BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) -Steve Bernier scored twice and added an assist in his Sabres’ debut, pushing Buffalo back into a playoff position with a 8-4 win over the Nashville Predators on Wednesday night.
Ryan Miller stopped 24 shots to earn his 29th victory despite missing eight minutes of the second period after having his nose bloodied by Marek Zidlicky’s shot that hit him on the mask. Bernier scored on his first two shots, giving Buffalo a 2-0 lead, a day after being acquired in a trade that sent All-Star defenseman Brian Campbell to San Jose.
Toni Lydman had a career high four assists, Ales Kotalik had a goal and two assists, and Derek Roy, Daniel Paille, Jason Pominville, Tim Connolly and Andrew Peters also scored.
Jason Arnott scored twice for the Predators, 0-2-1 in their past three games.
Sharks 4, Blue Jackets 2
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Brian Campbell notched his first point for San Jose and the Sharks scored three goals in an 8-minute span of the second period to beat Columbus.
Jonathan Cheechoo ran his goal streak to four games, Joe Pavelski had a goal and an assist, and Torrey Mitchell and Jeremy Roenick also scored for the Sharks, who won their third in a row and improved to 20-8-3 on the road. Joe Thornton added two assists, and Evgeni Nabokov had 17 saves.
David Vyborny ended a 24-game goal drought by scoring twice for Columbus.
Wild 3, Lightning 2
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – Pierre-Marc Bouchard had two assists to lead Minnesota past Tampa Bay.
Todd Fedoruk, Pavol Demitra and Brian Rolston scored the goals for the Wild, who snapped a four-game losing streak.
Michel Ouellet and Jeff Halpern found the net for the Lightning, who are last in the Eastern Conference and have lost five straight.
Maple Leafs 4, Panthers 3, SO
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) – Mats Sundin’s second goal with 1:08 left in regulation forced overtime, and Toronto went on to a shootout victory over Florida.
Tomas Kaberle scored the only goal of the shootout, and Toronto’s Vesa Toskala sealed the victory when he blocked Olli Jokinen’s wrist shot.
Sundin, among five Toronto players who declined to waive no-trade clauses before Tuesday’s NHL dealing deadline, had two goals and an assist.
Jeremy Williams had the other goal for the Leafs, who have won five of six.
Jassen Cullimore, Brett McLean and Rostislav Olesz scored for Florida, which has lost five of six.
Blackhawks 1, Coyotes 0
CHICAGO (AP) – Patrick Lalime made 32 saves for his first shutout in more than a year, and Jason Williams scored the lone goal in Chicago’s win over Phoenix.
Lalime wasn’t tested heavily in posting his first shutout since Feb. 7, 2007, and the 35th of his NHL career. He started his third straight game for Chicago because No. 1 goalie Nikolai Khabibulin remained sidelined due to back spasms.
Ilya Bryzgalov stopped 24 shots for Phoenix. He made several tough saves early before Williams scored 7:58 into the game.
Avalanche 3, Canucks 2, SO
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) – Joe Sakic tied the game with 14.7 seconds left, and Marek Svatos scored the winning goal in the shootout, lifting Colorado to a win over Vancouver.
Alexandre Burrows scored on a wild scramble with 1:45 left in the third period to give the Canucks a 2-1 lead, but Sakic knocked in a rebound in the closing second after Jose Theodore was pulled for an extra attacker.
Sakic, playing his third game after missing three months following sports hernia surgery, also beat Roberto Luongo in the shootout before Svatos won it.
Andrew Brunette also scored and Theodore made 29 saves as Colorado won for the second straight night to move into a tie with Nashville for eighth place in the Western Conference, one point behind the Canucks.
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