Vanek's two goals boost Buffalo, 4-2
NEWARK, N.J. - Thomas Vanek scored his NHL-leading 23d and 24th goals to help the Buffalo Sabres beat the New Jersey Devils, 4-2, last night.
NEWARK, N.J. - Thomas Vanek scored his NHL-leading 23d and 24th goals to help the Buffalo Sabres beat the New Jersey Devils, 4-2, last night.
Derek Roy scored the go-ahead goal midway through the third period, and Drew Stafford added a goal in the Sabres' fourth win in their last five games.
Patrick Lalime, making his first appearance in seven games, had 20 saves. Lalime improved to 2-4-1, ending a personal five-game winless streak.
Patrik Elias and Bobby Holik scored for New Jersey. The Devils had won four in a row and nine of their previous 10 games.
Vanek got Buffalo rolling 1 minute, 10 seconds into the game, steering in the rebound of Jochen Hecht's backhander off Kevin Weekes' pads.
It was a milestone goal for Buffalo: the 10,000th in franchise history.
In the second period, Elias and Holik scored for New Jersey before Stafford knotted the game at 2.
After taking a drop pass from Brian Gionta, Elias beat Lalime from the left circle 58 seconds in. Holik put the Devils ahead by 2-1 with his first goal of the season at 5:09. Holik was playing in his fourth game after missing 18 because of a broken pinkie.
The Sabres cashed in the first power play of the game as Stafford buried Nathan Gerbe's rebound at 11:05.
Buffalo 1 1 2 – 4
New Jersey 0 2 0 2
First period:
1, Buffalo, Vanek 23 (Hecht, Pominville), 1:10.
Penalties:
None.
Second period:
2, New Jersey, Elias 13 (Gionta, White), :58. 3, New Jersey, Holik 1 (Clarkson, Rupp), 5:09. 4, Buffalo, Stafford 6 (Gerbe, Numminen), 11:05 (pp).
Penalties:
Oduya, NJ (high-sticking), 10:20; Mair, Buf, major (fighting), 11:49; Leach, NJ, major (fighting), 11:49.
Third period:
5, Buffalo, Roy 9 (Spacek, Kotalik), 8:43 (pp). 6, Buffalo, Vanek 24 (Roy, Sekera), 12:54.
Penalties:
Mair, Buf (cross-checking), 8:04; Holik, NJ (roughing), 8:04; Elias, NJ (tripping), 8:31.
Shots on goal:
Buffalo 8-18-834. New Jersey 7-9-622.
Power-play opportunities:
Buffalo 2 of 2. New Jersey 0 of 0.
Goalies:
Buffalo, Lalime 2-4-1 (22 shots-20 saves). New Jersey, Weekes 2-4-0 (34-30).
Referees:
Ian Walsh, Tim Peel.
Linesmen:
Darren Gibbs, Brian Murphy.
A:
15,713 (17,625).
T:
2:19.
Kings 3, Wild 1
LOS ANGELES - Erik Ersberg made 33 saves, Anze Kopitar and Michal Handzus scored on power plays, and Los Angeles handed Minnesota its fourth straight loss.
Kings forward Alexander Frolov scored his 13th goal into an empty net with 26 seconds left.
Minnesota 0 0 1 – 1
Los Angeles 1 0 2 3
First period:
1, Los Angeles, Kopitar 10 (Brown, O'Sullivan), 15:08 (pp).
Penalties:
Reitz, Min (charging), 4:51; Zidlicky, Min (interference), 14:31; D.Gauthier, LA (interference), 15:42.
Second period:
None.
Penalties:
Clutterbuck, Min (high-sticking), 6:06; Quincey, LA (holding stick), 12:25; Bouchard, Min (tripping), 18:42.
Third period:
2, Los Angeles, Handzus 7 (Simmonds, Greene), 2:58. 3, Minnesota, Burns 5 (Belanger, Zidlicky), 18:07 (pp). 4, Los Angeles, Frolov 13 (Brown, Doughty), 19:34 (en).
