Nilson, Calgary burn Senators

Ville Nieminen's second goal in two games helped the Flames beat the Ottawa Senators, 4-2, last night in Calgary.

Marcus Nilson had two goals for the Flames, including an empty-netter with eight seconds remaining.

Nieminen's unassisted goal at 9:16 of the third period came after Ottawa defenseman Chris Phillips had the puck skip past him at the Ottawa blue line.

Nieminen picked up the puck at center ice and sped in alone. He cut from the right side across the front of the net and put a high shot over sprawling goalie Patrick Lalime.

Before scoring in his last game, Nieminen went 32 games without a goal.

Marian Hossa and Martin Havlat scored for Ottawa, one point behind Boston for the Northeast Division lead.

Penguins 3, Maple Leafs 2 -- Ric Jackman, Rico Fata, and Aleksey Morozov scored against backup Trevor Kidd, and visiting Pittsburgh won its season-high fourth straight.

Kidd, who has struggled while playing behind Ed Belfour, looked shaky early. Jackman scored on Pittsburgh's first shot, and fans jeered Kidd's saves in the second period.

Pittsburgh owns the league's worst record, but is 6-2-1 following an 18-game winless streak (0-17-0-1).

Devils 6, Blackhawks 4 -- Patrik Elias scored two late goals and host New Jersey inched closer to the Atlantic Division lead by holding off Chicago.

Sergei Brylin, John Madden, Turner Stevenson, and Grant Marshall also scored in the game the Devils labeled as a "must win" after an embarrassing 3-1 loss at home to the Philadelphia Flyers Tuesday.

Red Wings 4, Blue Jackets 2 -- Brett Hull snapped a tie midway through the third period and Detroit stretched its unbeaten streak to six games with a victory in Columbus, Ohio.

Jason Williams, a healthy scratch the previous 20 games, scored twice for Detroit, winner of eight of 11 despite being riddled with injuries to key offensive players.

Sharks 5, Islanders 4 -- Nils Ekman had a goal and two assists during a wild second period, and host San Jose snapped a three-game losing streak with a victory over New York.

Jonathan Cheechoo scored two goals for the Sharks, who chased Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro with five goals in 19 minutes spanning the second and third periods.

Panthers 3, Canadiens 2 -- Olli Jokinen scored his second goal of the game 1:19 into overtime and Florida won in Montreal.

Jokinen, who scored in the first period to reach 20 goals for the second straight season, flew down the left side and wristed a shot past Mathieu Garon for his 21st goal, ending Florida's three-game losing streak.

Flyers 2, Stars 2 -- Brenden Morrow's goal with 35 seconds left in regulation lifted Dallas into a tie in Philadelphia.

Rob DiMaio also scored for Dallas, 8-1-2 in its last 11 games. The Stars are three points behind Vancouver for fourth place in the Western Conference.

Blues 1, Predators 1 -- Nashville, seeking its first playoff berth, remained one point ahead of host St. Louis for the final postseason spot in the Western Conference after a tie.