SCOREBOARD
Monday, March 17
Colorado at Minnesota (7 p.m. EDT). The Wild and Avalanche are tied atop the Northwest Division with 84 points.
STARS
Saturday
-Andrew Ference and Aaron Ward, Bruins. Ference tied the game with 27 seconds left in regulation and Ward scored 2:17 into overtime and Boston stunned Philadelphia 3-2.
-Rob Niedermayer, Ducks, broke open a tie game with a pair of third-period goals and Anaheim beat St. Louis 5-2.
-Brendan Morrison, Canucks, scored the tiebreaking goal early in the third period and added two assists to send Vancouver to a 4-3 victory over Dallas.
-Jaroslav Halak, Canadiens, stopped 30 shots for his first shutout of the season and Montreal beat the New York Islanders 3-0.
-Jason Pominville and Jochen Hecht, Sabres, each had a goal and two assists to lead Buffalo past Toronto 6-2.
-Dwayne Roloson, Oilers, made 38 saves and Edmonton topped Phoenix 5-2.
SITTING DUCK
The NHL suspended Anaheim All-Star defenseman Chris Pronger on Saturday for stomping on the leg of Vancouver’s Ryan Kesler on Wednesday. The ban, the eighth of Pronger’s career, won’t expire until the final day of the regular season. No penalty was called on the play, and the NHL said a proper video angle wasn’t available until Thursday night. Earlier this season, the NHL suspended Chris Simon – then of the New York Islanders – 30 games for stomping on the leg of Pittsburgh’s Jarkko Ruutu.
MIGHTY MARTY
Martin Brodeur stopped 24 shots to reach 40 wins for a record seventh time in New Jersey’s 4-2 win over Colorado on Saturday. Brodeur extended his own NHL record by reaching 40 wins again. He broke the league mark last season by earning 48 victories, and is 18 shy of topping former Avalanche goalie Patrick Roy’s career record of 551 wins.
RUDE HOSTS
Anaheim improved to 25-8-4 at Honda Center after a 5-2 win over St. Louis on Saturday night. The Ducks, who also reached the 90-point mark for the third straight year and fourth time in franchise history, are one win shy of the club record for home wins set in 2005-06 and equaled last season.
MAKING THEM COUNT
The last two goals scored by Boston defenseman Aaron Ward have come in overtime against Philadelphia, the latter giving the Bruins a 3-2 win on Saturday. Ward, who has five goals this season, also beat the Flyers 42 seconds into overtime on Jan. 12, the last time he scored before Saturday.
ONE AWAY
Buffalo moved within a point of Philadelphia for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot after beating Toronto 6-2 Saturday night. The Maple Leafs still trail the Flyers by six points.
HAPPY HOMECOMING
Montreal’s Jaroslav Halak recorded his third NHL shutout in his first home start of the season Saturday night, making 30 saves in a 3-0 win over the New York Islanders. He went 7-0 with two shutouts at the Bell Centre as a rookie last season.
LONG TIME COMING
Dwayne Roloson made 38 saves in his first start in six weeks to lead Edmonton past Phoenix 5-2 Saturday night. Roloson’s rare start ended Mathieu Garon’s streak of 17 consecutive starts three shy of the franchise record of 20. … Nicklas Backstrom recorded his first shut out in more than five months, making 24 saves in Minnesota’s 2-0 win over Los Angeles. It was Backstrom’s first shutout since Oct. 10 against Edmonton after recording five as a rookie last season.
SUNDIN SIDELINED
Toronto captain Mats Sundin missed his first game of the season Saturday night because of a strained groin. It was just the 44th regular-season game the Maple Leafs have played without Sundin since he joined the team more than 13 years ago.
PASSED AWAY
Hall of Fame defenseman Ken Reardon died following a lengthy illness, the Montreal Canadiens said Saturday night. He was 86. Reardon was a two-time NHL first-team All-Star during his seven-year career, which included a pair of Stanley Cup championships. He also earned three second-team All-Star selections.
SPEAKING
“A big save by Pic. The shutout goes to him, I guess. I said, ‘I’d kiss you after the game,’ and I did.” – Tampa Bay goalie Mike Smith on defenseman Alexandre Picard, who slid across the crease to deny Jaromir Jagr moments after the New York Rangers’ captain stole an errant pass by Smith in the slot with 6 minutes left. The Lightning won 3-0.