Penalties:
Zidlicky, Min (holding), :59; Frolov, LA (interference), 7:00; Harrold, LA (roughing), 16:57.
Shots on goal:
Minnesota 9-8-1734. Los Angeles 14-17-1243.
Power-play opportunities:
Minnesota 1 of 4. Los Angeles 1 of 5.
Goalies:
Minnesota, Backstrom 14-10-1 (42 shots-40 saves). Los Angeles, Ersberg 8-5-2 (34-33).
Referees:
Dennis LaRue, Mike Leggo.
Linesmen:
Lyle Seitz, Jay Sharrers.
A:
14,857 (18,118).
T:
2:25.
Bruins 4, Thrashers 2
BOSTON - Phil Kessel had a goal and an assist to extend his points streak to 15 games - the best in the NHL this season - and Michael Ryder scored twice to carry Boston past Atlanta.
It was the 11th consecutive home victory for the Bruins, their longest streak in 26 years.
Manny Fernandez stopped 20 shots to win his eighth straight and improve to 6-0 with a 1.67 goals-against lifetime against the Thrashers.
Dennis Wideman also scored for Boston, which has won 16 of its last 19 overall to move to the top of the Eastern Conference standings.
Atlanta 1 0 1 – 2
Boston 2 1 1 4
First period:
1, Boston, Kessel 19 (Krejci, Lucic), 6:00 (pp). 2, Boston, Ryder 9 (Wheeler, Krejci), 13:43. 3, Atlanta, Oystrick 3 (White), 19:22.
Penalties:
Valabik, Atl (holding), 4:05; Reasoner, Atl (hooking), 15:20; Havelid, Atl (hooking), 15:44.
Second period:
4, Boston, Wideman 7 (Hunwick, Kessel), 18:16 (pp).
Penalties:
Valabik, Atl, minor-major (roughing, fighting), 16:14; Chara, Bos, minor-major-misconduct (instigator, fighting), 16:14; Kozlov, Atl (interference), 18:06.
Third period:
5, Boston, Ryder 10 (M.Stuart, Krejci), 15:48. 6, Atlanta, Reasoner 5 (Enstrom, Oystrick), 17:40.
Penalties:
Wheeler, Bos (holding), 2:11; Kovalchuk, Atl (hooking), 7:35; Kobasew, Bos (slashing), 11:31; Armstrong, Atl (roughing), 14:03; Hnidy, Bos (roughing), 14:03.
Shots on goal:
Atlanta 7-5-1022. Boston 14-7-829.
Power-play opportunities:
Atlanta 0 of 2. Boston 2 of 5.
Goalies:
Atlanta, Hedberg 5-6-2 (29 shots-25 saves). Boston, Fernandez 9-2-1 (22-20).
Referees:
Dean Morton, Chris Lee.
Linesmen:
Greg Devorski, Dan Schachte.
A:
17,565 (17,565).
T:
2:20.
Capitals 2, Canadiens 1
MONTREAL - Mikael Nylander scored with 3 minutes, 32 seconds left in the third period, and Simeon Varlamov stopped 32 shots in his NHL debut to help Washington nip Montreal.
Nylander put a shot from behind the goal line into the net off goalie Jaroslav Halak's pad.
Nicklas Backstrom gave Washington a 1-0 lead with his 10th goal on a power play midway through the first.
Patrice Brisebois tied it in the second period with his second goal in two games for Montreal.
Washington 1 0 1 – 2
Montreal 0 1 0 1
First period:
1, Washington, Backstrom 10 (Ovechkin, Semin), 10:19 (pp).
Penalties:
Brashear, Was (hooking), 7:40; Gorges, Mon (roughing), 10:10; Laich, Was, major (fighting), 14:41; O'Byrne, Mon, major (fighting), 14:41; Washington bench, served by Ovechkin (too many men), 18:11.
Second period:
2, Montreal, Brisebois 3 (Tanguay, Lang), 15:25.
