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.
Jean-Sebastien Giguere stopped 25 shots to win for the first time since a 33-save effort at Nashville on Jan. 17. It was Giguere’s third shutout of the season and second straight as he earned one in Anaheim’s 1-0 shootout loss at St. Louis on Friday.
Panthers 8, Maple Leafs 0
TORONTO (AP) – Richard Zednik scored 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.
Tim Thomas made 24 saves for Boston, which had beaten the Sabres in three of the first four games this season. Thomas has lost his last two decisions after winning five in a row.
d 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.
hile 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.
Mark Streit had a goal and an assist in the second and Cristobal Huet 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.
a also scored for the Wild, who led the best team in the NHL 2-1 with 80 seconds to play.
Lightning 5, Blues 4
ST. LOUIS (AP) – Jason Ward scored his first goal in six weeks to help the Tampa Bay Lightning to their fifth consecutive road victory.
Paul Ranger scored two goals, and the Lightning also got goals from Martin St. Louis, Craig MacDonald and Nick Tarnasky. St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier each collected a pair of assists.
Tampa Bay goalie Johan Holmqvist recorded his fifth win in his last six decisions.
It was Tampa Bay’s first win in St. Louis since Oct. 13, 1992, their first visit in their initial season.
The Blues, who dropped their ninth game in the last 11 games, got goals from Brad Boyes, Keith Tkachuk, Jamal Mayers and David Perron.
Stars 3, Canucks 2, SO
DALLAS (AP) – Brenden Morrow scored in the sixth round of the shootout as the Stars extended their winning streak to four games.
Morrow added a goal and an assist in regulation, and Jere Lehtinen added a power-play goal for Dallas, which stretched its Pacific Division lead to four points over the runner-up San Jose Sharks.
Jussi Jokinen got the shootout under way for Dallas by beating Roberto Luongo, but Markus Naslund answered in the first round for Vancouver.
Neither team could convert in the next four rounds until Morrow connected, helping the Stars improve to 5-2 in shootouts this season.
Flames 4, Coyotes 3, SO
CALGARY, Alberta (AP) – Jarome Iginla tied it with 9 seconds left in regulation, then scored the shootout-winner as the Flames overcame a three-goal, third-period deficit.
With goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff pulled for an extra attacker, Iginla scored his 33rd goal of the season – his first goal in 11 games – into the top corner and over the blocker of Ilya Bryzgalov.
A few minutes later, Iginla, the third Calgary shooter, scored on a deke to his backhand to put the Flames into the shootout lead. Steven Reinprecht missed the net on Phoenix’s final attempt, giving Calgary the victory.
Dion Phaneuf scored the other goals in the third period for Calgary.
Nineteen-year-old rookie Peter Mueller had all three goals for Phoenix.
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