NHL-Highlights of Thursday's NHL games

March 13 (The Sports Xchange) - Highlights of Thursday's National Hockey League games. - - - Maple Leafs 3, Kings 2 Winger Mason Raymond scored a game-winning, short-handed goal, and goaltender James Reimer made 31 saves as the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Los Angeles Kings 3-2. Reimer relieved injured starter Jonathan Bernier after the first period and shut out the Kings the rest of the way. Raymond's short-handed goal at 5:06 of the third period broke a 2-2 tie after the Leafs rallied from a two-goal deficit to tie the game on a pair of goals by defensemen. Dion Phaneuf sliced the lead to one on the power play at 18:13 of the opening period and Carl Gunnarson scored his second of the season at 3:46 of the second period. Toronto (36-24-8) won for the second time in three games while the Kings (38-23-6) lost for the first time since the Olympic break as their eight-game winning streak was snapped. - - - Bruins 2, Coyotes 1 The Boston Bruins won their seventh straight game and moved back into first place in the Eastern Conference with a 2-1 win over the Phoenix Coyotes. Defenseman Zdeno Chara scored his 16th goal of the season and Jarome Iginla got his 21st, both in the first period, for the Bruins. Coyotes (31-25-11) winger Lauri Korpikoski scored a deflected goal with 11:46 remaining, his ninth of the season, to break up Boston goaltender Tuukka Rask's shutout bid. The Bruins (44-17-5) were a perfect five-of-five on the penalty kill, including a first-period double minor, and have killed all 16 they faced in the last six games. - - - Sharks 4, Blue Jackets 3 (shootout) Joe Pavelski had the only goal for either team in the shootout, leading the San Jose Sharks to their fourth straight win, a 4-3 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Sharks goaltender Alex Stalock, who had 35 saves in regulation, stopped Mark Letestu, Ryan Johansen and Cam Atkinson in the shootout. Patrick Marleau had two goals for the Sharks (43-17-7), giving him 28 on the season, and Matt Nieto also scored. The Blue Jackets (34-26-6) got goals from defenseman James Wisniewski, Ryan Johansen and R.J. Umberger. - - - Lightning 5, Panthers 4 The Tampa Bay Lightning ended a five-game losing streak and savored two celebrated first goals, overcoming a rough start and then holding on for a 5-4 win over the Florida Panthers. Lightning center Steven Stamkos scored his first goal since returning from a four-month absence with a broken leg, and the home crowd also cheered as right winger Ryan Callahan got his first goal with the Lightning after joining the team from the New York Rangers last week. The two teams combined for four goals in the first nine minutes, needing less than two minutes to get the scoring started. Tampa Bay (35-24-7) shook off their recent penchant for losing late leads, while Florida (24-35-7) allowed three-plus goals for the seventh time in eight games since the Olympic break. - - - Hurricanes 4, Sabres 2 Alexander Semin and Jiri Tlusty scored less than two minutes apart late in the third period to spoil a stellar goaltending effort by Buffalo's Michal Neuvirth, and the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Sabres 4-2. Neuvirth, acquired from the Washington Capitals at the trade deadline, stopped a career-best 51 shots in the loss. The Hurricanes are still holding out hope for a late playoff surge at 29-28-9. Buffalo (19-39-8) dropped their fourth consecutive game. - - - Blues 6, Oilers 2 Playing for the first time since Jan. 31, center Vladimir Sobotka scored a goal and assisted on two more, including the winner by Alex Pietrangelo, for his first three-point game of the season as the St. Louis Blues beat the Edmonton Oilers 6-2. Sobotka was back after missing 12 games with a broken kneecap. St. Louis (45-14-7) extended their unbeaten streak to seven games and leads the NHL with 97 points. T.J. Oshie also had a goal and two assists, Jaden Schwartz lit the red lamp twice, his 20th and 21st goals this season, while fellow second-year player Vladimir Tarasenko also scored his 20th. The Oilers (23-36-8) lost in regulation for only the third time in 10 games but they long ago fell out of the playoff hunt. - - - Wild 2, Rangers 1 The New York Rangers made an uncharacteristic defensive mistake by leaving Minnesota Wild winger Zach Parise alone in front of their goalie and the error proved costly. Parise took advantage, scoring the game-winner early in the third period as the Wild snapped a three-game losing streak with a 2-1 victory. Nino Niederreiter also scored for the Wild and goalie Darcy Kuemper had 29 saves for his 12th win of the season, a franchise record for a rookie netminder. It was the first win for the Wild (35-22-9) since last week's NHL trade deadline. Derek Stepan scored for the Rangers (35-28-4) during a second-period power play as New York lost their second game in a row. (Editing by Peter Rutherford)