Francis milestone powers Hurricanes

Ron Francis scored his 545th goal, passing Maurice Richard for 20th place on the NHL's career list, and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Maple Leafs, 2-1, last night in Toronto.

Erik Cole also scored a power-play goal for the Hurricanes, who have won just two of their last 10 games. Leafs backup goalie Mikael Tellqvist made his third straight start in place of the injured Ed Belfour.Belfour has missed nine of the last 10 games because of a back injury.

Canadiens 4, Rangers 1 -- Jose Theodore made 31 saves in snapping his five-game losing streak, and Saku Koivu had a goal and two assists, helping visiting Montreal past New York. The Canadiens, tied for seventh in the Eastern Conference, lead the 12th-place Rangers by 13 points. With 20 games remaining, it appears New York will miss the playoffs for the seventh straight year.

Theodore was 0-5 with an .873 save percentage since playing in the All-Star Game.

Red Wings 1, Oilers 1 -- Nicklas Lidstrom's goal midway in the third period lifted visiting Detroit to a tie with Edmonton. The point gave Detroit a share of first place in the overall NHL standings with the idle Ottawa Senators.

Kings 3, Predators 0 -- Ian Laperriere had his second consecutive two-goal game and Cristobal Huet made 21 saves for his fourth career shutout in host Los Angeles's victory over Nashville. The Kings jumped from ninth in the Western Conference standings into a sixth-place tie with Nashville and are 11-1-2 in their last 14 games against the Predators.

Mighty Ducks 1, Coyotes 1 -- Jean-Sebastien Giguere made 37 saves in his season-high eighth straight start, and visiting Anaheim tied Phoenix. Daymond Langkow scored and Brian Boucher made 23 saves for the Coyotes, who are 2-9-2-1 in their last 14 games.

Lightning 6, Capitals 3 -- Martin St. Louis sparked a four-goal third period with a goal and two assists as visiting Tampa Bay rallied to beat Washington.

Sharks 4, Blue Jackets 2 -- Jonathan Cheechoo scored the first of his two third-period goals on a penalty shot in host San Jose's victory over Columbus.