BUFFALO – A gutsy rally maintained Buffalo’s playoff push as the Sabres twice overcame daunting deficits to outlast the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-5 in overtime Tuesday and move level on points with eighth-placed Washington.
Buffalo and the Capitals have 88 points in the Eastern Conference, though Washington own the tie-breaker in the race for the final playoff spot because they have more non-shootout wins. Both have two games remaining.
Devils 3, Islanders 1: Travis Zajac broke a tie early in the second period with a power-play goal and the Devils inched closer to nailing down at least the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference with a 3-1 victory over the visiting Islanders.
The win did not come without a price for the Devils, who lost center Jacob Josefson for four to six weeks with a broken left wrist.
It was the second goal of the season for Zajac, who has played only 13 games because of an Achilles’ tendon injury. Patrik Elias added a goal and an assist, and Ilya Kovalchuk scored an empty-net goal.
Penguins 5, Bruins 3: Sidney Crosby had two goals and an assist, James Neal scored the go-ahead goal on a power play, and Pittsburgh won at Boston.
The Penguins lead the Flyers by 3 points for the East’s No. 4 seed. Boston, which has clinched the Northeast Division title and the No. 2 seed, is 7-2-1 in its last 10 games.
Jets 5, Panthers 4: Andrew Ladd scored two goals, including the winner 3:12 into overtime, to give visiting Winnipeg a victory that prevented Florida from clinching the Southeast Division title.
Predators 2, Wild 1: Alexander Radulov scored the lone goal in the shootout as Nashville beat visiting Minnesota to reach 100 points for the second time in three years.
Sharks 5, Stars 2: Logan Couture’s power-play goal put San Jose in front late in the second period, and the Sharks won at Dallas in a matchup of teams fighting for one of the final playoff spots in the West.
Hurricanes 2, Senators 1: Brandon Sutter and Tuomo Ruutu scored and Cam Ward made 38 saves to lead visiting Carolina. Ottawa still needs a point in its final two games to clinch seventh in the East.
Rangers 5, Flyers 3: Ryan Callahan and Artem Anisimov scored as part of a four-goal first period, and the New York Rangers clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference for the first time since 1994 with a 5-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers.
Other results: Canucks 5, Ducks 4 (SO); Coyotes 2, Blue Jackets 0. — Agencies