Tuesdays National Hockey League Capsules
MONTREAL 6, ATLANTA 3
MONTREAL Alex Tanguay had two goals and three assists and the Montreal Canadiens snapped a five-game losing streak with a 6-3 win over the Atlanta Thrashers.
Alex Kovalev had two goals and an assist and Saku Koivu had a goal and two assists as they teamed up with Tanguaywho enjoyed the third five-point game of his careeron a newly formed line that produced 11 points.
Glen Metropolit also scored for Montreal, which won for just the second time in seven games (2-3-2) since general manager Bob Gainey took over behind the bench after firing head coach Guy Carbonneau on March 9.
The Canadiens regained sole possession of eighth place in the Eastern Conference with 83 points, two more than Florida. Both teams have nine games remaining.
TORONTO 3, WASHINGTON 2 (SO)
TORONTO Curtis Joseph stopped eight shots in overtime and Washingtons three shootout chances after entering the game late in the third period, leading the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 3-2 victory over the Capitals.
Joseph replaced Martin Gerber with 56 seconds left in the third period after the Toronto goalie was ejected for pushing referee Mike Leggo. Gerber was upset after Brooks Laich stuffed the puck under him to tie it at 2.
Alex Ovechkin scored his league-leading 51st goal but was stopped by Joseph on Washingtons final shootout attempt.
Phil Oreskovic and Pavel Kubina scored in regulation for Toronto.
VANCOUVER 5, DALLAS 2
DALLAS Daniel Sedin scored the go-ahead goal moments after taking a stick in the mouth, Ryan Kesler and Henrik Sedin each had two goals, and the Vancouver Canucks beat the fading Dallas Stars, 5-2.
Vancouver is 17-4-1 over its last 22 games and has 87 points to surge into a tie for fourth place in the Western Conference with Chicago.
Roberto Luongo stopped 35 shots to help the Canucks snap a four-game road losing streak.
Dallas lost its fourth straight and has slipped four points behind Nashville and Anaheim for the final playoff spot in the West.
Brendan Morrison and James Neal scored for the Stars, who are 4-11-1 since Feb. 21, and Marty Turco stopped 17 shots.
DETROIT 3, EDMONTON 2
EDMONTON, Alberta Valtteri Filppula scored with 1:26 left in the game and the Detroit Red Wings beat the Edmonton Oilers, 3-2, to move back into first place overall in the NHL.
Jonathan Ericsson and Marian Hossa also scored for the Red Wings (49-16-9), who won for the fifth time in six games and moved a point ahead of idle San Jose for the top spot in the Western Conference.
Denis Grebeshkov and Ales Kotalik scored for the Oilers (35-29-9), who lost their second in a row but remained in seventh in the tight Western race, one point ahead of Nashville and Anaheim.
ANAHEIM 2, NASHVILLE 1 (SO)
NASHVILLE, Tennessee Teemu Selanne scored the only shootout goal and the Anaheim Ducks beat the Nashville Predators, 2-1, to move into a position for a postseason berth.
Anaheim climbed over Nashville into the eighth and final Western Conference playoff spot with its fourth consecutive victory.
The Predators have lost three straight, and trail Anaheim by one point in the standings. Both teams have nine games left.
After the first three players for both teams were denied on their shootout attempts, Selanne skated in on goaltender Pekka Rinne and lifted a backhander just under the crossbar.
Jean-Sebastien Giguere then stopped Nashvilles Radek Bonk to seal the win for the Ducks.
NY RANGERS 2, MINNESOTA 1
NEW YORK Nikolai Zherdev had a goal and an assist, and the New York Rangers moved into a sixth-place tie in the Eastern Conference by defeating the Minnesota Wild, 2-1.
Zherdev gave New York its seventh straight 1-0 lead when he beat the first-period clock and then helped set up Scott Gomezs second-period tally that snapped a tie and sent the Rangers
(39-27-8) to their eighth win in 11 games. They are tied with Pittsburgh, five points ahead of ninth-place Florida, with eight games remaining.
Henrik Lundqvist, who took the 2-1 loss to Ottawa on Sunday, bounced back with a relatively easy effort against the defensive-minded Wild. New York outshot Minnesota, 30-19.
TAMPA BAY 2, COLUMBUS 1 (OT)
TAMPA, Florida Martin St. Louis scored with 1:56 left in overtime to give the Tampa Bay Lightning a 2-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets.
St. Louis got a pass from rookie Steven Stamkos, broke to his right, and wristed a shot past Steve Mason. St. Louis fell and slid into the boards after the goal, and was mobbed by his teammates.
St. Louis has six goals and eight assists in a nine-game point streak for Tampa Bay, which ended a six-game home skid.
Columbus, which is closing in on its first postseason berth in the franchises ninth season, had dominated against Eastern Conference, compiling a 13-3-1 record and a 5-0 mark against the Southeast Division.
ST. LOUIS 2, LOS ANGELES 0
ST. LOUIS Rookie Patrik Berglund scored twice in the third period, Chris Mason made 22 saves for his fifth shutout of the season and the St. Louis Blues beat the Los Angeles Kings 2-0.
David Perron assisted on both goals for the Blues, four games above .500 for the first time while attempting to end the franchises three-year playoff drought. St. Louis has 77 points,one point behind Nashville and Anaheim for the final spot in the Western Conference, with nine games to go.
The fading Kings are in a 1-5-1 slump and are 2-9-1 in their last dozen games on the road. They walloped the Blues three straight times earlier in the season, but this was the first meeting since Dec. 11.