PITTSBURGH - Tomas Tatar and Thomas Vanek scored early third-period goals to lead the Detroit Red Wings to a 5-2 victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday.

Nick Jensen and Steve Ott also scored and Luke Glendening added a late empty-netter for the Red Wings, who completed a back-to-back sweep of Washington and Pittsburgh, two of the top teams in the league. Petr Mrazek made 24 saves for his second win in as many days; he lost his previous four games.

Detroit defeated Washington in a shootout at home Saturday and followed with the win at Pittsburgh, the NHL's best home team. It was the Red Wings' second victory against Pittsburgh this season.

Detroit, which lost five straight before the weekend victories, remained near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, but within striking distance of the final playoff spot.

Sidney Crosby scored his league-leading 32nd goal and Tom Kuhnhackl added his third with the Penguins short-handed. The Penguins lost in regulation for the first time since the All-Star break. Matt Murray stopped 19 shots.

Pittsburgh, which could've equaled a season-high 10-game points streak, had points in 13 of its previous 15 contests. But it missed a chance to move closer than five points behind Washington for the top spot in the Metropolitan Division; the Capitals lost to the New York Rangers earlier in the day.

The teams combined for three goals in the first 2:23 of the third period.

Tatar scored his 14th for a 3-1 lead 27 seconds into the period. Vanek, who scored Saturday in the shootout against Washington, extended the Red Wings' advantage 1:49 later when he beat Murray with a wrist shot from the slot.

Crosby made it a 4-2 only 7 seconds later with a wrist shot from the left faceoff dot, but the Penguins couldn't complete the comeback.

Penguins defenseman Trevor Daley rang a shot off the crossbar and Mrazek stopped Phil Kessel on a breakaway in the first three minutes of the game. That allowed Jensen to open the scoring when he faked a slap shot and worked around an outstretched Murray on a partial breakaway. Kuhnhackl responded later in the period with a short-handed goal, but Ott put Detroit back in front on a backhander from the slot.

Mrazek kept it a one-goal game entering the third period with a sharp blocker stop on Ian Cole and a sprawling glove save on Nick Bonino later in the second period.

NOTES: The Penguins honored Crosby for reaching the 1,000-point milestone Thursday against Winnipeg with a pregame ceremony Sunday. Crosby was given a gold-plated stick and a plaque made from the roof of the former Civic Arena by Penguins owner Mario Lemieux. . Pittsburgh played without defensemen Justin Schultz (concussion) and Olli Maatta for the second straight game. Maatta is expected to miss six weeks following hand surgery. Red Wings D Ryan Sproul played on Sunday after Mike Green missed his second straight game with an illness. . Gustav Nyquist and Tomas Jurco were also scratched for Detroit. . Penguins F Conor Sheary, who missed his ninth game with an upper body injury, skated Sunday morning.

UP NEXT

Red Wings: Will host the New York Islanders on Tuesday before the team's bye week.

Penguins: Visit Carolina on Tuesday before Saturday's outdoor Stadium Series game against Philadelphia at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh.

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TORONTO - Mark Stone had a goal and four assists, Derick Brassard scored twice in the third period and the Ottawa Senators recovered after blowing a two-goal lead to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-3 on Saturday night.

The Senators pulled within two points of Montreal for first place in the Atlantic Division with three games in hand. Ottawa led 2-0 after one period but trailed 3-2 in the third before getting a tying goal from Mike Hoffman and a power-play goal from Brassard. Stone and Brassard added empty-netters, and Chris Wideman and Ryan Dzingel also scored for the Senators.

Ottawa has won four of five overall and three of four against the Leafs this season. Craig Anderson stopped 34 shots.

Morgan Rielly, Nazem Kadri and William Nylander scored and Auston Matthews had two assists for the Maple Leafs. Frederik Andersen allowed four goals on 40 shots.

Toronto has lost eight of 11 and entered the night with a tenuous grip on the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

After Nylander made it 3-2 with a power-play goal 2:04 into the third, Hoffman tied it by rifling a shot from the right faceoff circle off the post and in. On a power play 54 seconds later, Andersen stopped Erik Karlsson's point shot, but Brassard jumped on the rebound and put it in for a 4-3 lead.

