Avalanche win fifth straight
Jose Theodore stopped 27 shots for his second shutout of the season, Wojtek Wolski added a goal and the Colorado Avalanche won their fifth straight, beating the Anaheim Ducks 1-0 on Thursday night at Denver.
Theodore has been in net for all five victories, giving him his longest winning streak since March 2004 when he was with the Montreal Canadiens. It was Theodore’s 25th career shutout. His other this season came at Tampa Bay on Jan. 15.
The Ducks have been shutout in back-to-back games, losing 3-0 to the Chicago Blackhawks the night before. The team had reeled off six straight wins before its recent slide.
The Avalanche remain perfect since signing Peter Forsberg and acquiring defensemen Adam Foote and Ruslan Salei just before the trade deadline.
Rangers 4, Islanders 1: At Uniondale, N.Y., Scott Gomez deflected a shot past New York Islanders backup goalie Wade Dubielewicz early in the third period, and the Rangers beat their New York rivals.
Maple Leafs 6, Bruins 1: At Boston, Bryan McCabe had a goal and an assist during a four-goal second period to lead Toronto to a win over the Bruins.
Hurricanes 3, Wild 2: At Raleigh, N.C., Matt Cullen had a goal and an assist to lead surging Carolina past Minnesota.
Flyers 3, Lightning 2: At Philadelphia, Jeff Carter scored his second goal with 1:54 left in the third period and the Flyers defeated Tampa Bay to snap a five-year home losing streak against the Lightning.
Panthers 5, Penguins 2: At Sunrise, Fla., Craig Anderson stopped 25 shots and Florida beat Pittsburgh.
Canadiens 4, Coyotes 2: At Glendale, Ariz., Saku Koivu, Andrei Markov and Sergei Kostitsyn scored third-period goals as Montreal rallied to beat Phoenix.
Canucks 6, Predators 2: At Vancouver, B.C., Alexandre Burrows sparked a four-goal first for the Canucks with a short-handed goal 37 seconds into the game, and Vancouver beat Nashville.
Kings 2, Senators 0: At Los Angeles, Erik Ersberg recorded 40 saves in his first NHL shutout and Alexander Frolov scored in the second period, leading the Kings over Ottawa.
Chicago welcomes Hull, Mikita
The Chicago Blackhawks will welcome back long-estranged Hall of Famers Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita to the organization tonight.
The former stars have not been close to the team for decades. Senior vice president Bob Pulford’s move to an executive position within the Wirtz Corporation after the death of team owner Bill Wirtz opened the way for their return.