Steve Ott scored the winner in the sixth round of the shootout as Buffalo took a 5-4 win over Toronto on Thursday. Ott came flying in on his chance and was able to tuck a backhand between the right post and Toronto goaltender James Reimer for the lead. Ryan Miller then preserved the win by stopping Clarke MacArthur's backhand offering. Christian Ehrhoff had a goal and two assists, Tyler Ennis gave a goal and an assist and Jason Pominville and Marcus Foligno also scored for the Sabres, who have won two straight. Miller stopped 30 shots in the win. Nazem Kadri had two goals and an assist for the Maple Leafs, who have lost six of seven, while Tyler Bozak and Mikhail Grabovski also scored. Reimer finished the loss with 32 stops.

Final Score: Montreal 5, NY Islanders 2

Uniondale, NY (Sports Network) - The Montreal Canadiens got some unexpected help from a team that had given them fits recently. Brian Gionta ignited a third-period scoring spree that carried the Canadiens to a 5-2 win over the New York Islanders at Nassau Coliseum. Gionta snapped a 2-2 tie 48 seconds into the final frame, then rookie Brendan Gallagher and P.K. Subban scored goals separated by 33 seconds that the Islanders had put in their own net. Subban also had a power-play tally in the second period and Michael Ryder scored with the man advantage as well for the Canadiens, who improved to 14-1-4 in their last 19 games. Montreal had dropped three straight games to the Islanders, including a 6-3 setback on March 5 - the lone regulation loss during its impressive stretch. Tomas Plekanec, Max Pacioretty and David Desharnais each had two assists for the Canadiens, who got a 25-save effort from Carey Price as well. John Tavares and Lubomir Visnovsky supplied the goals for New York, which has given up a combined 10 third-period goals in its last three games. Montreal native Kevin Poulin was beaten five times on 29 shots in his second start of the season for the Islanders.

Final Score: Florida 3, NY Rangers 1

New York, NY (Sports Network) - Jacob Markstrom made 44 saves in a sensational performance between the pipes that enabled the Florida Panthers to record a 3-1 victory over the New York Rangers for the team's first win streak of the season. Brian Campbell had a power-play goal in the first period and Scottie Upshall scored in the second for Florida, with Tomas Kopecky adding an empty-netter near the end and Markstrom making the lead stand by turning back 17-of-18 shots over the final 20 minutes. The Panthers, fresh off Tuesday's 4-1 decision at Carolina that halted a six-game skid, had not prevailed in back-to-back outings since winning five in a row from Mar. 11-20 of last season. Marian Gaborik had a late goal for the Rangers, who had a two-game win streak snapped despite outshooting Florida by a 45-23 margin. Henrik Lundqvist stopped 21-of-23 chances in the setback.

Final Score: New Jersey 4, Carolina 1

Raleigh, NC (Sports Network) - The return of goaltender Martin Brodeur sparked New Jersey on Thursday; just not in the way the Devils are accustomed to seeing. Brodeur, who had missed the last 13 games due to back soreness, was credited with his third career goal and posted 17 saves in the Devils' 4-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena. Brodeur's marker staked New Jersey to a 1-0 lead, while Adam Henrique, Peter Harrold and Andrei Loktionov each followed with a tally to help the Devils snap a three-game slide. Jeff Skinner netted the lone Carolina goal, while Dan Ellis was charged for all four goals on 22 shots in the Hurricanes' fifth straight setback.