The Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA - Dan Blackburn made 28 saves in a spectacular relief effort, and Petr Nedved scored the winning goal late in the third period as the New York Rangers defeated the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday.

The victory kept the Rangers' slim playoff hopes going in the Eastern Conference.

Devils 4, Islanders 2

UNIONDALE, N.Y. - Joe Nieuwendyk had a goal and an assist as New Jersey won for the fourth time in five games.

Pascal Rheaume, Jamie Langenbrunner and John Madden also scored for the Devils, who extended their Atlantic Division lead over Philadelphia to four points.

The Islanders, who have lost three straight at home, are eighth in the Eastern Conference, just four points ahead of the Rangers and six in front of Montreal for the final playoff spot.

Canadiens 5, Hurricanes 3

MONTREAL - Saku Koivu and Andrei Markov each had a goal and an assist, and Jose Theodore made 34 saves for Montreal.

Francis Bouillon, Jason Ward and Donald Audette also scored for Montreal, which ended a seven-game home winless streak.

Carolina's Kevyn Adams (Miami University) opened the scoring 14 seconds into the game.

The crowd of 21,273 cheered during the final verse of the U.S. national anthem following a video address by Hall of Famer Jean Beliveau asking fans to respect the playing of both anthems.

A large number of Montreal fans voiced displeasure with the war in Iraq by booing throughout the singing of The Star-Spangled Banner before Thursday night's loss to the New York Islanders.

Maple Leafs 3, Sabres 2, OT

TORONTO - Bryan McCabe beat Mike Noronen with a slap shot 36 seconds into overtime as Toronto beat Buffalo.

Mats Sundin and Robert Svehla each had a goal and an assist for Maple Leafs, who played their third straight overtime game.

Senators 3, Panthers 1

SUNRISE, Fla. - Marian Hossa scored with 36.7 seconds left as Ottawa clinched the Northeast Division title. Hossa tied Vancouver stars Markus Naslund and Todd Bertuzzi for the NHL goal lead, scoring his 43rd. Ottawa, which has an NHL-leading 104 points, has won the Northeast title three times in the last five seasons.

Red Wings 4, Blues 2

ST. LOUIS - Niklas Lidstrom scored the go-ahead goal in the third period and Curtis Joseph stopped 24 shots as Detroit won its sixth straight. The win moved the first-place Wings seven points ahead of the second-place Blues in the Central Division. Avalanche 8, Blackhawks 1

DENVER - Alex Tanguay stayed hot with his first career hat trick, and Colorado clinched a playoff spot by routing Chicago. Tanguay, who has 20 goals and 33 assists in his last 44 games, scored twice in the second period.

Thrashers 3, Blue Jackets 2

COLUMBUS - Lubos Bartecko scored with 7:04 left. Dany Heatley had a goal to extend his points streak to six games (4-6-10).