Tampa Bay in clincher

Tampa Bay goalie Ben Bishop had two assists, Vladislav Namestnikov scored two goals, and the Lightning clinched an Eastern Conference playoff berth with a 5-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Monday night.

Bishop started plays that set up breakaway goals by Namestnikov and Jonathan Drouin in the second period. Nikita Kucherov and Anton Stralman also scored for Tampa Bay, which trails Atlantic Division-leading Montreal by one point.

Bishop, who made 25 saves, is the first goalie with two assists in a game since Buffalo's Ryan Miller did it on Feb. 25, 2014. The NHL record of three was set by Calgary's Jeff Reese against San Jose on Feb. 10, 1993.

Canucks 4, Blues 1 - Radim Vrbata had a goal and assist and Eddie Lack made 23 saves as visiting Vancouver opened a four-game trip with a victory over struggling St. Louis.

The Blues missed a chance to clinch a playoff spot with a victory. St. Louis has lost two straight at home and has one win its last six games overall.

Shawn Matthias also scored for Vancouver, which strengthened its hold on second place in the Pacific Division.

Blackhawks 4, Kings 1 - Defensemen Duncan Keith and Niklas Hjalmarsson scored 1 minute, 4 seconds apart in the second period as host Chicago beat Los Angeles.

Marian Hossa added a goal and an assist as the Blackhawks won their second straight game in as many nights and pulled within a point of the second-place Blues in the Central Division.

Flames 5, Stars 3 - Jiri Hudler, Raphael Diaz and Johnny Gaudreau scored within a span of 6 minutes, 49 seconds of the second period, and visiting Calgary held on for a victory over Dallas.

The third-place Flames moved three points ahead of Los Angeles in the Pacific Division.

-Associated Press