ST. LOUIS (AP) St. Louis’ David Backes had a goal and an assist to lead the Blues to a 3-0 home win over Dallas on Saturday, cutting the gap between the Central Division’s top two teams.
The Stars still boast a handy eight-point break, but their failure to find a way past Blues goaltender Jake Allen, who stopped 26 shots, breathed life into the division race.
Among other results, Montreal arrested a four-game losing skid and boosted its lead in the Atlantic Division with victory over Ottawa, while Washington eked out its lead in the Metropolitan Division by defeating Tampa Bay while the New York Rangers slipped to second after losing in overtime at Calgary.
St. Louis’ Vladimir Tarasenko and Ryan Reaves scored in the third period to help the Blues end a four-game losing streak at home to Dallas.
Backes also got into a fight in the first period and, combined with his goal and assist, earned the colloquial `Gordie Howe hat trick’.
Montreal’s Brian Flynn and Max Pacioretty scored in the first period to set up a 3-1 win for the Canadiens against Ottawa.
Jeff Petry also scored for Montreal, which scored more than two goals in a game for the first time in six contests.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored for Ottawa, which was overwhelmed early as the Canadiens had 27 shots on goal in the first period.
Washington goalie Braden Holtby made 35 saves to win for the 10th time in his past 11 starts as the Capitals beat Tampa Bay 2-1.
Washington got goals from Jay Beagle and Evgeny Kuznetsov.
Nikita Kucherov scored for the Lightning.
Calgary’s T.J. Brodie scored at 2:09 of overtime to give the Flames a 5-4 win against the Rangers.
Johnny Gaudreau had two goals in regulation while Joe Colborne and Mason Raymond also netted for the Flames, who recovered after giving up a three-goal lead in the third period and notched their ninth straight home victory.
Tanner Glass, Dan Boyle and Mats Zuccarello scored for the Rangers in the final 15 minutes of regulation to tie the score, while J.T. Miller got his goal in the first period.
In the extra period, Brodie held the puck on a 2-on-1 rush and sent a shot inside the far goal post on Antti Raanta. It extended the defenseman’s career-best point streak to six games (one goal, six assists).
Buffalo’s Ryan O’Reilly netted a sliding overtime goal to give the Sabres a 2-1 win against Los Angeles.
O’Reilly was tripped as he cut to the slot, but got off an off-balance shot that fooled Kings goaltender Jhonas Enroth at 3:19 of overtime. It was O’Reilly’s 100th NHL goal.
Jamie McGinn also scored for the Sabres.
Marian Gaborik scored for the Kings, whose six-game winning streak ended, but Los Angeles has picked up a point or more in nine in a row.
Boston’s Ryan Spooner scored twice to lead the Bruins to a 3-1 victory over Florida, making it nine straight defeats for the Panthers in Massachusetts.
Minnesota notched a rare win at San Jose, with Zach Parise breaking a scoreless tie in the second period and the Wild going on to beat the Sharks 2-0.
New York’s Kyle Okposo got his second goal of the game at 2:16 of overtime to lift the Islanders to a 3-2 victory over Columbus in a match of two teams whose seasons appear headed in opposite directions.
Colorado opened a three-game road trip with a 3-2 win at Nashville, with Andreas Martinsen scoring the go-ahead goal midway through the third period.
Carolina’s Victor Rask netted a left-handed wrist shot 53 seconds into overtime to lift the Hurricanes past Arizona 5-4.
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Blues shut out Stars to cut Central gap
