Senators put an end to a three-game skid

Antoine Vermette and Mike Fisher scored in the shootout to help the Ottawa Senators end their three-game losing streak with a 3-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night.

After Vermette opened the shootout with a backhand through Cristobal Huet’s pads, Fisher beat the Montreal goalie on Ottawa’s third attempt to seal the win.

Ray Emery stopped Chris Higgins and Saku Koivu on Montreal’s first two attempts.

Montreal’s Sergei Samsonov tied it at 2 with 3:23 left in the third. Samsonov carried the puck around the right side of the Senators’ zone and beat Ray Emery with a wrist shot through the Ottawa goalie’s legs.

Devils 3, Flyers 2: At East Rutherford, N.J., Brian Gionta broke a tie early in the third period and Martin Brodeur made 25 saves to lead New Jersey to a victory over Philadelphia.

Blues 4, Blackhawks 3: At St. Louis, Radek Dvorak scored the tie-breaking goal in the third period and added an assist to help St. Louis beat Chicago.

Wild 5, Blue Jackets 0: At St. Paul, Minnesota, Brian Rolston scored two goals and had an assist to help Minnesota remain unbeaten with a win over Columbus.

Predators 4, Coyotes 1: At Nashville, Tenn., Scott Hartnell and Paul Kariya each scored a goal to help Nashville beat Phoenix.

Hurricanes 5, Penguins 1: At Pittsburgh, Eric Staal got Carolina’s go-ahead goal early in the game to win his personal matchup with younger brother Jordan Staal and Carolina gained victory over Pittsburgh.

Lightning 4, Panthers 1: At Tampa, Fla., Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis scored rare Tampa Bay power-play goals, helping the Lightning stop a three-game losing streak with a win over Florida.

Islanders 4, Bruins 1: At Uniondale, N.Y., Mike Dunham, filling in for an injured goalie Rick DiPietro, stopped 31 shots to help New York beat Boston.

Jason Blake scored two goals and made a gorgeous pass to assist on another goal for the Islanders.

Maple Leafs 5, Flames 4 (OT): At Toronto, Mats Sundin scored his 500th NHL goal, beating Miikka Kiprusoff with a long shot 50 seconds into overtime to complete a hat trick and give Toronto a victory over Calgary.

Sabres 7, Rangers 4: At Buffalo, N.Y., Chris Drury had his first career three-goal game, and also added an assist, to help Buffalo win its fifth consecutive game, over New York.

Thrashers 4, Capitals 3 (OT): At Washington, Ilya Kovalchuk scored in overtime to end his longest goal drought at the start of a season, and Atlanta spoiled “Alex Ovechkin Tribute Night” by beating Washington.

Oilers 4, Avalanche 3: At Denver, Petr Sykora and Ryan Smyth each scored twice and Edmonton cracked Colorado’s stellar special teams defense in a win.

Stars 4, Kings 1: At Los Angeles, Brenden Morrow scored twice on power plays and Stephane Robidas had three assists, leading Dallas over Los Angeles.