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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

NHL: Canadiens win to stay in playoff race

Associated Press The Spokesman-Review

Guillaume Latendresse scored late in the second period and Jaroslav Halak made 30 saves for his first NHL shutout, leading the Montreal Canadiens to a 1-0 win over the Boston Bruins on Tuesday night in Montreal.

Montreal won its second in a row and tied Carolina for eighth place in the Eastern Conference. The Canadiens, who entered in a three-way tie with Toronto and the New York Islanders for ninth, have eight games remaining in a tight battle for the playoffs.

Panthers 4, Flyers 1: At Philadelphia, Olli Jokinen broke a second-period tie, and Nathan Horton and Juraj Kolnik added goals late in the third to lead Florida past Philadelphia, completing its first season sweep of the Flyers.

Lightning 4, Islanders 3 (OT): At Tampa, Fla., Vincent Lecavalier tallied his 49th goal of the season and Filip Kuba scored 55 seconds into overtime as Tampa Bay stopped a three-game losing streak with a victory over New York.

The loss was the fourth straight on a road trip for the Islanders.

Wild 3, Coyotes 2: At St. Paul, Minn., Marian Gaborik and Pavol Demitra each had a goal and an assist and Minnesota edged Phoenix for the Wild’s franchise-record seventh win in a row.

Todd White also scored for the Wild, who set the team record for victories in a season with 43 and pulled within one point of Vancouver in the Northwest Division race.

Flames 2, Red Wings 1: At Calgary, Alberta, Kristian Huselius scored a goal and set up another and Calgary snapped a three-game losing streak with a victory over Detroit.

Blue Jackets 5, Blackhawks 2: At Columbus, Ohio, Fredrik Modin scored twice in the second period to lead Columbus past Chicago.

Maple Leafs 2, Devils 1: At Toronto, Kyle Wellwood and Nik Antropov each scored goals to lead the Maple Leafs over New Jersey.

Senators 4, Blues 2: At St. Louis, Antoine Vermette scored a short-handed goal to lift Ottawa over the Blues.

Around the league

Edmonton defenseman Steve Staios will have season-ending knee surgery. … Minnesota goalie Manny Fernandez was told to stay off the ice for a couple of days to rest his sprained left knee.