Briere, Sabres get quick jump on Lightning
Daniel Briere had three goals, including two during a three-goal first period, as the Eastern Conference-leading Buffalo Sabres beat the Lightning, 4-1, last night at Tampa.
Briere completed his first career hat trick from in-close with 7:39 to play.
Buffalo also got a goal from Chris Drury, who has a four-game goal-scoring streak. The Sabres, coming off a 7-4 defeat to Washington Saturday, have not lost consecutive games this season.
Vincent Lecavalier scored for the Lightning, who have lost four in a row. He has a goal in four straight games.
After Lecavalier scored 53 seconds into the game, Briere tied it at 7:17. Drury put the Sabres ahead at 10:34 before Briere made it 3-1 with 2:45 left in the first.
Drury's goal during a three-on-one came after Buffalo goalie Ryan Miller stopped an in-close chance by Brad Richards. Briere's second goal in the first was set up by Jochen Hecht, who stole the puck from Richards in the Tampa zone.
Thrashers 5, Maple Leafs 2 -- Vyacheslav Kozlov scored two of Atlanta's five goals in the third period at Toronto as Atlanta rallied for its fifth straight win.
Marian Hossa scored his league-leading 21st goal. Glen Metropolit also scored and had two assists for the Thrashers.
Darcy Tucker and Michael Peca scored for the Maple Leafs, who have lost five straight and were booed off the ice.
Metropolit tipped in a shot in front of the net at 3:56 of the third. After Toronto defenseman Hal Gill turned the puck over at the blue line, Kozlov tied it at 2 with a slap shot at 7:14 of the third.
Kovlov gave Atlanta the lead at 11:27 of the third after Metropolit checked Alex Steen before making a pass from behind the net to Kozlov, who is tied with Tucker for the league lead with 12 power-play goals.
Red Wings 5, Blues 1 -- Pavel Datsyuk got his first goal in 16 games and added an assist as Detroit spoiled the retirement of Brett Hull's jersey in St. Louis.
Datsyuk assisted on Henrik Zetterberg's team-leading ninth goal 2:34 into the game and gave the Red Wings a 2-0 lead with his fourth goal about two minutes later. Daniel Cleary made it three goals on 12 shots later in the first, chasing goalie Manny Legace.
Panthers 3, Penguins 2 -- Olli Jokinen's first road goal of the season helped Florida stop a six-game losing streak.
Minutes after Sidney Crosby tied the game at 2-2 in the third period with a highlight-reel goal for Pittsburgh, Jokinen's slap shot from above the right circle on a power play won it for Florida.
Jokinen and Gary Roberts each had a goal and an assist and Ruslan Salei had two assists in Florida's first victory since beating the Bruins, 3-2, Nov. 20.
Wild 3, Blackhawks 2 -- Pierre-Marc Bouchard scored the winning goal in a shootout as host Minnesota snapped a four-game losing streak. Brian Rolston and Todd White also scored for the Wild and goalie Manny Fernandez stopped 27 shots for his first victory since Nov. 11.
Brandon Bochenski scored his first goal of the season and Bryan Smolinkski added a shorthanded goal for Chicago.
Flames 3, Hurricanes 0 -- Miikka Kiprusoff made 23 saves and Daymond Langkow scored his eighth goal of the year 28 seconds into the game to lead host Calgary.
The Flames, who have won three straight and eight in a row at the Saddledome, ended Carolina's three-game winning streak.
Senators 4, Islanders 2 -- Dany Heatley scored twice, Jason Spezza had three points, and Martin Gerber won the battle of backup goalies to lead Ottawa at Uniondale, N.Y.
Spezza set up Heatley's first-period goal and defenseman Joe Corvo's man-advantage tally in the second that restored Ottawa's two-goal lead. Spezza netted his 13th goal late in the first period to make it 2-0 and send the Senators on the way to their fifth straight win over the Islanders.
Blue Jackets 3, Avalanche 0 -- Fredrik Norrena got his second straight shutout and Columbus won in Denver for the first time in franchise history.
Norrena finished with 42 saves, including 21 in a barrage in the second period.
