RALEIGH, N.C.— Mark Recchi, Michael Ryder and David Krejci scored third-period goals to help the Boston Bruins maintain eighth place in the Eastern Conference with a 5-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night.

Boston was 1-3-1 in its previous five previous games, losing ground in positioning for the playoffs.

Tuukka Rask made 30 saves for Boston. Patrice Bergeron scored less than a minute into the game, and Johnny Boychuk gave the Bruins a 2-0 lead midway through the second period.

The Hurricanes cut the lead to 3-2 on Erik Cole's second goal of the game, early in the third period. Ryder then took a giveaway from Brian Pothier and scored the clincher with 10:12 remaining.

Predators 4, Flyers 3

At Nashville, Tenn., Martin Erat scored the only goal of the shootout to lead Nashville past Philadelphia.

Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne turned aside all three Flyers attempts in the shootout. Rinne finished with 42 saves.

Thrashers 4, Sabres 3

At Atlanta, Buffalo's Ryan Miller was pulled after giving up three goals in the first 6 minutes and Jim Slater's third-period goal gave Atlanta a win over the Northeast-leading Sabres.

After Miller's early exit, Patrick Lalime shut out the Thrashers until Slater's tiebreaking goal with 6:44 remaining. Niclas Bergfors' third assist set up Slater's shot in front of the net.

Canadiens 3, Rangers 1

At New York, Sergei Kostitsyn snapped a third-period tie with a deflected goal and Montreal won its sixth straight.

Montreal's winning streak is its longest since an eight-game spurt in 2006.

Capitals 7, Panthers 3

At Sunrise, Fla., Brooks Laich scored twice and five other Washington players had goals to lift the short-handed Capitals past Florida.

The Capitals were without star Alex Ovechkin, suspended two games for a hit on Chicago's Brian Campbell.

Maple Leafs 4, Senators 1

At Ottawa, Phil Kessel got his 26th goal and John Mitchell and Mikhail Grabovski scored 19 seconds apart in the second period to lead Toronto.

Andy Sutton scored his first Ottawa goal late in the second.

Coyotes 2, Lightning 1

At Tampa, Fla., Vernon Fiddler and Matthew Lombardi scored in a 2-minute span midway through the first period, Ilya Bryzgalov stopped 27 shots and Phoenix tied a franchise record with its 43 victory.

The Coyotes moved five points behind Western Conference-leading San Jose in the Pacific Division.

Wild 4, Oilers 2

At St. Paul, Minn., Chuck Kobasew scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period and Minnesota beat Edmonton for the 13th straight time at home.

Avalanche 5, Blues 3

At St. Louis, Peter Mueller scored twice in a three-point game that matched his career best and Paul Stastny had his fifth goal in three games with two assists, helping Colorado sweep the season series against St. Louis.

Stars 8, Sharks 2

At Dallas, Mike Ribeiro and Brenden Morrow each scored twice, including short-handed goals in the third period, Kari Lehtonen made 44 saves in his second start of the season, and Dallas boosted its fading playoff chances.

Islanders 5, Canucks 2

At Vancouver, British Columbia, Rookie John Tavares broke out of a scoring slump with two goals and three assists, and Dwayne Roloson made 35 saves for New York.