Red Wings soar to victory

Brian Rafalski's powerplay goal 31 seconds into overtime lifted the Detroit Red Wings to a 3-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres.

Detroit had squandered a 2-0 lead in regulation, but got the win they needed to stay on track for the playoffs.

Two quick goals from Jon Sim and Mark Streit lifted the New York Islanders to a 4-2 win over the New Jersey Devils.

Sim and Streit scored 50 seconds apart in the second period as the Islanders won their first game in five.

Bryan Allen's overtime goal saw the Florida Panthers complete a comeback from 2-0 down to beat the Western Conference-leading San Jose Sharks 3-2.

Allen's goal gave the Panthers a fourth win in five as they keep alive their slim hopes of making the play-offs.

Ilya Bryzgalov made 29 saves as he recorded his NHL-leading eighth shutout of the season in a 4-0 Phoenix Coyotes win over the Carolina Hurricanes.

It was a fourth straight win for the Coyotes.

The St Louis Blues used a three-goal second period to blow away the Columbus Blue Jackets in a 5-1 win.

Andy McDonald had a goal and two assists as the Blues registered their seventh win in eight games.

Mikael Samuelsson had two goals and an assist as the Vancouver Canucks topped the Ottawa Senators 5-1.

Celebrating their return home after a mammoth 14-game road trip, the Canucks broke open a 1-1 tie early in the second period and never looked back.

The Montreal Canadiens won their fifth game in a row as they downed the Boston Bruins 3-2 thanks to two goals from Sergei Kostitsyn.

Phil Kessel got two goals and an assist as the Toronto Maple Leafs topped the Edmonton Oilers 6-4 in a battle of the bottom team from each conference.

Chris Pronger scored with just 2.1 seconds left as the Philadelphia Flyers topped the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2.