Ducks lose game, Pronger

Instead of dreaming of a Stanley Cup, Anaheim Ducks fans might just want to wish for good health in the New Year.

Already without the services of top goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere, the Ducks' sick bay added another big name last night. Anaheim lost All-Star defenseman Chris Pronger to a broken left foot during the Ducks' 4-3 loss in St. Paul, Minn.

Pronger blocked a shot by Wild forward Mark Parrish, and appeared to be hurt right away. He tried to return to the ice but couldn't skate without pain.

"It wasn't really that hard of a shot, it just catches you on the right spot and there's not much padding down there," said Pronger, who leads all NHL defensemen in points with 40 in 41 games. "Every time I went to push off, it didn't feel very good."

It was another shot by Parrish that won the game in the third period. His backhander fooled Ducks goaltender Michael Wall with 4:18 left to send the Wild to their NHL-best 16th home win. Pierre-Marc Bouchard had two goals and Brian Rolston also scored for the Wild.

Ducks forward Teemu Selanne scored two goals and added an assist to help the Ducks tie the game after trailing, 3-1.

Sharks 4, Stars 2 -- Joe Thornton scored his 200th career goal and added two assists to help visiting San Jose snap a three-game losing streak.

Joe Pavelski, Jonathan Cheechoo, and Patrick Marleau also had first-period goals for the Sharks, coming off an 8-0 road loss to the Phoenix Coyotes Saturday night.

Vesa Toskala made 21 saves for the Sharks, who have 52 points, 2 more than the Stars, for second place in the Pacific Division.

Flyers 5, Hurricanes 2 -- Alexei Zhitnik scored the go-ahead goal, and Robert Esche played a strong game in goal in visiting Philadelphia's victory over Carolina.

Ryan Potulny and Kyle Calder scored early in the third period for the Flyers, who were outshot, 42-19, but were opportunistic enough to pull out their second straight win. Philadelphia, which had lost 10 straight games before beating Tampa Bay and Carolina in the past week, sealed it with an empty-netter from Mike Knuble in the final minute.

Ray Whitney scored twice for the Hurricanes, who generated plenty of scoring chances but struggled to put the puck past Esche.

Red Wings 6, Kings 2 -- Host Detroit got goals from six players in beating Los Angeles for the 12th straight time.

After struggling on offense early in the season, the Red Wings scored at least five goals for the fifth time in their last 13 games. Pavel Datsyuk and Jason Williams each had a goal and an assist, and Tomas Holmstrom, Valtteri Filppula, Kris Draper, and Mikael Samuelsson also scored for the Red Wings.

Blue Jackets 3, Blackhawks 1 -- Manny Malhotra scored the winner late in the second period to lift host Columbus over Chicago.

Flames 4, Oilers 2 -- Jarome Iginla had a goal and two assists to lead host Calgary over Edmonton.

Ryan Smyth scored both goals for the Oilers, who have now lost four straight.