Montreal's Markov a star in shootout
The Montreal Canadiens showcased a glimpse of their All-Star abilities to win despite a less-than-stellar performance.
Andrei Markov scored the only shootout goal to give host Montreal a 6-5 win over the Florida Panthers yesterday.
Markov, one of four Canadiens players elected to start this month's All-Star Game at the Bell Centre, put a backhand through Craig Anderson's pads on the Canadiens' third attempt after the Florida goalie denied Alex Kovalev and Andrei Kostitsyn.
Montreal backup Jaroslav Halak stopped Cory Stillman, Nathan Horton, and Michael Frolik after making 19 saves in his second straight start.
"I don't think anyone would disagree with you if you said it was an ugly win," said defenseman Mike Komisarek, who was picked as an Eastern Conference starter along with Markov, goalie Carey Price, and right wing Kovalev in fan voting announced Saturday.
Radek Dvorak scored his second goal of the third period with 1:38 remaining to draw Florida even at 5.
Francis Bouillon, Kostitsyn, Tom Kostopoulos, and Robert Lang scored unanswered goals in the second as Montreal recovered from an early two-goal deficit to take a 4-2 lead.
Devils 4, Senators 3 - Brian Rolston scored the winner on a power play 1:43 into overtime for host New Jersey after teammate Jamie Langenbrunner forced the extra session with with a power-play goal with 3:40 left in regulation.
Blackhawks 5, Flames 2 - Nikolai Khabibulin made 34 saves, Martin Havlat, Andrew Ladd, and Patrick Sharp each had a goal and an assist, and host Chicago rebounded from consecutive losses to Detroit to beat Calgary.
Lightning 4, Thrashers 1 - Martin St. Louis scored twice to help Tampa Bay beat host Atlanta and move past the Thrashers and out of last place in the Southeast Division.
Wild 2, Avalanche 0 - Niklas Backstrom stopped 33 shots for his fourth shutout of the season, Owen Nolan scored twice in the opening period, and Minnesota beat Colorado to snap a six-game road losing streak.
Ducks 2, Coyotes 0 - Bobby Ryan had a goal and an assist, and Jonas Hiller made 29 saves in host Anaheim's victory over Phoenix.
Stars 3, Canucks 2 - Mike Modano and Mike Ribeiro helped visiting Dallas rally from a two-goal deficit, and James Neal scored the decisive goal in the fifth round of the shootout for a victory at Vancouver. 