Darren Turcotte scored at 2:04 of overtime Friday night and Hartford, which overcame three one-goal deficits in the third period, beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-3 to maintain solid hold on an Eastern Conference playoff berth.
Forward Steven Rice scored his second goal of the game with 22 seconds left in regulation. Then Turcotte knocked home a rebound after Patrick Roy stopped Frantisek Kucera's shot, scoring his team-leading 15th goal from the slot to vault the Whalers (17-17-5) to .500 for the first time since Feb. 1.Turcotte's goal enabled the Whalers to open some room in the congested Eastern Conference playoff chase, moving into a sixth-place tie with Washington with 39 points apiece.
The loss extended the road woes of the struggling Canadiens, who have won only three times in 22 games on foreign ice. Benoit Brunet, Pierre Turgeon and Vladimir Malakhov tallied for Montreal, which is in 10th place, two spots out of the playoffs, in the Eastern Conference.
Nordiques 5, Sabres 2
At Quebec, Valeri Kamensky scored two goals and Owen Nolan added three assists as Quebec sent Buffalo to its fourth straight defeat.
Rangers 5, Bruins 3
At New York, Mark Messier set up two goals each for Pat Verbeek and Brian Leetch as the Rangers stayed in the thick of the playoff race.
Devils 6, Islanders 3
At East Rutherford, N.J., Shawn Chambers and Neal Broten scored a minute apart in the third period and New Jersey rallied a three-goal deficit to defeat New York.
Flyers 3, Lightning 2
At Philadelphia, John LeClair snapped a 2-2 tie with his 22nd goal of the season in the third period.
Maple Leafs 2, Stars 1
At Toronto, Randy Wood's goal at 8:37 of the third period made the difference.
Capitals 3, Panthers 0
At Landover, Md., Peter Bondra continued his torrid scoring streak with a goal and an assist and rookie goalie Jim Carey got his fourth shutout of the season.
Red Wings 3, Blackhawks 1
At Chicago, Steve Yzerman scored twice as Detroit set a franchise record with its seventh consecutive road win and keeping the Blackhawks 0-for-April.