NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Bryan Bickell scored in the first period, Ray Emery made 20 saves, and the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Nashville Predators 1-0 on Saturday for their third win in four games.
The Blackhawks improved to 12-0-1 against the Central Division. Chicago beat Nashville for the third time this season -- including twice in six days. The teams will meet again Sunday in Chicago.
Nashville lost its second straight and fourth in five games.
Emery posted his second shutout and the 13th of his career. Chicago is 16-3-4 in one-goal games.
RANGERS 4, HURRICANES 1
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Henrik Lundqvist made a season-high 48 saves, and the New York Rangers gave Carolina its club-record-tying seventh straight home loss.
Derek Stepan and Ryan Callahan scored 31 seconds apart, and Rick Nash added a goal and an assist during the Rangers' three-goal second period. Brian Boyle added an empty-netter just before the buzzer.
New York has earned seven points during a 3-0-1 run to move into seventh place in the Eastern Conference. The Rangers are tied in points with the eighth-place New York Islanders, and more importantly lead ninth-place Winnipeg by two points.
Carolina's Zac Dalpe, called up from Charlotte of the AHL earlier Saturday, scored with 10:33 left. Dan Ellis stopped 27 shots in two periods for the Hurricanes and was replaced by Justin Peters, who made eight saves.
Despite a season-high 49 shots, the Hurricanes lost their fourth straight and for the 11th time in 12 games.
ISLANDERS 4, LIGHTNING 2
UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- Matt Martin scored the go-ahead goal with less than seven minutes left in the third period and Evgeni Nabokov made 19 saves to lift the playoff-hopeful New York Islanders over Tampa Bay.
The Islanders remained in eighth place in the Eastern Conference, tied in points with the New York Rangers, who hold the tiebreaker for seventh. Both teams lead ninth-place Winnipeg by two points and 10th-place New Jersey by three.
The Islanders are seeking their first postseason appearance since 2007.
Michael Grabner and Josh Bailey also scored, and Andrew MacDonald added an empty-net goal at 19:46 to make it 4-2 for New York, which won for the sixth time in eight games. The Islanders have five straight home wins against Tampa Bay and are 10-2 in their last 12 at Nassau Coliseum versus the Lightning.
Richard Panik and Matt Carle had goals for the Lightning.
MAPLE LEAFS 2, DEVILS 1
NEWARK, N.J. -- Rookie Leo Komarov and Tyler Bozak scored and Toronto extended reeling New Jersey's losing streak to six games.
James Reimer made 27 saves as the Maple Leafs strengthened their position in the tight Eastern Conference playoff race. The Maple Leafs are 5th in the East, seven points ahead of the 10th-place Devils, who are three points behind the eighth-place New York Islanders and the postseason cutoff.
David Clarkson deprived Reimer of his second shutout in three games with a goal with 8:23 left, but the Devils fell to 0-3-3 in their last six games. The six-game skid is the second one this season for New Jersey. The Devils haven't won since top forward Ilya Kovalchuk injured a shoulder.
Martin Brodeur, who made his eighth straight start since returning from a back injury, kept the Devils in the game with 16 saves.
KINGS 4, OILERS 1
LOS ANGELES -- Jeff Carter had a goal and an assist, Jonathan Quick made 23 saves, and Los Angeles kept moving forward in the Western Conference playoff race with a victory over Edmonton.
Mike Richards and Slava Voynov also scored for the defending Stanley Cup champions, who have won five of seven to climb back into fourth place in the West.
Carter scored his 22nd goal and Voynov got his first goal in 17 games, with both scores coming on Los Angeles' long-struggling power play. Drew Doughty added an empty-netter, just his second goal of the season.
Magnus Paajarvi scored and Devan Dubnyk stopped 35 shots for the Oilers, who have lost two straight after a five-game winning streak.
The Kings improved to 12-1-6 in their past 19 meetings with Edmonton.
CANADIENS 2, BRUINS 1
MONTREAL -- Michael Ryder's power-play goal 57 seconds into the second period lifted Montreal over Boston in a matchup of the top two teams in the Northeast Division.
Alex Galchenyuk also scored and Carey Price made 26 saves for the Canadiens (25-8-5), who won three of four against the Bruins this season. The Canadiens lead the division by three points, with Boston holding a game in hand.
Daniel Paille scored for Boston (24-9-4), which had a three-game winning streak snapped.
The Canadiens were down one defenseman from the midway point of the first period when Alexei Emelin appeared to sustain a left knee injury in a thunderous collision while taking a run at big Bruins forward Milan Lucic.
Montreal held a 29-27 edge in shots.
JETS 4, FLYERS 1
WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- The host Jets scored four second-period goals in less than seven minutes, and Ondrej Pavelec made 30 saves as Winnipeg beat Philadelphia to snap a five-game losing streak.
Evander Kane, Grant Clitsome, Kyle Wellwood and Bryan Little scored for the Jets, who recently slipped from first place in the Southeast Division to 10th in the Eastern Conference.
Ruslan Fedotenko scored in the first period for the Flyers, who had a four-game winning streak end.
Winnipeg struggled in the first period when it was outshot 13-4.
After Flyers goalie Ilya Bryzgalov allowed four goals on 16 shots, he was replaced at the start of the third period by backup Steve Mason, who made his debut with Philadelphia. Mason stopped all nine shots he faced.
CAPITALS 4, PANTHERS 3
SUNRISE, Fla. -- Alex Ovechkin recorded his 12th career hat trick and added an assist, and surging Washington survived a late rally to beat Florida.
Ovechkin scored twice from in close on the power play, and weaved through traffic for his other goal, as the Capitals (19-17-2) improved to 8-2-1 in their last 11 games. Washington completed a four-game season sweep of the Panthers.
The Capitals, who scored at least five goals against Florida in their previous three games, struck quickly with a pair of goals from Mike Ribeiro and Ovechkin within 1:41 early in the second period.
Braden Holtby made 27 saves in posting his fifth career victory over the Panthers (12-20-6) without a loss.
The Panthers, who were seeking their fourth straight victory, rallied in the third period behind two goals from Tomas Kopecky and another by Peter Mueller.