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PITTSBURGH – Michel Therrien says he saw improvement in the Pittsburgh Penguins’ play of late and didn’t expect to be fired as head coach.Therrien was dismissed Sunday night, after his team fell apart during a Saturday night loss to Toronto.

UNIONDALE, N.Y. – If Dan Bylsma can’t turn around the Pittsburgh Penguins in their final 24 games, the defending Eastern Conference champions will be in the same sorry state as the lowly New York Islanders – out of the playoffs.

TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs appear ready to give Justin Pogge another start in goal.The 22-year-old has been recalled from the American Hockey League.

MONTREAL – The Montreal Canadiens, who were looking to boost their defence and power play, have acquired defenceman Mathieu Schneider in a trade with the Atlanta Thrashers.

NEW YORK – Zach Parise is the NHL’s first star of the week.The New Jersey Devils winger led all scorers with eight points and helped his team to four victories.

Scoring summaries from Sunday’s games:Canadiens 2 at Canucks 4First Period1. Vancouver, D.Sedin 24 (H.Sedin, Burrows) 10:28 2. Vancouver, Edler 6 (Ohlund, Hansen) 11:163.

VANCOUVER, B.C. – Daniel Sedin and Alex Edler scored 48 seconds apart in the first period Sunday as the Vancouver Canucks defeated the struggling Montreal Canadiens 4-2.

Movements in the world of hockey:National Hockey LeagueLOS ANGELES KINGS-Assigned F Oscar Moller and D Davis Drewiske to Manchester (AHL).NASHVILLE PREDATORS-Reassigned F Patric Hornqvist to Milwaukee (AHL).

ANAHEIM, Calif. – After two wins, the Anaheim Ducks thought they were on a roll. The Atlanta Thrashers had different ideas.Ilya Kovalchuk scored three goals in a 6:51 span of the second period and Atlanta beat the Ducks 8-4 on Sunday.

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Cam Ward made 36 saves for his third shutout in 10 starts, and Eric Staal had a goal and two assists in the Carolina Hurricanes’ 3-0 victory over the flat-footed Buffalo Sabres on Sunday night.

PITTSBURGH – The Pittsburgh Penguins have fired head coach Michel Therrien and named Dan Bylsma as his interim replacement, the team announced Sunday.

DETROIT – Jordan Leopold scored in the fifth round of a shootout to give the Colorado Avalanche a 6-5 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Cory Schneider made 23 saves for the shutout as the Manitoba Moose beat the Providence Bruins 4-0 in AHL action Sunday.Playing their third game in three days, the league-leading Moose (38-14-0-5) showed no signs of exhaustion against the Bruins (30-21-2-1).

SUNRISE, Fla. – Mike Green’s NHL-record goals streak for defencemen ended at eight games, but Alexander Ovechkin scored three times to give the Washington Capitals a 4-2 victory over the Florida Panthers on Sunday.

TORONTO – Jiri Tlusty’s eventual game winner led the Toronto Marlies to a 3-1 victory over the slumping Springfield Falcons in AHL action Sunday.

NEWARK, N.J. – David Clarkson scored his second goal of the game on a power play with 3:32 to play and the red-hot New Jersey Devils completed a sweep of the top teams in the Eastern and Western conferences with a wild 6-5 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Sunday.

NEW YORK – Rangers defenceman Paul Mara injured his right shoulder Sunday during a third-period fight with Philadelphia’s Arron Asham and stayed home from New York’s trip to St.

NEW YORK – Mike Richards scored short-handed to spark a four-goal second period, and rookie Claude Giroux had a career-best three points in the Philadelphia Flyers’ 5-2 rout of the sliding New York Rangers on Sunday.

Results Saturday: AHL Manitoba 4 Hartford 1Toronto 5 Grand Rapids 4 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 3 Hamilton 2Chicago 4 Peoria 1Houston 7 Iowa 6Lowell 7 Albany 4Manchester 6 Lake Erie 2 Norfolk 5 Hershey 4Philadelphia 4 Binghamton 1Providence 6 Portland 5 (SO) Quad City 7 San Antonio 3Rockford 4 Rochester 3Syracuse 2 Springfield 1 (SO)ECHL Alaska 3 Victoria 2 (SO)Bakersfield 5 Stockton 4Florida 3 Cincinnati 1Idaho 4 Phoenix 2Johnstown 3 Trenton 2Ontario 2 Las Vegas 1 (OT)Reading 4 Elmira 1South Carolina 9 Gwinnett 3At Troy, OhioDayton 3 Wheeling 2IHL Kalamazoo 5 Port Huron 4 (OT)Muskegon 8 Flint 7Central Arizona 4 Amarillo 3 (OT)Laredo 4 New Mexico 2Mississippi 5 Colorado 3Oklahoma City 3 Rapid City 1Rio Grande Valley 3 Corpus Christi 2Texas 4 Odessa 3 (SO)Tulsa 6 Wichita 0QMJHL Moncton 5 Acadie-Bathurst 4 (SO) Rouyn-Noranda 7 Victoriaville 2 Shawinigan 6 Halifax 2 Val-d’Or 5 Baie-Comeau 3 OHL Barrie 8 Ottawa 5Belleville 4 Saginaw 3 (OT)Erie 4 Kingston 3Mississauga 5 Sudbury 1Niagara 2 Owen Sound 1Sarnia 7 Kitchener 4WHL Calgary 5 Regina 2Kelowna 5 Prince George 1Lethbridge 3 Red Deer 0Medicine Hat 5 Kamloops 3Saskatoon 4 Swift Current 3Seattle 7 Portland 2Spokane 11 Edmonton 2Tri-City 4 Everett 1Vancouver 3 Chilliwack 2Maritime Jr.

Scoring summaries from Saturday’s games:Oilers 3 at Kings 2 (SO)First Period1. Edmonton, Penner 14 (Hemsky) 4:582. Edmonton, Horcoff 12 (Penner, Hemsky) 13:11 (pp)Penalties – Kopitar LA (holding) 12:44, Horcoff Edm, Doughty LA (roughing) 13:11, Smid Edm, Quincey LA (roughing), Gagner Edm, Johnson LA (fighting) 15:08, Stortini Edm, Ivanans LA (fighting) 16:20, Cogliano Edm (hooking) 17:20, Souray Edm, Brown LA (roughing) 19:05.