UPDATE 1-NHL-Highlights of Saturday's National Hockey League games

(Adds late games) March 14 (The Sports Xchange) - Highlights of Saturday's National Hockey League games: - - - Canadiens 3, Islanders 1 Tomas Plekanec and Max Pacioretty scored in the second period to give the Montreal Canadiens a two-goal lead en route to a 3-1 road win over the slumping New York Islanders. The Canadiens, who had lost four of their previous five games, remained level on points with the New York Rangers atop the Eastern Conference with the win. The Islanders dropped their third straight home game for the first time this season. - - - Rangers 2, Sabres 0 Goalie Mackenzie Skapski made 20 saves for a shutout in just his second NHL game and the New York Rangers blanked the Buffalo Sabres 2-0. Defenseman Keith Yandle and winger Martin St. Louis scored for the Rangers (43-17-7). - - - Wild 3, Blues 1 In a potential Central Division playoff preview, the Minnesota Wild scored twice in 17 seconds with a little more than six minutes to play en route to a 3-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues. Nino Niederreiter and Kyle Brodziak scored the decisive goals as the Wild came from behind after giving up the game's first goal. - - - Blackhawks 6, Sharks 2 The Chicago Blackhawks scored four unanswered goals in the third period to beat San Jose 6-2 and dent the Sharks' dwindling hopes of qualifying for the playoffs for an 11th straight season. The Blackhawks scored twice inside the first five minutes of the third period through Brandon Saad and Bryan Bickell. - - - Jets 2, Lightning 1 A five-minute boarding penalty and a costly turnover helped the road-tough Winnipeg Jets rally from a goal down in the third period, surprising the division-leading Tampa Bay Lightning with a 2-1 win. Nikita Kucherov gave Tampa Bay the lead but went from hero to villain with 11:59 left on a hit close to the boards on Jets defenseman Toby Enstrom. - - - Bruins 2, Penguins 0 A deflected first-period goal and a late empty-netter gave the Boston Bruins their fifth straight victory, a 2-0 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, who played without Sidney Crosby. The Pittsburgh center was a late scratch after feeling ill during warm-ups. - - - Panthers 2, Hurricanes 0 Brandon Pirri's second-period goal held up and goalie Dan Ellis stopped 27 shots for his 15th career shutout as the Florida Panthers remained in the chase for the postseason with a 2-0 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes. The Panthers (31-23-14) stayed six points out of the Eastern Conference playoffs with 14 games remaining, trailing Washington and Boston for the final two wild-card positions. - - - Flyers 7, Red Wings 2 Six Philadelphia players scored, including Brayden Schenn who notched two, leading the Flyers to a 7-2 rout of the Detroit Red Wings, who lost for the fourth time in five games. The scoring barrage was a welcome sight for the Flyers, who had scored only five goals total in their previous four games, all losses. - - - Canucks 4, Maple Leafs 1 Derek Dorsett scored a goal and added two assists as the Vancouver Canucks continued their home-ice dominance of the Toronto Maple Leafs with a 4-1 victory. The Canucks have not lost against Toronto at home since November 2003. - - - Devils 4, Coyotes 1 Goaltender Cory Schneider stopped 30 shots as the New Jersey Devils beat the Arizona Coyotes 4-1. In two games against the Coyotes this season, Schneider has stopped 68 of 69 shots. - - - Predators 2, Kings 1 Viktor Stalberg scored the go-ahead goal in the third period, rallying the Nashville Predators to a 2-1 road victory over the Los Angeles Kings. Goaltender Pekka Rinne recorded 23 saves for his 200th career win, leading the Predators (43-20-7) to only their second win in the last nine games. - - - Avalanche 3, Flames 2 Alex Tanguay had a goal and an assist, goaltender Semyon Varlamov made 29 saves and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Calgary Flames 3-2. David Jones and Lance Bouma had a goal and an assist each for the Flames, who lost in regulation for the first time in March. (Compiled by Andrew Both; Editing by Peter Rutherford)