Wild Finish Is Costly for Oilers

Pierre-Marc Bouchard scored the tying goal and Brian Rolston got the winner in the third period Tuesday night as the Minnesota Wild rallied and defeated host Edmonton, 3-2, dealing a setback to the Oilers’ drive for a spot in the playoffs.

Edmonton had a 2-1 lead entering the third period.

“To let it slip like that is disappointing,’ Edmonton defenseman Chris Pronger said.

The Oilers are battling for a Western Conference playoff berth with nine games remaining.

“It’s another example that you have to take care of every aspect of our game,” Oiler Coach Craig MacTavish said. “Otherwise it ends up being a loss.”

Columbus 4, San Jose 1 -- Rick Nash scored two goals and the Blue Jackets tied the franchise record for wins by beating the Sharks at Columbus, Ohio.

Columbus won its third in a row and at 29-40-3 matched the 2002-2003 team’s victory total (29-42-8-3). The loss was costly for the Sharks, who entered the final game of a five-game trip with a chance to move up in the Western Conference.

Phoenix 5, Nashville 3 -- Curtis Joseph made 28 saves for his 424th career victory and the Coyotes defeated the Predators at Glendale, Ariz.

Toronto 3, Philadelphia 2 -- Alexei Ponikarovsky and Alex Steen scored early in the third period and Jean-Sebastien Aubin made 28 saves in his second start to lead the Maple Leafs past the Flyers at Philadelphia.

Montreal 2, New York Islanders 0 -- Cristobal Huet made 36 saves and Chris Higgins scored his third goal in two games to lead the Canadiens to a victory at Montreal.

New Jersey 3, Ottawa 2 -- Scott Gomez scored the only goal of a shootout to lift the Devils to a victory at Ottawa.