canadiens match their longest winning streak in more than 13 years with a 5-3 victory over the Senators last night in Ottawa.
Mike Ribeiro had three points, including his 15th goal, and Alex Kovalev had three assists for Montreal, which extended its winning streak to eight games and tied New Jersey for sixth in the Eastern Conference with 89 points.
The Canadiens, who play four of their last six games at home, have their longest win streak since an eight-game run from Oct. 24 to Nov. 11, 1992.
Ottawa's Dany Heatley scored twice, setting new team records with 47 goals and 95 points. Andrej Meszaros also scored for the Eastern Conference-leading Senators, who remain two points ahead of Carolina.
Lightning 3, Thrashers 2 -- Vincent Lecavalier and Brad Richards scored shootout goals and host Tampa Bay tightened its grip on the final playoff position in the Eastern Conference.
The defending Stanley Cup champions remain eighth in the East with 87 points -- six more than ninth-place Atlanta. Each team has six games remaining, including the eighth -- and final -- meeting of the season between the Southeast Division rivals here next Tuesday.
Rangers 3, Islanders 1 -- Jarkko Immonen scored his first NHL goal in the opening minute of the second period and Martin Straka snapped a tie in the closing seconds of the frame to help the host Rangers stretch their Atlantic Division lead.
The Rangers, 5-1-1 this season against the Islanders, lead Philadelphia by 5 points with six games left. Philadelphia has seven to play.
Predators 3, Blues 0 -- Rookie Shea Weber scored his first goal and Paul Kariya had his 28th, leading visiting Nashville over St. Louis.
The Blues have lost a franchise-record 12 straight games. Earlier this season, the Blues lost 11 in a row, a streak that started and ended with road losses to Nashville.
Wild 2, Oilers 1 -- Brian Rolston beat Dwayne Roloson with a stick-side wrist shot to give host Minnesota a shootout victory over Edmonton.
