Devils, Flyers, Canucks Swap Players, Picks

The Vancouver Canucks acquired center Peter Zezel from the New Jersey Devils and sent forward Mike Sillinger to Philadelphia in separate deals Thursday.

In exchange for Zezel the Canucks sent the Devils a fifth-round pick in the 1998 NHL draft.

In return for Sillinger, the Canucks received a conditional sixth-round draft choice in this summer’s draft.

On the ice

Joe Sakic and Peter Forsberg scored third-period goals, leading the Colorado Avalanche over the Chicago Blackhawks 4-2 Thursday in Denver.

At Inglewood, Calif., Sandy Moger scored the go-ahead goal with 8 minutes remaining and Russ Courtnall scored a pair of unassisted goals as the Los Angeles Kings beat the slumping New York Rangers 3-1.