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Flyers buzz NY Rangers in Philly

Michael Nylander, right, of the Rangers watches Flyers goalie Antero Nittymaki reach for the puck during the third period in Philadelphia, Saturday. Philadelphia won 4-1. PHOTO: AP

Jeff Carter set up two Philadelphia goals with cross-ice passes, Antero Niittymaki made 25 saves and the Flyers closed within a point of New York for the Atlantic Division lead in a 4-1 win over the Rangers on Saturday.

The Rangers could have clinched their first Atlantic Division title since winning the Stanley Cup in 1993-1994 with a victory, but wrapping up that milestone again will have to wait. They lost their fourth straight game and finish the season Tuesday at Madison Square Garden against Ottawa.

But the Flyers took control of the division Saturday despite still being in second place. If Philadelphia wins its last two games, they would win the Atlantic and clinch the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference, no matter what happens to the Rangers. That won't be easy for the Flyers, since both games are on the road, starting Sunday at New Jersey. Philadelphia finishes the season Tuesday against the Islanders.

Mike Knuble, Nicholas Dimitrakos, R.J. Umberger and Petr Nedved scored for the Flyers.

Marcel Hossa scored his 10th goal late in the second for New York.

Thrashers 4, Bruins 3

At Atlanta, Andy Sutton scored twice, including the tie-breaking goal with 10:51 remaining, and Atlanta kept alive its postseason hopes.

Sutton's second two-goal game of the season came four days after his first in a crucial 6-2 win over Tampa Bay, the team the Thrashers are chasing for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

For a few hours, Atlanta was within one point of Tampa Bay for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. But the Lightning beat Carolina 3-2 in overtime Saturday night, restoring a three-point margin over the Thrashers.

Atlanta must win its final two games -- at Washington on Monday and at Florida the following night -- to have any chance of making the playoffs. Even then, either the Lightning or seventh-place Montreal must lose its final regular-season game on Tuesday.

Scott Mellanby and Jim Slater also had goals for Atlanta.

Mariusz Czerkawski, Marco Sturm, and Travis Green scored for Boston.

Lightning 3, Hurricanes 2, OT

At Tampa, Florida, Martin St. Louis' breakaway goal with 10.7 seconds remaining in overtime moved the defending Stanley Cup champion Lightning a step closer to clinching a postseason berth.

Brad Richards and Fredrik Modin also scored for Tampa Bay, which snapped a three-game losing streak despite squandering a 2-0 lead in the third period. John Grahame stopped 25 shots, and the Lightning killed off Carolina's last power-play chance before St. Louis delivered the winner after picking up the loose puck near the red line.

The victory enabled the eight-place Lightning to retain a three-point advantage over ninth-place Atlanta, which had pulled within one point with a 4-3 victory over Boston earlier in the day. Tampa Bay has 92 points with one game remaining at home against Washington on Tuesday night. Atlanta has 89 points with two games remaining -- at Washington on Monday and at Florida Tuesday night.

Carolina, which won a shootout against Tampa Bay in Raleigh on Friday night, rallied on third-period goals by Cory Stillman and Matt Cullen and took over sole possession of the top spot in the East with 112 points -- one more than Ottawa.

Sabres 4, Canadiens 2

At Montreal, Chris Drury and J.P. Dumont scored early in the third period and Teppo Numminen added an empty-net goal for Buffalo.

Montreal, which hasn't been to the postseason in consecutive seasons since 1996-98, needs one point in its season finale Tuesday against New Jersey to clinch its second straight trip to the playoffs. The Canadiens also will qualify if Atlanta fails to win both of its two remaining games.

Maxim Afinogenov also scored for Buffalo. Michael Ryder and Mike Komisarek scored for Montreal.

Maple Leafs 5, Senators 1

At Toronto, Mats Sundin scored and had an assist and the Maple Leafs did their part to keep their slim playoff hopes alive for at least a few minutes.

But soon after the game, Tampa Bay beat Carolina 3-2 in overtime to eliminate the Maple Leafs from playoff contention. The Maple Leafs, 8-0-2 in their last 10 games, missed the playoffs for the first time since Pat Quinn became coach in 1999.

Tomas Kaberle, Matt Stajan, Chad Kilger and Nik Antropov also scored for Toronto, and Jean-Sebastien Aubin made 30 saves. Dany Heatley scored his 49th goal for the Senators, a point behind Carolina for the top spot in the Eastern Conference.

Stars 4, Wild 3, OT

At Dallas, Trevor Daley scored with 33.7 seconds left in overtime and the Stars rallied to win after blowing a two-goal lead in the third period.

