NHL: Edmonton get closer to playoffs with Avalanche win

Sam Gagner scored twice and the Edmonton Oilers edged closer to Colorado in the race for the final playoff spot in the NHL's 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 responded for the Avalanche, who went winless on their three-game road trip and have lost four straight.

It was the 11th win in the last 14 outings for the Oilers, three points behind Colorado for the eighth and final playoff position in the West.

Kings 4, Stars 2

At Dallas, Michal Handzus tied it with 3:01 left and Lubomir Visnovsky scored the go-ahead goal 55 seconds later as Los Angeles rallied past fading Dallas.

Handzus another goal with 1:19 left to hand the Stars their season high-tying fourth straight loss.

Brenden Morrow and Stu Barnes scored for Dallas.

Predators 2, Blackhawks 1, SO

At Nashville, Tennessee, Rich Peverley and Alexander Radulov scored in the shootout, and Nashville stopped a six-game home losing streak.

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.

Red Wings 4, Blue Jackets 1

At Columbus, Ohio, Pavel Datsyuk set up power-play goals by Nicklas Lidstrom and Henrik Zetterberg and scored a short-handed tally to lead Detroit past Columbus.

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

At Montreal, 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 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 each of its eight games against Boston this season and extended its winning streak against the Bruins to 11, the Canadiens' longest in the teams' 84-year rivalry.

Marc Savard and Petteri Nokelainen scored for the Bruins, who are tied with Philadelphia for eighth in the East.

Penguins 7, Devils 1

At Pittsburgh, Evgeni Malkin had two goals and an assist, and Ryan Malone scored twice for 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 for the Penguins, who broke open a tight game by scoring five goals in the third period and chasing goalie Martin Brodeur.

Brian Gionta had a short-handed goal for the Devils, who have lost three in a row.

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.

In other games it was:

* Maple Leafs 5, Senators 4

* Panthers 4, Lightning 2

* Ducks 2, Coyotes 1

* Flames 5, Wild 4