NHL Capsules
BUFFALO, - Mike Green snapped a third-period tie, Jose Theodore finished made 23 saves and the Washington Capitals upstaged Olympic hero Ryan Millers return to Buffalo in a 3-1 victory over the slumping Sabres on Wednesday night.
Jason Chimera also scored, and Boyd Gordon added an empty-net goal for Washington. Hours after acquiring four players at the trade deadline, the NHL-leading Capitals (42-13-8) ended a three-game losing streak in their first game following the Olympic break.
Miller made 37 saves in his first start since leading the United States to a silver medal and being selected the tournament MVP three days ago. He received a 45-second pregame standing ovation from the hometown fans.
Jochen Hecht scored for Buffalo. The Sabres (33-20-9) are 1-6-2 in their last nine games and have won just three times in regulation since Jan. 18 - a span of 16 games.
Panthers 7, Flyers 4
SUNRISE, Fla. - Michael Frolik scored twice, David Booth had a goal and three assists and Florida snapped a season-high seven-game losing streak.
Booth also fought in the first period with Flyers captain Mike Richards, whose open-ice hit in an Oct. 24 game caused a concussion that forced Booth to miss 45 games.
Bryan McCabe had three assists and had an empty-net goal, and Steven Reinprecht, Jason Garrison and Stephen Weiss added goals for the Panthers.
Daniel Briere, Jeff Carter, Ville Leino and Ryan Parent scored for the Flyers, who had their five-game winning streak snapped. Carter has scored in six consecutive games, tying New Jerseys Zach Parise, Tampa Bays Steven Stamkos and Ottawas Jason Spezza for the longest streak this season.
Avalanche 4, Ducks 3
ANAHEIM, Calif. - Matt Duchene scored the go-ahead goal with 11:51 to play, Peter Mueller scored in his Avalanche debut, and Colorado snapped Anaheims 11-game home winning streak.
Chris Stewart and T.J. Galiardi also scored and Craig Anderson made 31 saves for the Avalanche. Teemu Selanne scored his 598th goal, annd Scott Niedermayer and Jason Blake also scored for Anaheim.
Canucks 6, Red Wings 3
DETROIT - U.S. Olympian Ryan Kesler scored twice, and gold-medal winning Canadian goalie Roberto Luongo made 28 saves for Vancouver.
Alex Burrows, Kyle Wellwood, Sami Salo and Mikael Samuelsson also scored, and Henrik and Daniel Sedin each had three assists. Jason Williams, Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen scored for Detroit.
Blackhawks 5, Oilers 2
CHICAGO - Niklas Hjalmarsson, Dustin Byfuglien and Jonathan Toews scored in the third period to help the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Edmonton Oilers 5-2 on Wednesday night for their fifth victory in six games.
Marian Hossa and Dave Bolland also scored, Patrick Kane added two assists and the Blackhawks outshot Edmonton 47-14. Robert Nilsson and Shawn Horcoff scored for Edmonton. The Oilers have lost three straight and seven of their last eight.
Wild 4, Flames 0
CALGARY, Alberta - Niklas Backstrom made 29 saves for his second shutout of the season and Mikko Koivu and Andrew Brunette each had a goal and an assist for Minnesota.