Coyotes end 9-year skid in Boston

Mike Johnson scored Phoenix’s only goal in regulation – his fifth in three games – and Ladislav Nagy took the puck the length of the ice for the winner in overtime on Sunday as the Coyotes beat the Bruins 2-1 in Boston.

The Coyotes have won three consecutive games, with Johnson scoring two goals in each of the previous two. He had just one on Sunday, pushing a rebound through Hannu Toivonen’s pads to tie the game just 24 seconds into a Phoenix power play 1:06 into the third period.

Curtis Joseph stopped 18 shots for the Coyotes, who hadn’t won in Boston since 1996. Toivonen made 30 saves for the Bruins, who lost their third consecutive game.

Blue Jackets 3, Devils 2 (OT): At Columbus, Ohio, Bryan Berard scored off a pass from Sergei Fedorov with 13.6 seconds left in overtime, giving the Blue Jackets a win over New Jersey.

Nikolai Zherdev scored twice in regulation for Columbus, giving him four goals in three games after opening the season with four in 25 contests.

Columbus is the only NHL team not to have lost this season in overtime or a shootout.

Sabres 3, Wild 2: At St. Paul, Minn., Mike Grier snapped a tie with 3:32 remaining and goalie Martin Biron won his 10th straight start in Buffalo’s victory over Minnesota.

Biron, who made 34 saves, hasn’t lost since Nov. 12 at Ottawa. Since then, the Sabres are 11-1-1, including seven straight road wins.

Brian Rolston had a goal and an assist for Minnesota, which returned home following a 1-3-1 road trip in which the Wild scored just 11 goals.

Blackhawks 5, Thrashers 4 (OT): At Atlanta, Pavel Vorobiev had two goals in regulation and scored in the second round of a shootout, leading Chicago to a victory over the Thrashers.

Ilya Kovalchuk scored his 18th and 19th goals in regulation for Atlanta, which has lost six of seven. The Blackhawks have won two straight and have played four consecutive overtime games.

Lemieux doubtful Penguins will stay in Pittsburgh

Penguins owner-captain Mario Lemieux said he is doubtful that the team will remain in Pittsburgh after its Mellon Arena lease expires in 2007, citing a lack of progress on a new arena.

The Penguins are projecting a $7 million loss this season, a figure that assumes the team will draw near-capacity crowds and advance to the second round of the playoffs.

“I think we’re really running out of time,” Lemieux said. “We probably ran out of time already. It’s been unfortunate that the city and the county haven’t been willing to work with us over the last two or three years.”

The lease allows the team to solicit offers for the franchise beginning in June 2006. Kansas City is among the cities that have expressed interest in the team.