Penalties:
Ovechkin, Was, double minor (high-sticking), 3:18; Green, Was (hooking), 9:02; Semin, Was (hooking), 14:13; Sloan, Was (roughing), 15:14; Kovalev, Mon (high-sticking), 15:14; Kostopoulos, Mon (roughing), 15:14.
Third period:
3, Washington, Nylander 3 (Giroux, Kozlov), 17:28.
Penalties:
Kovalev, Mon (slashing), 1:05; Green, Was (slashing), 2:24; Lang, Mon (high-sticking), 8:24; Backstrom, Was (interference), 8:29.
Shots on goal:
Washington 11-9-626. Montreal 6-13-1433.
Power-play opportunities:
Washington 1 of 4. Montreal 0 of 8.
Goalies:
Washington, Varlamov 1-0-0 (33 shots-32 saves). Montreal, Halak 3-4-1 (26-24).
Referees:
Bill McCreary, Dan O'Rourke.
Linesmen:
Jonny Murray, Steve Miller.
A:
21,273 (21,273).
T:
2:20.
Blue Jackets 3, Isles 1
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Rookie Steve Mason made 24 saves as Columbus handed New York its sixth loss in a row.
Fredrik Modin, Jason Chimera and Andrew Murray scored to help the Blue Jackets win their fourth straight home game. The Blue Jackets improved to 7-2-1 against the Islanders since joining the NHL in 2000-01.
Richard Park had the only goal for the Islanders, who were winless on a four-game road trip and have also lost their last six games away from home.
Mason ran his record to 8-4-1 since coming to the big club after playing only three games in the minors in his first year as a professional.
N.Y. Islanders 0 1 0 – 1
Columbus 0 2 1 3
First period:
None.
Penalties:
Umberger, Clm (goaltender interference), 16:36.
Second period:
1, Columbus, Modin 6 (Nash, Tyutin), 4:01 (pp). 2, Columbus, Chimera 7 (Commodore), 18:06. 3, N.Y. Islanders, Park 5 (Hilbert, Campoli), 19:50 (sh).
Penalties:
Streit, NYI (holding), 3:08; Nash, Clm (hooking), 4:59; Thompson, NYI (elbowing), 18:21.
Third period:
4, Columbus, Murray 4 (Voracek, Russell), 10:47.
Penalties:
Methot, Clm (slashing), 13:11; Streit, NYI (cross-checking), 16:17; Voracek, Clm (diving), 16:17.
Shots on goal:
N.Y. Islanders 8-7-1025. Columbus 14-11-1035.
Power-play opportunities:
N.Y. Islanders 0 of 3. Columbus 1 of 2.
Goalies:
N.Y. Islanders, J.MacDonald 10-14-2 (35 shots-32 saves). Columbus, Mason 8-4-1 (25-24).
Referees:
Chris Rooney, Don Van Massenhoven.
Linesmen:
Ryan Galloway, Mark Shewchyk.
A:
15,443 (18,144).
T:
2:18.
Rangers 3, 'Canes 2
NEW YORK - Henrik Lundqvist stopped all five shots in the shoot-out, and Chris Drury scored the only goal in the tiebreaker to lift New York over Carolina.
Drury beat Cam Ward with a deke to his backhand, and Lundqvist stopped Justin Williams to give New York its third win in seven games - all post-regulation victories. Lundqvist pumped his arm and smacked the left post in celebration.
He made 29 saves in his NHL-leading 17th win.
Carolina 1 1 0 0 – 2
N.Y. Rangers 2 0 0 0 3
N.Y. Rangers won shoot-out, 1-0.
First period:
1, N.Y. Rangers, Naslund 12 (Gomez, Zherdev), 7:27 (pp). 2, Carolina, Ruutu 10 (Gleason, E.Staal), 7:49. 3, N.Y. Rangers, Betts 4 (Sjostrom, Mara), 16:55 (sh).
Penalties:
Bayda, Car (roughing), 6:25; Seidenberg, Car (holding), 9:13; Mara, NYR (interference), 11:03; Gomez, NYR (holding), 12:33; Redden, NYR (high-sticking), 15:43.
