Flames, Canucks post victories, put heat on Wild in Northwest

Last update: March 21, 2008 - 12:01 AM

• CALGARY 2, COLORADO 1: Daymond Langkow, right, and Craig Conroy scored first-period, power-play goals, and the Flames beat the Avalanche in a pivotal Northwest Division clash on Thursday night in Calgary. The Flames and Vancouver are tied for sixth in the Western Conference, one point behind the Northwest Division-leading Wild. Matthew Lombardi twice drew hooking penalties as he attempted to go around the Avalanche defense, setting up the early power-play goals.

• VANCOUVER 4, EDMONTON 1: Matt Pettinger's late second-period goal helped the Canucks win their third consecutive game and cool off the surging Oilers in Edmonton. The Canucks have won six of eight and moved into a sixth place tie in the Western Conference, one point back of the Northwest Division-leading Wild. The Canucks play host to Minnesota tonight.

• LOS ANGELES 6, PHOENIX 5 (SO): Patrick O'Sullivan scored the only goal in the shootout as the Kings defeated the Coyotes in Phoenix. Former Gopher Keith Ballard scored a power-play goal with 25 seconds for Phoenix to force overtime.

• MONTREAL 4, BOSTON 2: Alex Kovalev, right, had two goals and an assist, and Carey Price made 34 saves to lift the Canadiens to a victory over the Bruins in Boston, and push them back into first place in the Eastern Conference.

• DETROIT 6, NASHVILLE 3: Johan Franzen's third-period goal broke a tie and sent the Red Wings to a victory over the Predators in Nashville. Niklas Kronwall, Chris Chelios, and Brian Rafalski each scored second-period goals for the Red Wings, and Pavel Datsyuk added an insurance tally late in the third. Nashville missed a chance to gain ground on Colorado, which lost to Calgary. The Predators are four points behind the Avalanhce for the final playoff spot in the West.

• OTTAWA 3, ST. LOUIS 2: Jason Spezza scored his 31st goal and Martin Gerber stopped 24 shots to lead the Senators to a victory over the Blues in Ottawa. Antoine Vermette and Christoph Schubert also scored for Ottawa, fifth in the Eastern Conference with 89 points, two more than the New York Rangers.

• PITTSBURGH 4, TAMPA BAY 2: Evgeni Malkin had a goal and an assist, and the host Penguins moved into a tie for first place in the Atlantic Division with a victory over the Lightning. Pittsburgh and New Jersey both have 91 points, one fewer than Eastern Conference-leading Montreal.

• FLORIDA 2, CAROLINA 1: Sergei Samsonov and Eric Staal scored in the shootout for the Hurricanes, who ended Florida's team-record tying, seven-game winning streak with a victory over the host Panthers.

NOTES

• Teppo Numminen filed a grievance against the Sabres for suspending him without pay after the veteran defenseman failed a preseason physical because he required open-heart surgery. The grievance was filed with the NHL Players' Association in November, union spokesman Jonathan Weatherdon said. News of the grievance surfaced as Numminen rejoined the team this week. Numminen had previously declined to discuss whether he was unhappy with the Sabres' decision to place him on their suspended list after it was discovered during a routine physical in September that he required surgery to repair a faulty valve.

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