Mark Recchi, Michael Ryder and David Krejci scored third-period goals to help the Boston Bruins maintain eighth place in the Eastern Conference with a 5-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes Tuesday night. Tuukka Rask made 30 saves for Boston. Patrice Bergeron scored less than a minute into the game, and Johnny Boychuk gave the Bruins a 2-0 lead midway through the second period. The Hurricanes cut the lead to 3-2 on Erik Cole's second goal of the game, early in the third period. Ryder then took a giveaway from Brian Pothier and scored the clincher with 10:12 remaining. Manny Legace finished with 32 saves for Carolina. Predators 4, Flyers 3, SO: At Nashville, Martin Erat scored the only goal of the shootout to lead Nashville past Philadelphia. Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne turned aside all three Flyers attempts in the shootout. Rinne finished with 42 saves. The Predators carried a two-goal lead into the final period, but goals by Gagne and Pronger 3:04 apart tied the game late in the third. Thrashers 4, Sabres 3: At Atlanta, Buffalo's Ryan Miller was pulled after giving up three goals in the first 6 minutes and Jim Slater's third-period goal gave the Thrashers a win over the Northeast-leading Sabres. After Miller's early exit, Patrick Lalime shut out the Thrashers until Slater's tiebreaking goal with 6:44 remaining. Niclas Bergfors' third assist set up Slater's shot in front of the net. Canadiens 3, Rangers 1: At New York, Sergei Kostitsyn broke a third-period tie with a deflected goal and helped Montreal win its sixth straight. Kostitsyn nudged the puck in front and was rewarded when it caromed in off the skate of Rangers forward Artem Anisimov at 5:59. Montreal's winning streak is its longest since an eight-game spurt in 2006. Capitals 7, Panthers 3: At Sunrise, Florida, Brooks Laich scored twice and five other Washington players had goals. The Capitals were without star Alex Ovechkin, suspended two games for a hit on Chicago's Brian Campbell. Nicklas Backstrom, Eric Fehr, Brendan Morrison, Jason Chimera and Alexander Semin each scored for the Capitals, who beat Florida for the sixth time this season. Maple Leafs 4, Senators 1: At Ottawa, Phil Kessel got his 26th goal and John Mitchell and Mikhail Grabovski scored 19 seconds apart in the second period to lead Toronto. Kessel beat Brian Elliott for his fourth goal in four games 11:20 in. Mitchell made it 2-0 when he scored 4:33 into the second. His goal had not even been announced when Grabovski increased the lead to 3-0 with his ninth goal at 4:52. Jonas Gustavsson stopped 30 shots for Toronto, which is last overall in the Eastern Conference with 60 points but has won four of five. Coyotes 2, Lightning 1: At Tampa, Vernon Fiddler and Matthew Lombardi scored in a 2-minute span midway through the first period, while Ilya Bryzgalov stopped 27 shots as Phoenix equaled a franchise record with its 43 victory. The Coyotes moved five points behind Western Conference-leading San Jose in the Pacific Division. Wild 4, Oilers 2: At St. Paul, Chuck Kobasew scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period as Minnesota beat Edmonton for the 13th straight time at home. Avalanche 5, Blues 3: At St. Louis, Peter Mueller scored twice on a three-point game that matched his career best and Paul Stastny had his fifth goal in three games with two assists, helping Colorado sweep the season series against St. Louis. Stars 8, Sharks 2: At Dallas, Mike Ribeiro and Brenden Morrow each scored twice, including short-handed goals in the third period, while Kari Lehtonen made 44 saves in his second start of the season as Dallas boosted its fading playoff chances. Islanders 5, Canucks 2: At Vancouver, rookie John Tavares broke out of a scoring slump with two goals and three assists to lead the New York Islanders.