Wideman started the scoring in the first, firing a point shot through traffic moments after Stone beat Nikita Zaitsev for a puck behind the Leafs goal. Dzingel added to the lead when he deflected Marc Methot's point shot 20 seconds later.

Andersen stopped three shots during a lengthy 5-on-3 during the second period, and the Leafs got on the board about three minutes later. Rielly scored with 5:22 left in the second by chasing down a wide shot from Matthews, carrying it to the point and shooting through a crowd in front.

About three minutes later, Zaitsev fired a shot from the right point that sneaked through Anderson's pads and slid behind the net. Kadri chased it down and banked it off Dzingel's helmet and in for his 24th goal of the season. Dzingel had fallen in the crease trying to prevent Kadri from stuffing the rebound in.

Toronto went ahead 3-2 when Nylander fired a laser from the right faceoff circle on a power play 2:04 into the third.

NOTES: Mitch Marner sat out for Toronto with an upper-body injury. Marner leads Toronto with 48 points and is also expected to sit Sunday night against Carolina.

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CHICAGO - Cam Talbot made 38 saves, Connor McDavid scored his 20th goal and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Chicago Blackhawks 3-1 on Saturday night for their third straight win.

Matt Benning and Milan Lucic also scored for Edmonton in the opener of its season-high six-game road trip. McDavid, who leads the NHL in points, fired into an empty net with 27 seconds left.

Talbot, the NHL's busiest goalie in games and minutes played, lost a shutout bid when Richard Panik scored his 15th goal with 4:47 left. Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews earned his 600th NHL point with a nice pass on the play.

Chicago had won five straight - all on the road. It was its first home game since Jan. 26.

Corey Crawford made 19 saves for the Blackhawks, who were coming off a 5-1 victory at Edmonton last Saturday in their final game before their bye week.

The Blackhawks outshot the Oilers 12-4 in a scoreless first period and had ample chances, including shots by Marian Hossa and Artemi Panarin that clanked off the post.

Chicago dominated again for much of the second, outshooting Edmonton 16-9, but trailed 1-0 after 40 minutes.

Benning opened the scoring with a fluke power-play goal at 5:02. Benning's centering pass from the right corner deflected in off the skate of Chicago defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk, who was in the crease.

The Oilers were awarded a power play after Blackhawks rookie Ryan Hartman was penalized for instigating a fight with Edmonton's Eric Gryba after Gryba shoved him into the boards.

Lucic made it 2-0 at 9:50 of the third. He skated into the right circle, pulled up and stopped, then fired a low shot between Crawford's pads.

NOTES: Edmonton D Kris Russell missed his fifth straight game with a lower-body injury. Oilers D Darnell Nurse (ankle surgery) missed his 33rd game but has resumed skating and is expected to rejoin the team on its trip. ... Blackhawks D Brent Seabrook skated in his 900th game. The 31-year-old Seabrook, Chicago's first-round draft pick in 2003, is in his 12th season with the team. ... Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky, who played his first NHL game against the Blackhawks at Chicago Stadium in 1979, attended the contest.

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MONTREAL - Patrik Laine and Mathieu Perreault each had a goal and an assist, and the Winnipeg Jets spoiled Claude Julien's return to Montreal with a 3-1 victory over the Canadiens on Saturday.

Joel Armia also scored for Winnipeg (27-29-5), and Connor Hellebuyck stopped 19 shots. The Jets had dropped five of six.

The Canadiens fired coach Michel Therrien on Tuesday and hired Julien in hopes of getting their season back on track. Julien also coached Montreal from 2003-2006.

But Julien's first game back was more of the same for the first-place Canadiens (31-20-8), who have lost three in a row and seven of eight.

Perreault made it 2-1 just 1:16 into the third period. He sent a backhand shot over Carey Price's shoulder after a nifty one-handed pass from Dustin Byfuglien.

