Streaking Sabres leap over capitals

Ryan Miller stopped 44 shots, Drew Stafford scored two goals, and the surging Buffalo Sabres beat Washington, 5-1, Tuesday night to climb over the host Capitals and into the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. It was the fifth straight win for the Sabres, their longest streak since a six-game run in 2009-2010. Buffalo was in 14th place Feb. 17 before going on a 14-2-4 tear. “It was a great team effort, and the perfect time to do it,’’ Miller said. Buffalo took a 3-0 lead early in the second period and coasted home behind Miller, who’s 14-1-3 over his last 18 games, surrendering only 32 goals in that span. The Sabres have 86 points, 2 more than Washington and 2 fewer than seventh-place Ottawa. All three teams have five games left. Rangers 3, Wild 2 - Ruslan Fedotenko’s go-ahead goal in the third period gave New York a road victory and a 3-point lead over Pittsburgh in the tightened Eastern Conference playoff race. The Rangers won for only the third time in their last nine road games. Islanders 5, Penguins 3 - Frans Nielsen scored twice and New York won in Pittsburgh for the first time in more than four years. Michael Grabner, David Ullstrom, and Kyle Okposo also scored, and Josh Bailey had three assists to help the Islanders end Pittsburgh’s 10-game home winning streak with ease. Pittsburgh’s Marc-Andre Fleury gave up five goals on 18 shots before being replaced in the third by Brad Thiessen. Devils 2, Blackhawks 1 - Travis Zajac and Patrik Elias scored in a shootout and Martin Brodeur made 37 saves and stopped four of five shooters to spark New Jersey to victory in Newark, N.J. Brodeur made a sprawling stop on Andrew Shaw to end the contest and snap a two-game winless slide for New Jersey, which has a 4-point lead on Ottawa in the race for sixth place in the Eastern Conference. Blues 3, Predators 0 - Brian Elliott made 24 saves for his third straight shutout - pushing his franchise-record scoreless streak to 186 minutes 33 seconds - and Jamie Langenbrunner broke a scoreless tie in the second period to lead host St. Louis. The Blues improved to 30-4-4 at home and have an NHL-leading 105 points. Panthers 3, Canadiens 2 - Wojtek Wolski scored in regulation and added the only goal of the shootout to give visiting Florida the victory and a 5-point lead over Washington for first place in the Southeast Division. Hurricanes 3, Maple Leafs 0 - Cam Ward stopped 32 shots as Carolina eliminated host Toronto from playoff contention.