Friday 11 April 2014 07:42, UK
The New York Rangers secured home-ice advantage for the first round of the play-offs as they beat the woeful Buffalo Sabres 2-1.
Rick Nash scored the winner with 1:42 remaining after Benoit Pouliot had cancelled out Drew Stafford's second-period goal for Buffalo, who have the worst record in the NHL at 21-50-9.
A 2-0 loss for Montreal at home to the New York Islanders allowed the Tampa Bay Lightning to move to within a point of the Canadiens for second place in the Atlantic Division.
They did so by beating the Philadelphia Flyers 4-2, with Richard Panik, Eric Brewer and Steven Stamkos all on target in the third period.
In Montreal, Ryan Strome and Brock Nelson both scored on power-plays for New York, while Evgeni Nabokov sealed his fourth shutout of the season with 19 saves.
The Nashville Predators hurt the Phoenix Coyotes' play-off hopes with a 2-0 win as Pekka Rinne made 29 saves, while Craig Smith and Patric Hornqvist found the net.
John Curry made 43 saves on debut for the Minnesota Wild, while Kyle Brodziak scored twice in a 4-2 win over the St Louis Blues.
Troy Brouwer had two goals as the Washington Capitals beat the Carolina Hurricanes 5-2, with Joel Ward, Jason Chimera and Eric Fehr scoring the other goals.
Nick Bjugstad netted twice and added an assist as the Florida Panthers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2, while Eric Karlsson scored the winner in the shootout to lift the Ottawa Senators to a 2-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils.
Bryan Little's shootout goal propelled the Winnipeg Jets to a 2-1 triumph over the Boston Bruins in their home finale, while two goals and an assist from Marian Gaborik helped the Los Angeles Kings snap a three-game skid with a 3-0 win over the Edmonton Oilers.
Paul Stastny had two goals, while Semyon Varlamov made 38 saves as the Colorado Avalanche beat the Vancouver Canucks 4-2.
