NHL ROUNDUP : Sharks Close In on Playoff Spot, Win to Open Lead Over Ducks

Jeff Norton, Sergei Makarov, Ray Whitney and Gaetan Duchesne all scored goals within a span of 2 minutes 27 seconds of the first period Tuesday night as the Sharks neared their first trip of the NHL playoffs with a 9-4 victory over the Winnipeg Jets at San Jose.

The Sharks lengthened their lead over the Mighty Ducks to 10 points and the Kings to 12 in the race for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Makarov kept up the blitz in the second period, scoring his 29th and 30th goals to complete the hat trick as the Sharks extended their lead to 8-2 with only 15 shots.

New Jersey 5, Montreal 2--Stephane Richer scored the 300th goal of his career at East Rutherford, N.J., where the Devils cracked the 100-point mark for the first time in franchise history.

New Jersey extended its unbeaten streak to seven games (6-0-1).

Detroit 6, Hartford 2--Sergei Fedorov scored twice and Ray Sheppard got his 50th goal to help the Red Wings win at home and go two points ahead of idle Toronto and into sole possession of first place in the Central Division and Western Conference.

New York Islanders 2, Washington 2--Marty McInnis scored a power-play goal with 2:45 to play in the third period at Washington and the Islanders ended a two-game losing streak.

New York Rangers 4, Philadelphia 3--Alexei Kovalev scored his second goal of the game with 36 seconds to play to lift the Rangers at Philadelphia.