Devils earn fifth straight win
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Paul Martin scored on a breakaway goal and added an assist to help the host New Jersey Devils beat the Montreal Canadiens, 5-2, last night.
The Devils have won five straight to hit the All-Star break in first place in the Atlanta Division, a seemingly unreachable goal when star goalie Martin Brodeur tore his biceps Nov. 1.
Scott Clemmensen, Brodeur's replacement, made 26 saves, and Travis Zajac, Johnny Oduya, Zach Parise, and Patrik Elias added goals for the Devils.
Josh Gorges and Matt D'Agostini scored for Montreal, 1-10-1-1 in its last 13 games in New Jersey.
Flyers 5, Thrashers 3 - Antero Niittymaki made 28 saves to improve to 12-0 against Atlanta, and Mike Knuble scored twice in host Philadelphia's victory over Atlanta.
Scott Hartnell, Darroll Powe, and Randy Jones also scored, and Jeff Carter had two assists. The Flyers are 13-1-2 in their last 15 home games.
Eric Perrin, Ilya Kovalchuk, and Chris Thorburn scored for Atlanta.
Stars 4, Panthers 1 - Mike Ribeiro had his first NHL hat trick, Mike Modano also scored, and Marty Turco made 27 saves in Dallas's victory over host Florida.
Ribeiro completed the hat trick with an empty-net goal with 26 seconds left.
Karlis Skrastins scored for Florida.
Lightning 5, Sabres 3 - Steve Eminger and Steve Downie scored 34 seconds apart early in the first period, leading host Tampa Bay over Buffalo.
Lukas Krajicek, Jeff Halpern, and Cory Murphy also scored in Tampa Bay's fifth victory in seven games. Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis, who combined for 14 goals and 22 assists over the previous 12 games, did not have a point.
Derek Roy scored twice, and Ales Kotalik added a goal for Buffalo.
Flames 5, Blue Jackets 4 - Todd Bertuzzi scored in the third round of a shootout, and Miikka Kiprusoff stopped Jakub Voracek's final attempt for visiting Columbus in Calgary's victory.
Blues 2, Blackhawks 0 - Chris Mason made 21 saves for his second shutout of the season, and Jeff Woywitka and Keith Tkachuk scored in St. Louis's victory over host Chicago.
Kings 6, Avalanche 5 - Alexander Frolov scored twice and Los Angeles chased goalie Peter Budaj with a three-goal onslaught in the second period before holding off host Colorado .
Islanders 2, Ducks 1 - Yann Danis made 39 saves, and Kyle Okposo and Kurtis McLean scored to help New York snap an eight-game losing streak with a victory over visiting Anaheim.
