Jaroslav Halak proved unbeatable for the second game in a row as the Montreal Canadiens blanked Buffalo 3-0 on Saturday, denying the Sabres the chance to clinch the Northeast Division title.
Halak, who shut out Philadelphia 1-0 on Friday, had 29 saves against the playoff-bound Sabres for his fifth shutout of the season.
“I’m definitely going to enjoy the moment,” Halak told reporters, “but there’s always some luck involved, too. The Sabres did hit a few posts.”
The Slovakian Olympian became the first Canadiens player in four years to post shutouts on consecutive nights.
“I think everyone deserves credit,” Halak said. “We just played two tough games and the guys didn’t give the Flyers or the Sabres any good scoring chances. They were constantly blocking shots, they didn’t give them anything.”
Ryan O’Byrne, Tom Pyatt and Sergei Kostitsyn scored to keep Montreal in contention for a post-season berth.
O’Byrne, who scored in the first period, had not collected an NHL goal since March 2008. Pyatt had his second of the season.
“Having your goalie play the way Jaro is right now is big for all of us but especially for a defenseman,” O’Byrne said.
“Knowing how strong he’s been back there allows us to just make plays and not worry about him making saves,” he said. “His confidence has seeped into all of our games I think.”
Buffalo lead the Northeast with 96 points, with third-placed Montreal pulling within five points of No. 2 Ottawa (91).
Sabres netminder Ryan Miller finished with 35 saves.
Buffalo captain Craig Rivet was upset by his team’s performance.
“It’s pathetic,” Rivet said. “They [Montreal] played a playoff game and gave everything they had, and we looked like a bunch of guys that wanted to wait and hopefully win a hockey game.”
The Canadiens’ style had also hindered Buffalo, Rivet said.
“They do a very good job of clogging up their neutral zone,” he said. “They’ve got five guys in front of the puck all the time.”
Predators 4, Red Wings 3
Ryan Suter’s goal 16 seconds into overtime gave the Nashville Predators victory over the Detroit Red Wings and a spot in the playoffs.
J.P. Dumont, Shea Weber and Martin Erat also scored for the Predators. Pekka Rinne made 28 saves.
Pavel Datsyuk had a goal and an assist, and Brian Rafalski and Nicklas Lidstrom also scored for Detroit, which had its seven-game winning streak snapped.
Jimmy Howard stopped 20 shots, and Tomas Holmstrom assisted on all three goals for Detroit.
Penguins 4, Thrashers 3, OT
At Pittsburgh, Jordan Leopold scored his first goal for Pittsburgh at 3:50 of overtime after Atlanta failed three times to hold leads.
Evgeni Malkin had a goal and an assist after sitting out five consecutive games and seven of eight with a bruised right foot, and Sidney Crosby had three assists.
Sergei Gonchar, out for four games with strep throat, tied it on a power play with 74 seconds remaining in regulation and had an assist.
Leopold won it with his eighth goal overall and first since Jan. 31 with Florida.
The Thrashers, desperately trying to stay in the Eastern Conference playoff race, took leads on goals by Maxim Afinogenov, Tim Stapleton and Rich Peverley, but the Penguins answered each time.
Islanders 4, Senators 1
At Uniondale, New York, Martin Biron had 28 saves for the New York Islanders, who snapped Ottawa’s six-game winning streak.
John Tavares, Dylan Reese and Jack Hillen each scored goals in the second period to start the blowout.
Sean Bergenheim added a goal in the third, and Blake Comeau and Richard Park each had two assists for New York.
Matt Cullen’s close-range goal late in the game ended Biron’s bid for his 27th career shutout.
In other games it was:
• Rangers 4, Panthers 1
• Bruins 2, Maple Leafs 1, OT
• Devils 4, Hurricanes 0
• Capitals 3, Blue Jackets 2
• Blues 2, Stars 1
• Ducks 2, Kings 1, SO
• Coyotes 3, Oilers 2, SO
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