Avs Drop Predators In Shoot Out – NHL Roundup

UNDATED (AP) — David Backes (BAK'-ehs) registered a hat trick and Ryan Miller stopped 22 shots in the Blues' second straight win, 5-3 over the Maple Leafs. Alex Steen and T.J. Oshie (OH'-shee) each had a goal and two assists for the Blues, who top the NHL with 105 points.

The Maple Leafs suffered their sixth straight loss to fall into a four-way tie with Detroit, Washington and Columbus for the last two Eastern Conference playoff berths.

San Jose remains just two points behind the Blues after Joe Pavelski had a hat trick and an assist in the Sharks' 5-2 win at Edmonton. Patrick Marleau and Marty Havlat also scored as the Sharks improved to 8-1-2 in their last 11 games.

Also on ice:

— Andrew Shaw and Duncan Keith each had a goal and an assist as Chicago doubled up Dallas 4-2. Kris Versteeg and Marian Hossa also scored for the Blackhawks, who are still six points behind the West-leading Blues.

— Gabriel Landeskog scored twice in regulation and added the winner in the shootout to lead Colorado past Nashville 5-4 to end a three-game losing streak. The outcome keeps the Avalanche three points behind the Hawks for fourth place in the West and home-ice advantage in the first round.

— Phoenix knocked off Pittsburgh 3-2 on Mikkel Boedker's tiebreaking goal with 6:42 remaining. David Moss and Antoine Vermette also scored and Shane Doan had two assists as the Coyotes moved three points ahead of the Stars for the final Western Conference playoff berth.

— Carey Price picked up his fifth shutout of the season and 24th of his career by stopping 24 shots in Montreal's 2-0 win against Buffalo. The game was tied until Max Pacioretty (pash-uh-RET'-ee) and Daniel Briere (bree-EHR') scored in the final 9:07, giving the Canadiens a five-point lead over the New York Rangers for third place in the East.

— Anze Kopitar (AHN'-zhay KOH'-pih-tahr) and Jeff Carter scored shootout goals as Los Angeles outlasted Washington 5-4. Dwight King, Marian Gaborik and Dustin Brown notched consecutive goals to put the Kings ahead 4-3 in the third, but Evgeny Kuznetsov (kooz-NEHT'-sahf) netted his first NHL goal to tie the game with 42 seconds left in regulation.

— Ryan Johansen scored twice and Cam Atkinson provided the game-winner seven minutes into the third period to lift Columbus past Detroit 4-2. Brandon Dubinsky had a goal and an assist, while James Wisniewski (wihz-NOO'-skee) set up three goals for the winners.

— Vincent Trocheck and Brandon Pirri scored in a shootout to complete Florida's comeback in a 3-2 win against Ottawa. The Senators led 2-0 until Sean Bergenheim and Trocheck scored 23 seconds apart late in the second period.

— Colin McDonald and Matt Martin each scored twice as the New York Islanders downed Carolina 5-4. Martin's first goal of the night put the Islanders ahead 4-0 just 11 minutes into the game.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin will miss two to three weeks while recovering from a foot injury. The club says the former MVP was hurt during his first shift in Sunday's 1-0 loss to St. Louis.

Malkin is seventh in the league with 72 points despite missing 11 games for various reasons.