Daley's goal, the only shot in overtime for the Stars, came from the left circle and bounced off the glove of goalie Manny Fernandez in what was the final moment of Minnesota's season.

Stephane Robidas, Brenden Morrow and Antti Miettinen also scored for Dallas.

Mattias Weinhandl, Marian Gaborik and Mikko Koivu scored for the Wild, whose season ended with their second straight loss.

Sharks 6, Mighty Ducks 3

At San Jose, California, Jonathan Cheechoo became the NHL's leading goal-scorer with his fifth hat trick, and Joe Thornton took the league scoring lead with three points as the Sharks clinched fifth place in the conference with their eighth straight win.

Nils Ekman added a goal and three assists and Steve Bernier scored for San Jose.

Joffrey Lupul, Andy McDonald and Ryan Getzlaf had goals for the Ducks.

Islanders 5, Penguins 4, SO

At Uniondale, New York, Robert Nilsson scored in the sixth round of a shootout to give the Islanders the victory.

Michel Ouellet scored in the first round for Pittsburgh, and Shawn Bates tied it up in the third round. Sergei Gonchar and Jason Blake traded goals in the fourth round, while Ryan Whitney and Alexei Yashin both scored in the fifth round.

Andy Hilbert tied the game with 1:41 left in regulation for the Penguins. John LeClair, who assisted on Hilbert's goal, scored twice, and Gonchar had the Penguins' other goal. Blake scored twice for the Islanders, who held rookie Sidney Crosby scoreless. Miroslav Satan and rookie Jeremy Colliton also had goals for the Islanders.

Blue Jackets 5, Blackhawks 2

At Columbus, Ohio, David Vyborny scored twice and had an assist in the third period to help Columbus set a franchise record with 72 points.

Dan Fritsche and Rick Nash each had a goal and an assist and Mark Hartigan also scored. The Blue Jackets had 71 points in their inaugural season in 2000-2001.

Brandon Bochenski and Kyle Calder scored for Chicago.

Predators 5, Coyotes 1

At Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville goalie Chris Mason was credited with a goal and made 23 saves for his fifth consecutive victory.

Mason, forced into the starting role with Tomas Vokoun lost for the season because of a blood condition, was credited with the goal when the Coyotes shot the puck into their own net on a delayed penalty midway through the third period.

Martin Erat, Scott Hartnell, Yanic Perreault and Scottie Upshall also scored for the Predators. Dennis Seidenberg scored for Phoenix.

Canucks 4, Avalanche 3

At Vancouver, British Columbia, Anson Carter tied it with 42.4 seconds left in regulation and Brendan Morrison scored with 36.6 seconds left in overtime in Vancouver's season-ending victory over Colorado.

Todd Bertuzzi and Markus Naslund also scored to help the Canucks win for the second time in the final eight games, a streak that saw their playoff fate sealed by back-to-back losses to San Jose earlier in the week.

With a point in the standings, Colorado locked up at least seventh place in the Western Conference. Alex Tanguay scored twice.

Red Wings 3, Blues 2

At St. Louis, Henrik Zetterberg scored with 9 seconds to play for Detroit.

Zetterberg one-timed a pass from Brendan Shanahan past Jason Bacashihua to give the Red Wings their seventh straight win and their 12th consecutive road victory.

Shanahan added his 40th goal of the season and Nicklas Lidstrom also scored,

Lee Stempniak and Jamal Mayers scored for St. Louis.

Capitals 2, Panthers 1, SO

At Sunrise, Florida, Matt Pettinger beat Jamie McLennan with a low shot in the fourth round of a shootout and Brent Johnson stopped Jozef Stumpel's attempt to lift Washington.

Dainius Zubrus scored for the Capitals in the second round of the shootout, and Florida's Olli Jokinen tied it in the third round.

Gary Roberts scored for Florida in regulation.

Alex Ovechkin, only the second player in NHL history to record 50 goals and 100 points in his rookie year, scored his 51st goal for Washington.

Kings 2, Flames 1, SO

At Los Angeles, Pavol Demitra scored on a breakaway in the second period and had the only goal in a shootout, giving Los Angeles a victory in Luc Robitaille's final home game for the Kings.

Rookie Jason LaBarbera, who has spent most of the season as Mathieu Garon's backup after winning his first seven starts, made a 39 saves. LaBarbera stopped Matthew Lombardi, Tony Amonte and Jarome Iginla in the shootout after Demitra connected with a short backhander on the Kings' first attempt.

The Kings' 41st victory gave them more wins than any season since 1990-1991, when they were 46-24-10 under Tom Webster. Six of the wins were the result of shootouts.

The Kings finished their home schedule 26-14-1, tying a club record for home victories.

Jamie Lundmark scored for Calgary.
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