The San Jose Sharks reclaimed the outright lead of the NHL Western Conference in some style, coming from behind to beat the Nashville Predators 8-5 on Thursday.
San Jose entered the third period trailing 4-2, but Joe Pavelski set up two goals to bring the Sharks level and then scored the go-ahead goal with a scintillating spin move.
Dany Heatley also scored twice and had an assist, while Manny Malhotra had a goal and two assists in the third period. Patrick Marleau scored his 40th goal, while Joe Thornton and Jay Leach also netted for San Jose, who recorded their third straight comeback win.
Patric Hornqvist and J.P. Dumont each scored twice for Nashville, while Colin Wilson added the other goal.
Flames 2, Senators 0
In Calgary, Alberta, Miikka Kiprusoff made 33 saves for his fourth shutout of the season and the 34th overall as Calgary downed Ottawa.
Jamal Mayers and Christopher Higgins scored for the Flames, who have won four straight to match seventh-placed Nashville with 77 points in the Western Conference playoff race.
Hurricanes 4, Penguins 3, OT
In Raleigh, North Carolina, Brian Pothier scored 23 seconds into overtime to lift Carolina over Pittsburgh.
Eric Staal and Ray Whitney had a goal and an assist each, while Zach Boychuk also scored for the Hurricanes, who remain last in the Southeast Division, but are on a hot run of form that has moved them to the fringes of playoff contention.
Matt Cooke, Jordan Staal and Bill Guerin scored for the Penguins, who had their post-Olympic winning streak snapped at four.
Avalanche 3, Panthers 0
In Denver, Colorado, Craig Anderson made 27 saves to move into a tie for the NHL shutout lead with seven, as Colorado beat Florida.
Anderson matched New Jersey’s Martin Brodeur, Florida’s Tomas Vokoun and Phoenix’s Ilya Bryzgalov for the shutout lead. Vokoun made 28 saves for the Panthers.
Paul Stastny scored twice and Matt Hendricks also netted for Colorado, ending the Panthers’ winning trot at three.
Bruins 5, Flyers 1
In Philadelphia, Tuukka Rask made 31 saves to help Boston overcome Philadelphia.
Mark Recchi, Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci scored second-period goals for the Bruins, while Blake Wheeler and Marco Sturm also scored.
Jeff Carter scored for the Flyers.
Red Wings 5, Wild 1
In Detroit, Michigan, Johan Franzen scored twice in the Red Wings’ win over Minnesota.
Henrik Zetterberg had a goal and two assists, while Jimmy Howard made 21 saves for Detroit. Tomas Holmstrom added a goal and an assist, and Drew Miller also scored.
Andrew Ebbett netted for Minnesota.
Blue Jackets 2, Thrashers 1
In Columbus, Ohio, the Blue Jackets weathered a late rally to defeat the Atlanta Thrashers.
The Thrashers, who lost their fourth in a row, had several good scoring chances after Johnny Oduya’s goal with 2 minutes, 21 seconds left, but Mathieu Garon made 28 saves, including several big stops in the final minute while Atlanta had two extra attackers.
Kristian Huselius had a goal and an assist, and R.J. Umberger also scored for the Blue Jackets.
Atlanta’s defeat clinched the Southeast Division title for the Washington Capitals.
Blues 2, Islanders 1, SO
In Uniondale, New York, surging St Louis notched their sixth victory in seven games, beating New York.
Patrik Berglund scored the tying goal for the Blues in the second period after Matt Moulson put New York ahead in the closing seconds of the first.
T.J. Oshie and Brad Boyes scored shootout goals for the Blues.
Maple Leafs 4, Lightning 3, OT
In Toronto, Phil Kessel scored in overtime and Viktor Stahlberg also had two goals to help Toronto defeat Tampa Bay. Tyler Bozak set up the winning goal and also scored in regulation.
Steven Stamkos, extending his points streak to 18 games, Kurtis Foster and Steve Downie scored for the Lightning.
Canadiens 5, Oilers 4, SO
In Montreal, the hosts took their winning streak to four games by edging Edmonton in a shootout.
Andrei Kostitsyn scored on Montreal’s fifth shootout attempt, while Canadiens goalie Jaroslav Halak turned aside five Oilers’ shots in the tiebreaker.
Sam Gagner, whose gave Edmonton their only lead at 2-1, lost control of the puck on the Oilers’ final attempt.
Tomas Plekanec, Brian Gionta, Travis Moen and Sergei Kostitsyn scored in regulation for the Canadiens.
Robert Nilsson, Andrew Cogliano and Shawn Horcoff also scored for Edmonton.
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