Senators back atop Eastern Conference
Dany Heatley’s power-play tally keyed a three-goal second period, and Ray Emery made 22 saves as the visiting Ottawa Senators regained sole possession of first place in the Eastern Conference with a 4-0 win over the New Jersey Devils on Sunday night.
The surging Senators have 10 wins in 12 games, and their 98 points give them a five-point lead over the Buffalo Sabres in the Northeast Division. They also moved two points ahead of Southeast Division-leading Carolina Hurricanes in the conference standings.
Emery continued his solid play as Ottawa’s top netminder while Dominik Hasek recovers from a groin injury sustained last month in the Olympics. The rookie is 9-1-1 since the Olympic break.
Red Wings 7, Canucks 3: At Vancouver, B.C., Jason Williams scored twice and Pavel Datsyuk added a goal and two assists to help Detroit stay on top in the NHL standings.
Tomas Holmstrom, Nicklas Lidstrom, Pavel Datsyuk, Brendan Shanahan and Johan Franzen also scored in Detroit’s sixth straight win.
Vancouver has lost six of its last seven to drop into a tie with Anaheim for eighth place in the conference.
Flames 3, Wild 2: At St. Paul, Minn., Daymond Langkow and Jarome Iginla each had a goal and an assist, and Calgary earned its first road in more than a month. Minnesota has just two wins since the Olympic break.
Maple Leafs 1, Penguins 0: At Pittsburgh, Chad Kilger scored on a penalty shot with 6:51 remaining and Mikael Tellqvist made 21 saves in Toronto’s victory over the Penguins that was delayed twice by power failures. Mellon Arena, which opened in 1961, is the NHL’s oldest arena.
Sharks 6, Avalanche 5: At San Jose, Calif., Alyn McCauley’s wrist shot snapped a tie with 4:13 left and lifted the Sharks past Colorado.
McCauley put the Sharks back on top after John Michael Liles got Colorado even at 5 just 5:18 earlier.
Lightning 5, Islanders 2: At Tampa, Fla., Ruslan Fedotenko scored a tiebreaking goal midway through the third period and the Lightning beat New York. The Islanders have lost three in a row after a four-game winning streak.
Coyotes 3, Blackhawks 2: At Chicago, Curtis Joseph made 34 saves and Steven Reinprecht set up two goals in Phoenix’s victory.
Paul Mara, Mike Comrie and Shane Doan scored for the Coyotes, who won for just the second time in six games.
Mighty Ducks 4, Blue Jackets 3: At Columbus, Ohio, Joffrey Lupul scored to snap a third-period tie, and Anaheim rallied from a two-goal deficit to beat the Blue Jackets.