NHL Hockey Betting

MONTREAL 3, VANCOUVER 0

MONTREAL Jaroslav Halak turned aside all 34 shots he faced and Tomas Plekanec recorded a goal and an assist as Montreal Canadiens snapped the Vancouver Canucks four-game winning streak with a 3-0 triumph.

All-Star defenseman Andrei Markov also tallied and Maxim Lapierre added an empty-net goal for Montreal, which won its second straight after posting a 3-11-1 mark in its previous 15 games.

Halak turned aside eight shots in the first period and 13 in both the second and third to secure his first blanking of the season and fourth career.

The netminder received a helping hand with 6 1/2 minutes remaining in the third, as a shot squeezed between his pads and trickled toward the goal line before defenseman Patrice Brisebois cleared the puck away.

Captain Roberto Luongo finished with 14 saves for Vancouver, which fell to 8-2-0 in its last 10 games.

Plekanec opened the scoring with 78 seconds remaining in the first period.

After killing off a 5-on-3 power play, the Canadiens struck quickly as captain Saku Koivu stripped the puck from Vancouvers Kyle Wellwood and fed Plekanec, who just returned to the ice after serving his penalty.

Plekanec skated in on Luongo and wristed the puck past the netminder for his 16th goal of the season.

Koivu was credited with an assist for his 623rd point, tying him with Elmer Lach for 10th place in franchise history.

Halak preserved the one-goal lead midway through the second period by stopping Pavol Demitra on a breakaway.

Markov doubled the advantage with 3:52 remaining in the second after accepting a cross-crease feed from Plekanec and tapping it inside the left goalpost for his eighth tally of the campaign.

OTTAWA 4, CAROLINA 2

OTTAWA Alex Auld made 41 saves and All-Star Dany Heatley was one of four different goal scorers Tuesday as the Ottawa Senators posted a 4-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes.

Chris Kelly, newly acquired Mike Comrie and Jason Spezza each tallied while captain Daniel Alfredsson and Antoine Vermette notched two assists apiece for Ottawa, which snapped a three-game skid.

Patrick Eaves and blue-liner Anton Babchuk netted goals for the Hurricanes, who saw their three-game winning streak come to an end.

CALGARY 4, COLUMBUS 1

CALGARY, Alberta Captain Jarome Iginla scored two goals and set up two others and Mike Cammalleri recorded a goal and two assists to lead the Calgary Flames to a 4-1 triumph overthe Columbus Blue Jackets.

Defenseman Dion Phaneuf also tallied and Miikka Kiprusoff made 28 saves for the Flames, who have won three games in a row and six of their last eight.

R.J. Umberger scored and rookie Steve Mason stopped 24 shots for the Blue Jackets, who opened their three-game trip through Western Canada on a sour note after winning six of their previous eight contests.

EDMONTON 5, TAMPA BAY 3

EDMONTON, Alberta All-Star defenseman Sheldon Souray scored twice and Andrew Cogliano recorded a goal and an assist as the Edmonton Oilers snapped a three-game losing streak by defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning, 5-3.

Erik Cole and blue-liner Jason Strudwick also tallied and Dwayne Roloson made 26 saves for Edmonton, which had been held to three goals or fewer in each of its previous five contests.

Defenseman Cory Murphy netted a pair of goals and rookie Steven Stamkos also scored in support of Karri Ramos 40-save performance for the Lightning, who have dropped five of six.

BOSTON 6, FLORIDA 1

BOSTON Rookie Byron Bitz scored two goals and Michael Ryder recorded a goal and an assist in his return from a seven-game absence as the Boston Bruins toppled the Florida Panthers, 6-1.

Patrice Bergeron and defensemen Aaron Ward and Mark Stuart netted goals while Stephane Yelle and All-Star Marc Savard notched two assists apiece for Boston, which had dropped six of its last seven contests.

Kamil Kreps scored the lone goal and Craig Anderson stopped 33 shots for the Panthers, who blanked the Bruins, 2-0, on Saturday.

