SUNRISE, Fla. – Olli Jokinen scored a power-play goal 7:12 into the third period, stretching the Florida Panthers’ winning streak to a season-high six and handing the New York Rangers their first regulation loss in more than a month, 3-2 on Friday night.

The Rangers had been 10-0-3 since a 4-1 home loss to Anaheim on Feb. 7.

Florida’s winning streak is the third longest in team history.

Rostislav Olesz and Jassen Cullimore also scored for Florida, which is making a push for a spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Panthers have 76 points, three fewer than eighth-place Philadelphia.

Dan Girardi and Scott Gomez scored for the Rangers, sixth in the East with 83 points.

Florida’s Tomas Vokoun stopped 30 shots, two more than Henrik Lundqvist of the Rangers. Jokinen’s goal was his first in nine games. With Martin Straka in the penalty box for hooking, Steve Montador took a shot from the point that Lundqvist couldn’t glove. Jokinen dug the puck out of a crowd in front and scored his 31st of the season.

Blackhawks 6, Jackets 3

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Cam Barker, Patrick Kane and Andrew Ladd paced Chicago with a goal and an assist each, and the Blackhawks snapped a four-game losing streak by beating the Columbus Blue Jackets 6-3 Friday night.

Duncan Keith, Dave Bolland and Dustin Byfuglien also scored for Chicago, who jumped to a 3-0 lead in the first period. Patrick Lalime made 29 saves.

Fredrik Modin, Dan Fritsche and Rick Nash tallied for the Blue Jackets, who have won only one of nine home games.

Nash, playing his first game since being named Blue Jackets captain, cut Columbus’ deficit to 4-3 at 7:15 of the third period with his team-leading 36th goal. Byfuglien pushed Chicago’s lead back to two goals three minutes later with his 17th.

Ladd made it 6-3 with a power-play goal with 3:23 remaining.

Barker scored his fifth of the season at 1:00 of the opening period on the Blackhawks’ first shot. His drive from a tough angle at the boards near the left circle got over goalie Pascal Leclaire.

Capitals 4, Thrashers 1

WASHINGTON – Brooks Laich scored two goals and Alex Ovechkin and Matt Cooke each had a goal and an assist to lead the Washington Capitals to a 4-1 win over the Atlanta Thrashers on Friday night.

Laich, who had never scored twice in his first 214 NHL games, has multigoal efforts in three of the past nine.

Ovechkin, the NHL leader in goals and points, gave Washington a 4-1 lead with his 57th goal and 99th point. He assisted on Laich’s first of the night.

The Capitals outshot the Thrashers 37-12 and continue to hold out hope of making the playoffs for the first time since 2003.

Laich’s second goal gave the Capitals a 2-1 lead. He tapped the puck past goalie Kari Lehtonen in a mad scramble in front of the Atlanta net. The puck crossed the line an instant before the net was dislodged. After a consultation, the goal was allowed.

Sabres 7, Hurricanes 1

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Derek Roy had two goals and an assist, giving new life to the Buffalo Sabres’ playoff hopes in a 7-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night. The Sabres scored four goals on their first seven shots, snapping a four-game skid (0-2-2) and creeping within two points of eighth-place Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

NBA

Hawks 117, Clippers 93

ATLANTA – Joe Johnson scored 21 of his 28 points in the third quarter and Mike Bibby handed out 14 assists to help the Atlanta Hawks beat the Los Angeles Clippers 117-93 on Friday night.

Josh Smith added 25 points for the Hawks, who stopped a two-game losing streak and won for just the second time in eight games.

Tim Thomas scored 18 points for Los Angeles, which has dropped two straight and 10 of 12.

The Clippers never came within single digits of the lead after Zaza Pachulia’s putback for Atlanta made it 30-19 late in the first quarter.

Leading the Hawks in scoring for the seventh straight game, Johnson surpassed 20 points for the 39th time this season. He was 7-for-9 from the field in the third quarter, including 6-for-6 on 3-point attempts.

Magic 103, Heat 94

MIAMI – Jameer Nelson scored 21 points, Dwight Howard added 18 points and 16 rebounds, and the Orlando Magic held off a serious Miami challenge to beat the Heat 103-94 on Friday night and move closer to clinching an Eastern Conference playoff spot.

Hedo Turkoglu scored 20 points, including five within an 18-second span of the final minute, for the Magic, who trailed by nine late in the first half and never shook the woebegone Heat, who lost for the 34th time in 37 games.

The Magic swept the four-game series with their Sunshine State neighbors for the second straight season.

Jason Williams scored 34 points – the second-highest total of his career – for Miami, which was without coach Pat Riley, who is spending a few days on the road at college tournaments scouting potential draft picks, and the now-customary seven injured players.

, including Shawn Marion, who sat out with a sore back.

And for a while, it looked like interim coach Ron Rothstein and the Heat were going to pull off a stunner.

But in the end, it was just another close loss for Miami, which has dropped its last four games by an average of four points.