Boston — Brian Rolston didn't see his winning goal that kept Boston's playoff chances from fading.
His 20-foot shot through a screen at 2:49 of overtime Thursday night gave the Bruins a 3-2 win over Montreal that drew them within two points of the final Eastern Conference playoff spot.
"We've got to take every game like a playoff game," Rolston said. "Every game is huge for us."
Boston, with 75 points and nine games left, is chasing Carolina, which has 10 to play starting with Friday night's home contest against Pittsburgh.
"The win puts a little more heat on the Hurricanes," Boston goalie Byron Dafoe said. "Hopefully, they'll stumble somewhere along the way."
The Bruins stumbled twice Thursday night, losing leads of 1-0 and 2-1 as the Canadiens scored on two power plays.
Their second goal, Saku Koivu's 15th of the season at 16:33 of the second period, followed a roughing penalty against Andrei Nazarov, apparently for knocking over the net while being nudged from behind.
"I don't know where Nazarov's penalty came from," Dafoe said. "We got redemption with (the officials) calling one in overtime for us."
Former Bruin Patrick Traverse said he didn't think he deserved his tripping penalty 46 seconds into overtime and called it "a makeup call."
From that point, Boston dominated.
Flames 3, Flyers 1
Calgary, Alberta Marc Savard scored the tiebreaking goal with 6:01 left as Calgary snapped an eight-game winless streak. With the score tied 1-1, Jarome Iginla's initial shot was stopped by Flyers goalie Brian Boucher but he could not control the rebound. Savard was able to backhand it into the net for his 22nd of the season.
Predators 2, Blackhawks 1, OT
Chicago Mark Eaton scored his third goal of the season 1:54 into overtime as Nashville defeated Chicago. Nashville is unbeaten in four games, including a 0-0 tie against Minnesota on Wednesday night, and is only five points behind Los Angeles for the last playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Red Wings 4, Wild 2
Detroit Kris Draper scored two goals to lead Detroit over expansion Minnesota. The Red Wings extended their home unbeaten streak to 15 games and rebounded from their last home loss to the Wild on Dec. 27. Detroit's Vyacheslav Kozlov scored the game's first goal at 14:28. Sergei Fedorov set him up to earn his 800th career point. Martin Lapointe sealed the win when he scored a power-play goal at 13:05 of the third.
Senators 2, Sharks 1
San Jose, Calif. Jani Hurme stopped 32 shots as Ottawa handed San Jose its fifth straight loss. Alexei Yashin and captain Daniel Alfredsson each scored for the Senators, who have lost just six of 20 games against Western Conference opponents.
Thrashers 2, Lightning 0
Tampa, Fla. Andrew Brunette had a goal and an assist, and Milan Hnilicka made 29 saves as Atlanta beat Tampa Bay. Atlanta snapped a four-game losing streak that began with the trade of leading scorer Donald Audette to Buffalo on March 13.
Avalanche 3, Blues 1
St. Louis Joe Sakic had a goal and two assists, and Peter Forsberg had two first-period assists before injuring his right arm in Colorado's victory over the St. Louis. The Avalanche, who lead the NHL with 109 points, have won four in a row.
No comments
Commenting is turned off for this story.