Kane, Sabres rally to get past Sharks

Evander Kane scored 1:05 into overtime and the Sabres overcame a three-goal deficit in the third period to defeat the San Jose Sharks, 5-4, last night in Buffalo.

Kane scored twice, and the Sabres got three goals in a span of 3:28 to erase San Jose’s 4-1 lead. Ryan O’Reilly had a goal and assist, while Kyle Okposo and Matt Moulson also scored.

Jack Eichel set up two goals, including Kane’s game-winner. Driving up the right wing on a 2-on1, Eichel slipped a pass through the middle that Kane snapped in before falling headfirst into the end boards.

The Sabres rallied from a three-goal deficit to win for the first time since a 4-3 shootout victory against the New York Islanders on Dec. 27, 2014.

Joel Ward, Logan Couture, Joe Pavelski and Melker Karlsson scored for the Pacific Division-leading Sharks. Brent Burns had two assists. Maple Leafs 3, Stars 1 — Rookie sensation Auston Matthews scored his teamleading 25th goal and host Toronto picked up a muchneeded victory by beating Dallas.

Curtis McElhinney made 39 saves as the Maple Leafs won for the second time in six games (2-3-1). Struggling defensively, Toronto held the Stars to one goal after yielding 22 over the previous four games.

Jake Gardiner and Nikita Zaitsev also scored for the Maple Leafs, who are third in the Atlantic Division.

Antti Niemi stopped 31 shots and Tyler Seguin scored for Dallas. Rangers 4, Ducks 1— Henrik Lundqvist made a season-high 43 saves, Michael Grabner scored twice and host New York beat Anaheim.

Mats Zuccarello and Oscar Lindberg also scored to help the Rangers win for the sixth time in eight games and give coach Alain Vigneault his 600th career victory. Brady Skjei and J.T. Miller each had two assists to help New York beat Anaheim for the fifth straight meeting.

Lundqvist gave up fewer than three goals for the sixth time in his last seven starts, improving to 6-1-0 in that stretch. In this one, he topped the 40 saves he made in a 3-2 win at Philadelphia on Nov. 25. Capitals 5, Hurricanes 0 —

Alex Ovechkin got his 26th goal of the season, Braden Holtby played solid in net again and host Washington beat Carolina for its fourth straight victory.

Brett Connolly, Lars Eller, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Marcus Johansson also scored for Washington, which picked up its second consecutive shutout. Holtby stopped 23 shots in an easy outing two days after backup Philipp Grubauer made 38 saves to shut out the Los Angeles Kings.

Holtby’s seventh shutout of the season ties him with the Kings’ Peter Budaj for the NHL lead. It’s his fourth in 12 games. Flames 3, Penguins 2 — Kris Versteeg scored the only goal in the shootout and visiting Calgary recovered to win after a furious third-period rally past Pittsburgh.

Chad Johnson stopped 31 shots in regulation and then turned away the Penguins’ Phil Kessel and Sidney Crosby in the shootout. Kris Letang then hit the post on Pittsburgh’s final attempt.

Michael Frolik scored his 13th goal of the season and Micheal Ferland added his eighth as Calgary picked up two valuable points in the crowded chase for one of the final playoff spots in the Western Conference.

Blue Jackets 3, Red Wings

2— Seth Jones took a drop pass from Brandon Dubinsky and wired a high slap shot past goalie Petr Mrazek 3:22 into overtime to lift Columbus past host Detroit.

Dubinsky and Cam Atkinson scored for the Blue Jackets, and Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 24 shots.

Lightning 5, Kings 0 — In Tampa, Ben Bishop made 28 saves, Nikita Kucherov scored twice during a three-goal second period and Tampa Bay beat Los Angeles.

The Lightning, who won consecutive games for the first time since Dec. 20-22, received goals from Jonathan Drouin, Gabriel Dumont and Braydon Coburn.

Blues 6, Senators 0 — Jake Allen made 30 saves, Vladimir Tarasenko scored twice and St. Louis beat host Ottawa.

Wild 4, Jets 2 — Jason Pominville and Nino Niederreiter each scored twice and Minnesota hung on to beat host Winnipeg.

Predators 4, Canucks 2— Viktor Arvidsson and Calle Jarnkrok each had a goal and an assist and host Nashville defeated Vancouver. Avalanche 4, Canadiens

0— In Denver, Mikko Rantanen recorded his first career hat trick, Calvin Pickard stopped 27 shots and Colorado blanked Montreal.