Second period:
4, Carolina, Whitney 10 (Walker, Brind'Amour), 7:19.
Penalties:
None.
Third period:
None.
Penalties:
Rozsival, NYR (tripping), :23; Pitkanen, Car (high-sticking), 3:19; Drury, NYR, double minor (high-sticking), 4:52; Gomez, NYR (interference), 6:11; Ruutu, Car (hooking), 9:01; Redden, NYR (delay of game), 14:22; Walker, Car (tripping), 18:13.
Overtime:
None.
Penalties:
None.
Shoot-out:
Carolina 0 (Cullen NG, Samsonov NG, Whitney NG, E.Staal NG, Williams NG), N.Y. Rangers 1 (Naslund NG, Zherdev NG, Sjostrom NG, Gomez NG, Drury G).
Shots on goal:
Carolina 10-10-5-631. N.Y. Rangers 10-8-9-229.
Power-play opportunities:
Carolina 0 of 8. N.Y. Rangers 1 of 5.
Goalies:
Carolina, Ward 8-7-3 (29 shots-27 saves). N.Y. Rangers, Lundqvist 17-9-2 (31-29).
Referees:
Paul Devorski, Mike Hasenfratz.
Linesmen:
Derek Nansen, Anthony Sericolo.
A:
18,200 (18,200).
T:
2:36.
Senators 2, Lightning 0
OTTAWA - Martin Gerber made 24 saves for his first shutout of the season in Ottawa's victory over Tampa Bay.
Alexandre Picard opened the scoring with a power-play goal at 5 minutes, 4 seconds of the first period, and Daniel Alfredsson added an empty-net goal with 45 seconds left.
The Lightning were coming off a 3-1 victory in Montreal on Thursday night that snapped their nine-game losing streak. Tampa Bay is 7-15-8 overall and 2-8-4 since interim coach Rick Tocchet took over for the fired Barry Melrose.
Mike Smith stopped 31 shots for Tampa Bay.
Tampa Bay 0 0 0 – 0
Ottawa 0 1 1 2
First period:
None.
Penalties:
Prospal, TB (boarding), 1:13; Konopka, TB, major (fighting), 7:10; Neil, Ott, major (fighting), 7:10; Szczechura, TB (holding), 9:15; Heatley, Ott (cross-checking), 17:33.
Second period:
1, Ottawa, Picard 3 (Bell, Zubov), 5:04 (pp).
Penalties:
Eminger, TB (tripping), 2:45; Craig, TB (high-sticking), 3:09; Kuba, Ott (interference), 6:42; Spezza, Ott (hooking), 11:00; Phillips, Ott (goaltender interference), 12:50; Jokinen, TB (tripping), 19:14.
Third period:
2, Ottawa, Alfredsson 8 (Kuba, Fisher), 19:15 (en).
Penalties:
Krajicek, TB (tripping), 1:49; Vermette, Ott (high-sticking), 2:57; Ranger, TB (interference), 6:25; Tampa Bay bench, served by Artyukhin (too many men), 13:49; Ranger, TB, 20:00.
Shots on goal:
Tampa Bay 9-8-724. Ottawa 7-10-1633.
Power-play opportunities:
Tampa Bay 0 of 5. Ottawa 1 of 8.
Goalies:
Tampa Bay, M.Smith 5-11-7 (32 shots-31 saves). Ottawa, Gerber 2-5-1 (24-24).
Referees:
Wes McCauley, Brad Meier.
Linesmen:
Derek Amell, Lonnie Cameron.
A:
18,446 (19,153).
T:
2:28.
Predators 3, Stars 0
NASHVILLE - Dan Ellis made 27 saves for his second shutout in his last six games, and Joel Ward scored twice as Nashville topped Dallas.
Ellis has allowed only three goals in his last three starts. He has eight career shutouts, two against the Stars, the team that drafted him.
Ward skated in from the right side and faked a shot to draw Stars goalie Tobias Stephan out of the net. Ward then backhanded a shot that went into the goal behind Stephan's back at the 4-minute, 27-second mark of the first period.
