Sabres Vs. Canadiens: Nathan Gerbe Scores Twice As Buffalo Rebounds, Wins 2-0

After blowing a big lead in Nashville over the weekend, Ryan Miller and the Buffalo Sabres came back with a vengeance against the division-rival Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night.

Miller stopped all 31 shots he faced as Buffalo beat the Habs, 2-0, to keep pace in the Eastern Conference playoff race with a seriously important two points. Nathan Gerbe scored both goals for the Sabres, which included an empty netter late in the third.

It's even more important given the fact that ninth-place Carolina held up with a 4-3 win against the Ottawa Senators, meaning that Buffalo holds on to the three-point edge they hold on the final playoff spot.

Hurricanes 4, Senators 3: As mentioned, the Canes topped the Senators on four straight goals after falling in an early 2-0 hole. Erik Karlsson brought the Sens within one with about five minutes left, but that was all she wrote.

Predators 3, Oilers 1: David Legwand and Ryan Suter each had multi-point nights as Nashville won again to gain some more breathing space in the Western playoff race. They've played more games than most of the competition, but they're three points north of the eighth spot as things stand after Tuesday's action.

Islanders 5, Lightning 2: Of all the teams in the thick of playoff contention in the Eastern Conference, Tampa and fellow middle-dweller Montreal were the only ones to lose a game on Tuesday night. The Isles netted five against their old friend, Dwayne Roloson and Al Montoya made 36 saves for in one of the most bizarre role reversals we've seen all year.

Coyotes 2, Blues 1: More points for Phoenix. Lauri Korpikoski and Radim Vrbata each contributed to the Coyotes two second period goals, erasing a Blues lead and moving within a point of San Jose for the Pacific lead in the process.

Rangers 1, Panthers 0: Goalie duel? Goalie duel. Henrik Lundqvist stole one for the Rangers, making 22 saves on 22 shots. Brandon Dubinsky scored the only goal of the evening on Tomas Vokoun, who made 32 saves in the loss.

Leafs 3, Wild 0: In a battle of recently deposed playoff contenders (okay, not officially, but let's be real about it), the Leafs put the Wild down even further in the dumps with a convincing shutout win. They only put 17 pucks on the Minnesota net, but James Reimer made 29 saves in the Toronto crease.