UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) -Teemu Selanne gave the Anaheim Ducks’ slumping offense a jolt in his first game of the season.
The 37-year-old Finnish forward put off retirement and rejoined the Ducks on Tuesday night, playing his first game since he and Anaheim won the Stanley Cup last spring. He helped set up Scott Niedermayer’s power-play goal in the second period, and the Ducks went on to a 3-0 victory over the sinking New York Islanders.
Selanne paid instant dividends for the Ducks, who had lost six straight (0-5-1) and hadn’t scored in their previous two games, when Niedermayer beat Rick DiPietro 2:36 into the second.
Todd Marchant made it 2-0 at 2:51 of the third period and Doug Weight scored about five minutes later for the Ducks, who entered with an NHL-worst 2.36 goals per game.
t loss at St. Louis on Friday.
Panthers 8, Maple Leafs 0
TORONTO (AP) – Richard Zednik score three goals and Tomas Vokoun stopped all 23 shots he faced as the Florida Panthers routed the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Nathan Horton, Olli Jokinen, Cory Murphy, Steve Montador and Brett McLean also scored for Florida, which has won three straight games.
It was the largest loss of the season for the Maple Leafs.
The game started as a battle of teams trying desperately to get back in the Eastern Conference playoff picture, but the Panthers came out and pinned the Maple Leafs in their own end for the first two minutes and rarely looked threatened the rest of the night.
Zednik gave Florida a 1-0 lead at 6:31 of the first period while on a power play. He also scored power-play goals a minute apart in the final period to complete the hat trick and make it 7-0.
Sabres 4, Bruins 2
BOSTON (AP) – Daniel Paille scored twice, and Ryan Miller stopped 30 shots to lead the Buffalo Sabres.
Thomas Vanek broke a second-period tie to help the Sabres win for the fourth time in five games and climb back into playoff contention. Buffalo, which entered in 11th place in the conference, is four points behind the eighth-place Bruins for the last playoff spot in the East.
decisions after winning five in a row.
P.J. Axelsson scored for Boston with 9:48 gone in the first period to tie it 1. That was all the scoring for the Bruins until the final seconds, when Mark Stuart beat Miller for a meaningless goal.
Capitals 4, Blue Jackets 3, OT
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Alexander Ovechkin added to his NHL-leading goal total by scoring twice, including the winner in overtime, to lead Washington.
Ovechkin netted a low, hard shot from the right circle 2:28 into the overtime after taking a cross-ice pass from Tom Poti. It was his 45th of the season.
Poti, who tied it with 6:53 left in regulation, and Alexander Semin also had goals for the Capitals, who had been shut out in two of their last three starts.
Rick Nash scored two goals – one on a franchise-first three-on-five disadvantage and the other when a referee got tangled with a Washington defender – for the Blue Jackets. Jason Chimera added a goal for Columbus, which is on a season-worst four-game losing skid since the All-Star break.
Flyers 3, Thrashers 2
ATLANTA (AP) – Antero Nittymaki stopped 23 shots to stay perfect in eight decisions against Atlanta and Steve Downie scored with 4:29 left in the third period to give Philadelphia the victory.
Philadelphia has won nine straight against the Thrashers. The Flyers are 13-2-1 all-time at Atlanta and overall have won 24 of 30 games in the series, including three games this season.
Nittymaki has allowed only 13 goals while going 8-0 against the Thrashers. He earned the start even though Martin Biron had a five-game winning streak, including a shutout of Anaheim in his last start on Saturday night.
Downie’s goal was the only one of the night for the Flyers that did not come on a power play. Michael Knuble and Mike Richards also scored for Philadelphia.
Kings 4, Rangers 2
NEW YORK (AP) – Alexander Frolov and Anze Kopitar each had a goal and an assist to lead Los Angeles.
Scott Thornton and Brian Boyle also scored for Los Angeles, and Jason LaBarbera made 23 of his 39 saves in the second period.
The Kings, the NHL’s worst team coming in, continued their recent improvement by improving to 7-3-1 in their last 11 games. The Kings are unbeaten in the last five meetings with Rangers (4-0-1).
Chris Drury and Sean Avery scored for New York, which had won three straight and five of the last six.
Canadiens 4, Senators 3
MONTREAL (AP) – Tomas Plekanec had two goals and an assist, and Andrei Kostitsyn had a goal and two assists in the Montreal Canadiens’ victory.
Alex Kovalev had three assists as Montreal’s top line combined for nine points and the Canadiens ended a six-game losing streak against Ottawa, including their three previous meetings earlier this season.
made 26 saves as Montreal moved within one point of the Northeast Division-leading Senators, who also sit atop the Eastern Conference with 68 points.
Chris Kelly, Jason Spezza and Antoine Vermette scored for Ottawa, which has lost three in a row. Ottawa, which hadn’t lost to Montreal in over a year, has lost eight of 11 since All-Star right wing Dany Heatley separated a shoulder in a 3-2 win over league-leading Detroit on Jan. 12.
Predators 1, Hurricanes 0
NASHVILLE. Tenn. (AP) – Chris Mason made 31 saves for his fourth shutout this season, leading the Predators to a victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night.
J.P. Dumont scored for the Predators, who have won four straight.
With the game scoreless in the third period, Dumont skated in on the left side of the slot. Jason Arnott passed the puck across the crease from the right circle and Dumont beat Cam Ward with a one-timer that went between his stick side and the post at 11:59.
Red Wings 3, Wild 2, OT
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Dan Cleary tied the game with 1:20 to play in regulation and Brett Lebda scored 1:37 into overtime to lift Detroit to its eighth straight victory.
It was a heart-breaking loss for the Minnesota Wild, who entered 7-3 in their last 10 and controlled the action in the first two periods.
But they played a little too conservatively in the third period, and it cost them.
am record with a goal in his sixth straight game and Pavol Demitra also scored for the Wild, who led the best team in the NHL 2-1 with 80 seconds to play.
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