SATURDAY AROUND THE NHL

Sabres 5, Blue Jackets 3

BUFFALO, N.Y.

Evander Kane scored a power-play goal with 2:29 remaining and Buffalo rallied from a three-goal deficit to beat Columbus. Sam Reinhart, Matt Moulson and Jake McCabe scored to tie it and Jack Eichel added an empty-netter for Buffalo. The Sabres snapped an 0-3-1 skid and improved to 2-6-2 in their last 10. Robin Lehner stopped all 24 shots he faced after taking over for Anders Nilsson to start the second period. Nilsson was yanked after giving up three goals on 12 shots. Nick Foligno, Oliver Bjorkstrand and David Savard scored for Columbus. Joonas Korpisalo stopped 26 shots. The Blue Jackets (43-17-6) had a three-game winning streak snapped and blew a chance to set a franchise record for most wins in a season.

Bruins 2, Flyers 1

BOSTON

Drew Stafford scored with 5.6 seconds left in the third period when his dump-in shot tipped off Philadelphia defenseman Brandon Manning’s stick, lifting Boston to a win over the Flyers. David Pastrnak had a power-play goal, and Tuukka Rask made 26 saves for Boston, which improved to 10-3 under interim coach Bruce Cassidy, who replaced fired Claude Julien on Feb.7. Jordan Weal had the Flyers’ goal, and Steve Mason stopped 25 shots. Philadelphia may be sliding out of a chance at a playoff berth with its ninth loss in 14 games (5-8-1).

Predators 3, Sharks 1

SAN JOSE, CALIF.

Ryan Johansen and James Neal scored goals to help Nashville snap a four-game losing streak with a victory over San Jose. After starting their California swing with a shootout loss in Anaheim and an overtime defeat in Los Angeles, the Predators head home on a high note by beating the defending Western Conference champions. Backup goalie Juuse Saros made 25 saves for the win. Paul Martin scored the lone goal for the first-place Sharks, who lost for just the second time in seven games. San Jose still has a seven-point lead over Anaheim in the Pacific Division with a game in hand. Martin Jones made 22 saves.

Senators 4, Avalanche 2

DENVER

Craig Anderson made 14 saves to set the franchise wins mark and Ottawa defeated Colorado for their sixth consecutive victory. Alex Burrows and Mike Hoffman each had a goal and an assist for Ottawa, which tied Montreal atop the Atlantic Division with 84 points. Anderson earned win No. 147 with Ottawa and passed Patrick Lalime for the top spot. Fredrik Claesson and Ryan Dzingel also had goals for the Senators. Calvin Pickard stopped 27 shots and Matt Nieto and Sven Andrighetto scored for the Avalanche, who were eliminated from the playoffs with the loss. It is the third straight year they’ve failed to reach the postseason after posting 52 wins and 112 points in 2013-14.

Lightning 3, Panthers 2

TAMPA, FLA.

Ondrej Palat scored with 2:23 left to give Tampa Bay a victory over Florida. Palat redirected Andrej Sustr’s shot to complete Tampa Bay’s comeback from a two-goal deficit. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 32 saves, and Nikita Kucherov and Yanni Gourde also scored for the Lightning. They are 10-2-3 in their last 15 games. Tampa Bay played without centers Tyler Johnson, Cedric Paquette and Vladislav Namestnikov, who all left Thursday night’s 4-1 win over Minnesota with lower-body injuries. They join Steven Stamkos, out since November after right knee surgery but now practicing. Jaromir Jagr and Mark Pysyk scored for the Panthers. They have lost eight of nine (1-7-1).

Flames 3, Jets 0

WINNIPEG, MANITOBA

Brian Elliott made 31 saves for his second consecutive shutout and Calgary extended their winning streak to nine games with a victory over Winnipeg. Mikael Backlund and Michael Frolik each scored on the power play as the victory also gave Calgary points in 11 straight games. Elliott’s second shutout of the season, and 36th of his career, followed up Thursday’s 24 saves in a 5-0 win over Montreal on Thursday. The Flames also jumped in the NHL standings. Their 80 points tied them with Anaheim, but Calgary moves into second place in the Pacific Division because they have three more wins than the idle Ducks. Calgary’s climb also dropped the idle Edmonton Oilers into the first Western Conference wild-card spot with 79 points. The nine victories also set a record since the franchise moved from Atlanta in 1980. The franchise record is 10 games in 1978.

Maple Leafs 3, Hurricanes 2

RALEIGH, N.C.

Morgan Rielly scored 2:13 into overtime to lift Toronto over Carolina. Rielly’s wrist shot past Cam Ward gave Toronto its third straight victory and moved them one point ahead of the New York Islanders for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Mitch Marner and James van Riemsdyk also scored for Toronto, and Frederik Andersen made 36 saves. Victor Rask and Teuvo Teravainen scored for Carolina, which has lost 11 of 15 games. Ward made 23 saves but couldn’t steer aside Rielly’s shot, which bounced off his left leg pad and angled into the back corner of the net. The Hurricanes led twice but couldn’t hold it either time. Rask opened the scoring when he corralled a rolling puck below the right faceoff dot and flipped it over Andersen’s left shoulder 8:59 into the first period.

Associated Press