Laine added an empty-netter at 18:43. The rookie has five goals in his last three games and 28 on the year.

Andrei Markov scored for Montreal, and Price had 31 saves.

The Canadiens were sloppy in their first game back following their bye week, and it cost the home side on Winnipeg's first goal.

With Montreal on the power play in the second period, defenseman Nathan Beaulieu skated out of his own zone, and then tried to dangle the puck around Armia in the neutral zone.

The Jets winger easily stole the puck, skated in on Price and scored Winnipeg's sixth short-handed goal of the season at 4:52. Montreal had 18 giveaways in the game.

In one of his first coaching decisions since rejoining the Canadiens, Julien put Alex Galchenyuk on the first line with Alexander Radulov and captain Max Pacioretty.

That move paid instant dividends on Montreal's first goal on a rarely seen pinch by defenseman Markov.

The Russian's forecheck on Blake Wheeler forced a giveaway in Winnipeg's zone, with the puck falling right to Galchenyuk. The center then found Pacioretty, who gave it back to Markov in the crease for the easy tap-in at 11:04 of the first.

Pacioretty has seven points in his last four games.

NOTES: Michael McCarron, recalled from the St. John's IceCaps on Friday, centered the fourth line for Montreal. David Desharnais and Sven Andrighetto were healthy scratches. ... The Jets have two more games remaining on their four-game road trip. ... Markov was also on the ice on Jan. 18, 2003, when Julien made his coaching debut in his first stint with the Canadiens.

UP NEXT:

Jets: Visit Ottawa on Sunday.

Canadiens: Visit the New York Rangers on Tuesday night.

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Robin Lehner stopped 16 shots in the third period and 37 overall, and the Buffalo Sabres snapped the St. Louis Blues' six-game winning streak with a 3-2 victory on Saturday.

Evander Kane and Nicholas Baptiste each had a goal and an assist in Buffalo's third straight win, matching a season best accomplished three times. Ryan O'Reilly also scored for the Sabres (26-23-10), who have three more wins than losses for the first time since closing the 2011-12 season 39-32-11.

St. Louis dropped to 7-2 since Mike Yeo replaced Ken Hitchcock as coach. The Blues also had won five consecutive road games.

Scottie Upshall and Vladimir Tarasenko scored for St. Louis, and Jake Allen stopped 25 shots.

The Sabres beat the Blues for the first time since Dec. 27, 2009, stopping an 0-8-1 drought. It was Buffalo's third win in 24 games against St. Louis dating to the start of the 1998-99 season.

Buffalo broke it open by scoring twice in the second period for a 3-1 lead.

Kane scored the go-ahead goal at 11:58 when he parked in front and deflected Zach Bogosian's shot from just inside the blue line. It was Kane's 20th of the season.

O'Reilly scored with 32 seconds left with Buffalo enjoying a two-man advantage. Playing give-and-go with Rasmus Ristolainen, O'Reilly worked his way into the right circle where he spun and beat Allen inside the far post.

Lehner was sharp after being beaten by Tarasenko on the short right side just 1:31 into the game, when the Blues capitalized on a delayed penalty.

Lehner's best save came 20 seconds into the second when he kicked out his pad to stop Jori Lehtera.

The Sabres scored three straight times, beginning with Baptiste being set up by Jack Eichel and slipping a shot through Allen's legs midway through the first period.

It was Baptiste's third goal of the season and came after he was recalled from the minors earlier in the day to replace Sam Reinhart, who was sidelined by an illness.

Upshall had a short-handed goal at 15:03 of the third, but the Sabres held on from there.

The start of the game was delayed by about five minutes because of poor ice conditions. Referee Dean Morton announced just as players lined up for the opening faceoff that the rink had to be re-flooded due to the integrity of the ice.

Ice conditions have been an issue around the league this season. The NHL Players' Association has asked players to rate the ice conditions following games after a series of concerns have been raised.

The game was played after crews worked overnight to remove the flooring from the ice surface after Buffalo hosted a National Lacrosse League game on Friday night.

