Panthers stay hot, top Sabres

Run win streak to four vs. Buffalo

Matthew Tkachuk snapped a tie in the opening minute of the third period — his 39th goal of the season — and the Florida Panthers beat the Buffalo Sabres, 21, Tuesday night in Sunrise, Fla., to again leapfrog the Penguins in the Eastern Conference wild-card standings.

The win stretched the Panthers’ winning streak to a season-high four games and moved them into a tie with the New York Islanders for the top spot in the wildcard race, one point ahead of the Penguins. All three teams have four games remaining.

Aaron Ekblad also scored for Florida, and Alex Lyon made 40 saves for his fourth straight win.

Other games

Hurricanes 3, Senators 2: Martin Necas scored with 40.1 seconds left in overtime to lift Carolina to the wink at home. Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Brady Skjei both had a goal and an assist for the Hurricanes, who maintained their three-point lead over New Jersey atop the Metropolitan Division. Antti Raanta made 25 saves to improve to 18-2-3 as Carolina got its 50th win of the season. Maple Leafs 4, Blue Jackets 2: Zach Aston-Reese scored twice and Joseph Woll made 24 saves for Toronto. Woll was recalled from the Toronto Marlies of the AHL on an emergency basis after Matt Murray left with a head injury Sunday in a 5-2 loss to Detroit. Woll improved to 4-1-0 this season with the Maple Leafs.

Red Wings 5, Canadiens 0: David Perron had two goals and an assist and Ville Husso returned from a lower-body injury to make 24 saves to help Detroit win in Montreal.

Blues 4, Flyers 2: Jordan Kyrou scored his 37th goal of the season to help St. Louis win at home. Kyrou has six goals in his past six games.

Predators 3, Golden Knights 2: Cody Glass scored a power-play goal 3:30 into overtime and Nashville kept its thin playoff hopes alive.

Notes

Buffalo’s Tage Thompson reached 90 points for Buffalo — the first Sabres player to reach 90 points in a season since Daniel Briere (95) in 2006-07.

• The game between the Canadiens and Red Wings in Montreal was the last in the long career of referee Marc Joannette. He officiated more than 1,500 NHL games and three Stanley Cup finals.