San Jose Slips Past Colorado

Marcel Goc broke a third-period tie with a rebound goal past rookie Peter Budaj, and the San Jose Sharks bolstered their playoff hopes with a 2-1 victory over the Colorado Avalanche in Denver on Wednesday night.

Goc’s goal at 2:48 gave the Sharks their first lead, and it stood up. San Jose moved into a tie with eighth-place Vancouver in the Western Conference and within five points of Colorado.

Buffalo 5, Ottawa 4 -- Daniel Briere scored twice, including the winner at 4:13 of overtime, lifting the Sabres to victory in Buffalo, N.Y. Ottawa lost for the first time in 54 games when scoring four or more goals, ending the third-longest streak in NHL history. The streak dates to a 5-4 overtime loss to Toronto on Feb. 5, 2003.

Calgary 5, Phoenix 2 -- Dion Phaneuf, Stephane Yelle and Kristian Huselius each had a goal and an assist to lead the Flames over the Coyotes in Calgary, Canada.

Chicago 4, Nashville 3 -- Rene Bourque had a goal and two assists in Chicago as the Blackhawks handed the Predators their sixth loss in seven games.

Atlanta 5, Florida 2 -- Scott Mellanby and Marian Hossa scored third-period goals to lead the Thrashers past the Panthers in Sunrise, Fla.

New Jersey 6, Pittsburgh 4 -- Patrik Elias had three goals for his seventh career hat trick and two assists to lead the Devils past the Penguins in East Rutherford, N.J.

Carolina 4, Washington 3 -- Matt Cullen scored the only goal in the shootout, giving the Hurricanes a victory against the host Capitals.

Toronto 3, New York Islanders 2 -- Alexei Ponikarovsky scored a tiebreaking goal with 2:02 remaining in Toronto and the Maple Leafs moved to within six points of eighth-place Tampa Bay in the Eastern Conference with seven games remaining.