Jeff Carter had the first hat trick of his NHL career Friday and Philadelphia scored five times in the first period en route to a wild 8-5 victory over Toronto. The Flyers, who had lost three out of four coming into the contest, moved past Carolina into fourth place in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Mark Recchi's 18th and 19th goals of the season Saturday helped the Boston Bruins win a wild 7-5 contest against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The contest was tied 3-3 after the first period but Boston scored four times in the second to build a 7-4 lead.

Tim Connolly's 15th and 16th goals of the season helped the Buffalo Sabres record a crucial 5-3 win over Toronto Friday. Buffalo rose to 80 points but is 10th in the Eastern Conference playoff chase. Connolly scored at 9:39 of the first and 3:30 of the second.

The Toronto Maple Leafs, led by Alexei Ponikarovsky's two goals and two assists Saturday, recorded a 5-2 win over the slumping Montreal Canadiens. Ponikarovsky scored his 20th and 21st goals in the second period, one on the power play, and assisted on first period goals by Nikolai Kulemin and Mikhail Grabovski. Jason Blake scored his 25th goal of the season on the power play at 4:21 of the third.

Nikolai Kulemin produced the only shootout goal Wednesday and Toronto spoiled the coaching debut of John Tortorella in downing the New York Rangers 2-1. The Rangers' recent woes cost Tom Renney his job Monday and their fortunes were no better with Tortorella behind the bench.