SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks came at the New York Rangers in waves and it finally paid dividends in the third period as the floodgates opened for a 4-1 victory in the National Hockey League Saturday.
Joe Thornton scored the go-ahead goal for the Sharks, who put a season-high 52 shots on goal and won for the third time in four games, pulling within one point of idle second-place Anaheim in the Pacific Division.
Penguins 4, Flyers 1: The Pittsburgh Penguins boosted their playoff hopes and dealt a setback to the Philadelphia Flyers with a big 4-1 road win.
The Penguins (39-24-8) reeled off three straight goals in the second period and kept Philadelphia quiet in the third to win their fifth straight game and dent the playoff hopes of the 34-24-12 Flyers.
Wild 3, Hurricanes 2 (SO): Jason Zucker and David Jones scored for Minnesota in regulation before the Wild won a shootout to edge the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2.
The Wild (33-28-11) got 31 saves from goalie Devan Dubnyk and remain in the playoff hunt, one point behind the Colorado Avalanche in the race for the final postseason slot in the West. Dubnyk stopped two of three shots in the shootout.
Senators 5, Canadiens 0: The Ottawa Senators scored three shorthanded goals en route to a 5-0 victory over the Montreal Canadiens.
The Senators, who lead the league with 15 shorthanded goals, also received shutout goaltending by Andrew Hammond, who stopped 30 shots while making his first start since March 8.
It was the fourth time in team history they scored three shorthanded goals in one game.
Red Wings 5, Panthers 3: Luke Glendening scored the game-winning goal in the third period as Detroit rallied for a 5-3 win over the Florida Panthers.
Pavel Datsyuk scored a pair, and Tomas Tatar and Dylan Larkin also scored for Detroit (36-25-11).
Niklas Kronwall and Justin Abdelkader had a pair of assists. Brad Richards, Mike Green, Datsyuk, Larkin, Gustav Nyquist and Jonathan Ericsson also recorded assists.
Nick Bjugstad, Vincent Trocheck and Teddy Purcell scored for Florida (40-23-9)
Blue Jackets 6, Devils 3: Rookie Oliver Bjorkstand scored the first two goals of his NHL career in the third period to lead the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 6-3 win over the New Jersey Devils.
Cam Atkinson, Seth Jones, Boone Jenner and William Karlsson also scored for the Blue Jackets, while Alexander Wennberg and Matt Calvert had two assists. Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, out most of the season because of groin injuries, had 27 saves for his first victory since Dec. 5.
Stars 2, Islanders 0: The Dallas Stars got a much-needed defensive boost in a 2-0 win Saturday over the New York Islanders.
The Stars had allowed 13 goals in their previous three games, including five each against the Blues and Kings, but were much more stingy against the Islanders.
Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen got the shutout and stopped 27 shots on goal.
Blues 3, Canucks 0: Troy Brouwer scored a second-period power-play goal and Brian Elliott stopped 19 shots for the shutout as the St. Louis Blues ended a two-game losing streak with a 3-0 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night.
Vladimir Tarasenko also had a goal for the Blues (42-22-9). Jaden Schwartz, who added an assist, scored into an empty net with 66 seconds left. Paul Stastny had two assists.
Other results: Lightning 2, Coyotes 0; Kings 2, Bruins 1; Maple Leafs 4, Sabres 1. — Reuters
