Blackhawks rookie goaltender Antti Niemi needed to make just 17 saves to record his fifth career shutout.

Troy Brouwer added his 20th goal of the season for Central Division-leading Chicago, which holds an 11-point lead over second-place Nashville.

Simon Gagne and Mike Richards also scored for the Flyers, who snapped a two- game slide and pulled into a tie with Ottawa for fifth place in the Eastern Conference.

"We battled for 60 minutes," Hartnell said.

Ryan Johnson also scored for the Canucks, who improved to 3-1-0 on a five-game homestand and trail Chicago by three points for the second spot in the Western Conference.

Roberto Luongo made 32 saves for the victors.

Jason Arnott, Colin Wilson and Patric Hornqvist all recorded a goal and assist each for the Predators, who have won four in a row and pulled into a tie with the Kings for sixth place in the Western Conference with 85 points.

"In the first period both teams had chances, but we got those goals, and I think it kind of took the wind out of them," Rinne said. "We didn't let up after that and kept pushing the game." Josh Harding was pulled after allowing four goals on 26 shots through two periods.

Buffalo had lost 10 of its last 11 on the road, going 1-7-3 over that span, with the only victory coming in overtime against the Rangers. Additionally, the Sabres had dropped the first two contests of their current five-game trip, but Thursday built a 4-0 lead on the way to recording the victory.

Derek Roy finished with a goal and two assists for the Sabres, who had lost their last three overall. Ryan Miller made 23 saves.

The Coyotes picked up their 44th victory of the season to set a franchise record for wins in a season. The 1984-85 Winnipeg Jets recorded 43 victories.

Vrbata also scored in regulation for Phoenix, which has won seven in a row for the first time since December 28, 2006-January 7, 2007. The Coyotes sit in fourth in the West with 93 points.

After each team got a goal in the first round, Kulemin buried a wrister in the back of the net.

Jean-Sebastien Giguere then made a right pad save on Patrik Elias' low shot and John Mitchell sealed the win as he slammed on the brakes in front and snuck a backhand past Yann Danis.

Nik Antropov had two goals, while Jim Slater added a goal and an assist for the Thrashers, who have won two straight on the heels of a six-game losing streak.

Johan Hedberg stopped 36 shots in the win for Atlanta, which is now three points back of the Boston Bruins for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Tyler Kennedy, Alexei Ponikarovsky and Michael Rupp each scored once for the Penguins, who had lost three of four coming in.

Pittsburgh moved two points ahead of New Jersey for first place in the Atlantic Division, with the outcome of the Devils-Maple Leafs game still outstanding.

Eric Staal had a goal and an assist for the Hurricanes, who snapped a two-game skid and sit eight points behind Boston for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East. The Bruins lost 3-0 to the Penguins on Thursday.

Brett Carson and Chad Larose also scored for Carolina, which got 25 saves from Justin Peters.

Brad Boyes, Mike Weaver and Erik Johnson also scored for the Blues, who snapped a two-game slide and picked up a key victory in their chase for the playoffs.

St.

Wisniewski was given a minor penalty for charging early in the second period for a hard hit on Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook.

The force of the hit slammed Seabrook's head into the glass, and he was unconscious on the ice for a brief moment before he was brought back to the bench. He did not return for the remainder of Anaheim's eventual 4-2 victory.

Leightonleft the Flyers' 4-3 shootout loss at Nashville on Tuesday after falling backwards onto his leg while making a play late in the first period.

The 28-year-old's status had been reported as day-to-day by general manager Paul Holmgren during the game, but the team's website on Wednesday reported that Leighton was out of action for a few weeks.

Chicago will try to snap a three-game losing streak and recover from the loss of yet another defenseman tonight, when it takes on the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center.

The Blackhawks are two points behind the San Jose Sharks for the top seed in the Western Conference, but matched their longest losing streak of the season with last night's 4-2 setback to the Anaheim Ducks, a loss that was made worse with the early exit of Brent Seabrook to injury.

San Jose will try to halt a three-game slide this evening at GM Place against a Vancouver squad that will be without Mikael Samuelsson for the next few weeks.

