SCOREBOARD
Sunday, Dec. 30
Anaheim at Vancouver (8 p.m. EST). The Ducks are 4-0-1 since Scott Neidermayer returned.
STARS
Friday
-Evgeni Nabokov, Sharks, made 26 saves to earn his fifth shutout and league-leading 20th win as San Jose edged St. Louis 1-0.
-Martin Brodeur, Devils, stopped 26 shots and made three saves in the shootout to lift New Jersey to a 2-1 win over Buffalo.
CLUB RECORD
Evgeni Nabokov stopped 26 shots to pick up his fifth shutout and league-leading 20th win to help San Jose extend its club-record road winning streak to eight games with a 1-0 win over St. Louis on Friday. The Sharks also set a team record by earning a point in their 11th straight road game (10-0-1). The Blues have not beaten San Jose at home since Dec. 18, 2003.
BEEN A WHILE
Mike Mottau’s first goal since October got New Jersey even late in the third period and the Devils edged Buffalo 2-1 in a shootout on Friday to pick up their third straight win. New Jersey has scored just five goals in the spurt. It was Mottau’s first goal in 30 games dating back to Oct. 6.
SNAPPED
Guillaume Latendresse, Michael Ryder and Christopher Higgins scored on the first three shots of the game and Montreal routed Florida 5-1 on Friday. The Canadiens snapped a six-game winless streak against the Panthers. Florida had been 5-0-1 against Montreal the past two seasons. … Buffalo earned a point but dropped its second straight following six consecutive wins, falling to New Jersey 2-1. The Sabres had a four-game road winning streak snapped.
SIGNED
The New York Islanders signed top prospect Kyle Okposo to a three-year, entry level contract on Friday. He will join the Islanders’ organization, which selected him with the No. 7 pick in the 2006 NHL draft, after the junior tournament is over. He tallied 40 points in 40 games as a freshman at Minnesota.
SPEAKING
“I went to the bench and I asked (assistant coach) Jeff Daniels ‘What do you think?’ He said, ‘Go to your butter,’ and that’s my move to my backhand.” – Carolina’s Chad LaRose, on his penalty-shot goal in the Hurricanes’ 4-3 win over Boston on Friday.