NOTES: Blues C Kyle Brodziak returned after missing 10 games with an injury to his right foot. ... Blues F Paul Stastny (lower body) missed fourth straight game. He has a good chance of returning on Monday against Florida, Yeo said. ... Sabres D Cody Franson returned after missing four games with a foot injury. In recalling Baptiste, Buffalo placed D Taylor Fedun on waivers.

UP NEXT

St. Louis: Hosts Florida on Monday.

Buffalo: Hosts Chicago on Sunday.

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ST. LOUIS - Vladimir Tarasenko and Alexander Steen scored third-period power-play goals to lift the streaking St. Louis Blues to a 4-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night.

Magnus Paajarvi and Jori Lehtera also scored, and Kevin Shattenkirk had three assists for the Blues, who won their sixth straight game. Jake Allen made 18 saves.

St. Louis improved to 7-1 since Mike Yeo took over as coach, which is the best start for a coach in Blues history.

Bo Horvat, Henrik Sedin and Brandon Sutter scored for the Canucks, who dropped their third game out of their last four. Jacob Markstrom made 17 saves.

Tarasenko gave the Blues a 3-2 lead with a power-play goal 58 seconds into the third period. It was the Blues first goal with the man-advantage in four games.

Steen's power-play goal five minutes into the period made it 4-2 and stood as the game-winner. It came on the second man-advantage of a double-minor given to Sedin for high-sticking.

Less than two minutes later, Sutter deflected Alexander Edler's shot past Allen to cut the deficit to one.

Paajarvi backhanded Shattenkirk's shot off the end boards to give the Blues a 1-0 lead at 4:30 of the first period. It is the sixth straight game in which the Blues have scored first.

Horvat tied it for the Canucks midway through the opening frame. Nikita Tryamkin intercepted Jay Bouwmeester's pass at the blue line and found Horvat alone in front of the net.

Lehtera scored his first goal since Jan. 14 to give the Blues a 2-1 lead late in the first. The Canucks unsuccessfully challenged the goal, claiming the Blues were offside.

Sedin scored off a nifty pass from his brother Daniel Sedin to tie the game at 8:27 of the second period. The goal was scored 19 seconds after Shattenkirk's shot trickled in past Markstrom that appeared to give the Blues a two-goal lead, but the referees had blown it dead believing that Markstrom had stopped it.

NOTES: The Blues improved to 7-2 in the second game of back-to-back sets. ... With their win Wednesday at Detroit, the Blues swept a five-game road trip for the first time in franchise history. ... Horvat (bone bruise) and C Brandon Sutter (wrist) returned to the Canucks' lineup after each missing a game.

UP NEXT

Canucks: host Calgary on Saturday.

Blues: travel to Buffalo on Saturday.

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CALGARY, Alberta - Matthew Tkachuk had a goal and an assist, Brian Elliott made 33 stops and the Calgary Flames beat the Philadelphia Flyers 3-1 on Wednesday night.

The 19-year-old Tkachuk pulled Calgary even at 1 with a goal 4:28 into the first period, then assisted on T.J. Brodie's go-ahead goal 12:45 into the second. Mark Giordano added an empty-net goal with 39 seconds left for the Flames.

Nick Cousins scored for the Flyers, and Michal Neuvirth stopped 20 of 22 shots.

Tkachuk got his goal shortly after winning a faceoff in Philadelphia's end. He got open in front of the net and stuffed in Mikael Backlund's centering pass for his 11th goal.

Brodie got his fourth goal of the season with a wrist shot from the high slot. The puck slid just inside the post with Sam Bennett screening Neuvirth.

Calgary got a big bounce-back win after an ugly outing Monday, when they lost 5-0 to Arizona in their return from a five-day bye week.

The two points move Calgary back into the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference - the Los Angeles Kings, one point back, hold three games in hand.

The Flyers squandered an opportunity to pull even with Toronto for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

Elliott has won four of his last five starts and was excellent all night. One of his best stops was a sharp glove save against Jakub Voracek just minutes before Brodie gave Calgary the lead. The veteran improved to 12-13-2 on the season.

