Predators Making Move in the West

If the standings are any indication, the Nashville Predators are already in playoff form.

Steve Sullivan led eight scorers with a goal and three assists, and the Predators moved up to fifth in the Western Conference by routing the Phoenix Coyotes, 8-2, on Saturday night in Arizona.

The Predators were eighth until they beat the Ducks in overtime Friday night to move ahead of St. Louis. They improved two more spots with their second win in two trips to the new Glendale Arena, advancing past idle Dallas and Calgary, which lost at Ottawa.

“We knew we could leapfrog them,” Sullivan said. “We’re trying to put ourselves in a good position. We don’t want to let it come down to the last five or six games. We want to try -- if we can -- to get a cushion, get really nice and thick into the middle of things.”

The score was a season high for the Predators, who won their third straight and improved to 4-1-1 since ending a three-game losing streak. It also was a season worst for the Coyotes, 2-9-1-1 in their last 13 games.

“It can only go up from rock bottom,” forward Jeff Taffe said.

Nashville’s Tomas Vokoun had 24 saves -- 22 between Fredrik Sjostrom’s goal on the Coyotes’ first shot 34 seconds in and a power-play goal by Taffe with 6:33 left.

“You get a score against on the road, in the first minute of the game, it could have easily been the other way around, but there’s a lot of character in this locker room,” Sullivan said.

New Jersey 7, New York Rangers 3 -- Scott Gomez scored two goals and added three assists for the second time in three games, and Patrick Elias had four points to lead the Devils to an easy victory over the host Rangers.

Philadelphia 5, Atlanta 4 -- Simon Gagne scored on a penalty shot with 1:01 left, leading the Flyers over the visiting Thrashers. The penalty shot was awarded after Atlanta defenseman Andy Sutton shot a loose stick on the ice toward Gagne, who was skating near the boards with the puck.

New York Islanders 4, Buffalo 1 -- Shawn Bates and Adrian Aucoin each had a goal and assist to help the Islanders beat the Sabres. Arron Asham and Cliff Ronning also scored for New York, 6-0-2-0 in its last eight home games.

Edmonton 4, Vancouver 3 -- Defenseman Eric Brewer scored at 3:56 of overtime to give the host Oilers a victory over the Canucks.

Ottawa 2, Calgary 1 -- Martin Havlat scored 2:26 into the third period, lifting the Senators over the visiting Flames. Ottawa is undefeated in regulation in its last eight games (5-0-1-2).

Boston 3, Carolina 3 -- Brian Rolston scored with 7:19 left in the third period to give the Bruins a 3-3 tie with the host Hurricanes.

Glen Murray scored twice off assists from Joe Thornton to help Boston complete a seven-game trip at 4-0-1-2 and earn at least a point in its 12th straight game.

Toronto 5, Montreal 4 -- Backup goalie Mikael Tellqvist remained undefeated, and Matt Stajan and Tom Fitzgerald scored and had an assist in the Maple Leafs’ victory over the visiting Canadiens.

Tellqvist, a 24-year-old rookie, made 27 saves to improve to 5-0-2 this season.

Florida 2, Washington 2 -- Robert Lang scored his team-leading 28th goal and assisted on Sergei Gonchar’s goal to help the host Capitals tie the Panthers.