The Canucks own a slight three-point lead over the Colorado Avalanche for first place in the Northwest Division, a margin that might be tough to hold onto without Samuelsson. The Swedish forward has a career-high 30 tallies and 53 points over 70 games this year, but Vancouver's second-leading goal scorer left Tuesday's 5-2 loss to the New York Islanders with an upper-body injury that will sideline him for two-to-three weeks.

One of the NHL's great success stories of the 2009-10 campaign, the Coyotes appear well on their way to their first postseason appearance since 2001-02 and enter tonight's clash riding a six-game winning streak. The surging club's most recent triumph, a 2-1 verdict over Tampa Bay on Tuesday, matched a franchise record for victories in a single season that was initially set by the 1984-85 Winnipeg Jets.

Phoenix, which has amassed an excellent 14-4-0 record since January 26, currently occupies the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference standings and has moved within five points of San Jose for the top spot.

The Flyers signed Ray Emery this past offseason to be their No. 1 netminder and also added Brian Boucher to serve as the backup. Emery, though, battled injuries throughout the season and is currently out with a hip problem and Boucher has struggled at times. That has left the bulk of the starting duties to Leighton, who was claimed off waivers from Carolina on Dec. 15.

Leighton responded by going 16-5-2 with a 2.48 goals-against average in 27 games with the Flyers, making his 15th straight start on Tuesday night at Nashville. The netminder did not finish the game, though, as he exited the first period with a high ankle sprain that has him day-to-day.

Buffalo enters the St. Pete Times Forum having lost 10 of its last 11 road tilts (1-7-3) and has dropped the first two tests of a current five-game trek. The Sabres had a string of eight consecutive defeats away from home -- a skid which matched the longest in franchise history -- snapped with a 2-1 overtime win over the New York Rangers on March 7.

After starting this road trip with an overtime setback to Detroit on Saturday, Buffalo came out on the short end of a 4-3 decision Tuesday in Atlanta. The loss was the third straight overall for the Sabres, who are just 6-11-4 since January 19.

The Wild look to continue their playoff push this evening at Bridgestone Arena versus the Predators, who currently hold the seventh spot in the Western Conference.

Minnesota needs a strong finish to the campaign if it wants to make the postseason for the fourth time in five seasons. The Wild have done just that, winning three straight for the first time since Jan. 23-28 while going 5-2-2 over their last nine games.

Toronto has gone 4-1-0 over its last five outings and won all three of its matchups on home ice during that period. The club just came back from consecutive road games and concluded the short trip with a 4-1 victory over the reeling Ottawa Senators Tuesday at Scotiabank Place.

Jonas Gustavsson made 30 saves for the Maple Leafs in a strong performance between the pipes, with Phil Kessel, John Mitchell, Mikhail Grabovski and Rickard Wallin all scoring goals to provide the offense.

Atlanta lost ground in the postseason race after a recent 0-5-1 stretch, but did manage to bounce back with a much-needed 4-3 home win over Buffalo on Tuesday. After allowing the Sabres to come back from an early 3-1 deficit, the Thrashers went ahead to stay on Jim Slater's goal with 6:44 remaining in the third period.

Tim Kennedy scored 7:02 into the final session to draw the Sabres even, but Atlanta moved back in front just over six minutes later after Niclas Bergfors' shot from the right boards hit off Slater's glove and trickled past Buffalo goaltender Patrick Lalime.

Ovechkin will complete a two-game suspension tonight while his Capitals visit the Carolina Hurricanes at RBC Center.

Despite Ovechkin's absence from Tuesday's contest at Florida, the Capitals slammed the host Panthers by a 7-3 score. Brooks Laich led the way for Washington with two goals and an assist.

The Rangers have 71 points and are three behind Boston for the eighth and final postseason berth in the East. Meanwhile, St. Louis is seven points back of Detroit for the Western Conference's last playoff berth.

Neither New York nor St. Louis helped their postseason chances on Tuesday, as they both dropped home contests in regulation.

Cooke is expected to be in the lineup tonight when Pittsburgh visits the Bruins and what should be a hostile crowd at TD Garden.

During Pittsburgh's 2-1 home victory over Boston on March 7, Savard suffered a Grade Two concussion on a blind-side hit to the head by Cooke.

Todd Marchant and Saku Koivu also tallied and Corey Perry added a pair of assists for the Ducks, who have won two in a row after losing five straight.

Jonas Hiller was strong in net, making 39 saves.