Oilers and Flames Tie, Cushion Lead

The Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames both added a point to cushion their lead over the Kings in the Western Conference playoff race as they played to a 2-2 tie at Edmonton on Monday night.

Rem Murray scored late in the second period to pull the Oilers even. The Oilers are 0-4-5 in overtime games at home.

San Jose 1, Montreal 1--The Canadiens outshot the Sharks, 44-17, at Montreal but had to settle for a tie as Steve Shields starred in goal for the Sharks, who solidified their hold on seventh place in the Western Conference.

Tampa Bay 6, New York Rangers 3--Colin Forbes scored two goals in his debut as the Lightning damaged the Rangers’ playoff hopes by winning at Tampa, Fla.

The Rangers’ Wayne Gretzky returned from a neck injury earlier than expected, but did not score in 15 shifts totaling 11:15.

Gretzky had been sidelined since Feb. 26.

Philadelphia 3, Toronto 1--The Flyers, playing aggressively around the Maple Leaf net and running into goalie Curtis Joseph often, got three second-period goals to win at Toronto.

Eric Lindros, who scored his 40th goal of the season to get his 600th career point, said the Flyers won’t make apologies. “That’s the way we play. We cycle the puck and rotate it,” he said. “That’s how we get a lot of goals. We have to crash the net.”

St. Louis 5, Carolina 2--Michel Picard scored two goals, had an assist and needed 12 stitches as the Blues beat the Hurricanes at St. Louis.

After the game Picard had his chin and forehead stitched where he was struck with a stick on one play and the puck on the other.

“It’s no big deal,” Picard said. “It’s all part of the game.”