Flames right wing Alex Chiasson was assessed a major penalty and a game misconduct for spearing Cousins long after the whistle during the first period. Sean Monahan then lifted a puck over the boards from his own end to give Philadelphia a 5-on-3, but Elliott made an acrobatic glove save against Cousins to help kill off both penalties.

NOTES: The Flames improved to 21-0-1 when leading after two periods. ... Calgary adjusted its second defense pairing, putting Brodie with Deryk Engelland. Brodie had been with Dennis Wideman since November 15. ... Matt Bartkowski, 28, has signed a PTO with Calgary. The defenseman played 80 games with Vancouver last season. He was playing for Providence (AHL). ... Tkachuk moves into second on the team with 36 points.

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ST. PAUL, Minn. - John Gibson made 37 saves for his fourth shutout of the season, rookie Joseph Cramarossa scored his fourth goal and the Anaheim Ducks beat the Minnesota Wild 1-0 on Tuesday night.

Gibson stalled the league's fourth-highest scoring team, beating Minnesota and former coach Bruce Boudreau for the first time in three meetings.

The Wild were 0 for 5 on the power play and lost in regulation for the first time in six games and the fifth time since the start of December, a span of 34 games. Devan Dubnyk made 22 saves.

Cramarossa scored for the first time in 16 games 4:38 into the first period. Corey Perry's shot from Dubnyk's left side was stopped, but the puck dropped near Dubnyk's feet and Cramarossa alertly tapped it in.

Following the goal, Anaheim went nearly 10 minutes without a shot. Gibson had the cushion he needed, though.

Minnesota had 13 shots on goal in the first period and then peppered Gibson in the second with another 16 shots. The Wild outshot the Ducks 37-23 in the game.

Closing against Anaheim has proven to be a tough task for any team this season. The Ducks have allowed the fewest third-period goals in the NHL this season.

Minnesota had plenty of chances. The closest was Christian Folin's slap shot early in the third that deflected hard off the post behind Gibson. The Wild were shutout for the second time at home this season.

Minnesota had scored four power-play goals in the past two games and had 13 in its previous 13 home games. The Wild were a league-best 30.1 percent on the power play at home this season heading into the game and sixth overall.

NOTES: Ducks F Antoine Vermette was ejected in the third period with a game misconduct for abuse of an official. ... Anaheim scratched D Sami Vatanen for the fifth straight game with a lower-body injury. The team listed him as day-to-day. ... Minnesota scratched D Matt Dumba for the second game in a row with a lower-body injury. ... The Wild reassigned C Tyler Graovac to Iowa of the American Hockey League after he cleared waivers. ... The Ducks finished a season-long, six-game road trip at 2-3-1. Their last home game was Jan. 31.

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Filip Forsberg scored a short-handed goal 6:02 into the third period and the Nashville Predators rallied from a three-goal deficit to beat the Dallas Stars 5-3 on Sunday night.

Roman Josi scored twice, Calle Jarnkrok got the tying goal 4:40 into the third and Mike Fisher added an empty-netter with 1:38 left. James Neal and P.K. Subban each had two assists, and Nashville snapped a two-game skid.

The Predators can breathe a little easier during their upcoming five-day break after avoiding a second loss in two days on home ice. Embarrassed in a 7-4 defeat to Florida on Saturday, they came out feisty from the opening faceoff, only to give up the first three goals.

Jamie Benn had a goal and an assist, Patrick Sharp and Devin Shore had a goal apiece and Tyler Seguin had three assists. Dallas has lost five of six.

With the win, Nashville evened up the season series between the Central Division teams at 2-2. The Predators will visit Dallas on April 6.

The Predators came out very chippy against another team that likes to fight. The result was a pair of fights within the first minute and a third midway through the period. Dallas got a full two minutes of 5-on-3 off the second fight that also featuring penalties on Subban and forward Austin Watson just 45 seconds into the game.

The Stars only had Esa Lindell hit the post.

