NHL: 3 stories from Sunday night

Three Canadian teams battled for position in a crowded playoff race, with Calgary gaining ground, Ottawa slipping behind and Winnipeg remaining in the thick of things despite a loss.

Here are three stories from Sunday night:

Flames back in the hunt

The Calgary Flames were on a mission to reclaim a spot in the postseason after falling a point behind the Kings in the Western Conference race.

A series sweep of the Nashville Predators in a 5-2 victory on Sunday night did the trick, at least for the time being.

With 89 points, Calgary now occupies the third spot in the Pacific division and is only two points behind the Vancouver Canucks for second.

Flames rookie Michael Ferland scored in the second period for his first NHL goal, which also happened to stand as the game-winner.

Lance Bouma scored twice, including an empty net goal with 30 seconds remaining.

Senators fall without Hammond

The Ottawa Senators dropped their third straight in a 4-2 loss to the Florida Panthers that keeps them outside of the playoff picture.

Their defeat coupled with the Bruins' overtime victory put Ottawa three points away from the final wild card spot in the East.

The Senators have been struggling to regain the magic they lost when Andrew Hammond was dealt his first regulation loss in a 5-1 pounding by the Rangers on Thursday.

Hammond rode the bench again for Sunday's match after sitting out Saturday's loss in Toronto, as Ottawa opted to start Craig Anderson.

Florida's Jaromir Jagr opened the scoring in the second and added his 15th of the year by coaxing Anderson out of the net for the game-winning goal .

Jets not hurt by loss

Despite a 4-3 loss at the hands of the Chicago Blackhawks, the Winnipeg Jets remain in the final wild card spot.

Winnipeg is only two points ahead of a hungry Los Angeles team that has been hot on the heals of that final position for weeks.

However, things were looking up for the Jets with the return of Mathieu Perreault, who missed 16 games due to a lower back injury.

The 27-year-old had no impact on the scoresheet, but will likely add in the next few games to the eight minutes and 40 seconds of ice time he played Sunday.

Chicago stole the victory in a back and forth game that was ultimately decided by Jonathan Toews' 25th goal of the season with only 31 seconds remaining.