The Edmonton Oilers broke out with four unanswered goals in the third period to sting Winnipeg in a 5-3 victory Monday that prevented the Jets from moving to the top of the Southeast Division. Visiting Winnipeg for the first time in 17 years, the Oilers fell 2-1 behind after two periods but exploded into life with a quartet of goals from Ryan Jones, Lennart Petrell, Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle. Edmonton goalie Devan Dubnyk made 29 saves in a solid display as the Oilers (25-31-6) won for the third time in four games. “That was a strong (third) period by us,” Hall told reporters. “We took over, and that's what we have to do when we're down. You can tell that this was an important two points (to Winnipeg). The atmosphere in this building was playoff-like.” The Oilers' triumph cost the Jets a chance to catch the idle first-place Florida Panthers, who are two points clear in the Southeast. Despite the defeat, Winnipeg (30-27-8) remains in eighth place in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Blues 3, Flames 1: Jason Arnott scored two power-play goals and host St. Louis moved into a tie with Detroit atop the Central Division. David Backes also scored for the Blues, who are 9-3 in their last 12 games and just 2 points behind Vancouver for first place in the Western Conference. Avalanche 4, Ducks 1: Ryan O'Reilly broke a tie 37 seconds into the third period for host Colorado. Cody McLeod, Matt Duchene and Jay McClement also scored for the Avalanche, and Semyon Varlamov stopped 27 shots. Colorado has won four in a row to move into a tie with Dallas for the eighth and final playoff spot in the West. Predators 2, Kings 1: Pekka Rinne made 30 saves, and Roman Josi and Patric Hornqvist scored for host Nashville, which has won four of five. Los Angeles, which has lost five of six, had defeated the Predators in its last three trips to Nashville. It was Rinne's 35th victory this season, tops in the league and a career high for him. In another game New York Rangers beat New Jersey 2-0. Nash stays put The NHL Deadline Day frenzy turned into Dud-line Day as the trade window closed Monday with only a handful of mostly minor deals. The day began with the spotlight on Columbus where the last place Blue Jackets were eager to consummate a blockbuster deal involving their All-Star forward Rick Nash. Several teams reportedly made pitches for the Blue Jackets captain but in the end the asking price was simply too rich, leaving Nash, who requested the trade, in Columbus until at least the offseason.