With the Predators racking up eight penalties in the period, the Stars got plenty more chances. Benn scored his 18th this season on the man advantage at 12:24 of the first with a wrist shot from the left circle. Dallas took advantage of its second 5-on-3 late in the period when Sharp beat goalie Pekka Rinne with a wrist shot from the left side at 15:46 for a 2-0 lead.

Shore gave Dallas a 3-0 lead with the Stars' third power-play goal at 12:02 with a snap shot from the right on a nice pass from Brett Ritchie.

Nashville finally got on the board at 15:25 when Josi scored his eighth this season on a wrist shot unassisted. Then Craig Smith had a chance off the ensuing faceoff, earning his first career penalty shot. But Kari Lehtonen, playing for the second straight night, easily stopped Smith's shot off his pad.

Josi scored his second of the game on a 5-on-3 45 seconds into the third period, but the Predators failed to score on the remaining 1:37 of the man advantage. It didn't matter as Jarnkrok skated up the right side and beat Lehtonen stick-side for his 11th, and Forsberg gave Nashville its first lead with his goal off a breakaway. Forsberg beat Lehtonen's glove with a wrist shot at 6:02.

The Predators are 12-1-2 this season when Forsberg scores.

NOTES: Subban reached 300 career points with his two assists. ... Before the game, Nashville put F Cody McLeod on injured reserve and activated F Harry Zolnierczyk. ... Josi now has a goal in three straight games for the first time in his career. ... Stars D Jamie Oleksiak played his 100th NHL career game. ... Seguin has 10 points (four goals, six assists) over his last 10 games. ... Predators F Viktor Arvidsson had an assist and now has nine points (six goals, three assists) in his last six games.

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NEWARK, N.J. - Brent Burns, the NHL's leading offensive defenseman, scored two goals as the San Jose Sharks snapped a season high four-game losing streak with a 4-1 win over the New Jersey Devils on Sunday.

Joe Thornton had a goal and an assist for the Sharks and Kevin Labanc added two assists. Tomas Hertl had an empty-net tally late in the third period.

Martin Jones made 21 saves as San Jose bounced back from a 2-1 overtime loss to Philadelphia on Saturday.

P.A. Parenteau scored for the Devils and Cory Schneider made 34 stops as New Jersey lost for the eighth time in the last nine home games.

Burns wiped out the Devils' lead with a pair of second-period tallies.

The defender ripped a wrist shot over Schneider's glove at 2:27 to knot the score.

Burns unleashed another of his laser wristers, this time off the left post and into the net, at 7:46 to give the Sharks the lead. He has 24 goals and 59 points to pace all blueliners.

Thornton added a third Sharks goal in the period at 11:22.

The Devils tried to rally late in the period as Taylor Hall and Stefan Noesen had close-in chances denied by Jones.

San Jose played an efficient third period, holding New Jersey to only 7 shots.

The Sharks peppered the Devils with shots over the first 20 minutes, holding a 19-3 advantage, but New Jersey got the only goal.

Parenteau scored on the Devils' first shot at 11:42 as Jacob Josefson made the key play, riding Sharks defenseman Brenden Dillion off the puck behind the San Jose net.

Parenteau knocked in his 13th of the season on the goalmouth scramble that ensued.

The Devils, coming off a five-day bye, were a beat slow at the start and the Sharks pressed hard.

San Jose had a golden opportunity with a 5-on-3 power-play for 1:43 when Ben Lovejoy joined Joseph Blandisi in the penalty box at 8:28.

Schneider made two stellar stops against Burns on the penalty kill - one with the glove, the other with his pads - to hold off the Sharks.

NOTES: New Jersey recalled Blandisi from Albany of the AHL on Saturday. The Devils also activated D John Moore from injured reserve after missing 17 games with a concussion. C Logan Couture was back for the Sharks after missing one game with an upper-body injury. The Devils scratched D Kyle Quincy and RW Devante Smith-Pelly. The Sharks' scratches were RW Marcus Sorensen, D Tim Heed and RW Joonas Donskoi.

UP NEXT

Sharks: Return home to host Florida on Wednesday.

Devils: Host Colorado on Tuesday.

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