EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) -Sam Gagner scored twice and the Edmonton Oilers edged closer to Colorado in the race for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference with a 7-5 victory over the Avalanche on Saturday.
Dustin Penner, Fernando Pisani, Kyle Brodziak, Marty Reasoner and Marc Pouliot also scored for the Oilers.
Tyler Arnason, Ruslan Salei, Wojtek Wolski, Milan Hejduk and John-Michael Liles had goals for the Avalanche.
It was the 11th win in the last 14 outings for the Oilers, three points behind eighth-place Colorado in the Western Conference playoff race.
The Avalanche went winless on their three-game road trip and have lost four straight.
Predators 2, Blackhawks 1, SO
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Rich Peverley and Alexander Radulov scored in the shootout, and Nashville stopped its six-game home skid.
Jason Arnott scored for Nashville, and Dan Ellis stopped two of three attempts to help the Predators improve to 3-5 in shootouts.
Andrew Ladd scored for Chicago.
Kings 4, Stars 2
DALLAS (AP) – Lubomir Visnovsky scored the go-ahead goal with 2:06 left after Michal Handzus tied it 55 seconds earlier, and Los Angeles rallied to beat fading Dallas.
Handzus added another goal with 1:19 left to give the Kings a two-goal cushion and hand the Stars their season high-tying fourth straight loss.
Stu Barnes’ second-period goal gave the Stars a 2-1 lead, and Dallas seemed on the verge of snapping their skid. But Handzus Handzus stole the puck from defenseman Trevor Daley and scored at 16:59 to tie it at 2.
Brenden Morrow added a power-play goal for the Stars, 1-7 in their last eight games. Dallas had won 13 of 15 before the current slump knocked the Stars out of the Pacific Division lead.
Red Wings 4, Blue Jackets 1
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Pavel Datsyuk set up power-play goals by Nicklas Lidstrom and Henrik Zetterberg and then scored a short-handed tally to lead Detroit past Columbus.
Datsyuk posted assists Nos. 58 and 59 in a span of 3 1/2 minutes in the first period. With the Red Wings ahead 3-1 and 5 minutes remaining, he stole the puck and scored.
Johan Franzen also scored for Detroit, giving him 14 points in 10 games.
Rick Nash’s 38th goal was the lone score for Columbus, whose 12 shots were the fewest at home in franchise history.
Canadiens 3, Bruins 2, SO
MONTREAL (AP) – Saku Koivu scored in the shootout and Montreal completed a season-series sweep of Boston. Carey Price stopped Zdeno Chara, Phil Kessel and Denis Wideman in the shootout after making 33 saves during the game.
Koivu put a backhander past Tim Thomas on Montreal’s third attempt and was mobbed at center ice by his teammates. The Canadiens, who have six games remaining, lead the Northeast Division and the Eastern Conference.
Montreal won each of its eight games against Boston this season and extended its winning streak against the Bruins to 11. The streak is the Canadiens’ longest in the teams’ 84-year rivalry.
Andrei Markov and Andrei Kostitsyn scored in the first for Montreal, which won consecutive games for the first time since March 6-8 despite blowing a pair of one-goal leads.
Marc Savard and Petteri Nokelainen scored for the Bruins, who are tied with Philadelphia for eighth in the East.
Penguins 7, Devils 1
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Evgeni Malkin had two goals and an assist, and Ryan Malone scored twice for the Pittsburgh, which beat New Jersey and took a two-point lead in 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.
Malkin scored two goals and had an assist during the final 11:36 to give him 102 points.
Brian Gionta had a short-handed goal for the Devils, who have lost three in a row (0-2-1) and scored only three times in that time. Pittsburgh will visit New Jersey on Tuesday in the final meeting between the teams this regular season.
The Penguins, who scored seven goals for the third time in four home games, remained one point behind Montreal in the race for the top seed in the Eastern Conference.
Maple Leafs 5, Senators 4
OTTAWA (AP) – Kyle Wellwood, Alex Steen, Darcy Tucker, Jiri Tlusty and Matt Stajan all scored for Toronto, which gave its playoff hopes a boost with a victory over Ottawa.
Daniel Alfredsson, Cory Stillman, Martin Lapointe, Dany Heatley scored for the Senators, and Martin Gerber stopped 29 shots.
The Leafs have won four straight against the Senators. Toronto is 12th in the Eastern Conference and trails Philadelphia and Boston, tied at the postseason cutoff, by four points.
Panthers 4, Lightning 2
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) – Tomas Vokoun stopped 35 shots, and Florida Panthers beat Tampa Bay to close out a 6-0-1 homestand.
Vokoun (30-26-8), the second Panthers goalie to post 30 wins in a season, made 32 saves over the final two periods and held the Lightning scoreless on five power-play opportunities in the second period.
Florida beat Tampa Bay for the 12th time in 15 games.
The Panthers finished with 27 shots, nine coming in the first period.
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