News

MONTREAL – Tony Lydman scored in the sixth round of a shootout as the Buffalo Sabres helped their late-season playoff drive with a 4-3 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night

UNIONDALE, N.Y. – Danny Briere and Mike Richards scored shootout goals to lead the Philadelphia Flyers to their fourth win in five games, 4-3 over the New York Islanders on Saturday night

TORONTO – The Boston Bruins appear to be gearing up for a long playoff run.Mark Recchi scored two goals while Dennis Wideman and Matt Hunwick each added three assists Saturday as the Bruins beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 7-5

ATLANTA – Ilya Kovalchuk would give up all his goals for a shot at the playoffs.That won’t happen this season, but Kovalchuk netted his 40th goal and the Atlanta Thrashers scored three times in less than three minutes of the second period to beat the Ottawa Senators 6-3 on Saturday night

NEWARK, N.J. – Tuomo Ruutu scored the deciding goal late in the third period and Cam Ward made 31 saves as the Carolina Hurricanes extended their winning streak to a season-high six games with a 2-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Nashville Predators took another step toward their fifth consecutive playoff appearance.Steve Sullivan’s power-play goal 4:41 into overtime gave the Predators a 4-3 comeback win over the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night

PITTSBURGH – It took Sidney Crosby almost 50 minutes and his team-high seventh shot to extend the longest active scoring streak in the NHL. It was worth the wait for the Pittsburgh Penguins

National Hockey LeagueATLANTA THRASHERS-Recalled G Dan Turple from Chicago (AHL).COLORADO AVALANCHE-Signed F Ryan Stoa and F Cedric McNicoll

Maple Leafs 3 at Sabres 5First Period1. Buffalo, Hecht 10 (Gaustad, Kaleta) 0:372. Buffalo, Connolly 15 (Pominville, Tallinder) 9:39Penalty – Kaleta Buf (charging) 13:48

ANAHEIM, Calif. – While the Anaheim Ducks were pelting Dwayne Roloson with a club-record 54 shots, the Edmonton Oilers made do with just 20.Scoring on their first two shots in the opening 1:48, the Oilers added goals nine seconds apart in the second period on the way to a 5-3 victory Friday night that vaulted them over Anaheim in the battle for the playoff berths in the Western Conference

WINNIPEG – Defenceman Nolan Baumgartner scored 1:48 into overtime to lead the Manitoba Moose to a 2-1 victory over the Hamilton Bulldogs in American Hockey League action Friday night

DENVER – Jason LaBarbera made 22 saves, and twins Daniel and Henrik Sedin scored goals to help the Vancouver Canucks hand the Colorado Avalanche their sixth consecutive loss, 4-1 on Friday night

CHICAGO – Brent Seabrook beat Martin Brodeur from the blue-line at 3:36 of overtime to give the Chicago Blackhawks their third straight victory, 3-2 over the New Jersey Devils on Friday night

PHILADELPHIA – Adam Munro made 27 saves as the Toronto Marlies blanked the Philadelphia Phantoms 3-0 in American Hockey League action Friday

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Paul Gaustad scored midway through the third period to help the Buffalo Sabres avoid a second-half meltdown in a 5-3 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday night

WASHINGTON – For more than two periods, the game was about possible retribution for a week-old goal celebration by Alex Ovechkin.Then, with the score tied in the third, the player whose career was nearly ended by a concussion scored his first goal in the more than a year, an emotional moment that brought the Verizon Centre to its feet

DETROIT – Joey MacDonald made 42 saves for his first NHL shutout, and Frans Nielsen and Josh Bailey scored goals in the lowly New York Islanders’ 2-0 victory over the Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings on Friday night

DENVER – The Colorado Avalanche signed former University of Minnesota forward Ryan Stoa to an entry-level contract Friday.The 21-year-old Stoa, drafted in the second round in 2005, captained Minnesota this season and led the Gophers with 46 points (24 goals and 22 assists) in 36 games

When the St. Louis Blues hobbled into the all-star break sitting last in the Western Conference, they appeared to be a young team saddled with too many injuries to compete

TORONTO – Andrew Ference, Zdeno Chara and Mark Stuart make a habit of riding their bikes to practice, and sometimes they convince Boston Bruins teammate Chuck Kobasew to use pedal power, too