Ray Whitney scored on a power play in overtime, Josef Vasicek had two goals and two assists in his return from injury and the Carolina Hurricanes edged the Washington Capitals 6-5 in the NHL on Monday.
It was the first of three consecutive games between the teams.
Whitney also finished with two goals, and Rod Brind'Amour added his 30th of the season.
PHOTO: AP
"They're a very competitive team," Whitney said. "We're getting ready for the playoffs, and we want to be strong on our sticks and feisty."
Vasicek took the ice for his first game since Nov. 11, when he injured his knee against the Florida Panthers.
"After five months, spending time on the bike, it was just something special," the big Czech center said.
Rico Fata had two goals and an assist for the Capitals.
Senators 6, Thrashers 4
At Ottawa, Dany Heatley scored twice to tie the team record for goals in a season and lift Ottawa over Atlanta -- his former club.
Heatley, the second-leading goal scorer in Thrashers history, put his name into the Senators record book in his first season in Ottawa. He has 45 goals to tie the single-season mark set by Marian Hossa -- the key player the Senators traded to Atlanta in the offseason to acquire Heatley.
Jason Spezza had a goal and two assists, and Patrick Eaves, Bryan Smolinski and Brian McGrattan also scored for Ottawa, which scored three power-play goals. The Senators lead the Eastern Conference with 107 points.
Ilya Kovalchuk, the Thrashers' career leader in goals, gave Atlanta a brief advantage in the second period with his 48th of the season. Atlanta, which also had power-play goals from Hossa and Scott Mellanby, fell seven points behind Tampa Bay at the bottom of the playoff cutoff in the East.
Sabres 3, Maple Leafs 2, SO
At Toronto, Buffalo clinched its first playoff spot in five years during a shootout win over Toronto. Maxim Afinogenov scored the only goal of the tiebreaker, but the Sabres earned their playoff berth when Atlanta lost to Ottawa.
Afinogenov also scored in regulation and had an assist for the Sabres, who had won just one of nine games.
Derek Roy also scored for the Sabres, who lost 7-0 to Toronto on Saturday. Martin Biron finished with 31 saves in the rematch.
John Pohl and Matt Stajan scored in regulation for the Maple Leafs, who fell eight points behind eighth-place Tampa Bay for the final playoff spot. Toronto hasn't missed the postseason since 1997-1998.
Lightning 4, Panthers 1
At Tampa, Florida, Vincent Lecavalier had two goals and an assist, and Sean Burke stopped 29 shots in his first start since returning from a broken finger for Tampa Bay.
The win lifted the Lightning into a tie with idle Montreal for seventh place in the Eastern Conference and also put a crimp in Florida's chances of sneaking into the eighth -- and final -- playoff position.
The Panthers won five of six previous meetings with the Lightning, including a pair of overtime victories and a 4-2 win at home on Saturday. This time, they fell behind 2-0 in the first period and never fully recovered.
Fredrik Modin's 30th goal got the Lightning off to a quick start, and Lecavalier added his 33rd.
Nathan Horton scored for the Panthers.
Blue Jackets 3, Predators 1
At Nashville, Tennessee, Manny Malhotra, Jason Chimera and Mark Hartigan each scored to extend Columbus' winning streak to a team-record six games.
Pascal Leclaire made 36 saves for the Blue Jackets, which lost three previous games this season in Nashville. The Predators, however, lost for the fifth time in six games.
Nashville jumped out to a 1-0 lead a little over one minute in on Dan Hamhuis' power-play goal.
The Predators failed on five power-play chances in the second period and gave up Malhotra's short-handed goal that got the Blue Jackets even.
Oilers 7, Coyotes 1
At Edmonton, Alberta, Ethan Moreau, Sergei Samsonov and Michael Peca each had a goal and assist in a four-goal second period, lifting Edmonton past Phoenix.
Coyotes coach Wayne Gretzky left the team after Saturday's 4-3 win in San Jose due to a family matter and didn't arrive until just before the game.
Marc-Andre Bergeron had a goal and two assists, with Radek Dvorak, Marc-Antoine Pouliot and Shawn Horcoff also scoring for Edmonton. Ryan Smyth and Samsonov finished with two assists.
Mike Comrie scored for Phoenix, which had won four straight road games, and six of seven.
Dwayne Roloson made 33 saves for his sixth win in his 14th straight start with Edmonton since coming over at the trade deadline.
Sharks 3, Stars 2 OT
At Dallas, Joe Thornton scored a power-play goal with 20.2 seconds showing on the overtime clock and San Jose snapped a three-game losing streak.
Ville Nieminen scored a short-handed goal, and Patrick Marleau added a power-play tally for the Sharks.
Jere Lehtinen had a power-play goal, and Jason Arnott scored with less than 2 minutes left in regulation for the Stars to send the game to overtime. Marty Turco finished with 31 saves.
The Pacific Division-leading Stars are 13 points ahead of second-place Anaheim.
Avalanche 4, Blackhawks 3
At Denver, Dan Hinote and Rob Blake scored in the final 58 seconds and Colorado moved within three points of the Northwest Division lead.
Blake scored two goals and became the 17th NHL defenseman to score 200. Andrew Brunette added a goal, and Joe Sakic had three assists.
Curtis Brown, Patrick Sharp and Rene Bourque had goals for the Blackhawks, who are out of playoff contention.
Red Wings 2, Flames 1, SO
At Calgary, Alberta, Pavel Datsyuk and Jason Williams scored on similar moves in the shootout to lift Detroit.
It was the Red Wings' ninth straight road win and 28th win away from home -- tying the NHL record set by the New Jersey Devils in the 1998-1999 season. Steve Yzerman scored the only goal of regulation for Detroit, which has lost just once away from home since Jan. 10 (14-1-1).
Flames goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff made 41 saves through the first 65 minutes, but could not stop the Red Wings in the tiebreaker.
Jarome Iginla's failed shot ended the game.
Rookie defenseman Dion Phaneuf scored for Calgary, which had a three-game winning streak snapped.
Kings 1, Canucks 0
At Los Angeles, Mathieu Garon made 23 saves for his second straight shutout and eighth of his career, Pavol Demitra scored a power-play goal in the second period, and Los Angeles beat Vancouver.
The Kings, who defeated Dallas 1-0 on Saturday, have recorded back-to-back shutouts for the first time since December 2002. Garon has consecutive shutouts for the first time in 102 NHL games, after surrendering at least four goals in seven of his previous eight starts.
Los Angeles climbed into a tie with San Jose for ninth place in the Western Conference standings, two points behind Vancouver for the final playoff spot and three behind seventh-place Edmonton.
Demitra was back in the lineup after missing the last eight games with a concussion. He broke the scoreless deadlock at 13:13 of the second period.
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