ATLANTA — The Atlanta Thrashers aren't giving up on their first trip to the playoffs.
Marian Hossa scored the tiebreaking goal late in the second period, added an empty netter with 25 seconds to go and the Thrashers defeated the Washington Capitals 5-3 Thursday to pull within two points of Tampa Bay for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
MAPLE LEAFS 4, ISLANDERS 3 (OT): At Uniondale, N.Y., Matt Stajan scored his second goal of the game with 1:08 left in overtime to give the Toronto Maple Leafs an important victory.
Stajan came around the net, fought off two checks and sent a backhand from the high slot between the pads of a screened Garth Snow.
Toronto also got goals from Darcy Tucker and Mats Sundin. Jean-Sebastien Aubin stopped 23 shots for the Leafs, who are three points behind Tampa Bay for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Both teams have three games remaining.
Robert Nilsson, Trent Hunter and Shawn Bates scored for the Islanders, while Snow made 27 saves. He is now winless in his last 12 appearances in net, 10 of them starts.
CANADIENS 4, BRUINS 3: At Boston, Alex Kovalev recorded two goals and an assist to help the Montreal Canadiens move a step closer to making the playoffs.
Jan Bulis added a goal and two assists for the Canadiens, who are trying to make the playoffs for the second straight season. Montreal hasn't had back-to-back playoff appearances since three straight berths, ending with the 1997-98 season.
Currently in seventh place in the Eastern Conference, Montreal leads ninth-place Atlanta by six points with two games remaining. The Canadiens need just one point or an Atlanta loss or tie to clinch a playoff spot.
DEVILS 4, FLYERS 1: At East Rutherford, N.J., Zach Parise scored two goals and Brian Gionta had three assists to give the Devils their ninth straight win and pull even with the Flyers in the Eastern Conference playoff standings.
The teams are tied for fifth in the conference with 97 points and will face each other again on Sunday, also at Continental Airlines Arena.
New Jersey equaled its longest winning streak of the season, accomplished from Jan. 3 to Jan. 21.
Philadelphia played for the fourth straight game without second-leading scorer Peter Forsberg, who is nursing a sore groin. Sergei Brylin and Scott Gomez also scored for New Jersey to support the goaltending of Martin Brodeur, who stopped 33 shots to earn his 41st victory of the season.
BLUE JACKETS 4, BLUES 1:At Columbus, Pascal Leclaire stopped 26 shots and four players scored goals to lead the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Sergei Fedorov, Mark Hartigan, Aaron Johnson and Manny Malhotra had goals for the Blue Jackets, who ended a three-game losing skid that came on the heels of a franchise-best six-game winning streak.
Rostislav Klesla had two assists for Columbus, which now has 70 points — one fewer than the franchise high during its inaugural 2000-01 season. Fedorov also had an assist.
PENGUINS 5, RANGERS 3: At Pittsburgh, Sidney Crosby had a goal and three assists to close within three points of becoming the youngest player to have a 100-point season in the NHL.
PREDATORS 4, WILD 2: At Nashville, Mike Sillinger scored two goals, and the Nashville Predators clinched home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
PANTHERS 5, SENATORS 4 (OT): At Ottawa, the Senators clinched the Northeast Division title despite losing to Florida.
OILERS 2, MIGHTY DUCKS 1: At Edmonton, Alberta, Ales Hemsky scored with 33.3 seconds left in the third period for the win.
FLAMES 2, AVALANCHE 0: At Calgary, Alberta, Miikka Kiprusoff made 23 saves for his second straight shutout.
COYOTES 3, KINGS 0: At Glendale, Ariz., Phoenix goaltender Curtis Joseph made 32 saves for his 46th career shutout.
The Kings, who have lost four straight and seven of nine, were eliminated from the Western Conference playoff race late in the second period when Edmonton beat Anaheim 3-2.
Joseph's shutout was his third of the season and first since he made 21 saves in a 4-0 win over Los Angeles on Nov. 3. He ranks fourth among active goaltenders in shutouts.
Derek Morris, Keith Ballard and Fredrik Sjostrom scored for the Coyotes, who snapped a five-game winless streak.