Boston
Boston won three of four games in the season series against Buffalo.
Rask was looking for his first shutout of the season, but former Bruins’ defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen beat him with a wrist shot on the glove side with 2:38 left in regulation.
Sabres star Jack Eichel missed his second straight game with an upper-body injury. He’s expected to be re-evaluated early next week.
Linus Ullmark made 39 saves for Buffalo, which has won just once in its last five games.
The Sabres pulled Ullmark with just over a minute left for an extra skater, but were unable to get a shot on goal.
Backes played in his first game after serving a three-game suspension for an illegal check to the head on New Jersey Devils forward Blake Coleman.
Wagner had a goal wiped out when Sean Kuraly was called for goaltender interference 20 seconds into the game, but the Boston winger scored just under 10 minutes later, firing a wrist shot past Ullmark’s glove to make it 1-0.
Backes made it 2-0 when he finished off a 2-on-1 break by sending a wrist shot under the cross bar two minutes into the second period.
Boston forward Jake DeBrusk didn’t shy away from a question after the morning skate when asked if it was too early to be called an important game between the clubs, which entered tied for third in the Atlantic Division.
“No, I think anytime you play a division team it’s a big game,” he said. “These games mean a lot towards the end of the year.”
The Bruins then went out and dominated in the second period, holding the Sabres to just two shots on goal in the opening 15-plus minutes. Boston had a 13-10 edge in shots in an entertaining first period filled with high-energy rushes. Rask was solid in the first and third, controlling rebounds and cutting down angles on most of the shots.
Rask made a nice glove stop on Jeff Skinner’s backhander from the edge of the crease late in the second. He also made a right-pad stop on Skinner’s close bid early in the third.
Flames 3, Flyers 2
Philadelphia
Matthew Tkachuk tied it at 3 with 4:17 left in regulation, and then assisted on Brodie’s fifth of the season.
Philadelphia’s Jordan Weal turned the puck over in the Flyers’ offensive zone to set up a 2-on-1 break. Tkachuk sent a cross-ice pass to Brodie, who beat Carter Hart to give the Pacific Division leaders the win.
Johnny Gaudreau scored his 24th goal for the Flames, whose 56 points are tops in the Western Conference. David Rittich made 32 saves after missing the previous two games with a lower-body injury.
Wild 4, Senators 3
Ottawa
Jordan Greenway and Zach Parise also scored for the Wild (20-17-3), who improved to 2-0 on a four-game trip. Devan Dubnyk stopped 24 shots.
The Senators (15-22-5) dropped their seventh consecutive game.
Predators 4, Canadiens 1
Montreal
Mattias Ekholm and Viktor Arvidsson also scored for Nashville. P.K. Subban had two assists. Juuse Saros stopped 27 shots in place of Pekka Rinne, who played Friday in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings.
Shea Weber scored against his former team for the Canadiens. Carey Price made 28 saves as Montreal lost for the first time in three games.
Maple Leafs 5, Canucks 0
Toronto
John Tavares, Andreas Johnsson, Trevor Moore and Igor Ozhiganov also scored as the Maple Leafs snapped a two-game skid that followed a five-game winning streak. Hutchinson got his fourth career shutout and the first since Oct. 28, 2016, when he was with Winnipeg.
Blue Jackets 4, Panthers 3 (ot)
Sunrise, Fla.
Brandon Dubinsky, Josh Anderson and Anthony Duclair also scored for the Blue Jackets. Sergei Bobrovsky made 27 saves. The Blue Jackets have won seven of their past nine games.