DeBrusk, Rask help Bruins beat Panthers, regain first

BOSTON » Jake DeBrusk scored twice in his first game in more than two weeks, and Tuukka Rask stopped 30 shots Saturday to help Boston beat the Florida Panthers 5-1 and move the Bruins back into first place in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

David Krejci had three assists and rookie Ryan Donato had a goal and an assist for Boston, which has won four of its last five games. The Bruins have earned a point in eight straight games and 15 of their last 17.

Jamie McGinn scored for Florida, which remains three points behind New Jersey in the race for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East. James Reimer stopped 17 of the 22 shots he faced before he was replaced by Roberto Luongo with 3:28 left in the second period, trailing 5-1.

Luongo, the losing goalie for Vancouver in the Bruins’ 2011 Stanley Cup run, stopped all 11 shots the rest of the way. CANUCKS 5, BLUE JACKETS 4 » Alex Edler scored 1:21 into overtime to lift Vancouver to its season high-tying fourth straight win.

Jussi Jokinen had a goal and two assists against his former team, and Darren Archibald, Bo Horvat and Nikolay Goldobin also scored for the Canucks, who have won five of six after a seven-game skid. Thatcher Demko stopped 26 shots NHL start. RED WINGS 2, SENATORS 0 » Jimmy Howard stopped 31 shots for his first shutout of the season, leading Detroit to its third straight win.

Dylan Larkin and Andreas Athanasiou scored to help the Red Wings get their their longest winning streak since a season-high fourgame stretch Dec. 29 to Jan. 5.

It was Howard’s 24th career shutout and marked the ninth time Ottawa was blanked this season. RANGERS 2, HURRICANES 1 » Ryan Sproul scored and Kevin Hayes added a short-handed goal, and New York beat Carolina to eliminate the Hurricanes from the playoff race. in his first

Henrik Lundqvist made 40 saves for the Rangers, who entered having lost three straight and six of seven — going 1-4-2 in that stretch — and were formally knocked out of the postseason chase earlier in the week. DEVILS 4, ISLANDERS 3 » Taylor Hall scored two goals and New Jersey took a major step toward its first playoff berth since 2012 with a victory over New York.

Coupled with Florida’s 5-1 loss to Boston earlier in the day, the Devils opened a five-point lead over the Panthers in the race for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference and moved within a point of idle Philadelphia for the top wildcard spot.