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DETROIT – It took the top team in the NHL to bring out the best in the defending Stanley Cup champions.Ty Conklin made 24 saves for his sixth NHL shutout and Pavel Datsyuk had two goals and two assists to lift the Detroit Red Wings to a 6-0 win over the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night.

MONTREAL – The Montreal Canadiens brought out their best hockey to cool off one of the hottest teams in the NHL – the Philadelphia Flyers.Steve Begin and Sergei Kostitsyn each had a goal and an assist as the Canadiens stopped a three-game losing streak with a 5-2 victory over Philadelphia on Thursday night.

WASHINGTON – Viktor Kozlov doesn’t possess Alexander Semin’s flash or Alex Ovechkin’s sizzle. Yet when the Washington Capitals’ heralded Russian shooters were struggling against the downtrodden St.

RALEIGH, N.C. – After skating around one Florida player and faking out another, Joe Corvo lost count of how many Panthers he eluded.”I thought there’d be a goalie in there,” Corvo said.

ATLANTA – NHL scoring leader Evgeni Malkin supplied goalie Marc-Andre Fleury with plenty of offensive support after his five-week absence caused by a groin strain.

TAMPA, Fla. – Lightning centre Jeff Halpern was in the Tampa Bay lineup Thursday night for the first time since reconstructive right knee surgery in June.

DALLAS – The Columbus Blue Jackets placed forward Jason Chimera on the injured list and recalled forward Alexandre Picard from Syracuse of the AHL before Thursday night’s game against the Dallas Stars.

It’s a confession that might surprise a lot of NHL players who honed their skills as kids battling cold and snow playing on outdoor hockey rinks.

Russ Courtnall’s road back to hockey was paved by a seven year old.The longtime NHLer quietly walked away from the game after the 1998-99 season and made the comfortable transition into life as a stay-at-home dad and family man.

CHICAGO – Usually at Wrigley Field, it’s a big Zambrano (Carlos) that draws the attention, the six-foot-five, 255-pound ace of the Chicago Cubs’ pitching staff.

VANCOUVER, B.C. – Mats Sundin has chosen the West Coast over the Big Apple.The free-agent centre signed with the Canucks on Thursday, ending months of speculation about where he would end up – or if he would even return to the NHL.

FRISCO, Texas – The Dallas Stars will be without Sergei Zubov indefinitely as the veteran blue-liner undergoes surgery on his hip, the club announced Thursday.

ST. LOUIS – Blues captain Eric Brewer will undergo back surgery on Friday and will be out the team’s lineup indefinitely, the club announced Thursday.

Dallas Stars defenseman Sergei Zubov will undergo surgery on his hip in January and will be out indefinitely.

Zubov, 38, has collected four helpers in 10 games this season, but has missed the last eight games due to injury.

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere has left the Anaheim Ducks to return home to Montreal following his father’s death.Claude Giguere died Monday.

Slick forward John Tavares and defenceman Ryan Ellis, teammates on Canada’s world junior club, will be on the same squad again at the 2009 Home Hardware NHL/CHL Top Prospects game.

Scoring summaries from Wednesday’s NHL games:Flames 3 at Wild 2 (OT)First PeriodNo Scoring.Penalties – Giordano Cal (interference) 3:08, Weller Min (goaltender interference) 11:00, Bourque Cal, N.

LOS ANGELES – Struggling defenceman Michal Rozsival scored on a penalty shot in the second period and then added the winner 3:41 into overtime, lifting the New York Rangers to a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday night.

VANCOUVER, B.C. – Daniel Sedin scored a pair of goals, the first on a power play, as the Vancouver Canucks defeated the Edmonton Oilers 4-2 Wednesday on the night the team retired Trevor Linden’s jersey.

Movements in the world of hockey Wednesday:National Hockey LeagueCAROLINA HURRICANES-Activated D Frantisek Kaberle from injured reserve. Assigned D Tim Conboy to Albany (AHL).