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Scoring summaries from Tuesday’s NHL games: Canucks 2 at Canadiens 3First Period1. Montreal, S.Kostitsyn 2 (Pouliot) 5:562. Vancouver, Samuelsson 19 (D

LOS ANGELES – Anze Kopitar’s slick short-handed goal was exactly what everybody expects from the Los Angeles Kings’ leading scorer. His steady defence against Rangers star Marian Gaborik was a whole lot more surprising

MONTREAL – Teams often say they need to take the positives out of a loss, but rarely do they have as much material to build on as the Vancouver Canucks do after Tuesday night’s 3-2 defeat at the hands of the Montreal Canadiens

Movements in the world of hockey Tuesday:National Hockey LeagueATLANTA THRASHERS-Traded F Matt Siddall from Victoria (ECHL) to Gwinnett (ECHL) for future considerations

DENVER – Brandon Yip had two goals, including the go-ahead score, Ryan O’Reilly added a pair of short-handed goals, and the Colorado Avalanche snapped a three-game losing streak by beating the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-1 on Tuesday night

TORONTO – The New Jersey Devils will need to rediscover their offensive flair if they want to reverse their fortunes.After soaring to the top of the Atlantic Division through the first three months of the season, the Devils have been an average team in the New Year, posting a 7-8-1 record in 2010

NASHVILLE – The Phoenix Coyotes want two points every chance they get, and coach Dave Tippett doesn’t care about extra credit for style or extra offence

DALLAS – Marty Turco made a season-high 40 saves, Mike Modano scored his 556th career goal, and the Dallas Stars stretched their home-winning streak over the Minnesota Wild to 12 games with a 4-2 victory on Tuesday night

MONTREAL – Coach Jacques Martin showed confidence in Jaroslav Halak and was repaid in spades.Starting in the next game after a loss for the first time this season, the Canadiens netminder made 45 saves to help Montreal end the Vancouver Canucks’ seven-game winning streak Tuesday with a 3-2 victory

MONTREAL – Coach Jacques Martin showed confidence in Jaroslav Halak and was repaid in spades.Starting in the next game after a loss for the first time this season, the Canadiens netminder made 45 saves to help Montreal end the Vancouver Canucks’ seven-game winning streak Tuesday with a 3-2 victory

BOSTON – Washington Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau finds it hard to believe his club has won a franchise record 11 straight games. Boston Bruins coach Claude Julien feels the same about his team’s eight-game losing streak

ATLANTA – Antero Niittymaki stopped 26 shots for his 16th straight win over Atlanta and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Thrashers 2-1 on Tuesday night for a rare road victory

TORONTO – Dion Phaneuf needed a minute, but settled for less.”Just 30 seconds,” he pleaded from his dressing room stall. “Thank you.” There was no room to move in the crowd that had formed around the new Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman after Tuesday night’s game

NEW YORK – The New York Islanders are making plans to spend part of next season’s training camp in China.The team will head to China for about 10 days in September as the NHL continues to work on making the league and the sport of hockey more prominent on the world stage

CALGARY – Christopher Higgins arrived in Calgary on Tuesday, hoping to add some desperately needed scoring to the Flames’ lifeless offence.Following what head coach Brent Sutter termed as an “embarrassing” 3-0 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday night, the Flames (27-21-8) made their second big trade in three days, sending forwards Olli Jokinen and Brandon Prust to the New York Rangers for Higgins and fellow winger Ales Kotalik

Early reports indicated the potential new Tampa owner wanted to move the superstar Bolt, but plans have changed. – Negotiations to sell the Tampa Bay Lightning to Boston-based hedge fund manager Jeffrey Vinik have hit a snag in recent days, but it won’t be enough to keep Vinik from buying the franchise

OTTAWA – The first anniversary of Cory Clouston’s time behind the bench in Ottawa is a happy one.With the Senators riding a franchise-record nine-game winning streak, it’s hard to believe that not so long ago, the team had reached just about the lowest point that any of the current players can remember

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Minnesota Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom will miss his fourth straight game.Backstrom had a back injury last week – now, he’s sick

EDMONTON – The Edmonton Oilers’ first win of 2010 didn’t improve their place in the NHL standings and it won’t change the fact that they’ll miss the playoffs for a fourth straight season

MONTREAL – Michael Cammalleri will be out for about six weeks with a knee injury but the good news for the Montreal Canadiens’ top scorer is that he won’t need surgery