Turco finally beats Detroit
Mike Modano pounded a shot into the top of the net in a sudden-death shootout Saturday, giving the Dallas Stars a 2-1 victory over the visiting Detroit Red Wings in a thrilling game between the two best teams in the Western Conference.
Dallas goaltender Marty Turco beat Detroit for the first time in 11 tries – and this would’ve been the toughest for the former University of Michigan star to get over had Modano not bailed him out.
After two superb periods, Turco had the penalty that led to the Red Wings’ lone goal early in the third period. Then, with Dallas leading 2-1 on the third round of the shootout, Turco appeared to have won the game by forcing Henrik Zetterberg to miss wide right but a replay led to him being called for throwing his stick at the puck. The ruling tied the shootout.
Detroit goalie Manny Legace stopped Antti Miettinen on Dallas’ third chance, forcing sudden death. Turco then redeemed himself by popping Robert Lang’s shot over the goal and Modano followed with his blistering shot past Legace.
The Stars – playing their third game in 3 1/2 days – won their fourth straight, the last three in shootouts. Dallas is a league-best 8-0 in shootouts and has 60 points. The Stars also have beaten their conference nemesis for the second straight time after going 10 games against them without a win.
The Red Wings, who increased their West-best point total to 61, fell to 1-1 in shootouts.
Rangers 7, Penguins 1: Jaromir Jagr shook off the effects of a severe cold and had two third-period goals and an assist, helping New York overcome Sidney Crosby’s 25th goal in a victory over visiting Pittsburgh.
The teams were tied at 1 after one period, but the Rangers turned it on and finished with a 51-14 shot advantage.
Lightning 6, Flyers 0: Fredrik Modin scored three goals and Sean Burke made 38 saves, leading Tampa Bay to a victory over the struggling Flyers in Philadelphia.
The Atlantic Division-leading Flyers have lost seven of 10, including five of six at home. They’ve allowed a hat trick in consecutive games – Jan Bulis had four goals in Montreal’s 5-3 win Thursday.
Canadiens 4, Maple Leafs 3 (OT): Saku Koivu scored a power-play goal at 1:04 of overtime to give visiting Montreal a victory over Toronto, the Maple Leafs’ eighth straight loss.
Montreal trailed 2-1 in the third, but Alex Kovalev and Jan Bulis scored within 35 seconds of each other to give the Canadiens a 3-2 lead. Kovalev scored twice for the Canadians, who finished 2-4 on their trip.
Islanders 4, Bruins 3: Alexei Zhitnik and Mark Parrish scored 20 seconds apart midway through the third period and New York killed off a late two-man power play en route to a victory over the Bruins in Boston.
The loss snapped Boston’s season-best stretch at 5-0-2 and halted its three-game winning streak. The Islanders, who outshot Boston 51-44, have won all three games against the Bruins this season.
Hurricanes 4, Thrashers 1: Justin Williams and Erik Cole scored in the first period, Martin Gerber stopped 17 shots and Carolina celebrated “Ron Francis Night” with a victory over Atlanta in Raleigh, N.C.
Newly acquired Anton Babchuk scored his first goal for the Hurricanes, who won their team-record ninth straight at home to increase their lead over Ottawa to four points in the chase for the NHL’s best record. Overall, they have won 13 of their past 14 games.
Carolina retired the No. 10 worn by Francis in a pregame ceremony. He spent 16 years with the franchise – the first 10 in Hartford – and completed his career second in NHL history to Wayne Gretzky with 1,249 assists.
Coyotes 6, Sharks 2: Mike Comrie scored twice and Mike Ricci added a power-play goal to help Phoenix rout San Jose in Glendale, Ariz.
Fredrik Sjostrom, Mike Johnson and Keith Ballard also scored for the Coyotes, 4-0 against the Sharks this season. Scott Hannan and Jonathan Cheechoo scored for the Sharks, who lost their second straight.
Phoenix, opening a season-high 10-game homestand, has won three straight at home.
Blue Jackets 4, Predators 3: David Vyborny scored the second of his two goals with 1:23 remaining to give the Blue Jackets a comeback victory over Nashville in Columbus, Ohio.
Rick Nash, who assisted on Vyborny’s quick shot from the slot, and Duvie Westcott also scored for Columbus, which came from behind to win for the second night in a row.
Canucks 4, Avalanche 3 (SO): Jarkko Ruutu beat David Aebischer in a shootout, and Vancouver goalie Alex Auld was flawless in the tiebreaker, leading the Canucks to a victory over Colorado at Denver.
After Ruutu scored, Marek Svatos and Milan Hejduk were stopped by Auld and Joe Sakic hit the left post as the Canucks won for the first time in four trips to Denver this season.
Mighty Ducks 6, Kings 2: Corey Perry had two goals and an assist, Scott Niedermayer had a goal and two assists, and Anaheim tied a franchise record with four power-play goals in a victory over the Kings in Los Angeles.
Chris Kunitz scored his sixth goal in nine games and had an assist, helping the Ducks win at Staples Center for only the second time in their last 14 trips up the freeway.