The Eastern Conference’s longest winning streak switched benches on Saturday night.

The Toronto Maple Leafs grinded out a 3-2 shootout win, their third straight, to snap the Montreal Canadiens’ six-game streak. John Mitchell scored the winning goal in the shootout and Jonas Gustavsson sealed it with three saves in the skills competition to go with 25 in regulation.

With nothing to play for but pride, the Maple Leafs have won seven of their last nine. They’re 3-1 in shootouts in March and 2-0 in overtime games this month.

“We’re a confident group in here,” Mitchell said. “We’re young. We’re having a lot of fun right now. Overtime and the shootout were kind of our nemesis earlier in the season, but things have turned for us in the past few weeks. We’re just going to ride this as long as we can. It’s great for our team, especially the young guys.”

In other Maple Leafs news, defenseman Jesse Blacker signed a three-year entry level contract with the Leafs. The 18-year-old Blacker, selected 58th overall by Toronto last year, will report to the Marlies in the AHL.

For the Canadiens, the outcome would have been different had the NHL’s second-best power play looked like its usual self. Montreal is converting 23.4 percent of its man-advantage shifts this season but only went 1-for-6 Saturday.

The Habs can still claim a streak of seven consecutive games with a point and, like Toronto, have won seven of nine since the Olympic break. Both of their losses have been by a single goal.

Much of their success can be attributed to the play of goaltender Jaroslav Halak. An Olympic starter for Slovakia, Halak has lowered his goals-against average to 2.46 and improved to 23-10-3 on the season (6-0-1 since the break).

Halak was impressive in stopping 31 shots Saturday, including this first-period gem on Nikolai Kulemin:
 

The Senators’ losing streak reached a season-long five games on Saturday in Dallas with a 5-4 loss to the Stars. Jason Spezza recorded a hat trick in the loss. ... Ottawa was making its first trip to Dallas since Dec. 7, 2007, and only its second since the 2003-04 season ... G Pascal Leclaire started and took the loss. He hasn't won a game since Jan. 3 ... The Senators wrap up their road trip Monday in Montreal against the Canadiens. … Owner Eugene Melnyk admitted an interview with the team’s Web site that “this is not the team we had before the Olympics,” but cast a vote of confidence in the team’s ability to make the playoffs. … D Brian Lee was re-assigned to the club’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Binghamton Senators. Lee played six games with Ottawa since his most recent recall on Feb. 25, recording no points and four penalty minutes. … An American collector paid $33,000 at a Quebec auction for an Ottawa Senators sweater worn 83 years ago by pioneering NHL great Frank Nighbor — the inaugural winner of two of the league's top awards, and a member of the last Ottawa team to win the Stanley Cup.

The Sabres snapped a three-game losing streak Thursday in Tampa, crushing the Lightning 6-2 on the strength of a Jason Pominville hat trick. The fun continued Saturday with a 3-1 win over the Florida Panthers. … The team met on Wednesday and Thursday, and head coach Lindy Ruff said his players got the message. … The six-goal output was their second-highest this season. … Newly-acquired forward Raffi Torres entered Saturday’s game against Florida ranked 12th in the NHL in shooting percentage, scoring on 19 of 109 shots, or 17.4 percent. … G Ryan Miller entered the game ranked first in the NHL in save percentage (.929) and second in goals-against average (2.21).

 

The much-anticipated revenge on Pittsburgh’s Matt Cooke was exacted on Cooke’s first shift of the game Thursday in this fight with Bruins forward Shawn Thornton. Cooke’s blindside hit left Bruins forward Marc Savard with a Grade 2 concussion; Savard is expected to miss the rest of the season. … Boston's power play is 1 for 16 in six games since the injury to Savard, who scored six of his 10 goals with the man advantage. … Marco Sturm is one of several Bruins battling the flu, according to the Associated Press. Sturm The left wing was limited to 11:14 of playing time against the Penguins on Thursday, as his point drought reached four games. … Asked who would get the bulk of the starts in net down the stretch, head coach Claude Julien told ESPN.com, "I always say we're going to need both of them at some point, but right now I think Tuukka (Rask) has really played well and he's been deserving of those starts. That doesn't take anything away from Timmy (Thomas). You really have to have two goaltenders to step up for you at this stage of the year. We're in a position where we can't afford to have any bad nights.”

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