Nathan Gerbe and Tyler Ennis scored 1 minute, 50 seconds apart in the second period as the Buffalo Sabres opened a gap in the tight Eastern Conference playoff race with an 8-2 rout of the Atlanta Thrashers on Saturday.
Rob Niedermayer scored twice and Ryan Miller (30-21-7) made 28 saves to become the eighth NHL goalie with six consecutive 30-win seasons. Mark Mancari had a goal and two assists, while Tyler Myers had three assists for eighth-place Buffalo, who moved two points ahead of idle Carolina.
Alexander Burmistrov and Chris Thorburn scored for the Thrashers, who dropped six points behind the Sabres with three weeks left in the season.
FLYERS 3, STARS 2, SO
In Dallas, Ville Leino scored in the sixth round of the shootout as Philadelphia clinched a playoff spot by beating Dallas.
Claude Giroux had a goal in the second round for the Flyers, but Mike Ribeiro tied it in the third round with a nifty hesitation move.
Jeff Carter and Mike Richards scored goals in regulation and Sergei Bobrovsky made 28 saves for the Flyers. Philadelphia, with 96 points, broke a tie with the Washington Capitals atop the Eastern Conference.
BLUE JACKETS 5, WILD 4
In St Paul, Minnesota, Antoine Vermette scored after 4:26 of overtime, lifting Columbus over Minnesota.
Rick Nash broke out of a slump with two goals and two assists for Columbus. Kris Russell and Jan Hejda also scored for Columbus.
The Wild rallied from a 4-2 deficit with five minutes left in the third period on goals from Antti Miettinen and Pierre-Marc Bouchard.
Brad Staubitz and Cal Clutterbuck also scored for the Wild, who have lost five straight for the second time this season.
MAPLE LEAFS 5, BRUINS 2
In Toronto, Nazem Kadri scored his first NHL goal, while Joey Crabb added a goal and two assists as Toronto hammered slumping Boston.
Luke Schenn, Mike Brown and Keith Aulie also scored for the Maple Leafs. All of Toronto’s offense come from players with fewer than five goals this season.
Adam McQuaid and Dan Paille had goals for Northeast Division-leading Boston.
SENATORS 3, LIGHTNING 2, OT
In Ottawa, Jason Spezza scored a goal after 3:28 of overtime to cap Ottawa’s comeback win over Tampa Bay.
Ryan Shannon’s short-handed goal 12:27 into the third period spoiled Dwayne Roloson’s shutout bid and drew Ottawa within 2-1.
Nick Foligno tied it with his 12th goal after 16:05.
Curtis McElhinney stopped 34 shots in his second straight start for Ottawa and his fourth in five games.
Vinny Lecavalier and Dana Tyrell scored for Tampa Bay.
In other NHL play, it was:
‧ Islanders 4, Panthers 3, SO
‧ Predators 3, Red Wings 1
‧ Ducks 2, Kings 1, OT
‧ Sharks 5, Blues 3
‧ Avalanche 3, Oilers 2, SO
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