Dvid Legwand scored at 7:05 of the third period. He skated in front of the goal mouth and put a shot between Stephan's pads.
Dallas 0 0 0 – 0
Nashville 1 0 2 3
First period:
1, Nashville, Ward 4 (Dumont, Hamhuis), 4:27.
Penalties:
Peverley, Nas (holding), 13:50.
Second period:
None.
Penalties:
Suter, Nas (high-sticking), 6:10; Niskanen, Dal (holding), 8:46; Dumont, Nas (high-sticking), 8:46; Weber, Nas (tripping), 13:34; Hutchinson, Dal (holding), 15:37.
Third period:
2, Nashville, Legwand 6 (Smithson, Tootoo), 7:05. 3, Nashville, Ward 5 (Bonk, Suter), 18:34 (en).
Penalties:
Conner, Dal (tripping), :45; Smithson, Nas (slashing), 3:07.
Shots on goal:
Dallas 11-8-827. Nashville 15-12-1138.
Power-play opportunities:
Dallas 0 of 4. Nashville 0 of 2.
Goalies:
Dallas, Stephan 1-2-0 (37 shots-35 saves). Nashville, Ellis 9-11-3 (27-27).
Referees:
Steve Kozari, Kevin Pollock.
Linesmen:
Pierre Racicot, Mark Wheler.
A:
15,426 (17,113).
T:
2:15.
Red Wings 5, Coyotes 4
GLENDALE, Ariz. - Johan Franzen scored his second goal of the game with 19.9 seconds left to force overtime, and Henrik Zetterberg and Jiri Hudler scored in a shoot-out to give Detroit the win over Phoenix.
Chris Osgood made three saves in the shoot-out, the last a pad save on Shane Doan's attempt to secure the victory - Detroit's fifth in six games.
Detroit 1 2 1 1 – 5
Phoenix 1 1 2 0 4
Detroit won shoot-out, 2-1.
First period:
1, Detroit, Zetterberg 14 (Holmstrom, Datsyuk), :33. 2, Phoenix, Lindstrom 2 (Hanzal, Boedker), 19:33.
Penalties:
Carcillo, Pho (roughing), 14:24.
Second period:
3, Phoenix, Doan 14 (Jovanovski), 1:47 (pp). 4, Detroit, Franzen 12, 6:37 (sh). 5, Detroit, Holmstrom 8 (Rafalski, Datsyuk), 10:17 (pp).
Penalties:
Holmstrom, Det (slashing), :44; Lidstrom, Det (tripping), 5:36; Klee, Pho (hooking), 9:54; Hossa, Det (goaltender interference), 15:38.
Third period:
6, Phoenix, Boedker 6 (Lindstrom), 10:30 (pp). 7, Phoenix, Reinprecht 7 (Jovanovski, Mueller), 15:20. 8, Detroit, Franzen 13 (Hossa, Zetterberg), 19:39 (pp).
Penalties:
Kronwall, Det (hooking), 6:31; Filppula, Det (hooking), 8:54; Samuelsson, Det (slashing), 12:23; Jovanovski, Pho (roughing), 12:23; Michalek, Pho (delay of game), 18:37.
Overtime:
None.
Penalties:
None.
Shoot-out:
Detroit 2 (Datsyuk NG, Zetterberg G, Franzen NG, Hudler G), Phoenix 1 (Mueller G, Lindstrom NG, Turris NG, Doan NG).
Shots on goal:
Detroit 9-15-12-238. Phoenix 7-11-9-128.
Power-play opportunities:
Detroit 2 of 3. Phoenix 2 of 5.
Goalies:
Detroit, Osgood 12-1-4 (28 shots-24 saves). Phoenix, Bryzgalov 10-11-2 (38-34).
Referees:
Kerry Fraser, Greg Kimmerly.
Linesmen:
Brad Lazarowich, Vaughan Rody.
A:
16,339 (17,125).
T:
2:46.