Panthers, Leafs gain ground
The Bruins are starting to hear more footsteps in the race for Eastern Conference playoff berths.
The Panthers and Maple Leafs won last night to gain on the Bruins, who are tied for seventh with Philadelphia with 84 points after losing in a shootout at Montreal.
Florida pulled within 3 points of Boston and Philadelphia, and Toronto is 4 points back. The Bruins' next two games are against the Maple Leafs.
Also in the hunt are Washington (82 points) and Buffalo (tied with Florida with 81).
Maple Leafs 5, Senators 4 - Kyle Wellwood, Alex Steen, Darcy Tucker, Jiri Tlusty, and Matt Stajan scored for Toronto, which won its sixth straight road game.
Daniel Alfredsson, Cory Stillman, Martin Lapointe, and Dany Heatley scored for Ottawa, and Martin Gerber stopped 29 shots.
The Leafs have won four straight against the Senators, and the teams will meet once more in the regular season.
Panthers 4, Lightning 2 - Tomas Vokoun stopped 35 shots, and Florida finished its seven-game homestand 6-0-1 with a victory over Tampa Bay.
Vokoun made 32 saves over the final two periods and held the Lightning scoreless on five power-play opportunities in the second period.
Penguins 7, Devils 1 - Evgeni Malkin had two goals and an assist, and Ryan Malone also scored twice for host Pittsburgh, which took a 2-point lead over New Jersey atop the Atlantic Division.
Jarkko Ruutu, Pascal Dupuis, and Petr Sykora also scored and Marian Hossa had three assists as the Penguins won for the fifth time in six games.
Pittsburgh broke open a tight game by scoring five goals in the third period and chasing goalie Martin Brodeur.
Red Wings 4, Blue Jackets 1 - Pavel Datsyuk set up power-play goals by Nicklas Lidstrom and Henrik Zetterberg in a span of 3 1/2 minutes in the first period, then scored a shorthanded tally with five minutes remaining to lead visiting Detroit past Columbus.
Oilers 7, Avalanche 5 - Sam Gagner scored twice as host Edmonton moved within 3 points of Colorado for the final playoff position in the Western Conference.
Flames 5, Wild 4 - Jarome Iginla notched his seventh NHL hat trick as host Calgary climbed within a point of Northwest Division-leading Minnesota.
Kings 4, Stars 2 - Lubomir Visnovsky scored the go-ahead goal with 2:06 left after Michal Handzus tied it 55 seconds earlier, and visiting Los Angeles sent fading Dallas to its fourth straight loss.
Predators 2, Blackhawks 1 - Rich Peverley and Alexander Radulov scored in the shootout, and Jason Arnott scored in regulation as host Nashville stopped a six-game home skid.
Ducks 2, Coyotes 1 - Teemu Selanne scored twice and Jonas Hiller made 30 saves to lift visiting Anaheim past Phoenix.
