Leafs cruise past Panthers
Kadri nets three goals for Toronto; Canadiens play spoilers against Red Wings
Nazem Kadri scored two of his three goals during second-period power plays and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Florida Panthers 5-2 on Tuesday night.
Michael Grabner and Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau also scored for Toronto, and Connor Brown had three assists.
Jonathan Huberdeau and Greg McKegg scored for the Panthers.
Toronto’s Jonathan Bernier made 32 saves. Roberto Luongo had 24 for Florida.
Kadri scored his 15th goal for a 2-1 Toronto lead on a powerplay rebound at 10:36 of the second. He added another score on the man-advantage by patiently backhanding in a shot at 18:14.
Parenteau scored his 19th goal at 6:34 of the third on the power play for a 4-1 lead.
Kadri scored into the empty net with 2:39 remaining.
CANADIENS 4, WINGS 3
MONTREAL (CP) - Max Pacioretty’s second goal of the night lifted the Montreal Canadiens to a comeback 4-3 victory over the visiting Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday.
The Canadiens got goals from Pacioretty and Paul Byron in the first period only to see the Red Wings tally three times in the second from Gustav Nyquist, Anthony Mantha and Mike Green. Sven Andrighetto tied it for Montreal in the third before Pacioretty got the game-winner at 11:18.
Montreal (35-36-6) played the spoiler as the Red Wings (38-2811) remain just out of the second Eastern Conference wild-card playoff spot and one point back of Boston for third place in the Atlantic division.
Detroit outshot Montreal 4227.
PENGUINS 5, SABRES 4
PITTSBURGH (AP) Sidney Crosby and Phil Kessel beat Chad Johnson in a shootout and the Pittsburgh Penguins inched closer to a 10th straight playoff berth with a 5-4 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night.
Ben Lovejoy, Conor Sheary, Tom Kuhnhackl and Nick Bonino scored during a furious second-period as the Penguins climbed out of an early threegoal deficit. Rookie Matt Murray overcame a shaky start to finish with 26 saves, including a breakaway stop on Sabres rookie Jake Eichel in overtime.
Crosby assisted on Sheary’s goal to give him an NHL-best 20 points this month. The Penguins remained three points clear of the New York Islanders for third in the crowded Metropolitan Division.
Ryan O’Reilly had a goal and an assist for the Sabres. Zach Bogosian, Matt Moulson, Zach Bogosian and Jake McCabe also scored for Buffalo, and Johnson made 42 saves.
DEVILS 2, BRUINS 1
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - Reid Boucher scored a tiebreaking power-play goal early in the third period, Keith Kinkaid made 39 saves and the New Jersey Devils kept their faint playoff hopes alive with a 2-1 victory over the struggling Boston Bruins on Tuesday night.
ISLANDERS 2, HURRICANES 1
NEW YORK (AP) - Kyle Okposo scored the only goal of the shootout and the New York Islanders rallied for a 2-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night.