Canadiens complete Buffalo sweep
Alex Kovalev scored twice and Richard Zednik had a goal and an assist, leading the Montreal Canadiens to a 3-2 victory over the Sabres in Buffalo last night.
Saku Koivu and Andrei Markov each had two assists for Eastern Conference-leading Montreal, which beat Buffalo for the second night in a row.
Jose Theodore, who got a rare night off Friday, made 29 saves, including one with 14.8 seconds remaining that led to a pileup of players from both teams as the Canadiens' goalie kept the puck from crossing the line.
J.P. Dumont and Paul Gaustaud scored for the Sabres. Maxim Afinogenov assisted on both goals.
Kovalev scored his fifth of the season 5:03 in to put Montreal up, 1-0.
Senators 6, Islanders 0 -- Daniel Alfredsson scored his 13th and 14th goals of the season and also had an assist, and Dominik Hasek made 28 saves for his third shutout in host Ottawa's victory over New York.
Dany Heatley, Chris Neil, Martin Havlat, and Brian Smolinski also scored to help the Senators improve to 11-2-0 with their third straight victory.
Heatley, who also had an assist, has points in all 13 games the Senators have played, tying him with Marian Hossa for the franchise record. Heatley, acquired from Atlanta during the offseason, has 11 goals and 13 assists this season.
Hurricanes 2, Panthers 0 -- Rod Brind'Amour and Niclas Wallin scored third-period goals to lead host Carolina past Florida, extending the best start in franchise history.
Eric Staal added an assist to extend his scoring streak to eight games for the Hurricanes, who improved to 7-0 at home and extended the franchise record for consecutive home wins. Martin Gerber finished with 27 saves to earn his second shutout this season.
Rangers 3, Devils 2 -- Kevin Weekes made 23 saves in regulation and overtime, then stopped three more shots in the shootout, lifting New York over visiting New Jersey for a sweep of the two games.
Brian Gionta, the former Boston College star, provided all of New Jersey's offense with two second-period goals and he was the only one to beat Weekes in the NHL's new tiebreaker. The 5-foot-7-inch spark plug has four goals in a three-game scoring streak and leads the team with nine.
Stars 3, Avalanche 2 -- Marty Turco stopped 29 shots in regulation and overtime and made two more saves in a shootout, helping visiting Dallas end Colorado's four-game winning streak.
Sergei Zubov beat Avalanche goalie Peter Budaj to the glove side to open the first shootout in Dallas history, then Turco stopped Milan Hejduk, spinning around to block the shot with his back. Jussi Jokinen beat Budaj stick side at the other end, and Turco secured Dallas' third win in eight games by nearly doing the splits to stop Alex Tanguay with his skate.
Flyers 4, Thrashers 3 -- Simon Gagne had his second career hat trick and Peter Forsberg added a goal and two assists to lead Philadelphia past visiting Atlanta.
Maple Leafs 5, Lightning 3 -- Mats Sundin had a goal and an assist in his first game since sustaining serious eye injury, and host Toronto topped Tampa Bay.
Kings 3, Predators 2 -- Pavol Demitra and Jeremy Roenick scored in a shootout, helping host Los Angeles rally past Nashville.
Coyotes 4, Red Wings 1 -- Curtis Joseph made 36 saves in his first game in Detroit since leaving the Red Wings.
