Crosby extends point streak

PITTSBURGH (AP) " Sidney Crosby extended his point streak to 15 games by scoring the go-ahead goal with 10:04 remaining and the Pittsburgh Penguins won for the fifth time in six games with a 4-3 victory over the New York Rangers on Saturday.

Ruslan Fedotenko had a goal and two assists for the Penguins, who closed out a 10-1-2 March by improving to a 5-1-1 on their franchise-record, eight-game homestand. Pittsburgh climbed three points ahead of the seventh-place Rangers in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Maxime Talbot added a goal and an assist, and Matt Cooke also scored for Pittsburgh, which improved to 14-2-3 under interim coach Dan Bylsma.

Ryan Callahan, Brandon Dubinsky and Nik Antropov scored for New York, 1-2-1 in its past four.

Predators 4, Kings 3, OT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) " Steve Sullivan's power-play goal 4:41 into overtime lifted Nashville to a comeback win against Los Angeles.

Sullivan scored with a one-timer from the left faceoff dot off a pass from Ryan Suter.

Nashville had tied it 2-2 on Joel Ward' short-handed goal at 7:05 of the third period. All-Star defenseman Shea Weber gave the Predators their first lead 5:18 later.

Jack Johnson forced overtime by scoring the Kings' final goal with 1:04 left.

Nashville moved up to seventh place in the Western Conference, one point ahead of the idle Edmonton Oilers.

Hurricanes 2, Devils 1

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) " Tuomo Ruutu scored a deciding goal late in the third period and Cam Ward made 31 saves as Carolina extended its winning streak to a season-high six games by beating New Jersey.

Ruutu scored a power-play goal with 3:55 remaining, knocking in a rebound from the slot.

Sergei Samsonov also scored for Carolina, which solidified its grip on a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with a determined effort. The Hurricanes pelted Devils goalie Martin Brodeur with 48 shots.

Patrik Elias scored for New Jersey, the Atlantic Division leaders who lost their fourth straight and had a club-record, home-winning streak snapped at 11.

Thrashers 6, Senators 3

ATLANTA (AP) " Ilya Kovalchuk netted his 40th goal and Atlanta scored three times in less than three minutes of the second period to beat Ottawa.

The Thrashers, who have won two straight and eight of 11, broke open a 2-2 game on goals by Tobias Enstrom, Marty Reasoner and Colby Armstrong in a span of 2:58.

Enstrom, who had two assists, scored his fifth goal on a power play at 13:12, giving Atlanta a 3-2 edge. Reasoner added his 13th goal 1:12 later before Armstrong notched his 19th 54 seconds later for a 5-2 lead.

Jason Spezza had two of Ottawa's goals, giving him 29 this season, in the first period.

Flyers 4, Islanders 3, SO

UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) " Danny Briere and Mike Richards scored shootout goals to lead Philadelphia to its fourth win in five games.

Joffrey Lupul scored twice in regulation and Scott Hartnell added a goal for the Flyers, who rallied from a 2-0 deficit and strengthened their playoff chances. Martin Biron stopped 33 shots and beat the Islanders for the 11th straight time, dating to his days with the Buffalo Sabres.

The Islanders, who beat the Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings 2-0 on the road Friday night, got goals from Radek Martinek, Jeff Tambellini and Mark Streit in regulation. Yann Danis turned aside 30 shots for New York, which has the fewest points in the NHL.

Bruins 7, Maple Leafs 5

TORONTO (AP) " Mark Recchi scored two goals, and Dennis Wideman and Matt Hunwick each added three assists to help Eastern Conference-leading Boston beat Toronto.

Chuck Kobasew, Michael Ryder, Shawn Thornton, David Krejci and Blake Wheeler also scored for Boston in its fourth victory in six games.

Alexei Ponikarovsky scored twice, and Nikolai Kulemin, John Mitchell and Niklas Hagman added goals for Toronto.

Rookie Justin Pogge was chased from the Toronto goal in the second period after allowing six goals on 20 shots. At the other end, Bruins backup Manny Fernandez recovered from a rough first period to earn his first victory since Jan. 8.

Sabres 4, Canadiens 3, SO

MONTREAL (AP) " Toni Lydman scored on Buffalo's sixth shootout attempt, and Ryan Miller stopped each of Montreal's tries in the tiebreaker.

Miller remained perfect in the shootout when Maxim Lapierre fanned on the Canadiens' final attempt after Alex Kovalev, Alex Tanguay, Saku Koivu, Andrei Markov and Tomas Plekanec also failed to score.

Miller started for the second time in as many nights, after missing 13 games due to a sprained left ankle, and made 32 saves.

Kovalev scored two goals and Chris Higgins added one as Montreal came back from a two-goal deficit early in the second to take a 3-2 lead.

Clarke MacArthur, Adam Mair and Tim Connolly scored for the Sabres, who are in 10th place in the Eastern Conference with 82 points. The Canadiens are eighth with 86.

Panthers 6, Stars 3

DALLAS (AP) " Stephen Weiss and Nathan Horton each scored in the final minute of the second period, and Florida beat reeling Dallas.

The Panthers, who play four of their final six games at home, moved within a point of Montreal for eighth place in the Eastern Conference.

The Stars have lost six straight (0-5-1) and have slipped six points out of the eighth in the West with seven games remaining.

Cory Stillman had a goal and two assists for the Panthers, and backup Craig Anderson made 32 saves to win his second straight start.

Mike Ribeiro, who had a hat trick against Florida on Jan. 21, had a goal and assist. Dallas' Marty Turco stopped 27 shots.

Blues 4, Blue Jackets 3, SO

ST. LOUIS (AP) " David Perron scored in the first extra round of the shootout to lift St. Louis over Columbus. Perron beat Steve Mason after the teams traded goals in the first three rounds of the tiebreaker. Chris Mason then stopped Antoine Vermette's attempt to end the game.

The Blues, in the tight Western Conference playoff race, won their fourth straight for the first time this season and are tied for tied for eighth place with Edmonton.

Keith Tkachuk, Patrik Berglund and Alex Steen scored for the Blues in regulation. Brad Boyes also had a goal for the Blues in the shootout.

Columbus, sixth in the West as it tries to qualify for its first playoff appearance, had won seven of nine (7-1-1). Vermette, Kristian Huselius and Rick Nash scored for the Blue Jackets, who overcame a 3-1 third-period deficit. Nash scored for Columbus in the shootout.