The Florida Panthers were pushed in their clash with the Pittsburgh Penguins, having taken the lead twice only to be pegged back on both occasions. Still, the hosts came out on top in a shootout.
After a scoreless opening 20 minutes, the Panthers opened the scoring 36 seconds after the restart as Gustav Forsling put his side in front with his sixth goal of the year.
The Penguins tied things up midway through the second frame as Sidney Crosby found the net five seconds into a power play. It would stay like that until 8:48 in the third period, where Matthew Tkachuk put Florida back in front with less than 10 seconds to go in their man advantage. But, Pittsburgh would tie it up again, also from a power play. Rickard Rakell scored with 40 seconds left in regulation to restore parity.
Overtime resolved nothing, with the hosts having more of the shots in the five-minute extra period. That led to a shootout, where the Panthers scored on their second and third attempts. The Penguins' two shooters both failed to beat Aaron Ekblad, resulting in the hosts' victory.
The victory sees the Panthers join the Toronto Maple Leafs on 50 points, good for fourth spot in the Eastern Conference. The Penguins remain tied for the final playoff spot.
In Chicago, the Blackhawks took care of the visiting Montreal Canadiens, defeating them 4-2.
It did not take long for the home team to get in front, as Tyler Bertuzzi got the puck into the goal 3:21 into the match. It would take until the end of the opening frame before Montreal tied things up, as Cole Caufield made the most of his chance.
Nick Foligno then put the Blackhawks ahead 7:05 into the second period. That would be the first of two goals he would get in the game. His marker was the only one of the middle period before Patrick Maroon doubled his team's advantage in the early stages of the final period. Emil Heineman cut the deficit back to one with 10:15 left to play, giving Montreal some home.
However, that hope would be dashed with less than five to play, as Foligno got his second to ensure that Chicago came away with the two points. Despite outshooting the hosts 58-44. The Canadiens just could not get the better of their opponents on the night.
Chicago remain in dead last in the Western Conference despite picking up their 13th victory of the season (11th in regulation). For the Habs, who stay three points back of the playoff spots in the East, the defeat put an end to their three-game winning streak.
The St. Louis Blues shut out the Ottawa Senators 4-0 in an impressive home win.
It took them 7:26 in the period for Brayden Schenn to score the game's opening goal. Brandon Saad added a second with 4:10 left in the opening period, putting the home side in a commanding position.
Despite mustering 12 shots in the second period, Ottawa could not put the puck past Jordan Binnington, who stood strong in the St. Louis goal. With 6:45 left in the second, Saad scored once more to make it 3-0. Despite scoring just four times on the season before the match, the 32-year-old would not be done there. He got his hat-trick with less than two minutes left in the final period to put a cap on what was a wonderful victory for the Blues.
St. Louis take sole possession of 10th in the West, two points back of the Vancouver Canucks. The result was their fourth win in their last five. As for the Senators, who fell to defeat for the fourth time in their last five, they cling to the final place in the East
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