ATLANTA 4, COLORADO 3

ATLANTA Defenseman Tobias Enstrom and Rich Peverley each netted their first career shorthanded goal as the Atlanta Thrashers snapped a four-game home losing skid with a 4-3 victory over the Colorado Avalanche.

Enstrom and Peverley also collected an assist apiece and Kari Lehtonen made 30 saves for the Thrashers, who had not won at Philips Arena since January 20.

All-Star Ilya Kovalchuk and Marty Reasoner also scored for Atlanta, which had posted a 4-8-1 record over its previous 13 contests.

Milan Hejduk tallied twice, rookie Chris Stewart scored and Peter Budaj stopped 22 shots for the Avalanche, who have lost six of their last nine contests and sit in last place in the Western Conference.

ANAHEIM 3, BUFFALO 2

BUFFALO, New York All-Star Jean-Sebastien Giguere finished with 34 saves to help the Anaheim Ducks defeat the Buffalo Sabres, 3-2, for the second time this month.

Teemu Selanne put Anaheim ahead just 70 seconds into the first period and Todd Marchants shorthanded goal midway through the second gave the Ducks the lead for good.

Mike Brown also scored his second career NHL goal and first in 43 games as Anaheim defeated Buffalo for the third straight time.

Ales Kotalik had a goal and an assist and Paul Gaustad also scored for the Sabres.

PHILADELPHIA 4, WASHINGTON 2

WASHINGTON Scott Hartnell, Jeff Carter and Arron Asham scored in just over a three-minute span in the third period as the Philadelphia Flyers scored four unanswered goals en route to a 4-2 triumph over the Washington Capitals.

Rookie Claude Giroux netted a power-play goal, Joffrey Lupul notched a pair of assists and Antero Niittymaki turned aside 33 shots for Philadelphia, which improved to 6-2-0 in its last eight contests.

Alex Ovechkin netted his league-leading 44th goal of the season and added an assist for Washington, which fell to 4-2-0 in its last six games.

Nicklas Backstrom added a power-play goal and Jose Theodore finished with 33 saves for the Capitals, who saw their 13-game home winning streak against Eastern Conference rivals come to an end.

LOS ANGELES 2, MINNESOTA 1 (SO)

ST. PAUL, Minnesota Rookie defenseman Drew Doughty scored the decisive goal in the fourth round of the shootout, lifting the Los Angeles Kings to a 2-1 victory over the Minnesota Wild.

Fellow blue-liner Jack Johnson also tallied in the bonus format after tying the contest with a power-play goal in regulation for the Kings, who had lost five of their previous six contests.

Rookie Jonathan Quick turned aside 23 shots for Los Angeles, which has won six of its last seven games on the road.

Antti Miettinen netted a shorthanded goal in regulation and scored in the shootout and Niklas Backstrom made 24 saves for the Wild, who have lost four of their last six games.

NASHVILLE 5, CHICAGO 3

NASHVILLE, Tennessee The Nashville Predators got goals from four different players in the third period to storm past the Chicago Blackhawks and record a 5-3 win.

All-Star defenseman Shea Weber and J.P. Dumont netted a power-play goal apiece and David Legwand and Joel Ward also tallied in the decisive session for the Predators, who stormed back from a 3-1 deficit after two periods.

Captain Jason Arnott also scored, Martin Erat recorded three assists in the third and defenseman Dan Hamhuis set up a pair of tallies as Nashville scored five goals for the first time since January 28.

Dustin Byfuglien, Martin Havlat and All-Star Patrick Kane scored for Chicago, which lost just its fourth road game in its last 13 contests.

ST LOUIS 2, PHOENIX 1

ST. LOUIS David Perron and Jay McClement both scored in the second period to lead the St. Louis Blues to a 2-1 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes.

Chris Mason made 24 saves and the Blues killed off three penalties en route to their third win in the last five games.

After captain Shane Doans 23rd goal of the season put the Coyotes on top in the first period, Perron and McClement found the net within two minutes of each other late in the second period before Mason took over in the third.