NHL-Highlights of Thursday's NHL games

Feb 6 (The Sports Xchange) - Highlights of Thursday's National Hockey League games. - - - Blues 3, Bruins 2 (overtime) Right winger T.J. Oshie scored 3:29 into overtime to give the St Louis Blues a 3-2 win over the Boston Bruins on Thursday. Oshie was able to get the puck past Boston goaltender Tuukka Rask in the corner of the net on a feed from behind the goal. The Blues, who blew two-goal leads in each of their last two games, did it again against the Bruins, who rallied from a 2-0 deficit to tie the game with two goals in the third period to send it to overtime. - - - Capitals 4, Jets 2 Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin scored the game-winning goal with 7:46 gone in the third period to lead the Capitals a 4-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets at the Verizon Center. Capitals rookie right winger Tom Wilson and veteran right winger Troy Brouwer also scored third-period goals for the Capitals, who received 34 saves from goaltender Braden Holtby. Ovechkin's goal was his 40th of the season, marking the sixth time in his nine-year NHL career that he has hit the 40-goal mark. The Capitals' win was just their fourth in their last 14 games and moved them within a point of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference standings while the loss snapped a three-game winning streak for the Jets. - - - Flames 4, Islanders 2 Center Matt Stajan scored with 5:32 left to snap a tie and lift the Calgary Flames to a 4-2 win over the New York Islanders. Stajan capped a furious scrum in front of the Islanders' (22-29-8) net by sneaking in from the right and putting a loose puck past goaltender Evgeni Nabokov. The net came loose as Nabokov crashed into the back of it, but replays showed the goal was clearly scored while the cage was still intact. Center Sean Monahan and defenseman Dennis Wideman scored in the second period for the Flames (22-28-7), who won for the sixth time in seven games. - - - Oilers 2, Rangers 1 The Edmonton Oilers won for just the 10th time on the road this season, turning back the New York Rangers 2-1. Edmonton right winger Nail Yakupov blasted a wrist shot for the game-winner, his 11th goal of the season, as New York (31-24-3) saw their four-game win streak end. Edmonton (20-33-6) goaltender Ben Scrivens stopped 36 shots. - - - Flyers 3, Avalanche 1 Defenseman Mark Streit scored a power-play goal, Michael Raffl had a goal and goaltender Steve Mason made 38 saves to lead the Philadelphia Flyers to a 3-1 victory over the Colorado Avalanche. Back from a 2-1 California trip, the Flyers (29-23-6) won their third straight game and moved within one point of the New York Rangers for fourth place in the Eastern Conference while the Avalanche (36-16-5) have lost two in a row. - - - Red Wings 3, Panthers 1 Center Gustav Nyquist's tiebreaking second-period goal and the return of center Pavel Datsyuk sparked the Detroit Red Wings to a 3-1 win over the Florida Panthers. The Red Wings (64 points), who started the day tied for seventh place in the tightly packed Eastern Conference, picked up a badly needed win. Florida (51 points), barring a near-miraculous run, are likely out of the playoff chase. - - - Senators 3, Sabres 2 Left winger Milan Michalek's second goal of the game with 21 seconds left in regulation lifted the Ottawa Senators to a 3-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres. Michalek took a pass from center Jason Spezza and ripped a wrist shot past Buffalo goalie Jhonas Enroth from the slot to secure the win after Ottawa had blown a two-goal lead in the third period. The victory allowed the Senators (26-21-11) to keep pace in the Eastern Conference wild-card race. It was the fourth loss in a row for the Sabres (15-34-8). - - - Maple Leafs 4, Lightning 1 Forwards Mason Raymond, Jay McClement and James van Riemsdyk scored goals as the Toronto Maple Leafs crept closer to the Tampa Bay Lightning with a 4-1 win. With the win, Toronto (31-22-6) pulled within a point of the Lightning (32-20-5) in the Atlantic Division. The Leafs won 10 of their last 12. The Lightning lost four of five. - - - Canadiens 5, Canucks 2 Left winger Max Pacioretty recorded his second hat trick of the season, leading the Montreal Canadiens to a 5-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks. Centers Ryan White and Tomas Plekanec also scored for Montreal (31-21-6), who won for the fourth time in six games after a four-game slide that saw them give up 19 goals. Left winger Chris Higgins and defenseman Alexander Edler scored for the Canucks (27-23-9). Vancouver's losing streak reached six games. - - - Wild 3, Predators 2 (overtime) Right winger Nino Niederreiter scored on a slap shot at 2:16 of overtime, lifting the Minnesota Wild to a 3-2 win over the Nashville Predators. Defenseman Jonas Brodin and left winger Zach Parise also scored for Minnesota (31-21-7) as the Wild extended their home winning streak to five in their final game before the Olympic break. Center Craig Smith scored twice and goalie Carter Hutton made 33 saves for the Predators (25-23-10), who were shut out in their two previous games against Minnesota. - - - Kings 2, Blue Jackets 1 (overtime) Defenseman Robyn Regher scored the overtime winner and goaltender Jonathan Quick stopped 24 shots as the Los Angeles Kings defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 2-1. Los Angeles (31-22-6) broke a four game losing streak and won for the first time at home since January 13. Down 1-0 entering the third period, the Kings evened the score on defenseman Jake Muzzin's fourth goal of the season. Columbus(29-23-5) earned a point for the fourth consecutive game and trail the Detroit Red Wings by one point for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. (Editing by John O'Brien)