NHL Roundup for Tuesday’s games

Canadiens 4, Devils 0

MONTREAL — Carey Price made 38 saves for his second shutout, and Bryan Smolinski and Saku Koivu scored first-period goals as the Montreal Canadiens beat New Jersey to move ahead of the Devils into first place in the Eastern Conference. Maxim Lapierre scored in the second period to put Montreal up 3-0, Michael Ryder scored with 2:21 remaining in the third and Montreal ended New Jersey’s three-game winning streak.

The final minute of the game was played throughout a sustained ovation which was punctuated by a load roar from the sellout crowd of 21,273 at the final siren. Price turned aside 20 shots in the first period and 13 in the second as the Canadiens built a lead despite being out-shot 33-18 in the first two periods. The 20-year-rookie improved to 5-2 in seven starts since taking over the No. 1 job when Cristobal Huet was sent to Washington at the trade deadline.

Avalanche 5, Thrashers 2

ATLANTA — Andrew Brunette scored two goals and the Colorado Avalanche got a goal and two assists each from Joe Sakic and rookie David Jones. The Avalanche moved into a tie for first place in the Northwest Division. Colorado has won 10 of 14 on the road, seven of eight overall. Jones scored his first career goal to make it 4-1 in the second. Now in his third stint with Colorado this season, Jones assisted on Brunette’s 16th goal and Sakic’s 10th goal to help the Avalanche take a 2-0 lead in the first. Colby Armstrong had an unassisted goal midway through the first for the Thrashers, who lost their second straight and have just one victory in 11 games. Milan Hejduk’s 22nd goal came in the first minute of the second after Scott Hannan passed from the left circle and beat goaltender Johan Hedberg stick side.

Red Wings 3, Blackhawks 1

DETROIT — Pavel Datsyuk scored a go-ahead goal late in the second period. The NHL-leading Red Wings have won four straight after enduring their worst slump in nearly two decades. Detroit’s Kirk Maltby scored in the first period and Johan Franzen added an empty-net goal in the final minute. Chris Osgood made 19 saves, including one against former Red Wing Robert Lang on a penalty shot midway through the game. Goaltender Corey Crawford kept the Blackhawks in it with 45 saves, playing just his sixth career game and fourth this season. Chicago’s Rene Bourque tied the game at 1-all midway through the first period, about two minutes after Maltby scored. The Blackhawks were 10-5-1 heading into the game, giving themselves a chance to rally for a playoff spot. Before Detroit’s current winning streak, the Red Wings had won only one of 11 games in their worst skid since going 12 games without a win in 1989.

Lightning 8, Islanders 4

TAMPA, Fla. — Vincent Lecavalier scored three goals and Michel Ouellet added two, leading Tampa Bay the New York Islanders. Lightning coach John Tortorella moved past Bob Johnson to become the winningest American-born NHL coach with 235 victories. Jeff Halpern, Nick Tarnasky and Jason Ward had the other Lightning goals. Tampa Bay, last in the Eastern Conference, won for just the second time in 12 games. Bill Guerin, Ruslan Fedotenko, Ben Walter and Mike Comrie scored for the Islanders, who have lost five of six. New York started play 12th in the Eastern Conference and seven points behind eighth-place Philadelphia, which played at Toronto. New York goalie Rick DiPietro allowed eight goals on 44 shots.

Senators 4, Bruins 1

OTTAWA — Dany Heatley scored three goals and set up another. After scoring just three goals in 13 games, Heatley has four goals in his past two contests, both wins for the Senators. Jason Spezza had a goal and an assist for Ottawa, and Andrej Meszaros added two assists. Goalie Martin Gerber made his sixth straight start for the Senators and looks to have solidified his lock on the No. 1 position as Ray Emery sits.

Gerber made 28 saves. He lost his shutout bid when Glen Murray scored with less than three minutes to play in the third period. Alex Auld made his third straight start for the Bruins since relieving Tim Thomas during an 8-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs in Boston on March 6. He made 21 saves. The Bruins have just one win in their past six games. The Senators scored three times in the second, including twice on the power play. Heatley opened the scoring at 5:44 with a wrist shot from the along the boards just seconds after Gerber made a stop off Boston forward Phil Kessel.

Maple Leafs 4, Flyers 3

TORONTO — Pavel Kubina scored 4:04 into overtime to complete a comeback from a three-goal deficit. Mats Sundin, Kubina and Jeremy Williams scored third-period goals for the Maple Leafs. Scottie Upshall, Braydon Coburn and Daniel Briere scored for Philadelphia. Kubina threw the puck out from behind the goal and had it go in off a Flyers defenseman for the game-winner. Toronto is six points behind the Flyers for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference heading into today’s rematch at Wachovia Center. Flyers goalie Martin Biron made 51 saves.

Associated Press