ANAHEIM, California (AP) Anaheim continued its sharp lift in performance with a 2-1 victory over NHL-leading Montreal on Monday, with Ducks goaltender John Gibson making 39 saves.
The Ducks had lost three in a row before wins against division leaders San Jose and Montreal and remain within a point of the Sharks in the Pacific Division.
Chicago stretched its lead in the Central with a shootout victory against Florida, as did the New York Rangers in the Metropolitan with a tight victory over Carolina, while Columbus cruised past Tampa Bay.
Anaheim goalie Gibson was stellar in net, fending off his first 38 shots before Montreal, having pulled its goalie, got a goal from Andrew Shaw with two minutes left.
Richard Rakell and defenseman Cam Fowler scored the Ducks against Canadiens goalie Carey Price, who made 36 saves.
Chicago’s Richard Panik and Artemi Panarin scored in the shootout to give the Blackhawks a 2-1 win against Florida.
Panik also scored in regulation in Chicago’s first home game in 16 days, following a seven-game road trip.
Florida returned to the ice for the first time since coach Gerard Gallant was fired after a loss at Carolina on Sunday. Interim replacement Tom Rowe took charge for the Panthers, whose goal came from veteran Jaromir Jagr in the third period.
New York’s Jimmy Vesey scored the tiebreaking power-play goal with 5:12 remaining to lift the Rangers to a 3-2 victory over Carolina.
Rick Nash had a goal and an assist while Nick Holden also scored to help the Rangers snap a four-game skid at home.
Hurricanes defenseman Ron Hainsey received a double-minor for hooking and an unsportsmanlike misconduct with 6:47 to go and Vesey took advantage 95 seconds later.
Viktor Stalberg scored twice in the first period in his return to New York for the first time since leaving the Rangers to sign with Carolina in the offseason.
Columbus’ Josh Anderson had a goal and two assists as the Blue Jackets thrashed Tampa Bay 5-1.
Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 26 shots, Scott Hartnell had a goal and an assist, and William Karlsson, Alexander Wennberg and Sam Gagner also scored for the Blue Jackets, who are 8-1-1 in their past 10 home games.
Valtteri Filppula scored for the Lightning with less than 3 minutes left to spoil the shutout.
Buffalo’s Jack Eichel had a goal and an assist in his season debut to lead the Sabres to a 5-4 win at Ottawa.
Eichel had missed the first 21 games after spraining his left ankle ahead of the Sabres’ season opener
Ryan O’Reilly scored twice for the Sabres, while Kyle Okposo and Sam Reinhart also had goals.
Mike Hoffman had three goals and an assist for the Senators, and Mark Stone also scored in his 200th NHL game.
Philadelphia’s Shayne Gostisbehere scored in the ninth round of a shootout to lift the Flyers over Boston 3-2.
Defenseman Michael Del Zotto and center Claude Giroux scored in regulation for the Flyers.
David Krejci and Brad Marchand had the goals for the Bruins.
Toronto notched only its second road win of the season with a 4-2 victory at Edmonton, with Auston Matthews scoring his 10th goal of the season.
Winnipeg’s Mark Scheifele and Patrik Laine each scored their 13th goal of the season to help the Jets edge New Jersey 3-2.
Detroit’s Anthony Mantha scored the go-ahead goal midway through the second period and the Red Wings defeated Dallas 3-1.
Vancouver’s Sven Baertschi scored his second of the night with 2:35 left in regulation as the Canucks downed Minnesota 5-4.
San Jose’s Brent Burns scored a power-play goal 19 seconds into overtime, giving the Sharks a 2-1 win against Arizona.
Nashville’s Ryan Johansen and Austin Watson each had a goal and an assist to lead the Predators past Colorado 5-3.
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