NHL-best Red Wings top Blackhawks

Pavel Datsyuk scored a go-ahead goal late in the second period and the Detroit Red Wings went on to beat the Chicago Blackhawks 3-1 on Tuesday night.

The NHL-leading Red Wings have won four straight after enduring their worst slump in nearly two decades.

Detroit’s Kirk Maltby scored in the first period and Johan Franzen added an empty-net goal in the final minute. Chris Osgood made 19 saves, including one against former Red Wing Robert Lang on a penalty shot midway through the game.

•Detroit signed right wing Dan Cleary to a $14 million, five-year contract, keeping a player who scored 20 goals for a second straight season for them.

Avalanche 5, Thrashers 2: At Atlanta, Andrew Brunette scored two goals and Colorado got a goal and two assists each from Joe Sakic and rookie David Jones in a victory over the Thrashers.

Jones scored his first career goal to make it 4-1 in the second.

Canadiens 4, Devils 0: At Montreal, Carey Price made 38 saves for his second shutout, and Bryan Smolinski and Saku Koivu scored first-period goals as the Canadiens beat New Jersey.

Lightning 8, Islanders 4: At Tampa, Fla., Vincent Lecavalier scored three goals and Michel Ouellet added two, leading Tampa Bay past New York.

Lightning coach John Tortorella moved past Bob Johnson to become the winningest American-born NHL coach with 235 victories.

Senators 4, Bruins 1: At Ottawa, Dany Heatley scored three goals and set up another, and the Senators beat Boston.

Jason Spezza had a goal and an assist for Ottawa, and Andrej Meszaros added two assists.

Maple Leafs 4, Flyers 3 (OT): At Toronto, Pavel Kubina scored 4:04 into overtime to complete a comeback from a three-goal deficit and the Maple Leafs defeated Philadelphia.

Sharks 2, Predators 1: At Nashville, Tenn., Joe Pavelski and Milan Michalek each scored goals, Evgeni Nabokov made 26 saves and San Jose beat the Predators for its franchise-record 10th straight win.

Oilers 4, Blues 3 (OT): At Edmonton, Alberta, Andrew Cogliano scored in overtime for an NHL-record third consecutive game and the Oilers defeated St. Louis.

Cogliano took a pass from Sam Gagner with 4.9 seconds left for the win.

Coyotes 3, Ducks 2 (SO): At Phoenix, Radim Vrbata scored the lone goal in the shootout as the Coyotes beat Anaheim.

Ilya Bryzgalov made 35 saves for Phoenix including two in the shootout.

Shane Doan and Keith Yandle scored for the Coyotes in regulation.

Sabres take hit

Jaroslav Spacek (chest injury) could miss the rest of the regular season and Dmitri Kalinin (shoulder injury) will be out for weeks, leaving the Buffalo Sabres without two veteran defensemen for their final playoff push.