NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - Jacob Josefson and Patrik Elias scored in the shootout and the New Jersey Devils snapped a season-high six-game losing streak with a 3-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Friday night.
Stefan Matteau and Reid Boucher, who were called up from the minors last month for a look-see with the Devils out of the playoff chase, scored for New Jersey and rookie goaltender Keith Kinkaid made 31 saves.
Tomas Plekanec and defenseman Jeff Petry scored for Montreal, which lost in a shootout for the second straight night. Dustin Tokarski made 16 saves in giving Carey Price a night off.
The point gave the Canadiens 104 for the season and a two-point lead over Tampa Bay in the Atlantic Division with three games left in the regular season.
BLACKHAWKS 4, SABRES 3
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) - Jonathan Toews scored two goals 47 seconds apart in the final two minutes to rally the Chicago Blackhawks to a 4-3 win over the last-place Buffalo Sabres on Friday night.
Toews came to the rescue after the Blackhawks squandered a 2-1 lead entering the third period. He tied the game by converting a rebound off Duncan Keith's shot with 1:43 left. Then Toews capped a 2-on-1 break by accepting Brandan Saad's no-look pass and snapping a shot inside the right post with 56 seconds left.
A day after clinching their seventh consecutive playoff berth with a 3-1 home win over Vancouver, the Blackhawks are now in a position to contend for the Central Division title. Chicago (48-24-6) won its fourth straight, vaulted a point ahead of second-place St. Louis and a point behind Nashville.
Marcus Foligno scored twice and Johan Larsson also scored for Buffalo.
BLUES 7, STARS 5
DALLAS (AP) - Alex Pietrangelo scored the unassisted tiebreaker and the St. Louis Blues netted four third-period goals to beat the Dallas Stars.
The game also featured an NHL-record four goals within 49 seconds.
As a Blues power play was ending, Pietrangelo shot through a screen past Dallas goalie Kari Lehtonen for a 6-5 lead about halfway through the period.
The Stars' Travis Moen started the record-setting goal streak when he scored on a penalty shot at 19:49 of the first period. During the first 38 seconds of the second, St. Louis' Patrik Berglund and Schwartz and Dallas' Jamie Benn all scored.
Benn had two scores as the Stars rallied for four second-period goals to turn a 3-1 deficit into a 5-3 lead.
Berglund also scored two goals.
SHARKS 3, COYOTES 1
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - Logan Couture and Joe Pavelski scored in the opening 5 minutes and the San Jose Sharks held on for their fourth win in five games.
Matt Nieto added an insurance goal late for the Sharks, who moved within three points of Los Angeles and Winnipeg in the race for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference. The Kings and Jets each have one game in hand over San Jose.
Antti Niemi made 20 saves in his return from an illness that forced him to miss the past two games.
Mark Arcobello scored for the Coyotes, who have lost 23 of 27 games and have not won in regulation since Feb. 3 in Columbus. Louis Domingue made 34 saves.
Arizona remained two points ahead of Buffalo, which has the worst record in the league and currently the best chance to win the draft lottery.
AVALANCHE 4, DUCKS 2
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - Matt Duchene scored the winning goal about halfway through the third period as the Colorado Avalanche kept their slim playoff hopes alive.
Duchene pulled in the puck after Corey Perry could not control it in the Avalanche zone and rocketed down the ice. Barely a step ahead of Sami Vatanen, Duchene beat John Gibson under the goalie's left leg for his 21st of the season.
That goal keeps the Avalanche mathematically alive for another day, trailing the Los Angeles Kings by six points for the final berth with only four games remaining. The Avalanche play their final road game Saturday at the Kings.