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TORONTO – The Montreal Canadiens sure know how to atone for a painful loss.Jaroslav Halak made 34 saves and Alex Kovalev had a goal and three assists Saturday as the Canadiens hammered the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-2

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Martin Brodeur stopped 35 shots – including 21 in the third period alone – to turn back the Buffalo Sabres’ furious rally and secure the New Jersey Devils’ 3-2 victory Saturday night

DENVER – The Colorado Avalanche have reassigned defenceman Wes O’Neill to the AHL Lake Erie Monsters and recalled defenceman Aaron MacKenzie to play Sunday against Vancouver

BUFFALO, N.Y. – New Jersey Devils backup goalie Kevin Weekes will miss between two and three weeks with what the team called a lower-body injury

BOSTON – A boost to his bank account and a stick to the head couldn’t throw Tim Thomas off his game.One day after signing a US$20-million, four-year contract extension and 5 1/2 minutes after being hit in the back of his helmet by Sean Avery, Thomas was mobbed by teammates celebrating the Boston Bruins’ 1-0 win over the New York Rangers on Saturday

BOSTON – Tim Thomas was struggling to get ice time in the minors. So the young goalie returned US$75,000 of his signing bonus to the Edmonton Oilers a decade ago for a chance to play in Finland

TORONTO – There was one thing the Toronto Maple Leafs were able to offer Tyler Bozak that no one else in the NHL could – a chance to wear the team’s famous blue and white jersey

AHL Hamilton 6 Grand Rapids 3Toronto 3 Manitoba 1Bridgeport 4 Hershey 3 (OT)Hartford 6 Providence 0 Manchester 3 Springfield 0Philadelphia 3 Norfolk 2 (OT)Portland 3 Lowell 1 Rochester 4 Binghamton 2Rockford 3 Syracuse 2 (SO)Lake Erie 3 Milwaukee 2Preoria 3 Houston 1San Antonio 2 Iowa 0Quad City 2 Chicago 1At Glen’s Falls, N

THE CANADIAN PRESSMaple Leafs 5 at Flyers 8First Period1. Philadelphia, Jones 4 (Briere, Giroux) 4:242. Philadelphia, Giroux 8 (Asham, Briere) 7:483

Movements in the world of hockey Friday:National Hockey LeagueBOSTON BRUINS-Signed G Tim Thomas to a multiyear contract extension.CALGARY FLAMES-Recalled D John Negrin and D Matt Pelech from Quad City (AHL)

WINNIPEG – Jay Rosehill scored the game winner as the Toronto Marlies beat the league-leading Manitoba Moose 3-1 in AHL play Friday.Joe Ryan opened the scoring in the second period for the Marlies and Ryan Hamilton added an empty-net goal in the third as Toronto improved to 37-29-3-7

CHICAGO – Nikolai Khabibulin made 25 saves, and Jonathan Toews’ scored his team-leading 32nd goal as the Chicago Blackhawks clinched their first playoff berth in seven years by beating the Nashville Predators 3-1 on Friday night

HAMILTON, Ont. – David Desharnais scored a hat trick as the Hamilton Bulldogs overcame the Grand Rapids Griffins 6-3 in AHL action Friday.Tied at three in the third period, the Bulldogs scored three unanswered goals in the final five minutes for the win

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota Wild finally figured out Miikka Kiprusoff with three goals on 10 shots in the first period for a 4-0 victory over the Calgary Flames on Friday night that kept their slim playoff chances alive

SUNRISE, Fla. – Rich Peverley scored his second goal of the game in the third period to break a tie and lift the Atlanta Thrashers to a 3-1 win over the Florida Panthers on Friday night

NEWARK, N.J. – Martin Brodeur made seven saves in a rare relief role, and Zach Parise scored in overtime as the New Jersey Devils snapped a six-game losing streak with a 5-4 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday night

WASHINGTON – The Washington Capitals clinched their second consecutive Southeast Division title despite losing 5-4 to the Buffalo Sabres on Jason Pominville’s breakaway goal 1:51 into overtime Friday night

PHILADELPHIA – Jeff Carter scored three goals, Danny Briere had a goal and three assists, and the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 8-5 on Friday night

NEWARK, N.J. – The night off for New Jersey Devils goalie Martin Brodeur lasted less than 21 minutes.Brodeur, the Devils’ workhorse, was scheduled to have a quiet night Friday after being honoured in a pre-game ceremony for setting the NHL record for regular-season wins

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Johnny Boychuk of the Providence Bruins was named the winner of the Eddie Shore Award as the American Hockey League’s outstanding defenceman Friday