Chicago moved closer to clinching its second straight playoff berth and now has 99 points, two more than the surprising Coyotes and one more than San Jose, which regained the Pacific Division lead over Phoenix.
Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa scored second-period goals for Chicago, which beat the Coyotes for the first time in four meetings this season. Phoenix’ nine-game winning streak had tied a franchise record and included a shootout win over the Blackhawks on Saturday.
Bruins 4 Thrashers 0: In Atlanta, David Krejci scored a goal and assisted on another, Tuukka Rask blanked Atlanta for the second time this season, and the Bruins kept up their mastery of the Thrashers with a crucial 4-0 victory Tuesday night that extended Boston’s lead for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Bruins moved three points ahead of the Thrashers in the playoff race, snapping Atlanta’s four-game winning streak.
Rask stopped a penalty shot and made 28 saves in all to beat Atlanta for the third time this season, including a pair of 4-0 victories. The Bruins have won 10 in a row over the Thrashers, whose last win against Boston came on Dec. 29, 2007.
Atlanta had outscored opponents 18-9 during its winning streak.
Devils 6 Blue Jackets 3: In Newark N.J., Travis Zajac and Zach Parise each scored twice and Ilya Kovalchuk had a goal and three assists to lead New Jersey over Columbus.
Paul Martin also scored for the Devils, and Martin Brodeur made 19 saves to reach the 40-win mark for the eighth time. No other NHL goalie has had more than three 40-win seasons.
The Devils jumped over the Penguins and into first place in the Atlantic Division. New Jersey and Pittsburgh both have 90 points, but the Devils have one more win than the Penguins and have played one fewer game.
Antoine Vermette, Jakub Voracek and Kristian Huselius scored for Columbus.
The Devils’ dormant power-play came alive and produced New Jersey’s first three goals.
Panthers 4 Maple Leafs 1: In Toronto, David Booth had the first two-goal game of an injury-marred season and Florida cooled off Toronto. Scott Clemmensen came within three minutes of registering his first shutout of the season. He settled for a 42-save effort in a victory.
Michael Frolik and Jason Garrison also scored for Florida, which became the first visiting team to leave Toronto with a victory since March 2.
Fredrik Sjostrom scored for the Maple Leafs, who received 25 saves from J.S. Giguere.
Senators 2 Flyers 0: In Ottawa, Brian Elliott earned his second shutout in two days and Chris Kelly and Daniel Alfredsson scored to lead Ottawa over Philadelphia.
Elliott stopped 26 shots—including a spectacular glove save on James van Riemsdyk with 3:55 remaining—for his fifth shutout of the season. He made 29 saves Monday night in a 2-0 win at Montreal as Ottawa ended a five-game losing streak.
Kelly scored midway through the first. Alfredsson put the Senators up by two with his 18th goal 18 seconds into the third.
The Senators strengthened their hold on fifth place overall in the Eastern Conference with 83 points, four ahead of Philadelphia and Montreal.
Lightning 3 Hurricanes 2, OT: In Tampa, Fla., Martin St. Louis scored his second goal of the game 29 seconds into overtime and Tampa Bay stopped a five-game losing streak with a win over Carolina.
Steve Downie also scored for the Lightning, who won for just the third time in 15 games.
The Hurricanes, 16-8-1 in their past 25 games, got goals from Erik Cole and Chad LaRose.
Sharks 4 Wild 1: In St. Paul, Minn., Evgeni Nabokov stopped 18 shots and four San Jose players scored to help the Sharks snap a six-game losing streak.
Joe Pavelski, Dany Heatley, Torrey Mitchell and Joe Thornton all had goals for the Sharks. San Jose won for the first time since beating Nashville on March 11 and snapped its longest skid since Nov. 5-30, 2005. It was also the Sharks’ first road win since beating Detroit on Feb. 11.
The Sharks were in first place in the West when they embarked on their six-game road trip back on March 14. Their recent struggles dropped them behind Phoenix in the Pacific Division race, but they jumped back ahead of the Coyotes with this win.
Stars 3 Predators 1: In Nashville, Tenn., Loui Eriksson and Matt Niskanen scored goals 30 seconds apart early in the third period to give Dallas a victory that snapped Nashville’s six-game winning streak.
Trevor Daley also scored for Dallas, which won for the second time in three games despite being outshot 35-14.
Shea Weber had the goal for Nashville.
Flames 3 Ducks 1: In Calgary, Alberta, Rene Bourque scored the winning goal on a breakaway late in the second period to lead Calgary over Anaheim.
The Flames pulled within two points of the eighth-place Detroit Red Wings in the Western Conference playoff race.
Nigel Dawes and Niklas Hagman also scored for the Flames, and captain Jarome Iginla and defenseman Jay Bouwmeester each had a pair of assists.
Oilers 3 Canucks 2: In Edmonton, Alberta, Tom Gilbert had a goal and an assist and Edmonton earned its third consecutive victory with a win over Vancouver.
Robert Nilsson and Andrew Cogliano also scored for the last-place Oilers, who were coming off consecutive wins over Detroit and San Jose and have won seven of nine at home.
Mason Raymond and Daniel Sedin scored for the Canucks, who have lost two in a row.
The Canucks are five points ahead of Colorado for first place in the Northwest Division.
