Del Zotto's double fired the Rangers into a 4-0 lead, coming after goals from Marian Gaborik and Brad Richards, and put them within three wins of securing home advantage in the first three rounds of the play-offs.

Rene Bourque grabbed a late consolation for the Canadiens, but the day belonged to the Rangers as they secured their first 50-win season since 1994 with their fourth straight victory.

The win kept the Rangers five points ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins, who used four points from Sidney Crosby to beat the Buffalo Sabres 5-3 on Friday.

Crosby, who recently missed 11 months through concussion, had a goal and three assists the day after taking a puck in the face, while Evgeni Malkin, James Neal, Steve Sullivan and Jordan Staal also tallied.

The result bumped the Sabres out of the top eight and meant the Boston Bruins clinched a play-off place on their day off.

The Nashville Predators got their 500th franchise win - all of them under coach Barry Trotz - by beating the Detroit Red Wings 4-1.

Gabriel Bourque, Francis Bouillon, Alexander Radulov and Shea Weber scored for Nashville.

The Vancouver Canucks beat the Dallas Stars 5-2 to move within a point of the West-leading St Louis Blues.

Andrew Ladd scored after just 16 seconds of overtime to give the Winnipeg Jets a 4-3 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Los Angeles Kings were 4-1 winners over the Edmonton Oilers, the Colorado Avalanche saw off the Calgary Flames 4-1 and the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Florida Panthers by the same scoreline.