Sabres crush Flyers, run record to 6-0

Maxim Afinogenov had a goal and four assists, helping the Buffalo Sabres maintain their perfect record in a 9-1 rout of the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night.

Thomas Vanek had two goals and two assists, and Derek Roy scored twice for the Sabres (6-0), who posted a six-goal second period and are two wins shy of matching their best start set in 1975.

Buffalo has also won 11 straight regular-season games, tying the franchise record established 21 years ago.

Also scoring for the Sabres were Chris Drury, who extended his point streak to six games (seven goals and three assists), Jiri Novotny, Jaroslav Spacek and Henrik Tallinder.

Canadiens 5, Flames 4: At Montreal, Radek Bonk and Sheldon Souray each scored two goals and Alex Kovalev netted Montreal’s third power-play goal of the game, leading the Canadiens to a win over Calgary.

Montreal forward Aaron Downey left the game and was taken to a hospital after his head slammed against the glass above the boards during a check from Robyn Regehr early in the first.

Coyotes 5, Blues 2: At St. Louis, Owen Nolan scored his first goal in two years, and Phoenix’s offense broke out in a victory over St. Louis.

Dave Scatchard and Shane Doan also scored for the Coyotes, who matched their total scoring output from the previous four games.

Oilers 2, Canucks 1: At Edmonton, Alberta, Ethan Moreau fired in a slap shot 51 seconds after the opening faceoff and Edmonton held on to beat Vancouver.

Vancouver captain Marcus Naslund ruined goalie Jussi Markkanen’s shutout bid with a power-play goal.

Sharks 2, Stars 0: At San Jose, Calif., Evgeni Nabokov made 32 saves in his second shutout in three starts this season, and San Jose handed Dallas their first loss of the season.

Milan Michalek and Mark Bell scored for the Sharks, who matched the best start in franchise history at 5-1, while preventing Dallas from equaling its club-best 6-0 start in 1996.

Dallas’ loss left Buffalo and Minnesota as the NHL’s only unbeaten teams.