MONTREAL - Michael Ryder had a goal and an assist as the Canadiens jumped over the Devils into sixth in the East with a 3-2 victory Saturday.
Both teams have 90 points, but Montreal holds the tiebreaker with two more wins.
Ryder, who leads all rookies with 59 points, made it 1-0 7:34 into the second when he took the puck and moved off the right boards to fire a quick shot past Martin Brodeur, who failed to earn his 400th win for the second straight night.
Dowd made it 2-0 2:52 into the third when Ryder's shot deflected off him and into the net.
Down 3-0 in the second, Colorado scored twice during a power play that resulted from Wade Belak's ejection for slashing Ossi Vaananen in the head. Vaananen was shaken up but stayed on the bench. Belak was given a match penalty for attempting to injure, which carries an automatic review by the league.
Mats Sundin gave Toronto a 4-2 lead by scoring on a one-timer from in front of the net with 10 seconds left in the second.
SABRES 2, PANTHERS 1: Miroslav Satan and Derek Roy scored for visiting Buffalo, which moved within four of the Islanders for the East's final playoff spot. Satan made it 1-0 with a power-play goal 6:29 in with a slap shot from about 10 feet inside the blue line. It became 2-0 when Roy put in the rebound of Jeff Jillson's shot from the right point.
'CANES 3, SENATORS 2 (OT): Bret Hedican scored with 59.3 seconds left for visiting Carolina. Josef Vasicek tied it for the Hurricanes when he scored a disputed goal with 8:58 left. He redirected Sean Hill's shot from the point with his skate. After a video review, the goal stood.
FLYERS 3, RANGERS 0: Robert Esche made 24 saves for his third shutout of the season for host Philadelphia. New York, winless in five (0-4-0-1), was eliminated from playoff contention for the seventh consecutive season.
The Flyers took the lead 4:11 in when Claude Lapointe came out of the penalty box and put in a rebound of Patrick Sharp's shot. Simon Gagne made it 2-0 with 6:41 left in the first by redirecting Tony Amonte's pass with his skate then grazing the top of the puck with his stick.
STARS 3, BLUES 1: Stu Barnes scored the go-ahead goal with 12:04 left for Dallas, which extended its franchise-record, home-unbeaten streak to 17.
Barnes made it 2-1 when he scored from low in the right circle after a setup by Pierre Turgeon. It became 3-1 27 seconds later when Jere Lehtinen converted Mike Modano's cross-ice pass.
CAPITALS 2, THRASHERS 2: Andy Sutton scored his second power-play goal of the game with 35.2 seconds left for visiting Atlanta. Washington's Craig Johnson missed on a breakaway with 2:44 left in overtime.
Heart problem sidelines Dallas defenseman
DALLAS - Stars defenseman Teppo Numminen has a heart condition and is out indefinitely. He has a dilated aorta, one of the large blood vessels leaving the heart, general manager Doug Armstrong said Saturday.
Numminen, who has had a heart murmur since childhood and been previously diagnosed with aortic valve disease, experienced an irregular heart pattern during Thursday's game. Tests Friday revealed the dilated aorta.
Team internist John Brooks said Numminen's condition is "stable" and he's in no immediate danger, although future surgery is possible.
He will have more extensive tests during the next two weeks that could determine his future.
Numminen, 35, from Finland, has played in the second-most games of any European with 1,157. In 59 games this season, he has three goals and 13 assists.
