Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA ó David Krejci and Dennis Wideman scored 25 seconds apart in the third period, lifting the NHL-leading Boston Bruins to a 3-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday night.
Michael Ryder also scored for the Bruins, who improved to 38-8-6.
Wild 3, Ducks 0
ST. PAUL, Minn. ó Andrew Brunette and Mikko Koivu scored goals, and All-Star Niklas Backstrom made them stand with his sixth shutout of the season.
Red Wings 5, Coyotes 4
DETROIT ó Niklas Lidstrom’s power-play goal with 39 seconds left won it. Lidstrom’s shot from the point went in off Coyotes defenseman Ken Klee’s stick.
Marian Hossa scored two goals for the second consecutive game and Henrik Zetterberg and Mikael Samuelsson also scored for Detroit. Chris Osgood made 22 saves.
Sabres 5, Maple Leafs 0
BUFFALO, N.Y. ó Thomas Vanek scored a natural hat trick, and Ryan Miller was barely tested in stopping 16 shots for his second consecutive shutout.
Tim Connolly and Drew Stafford had a goal and assist each for Buffalo, playing its first home game in nearly three weeks after going 3-3 during a six-game road trip which spanned the NHL All-Star break. Vanek, who now has 32 goals, added an assist during his fifth career three-goal game and first this year.
Penguins 4, Lightning 3, OT
PITTSBURGH ó Evgeni Malkin finished a frantic Pittsburgh rally with 15.5 seconds left in overtime for his second goal. Malkin began the comeback, set off when he was checked by former teammate Mark Recchi into a corner early in the third, by scoring his first goal not long after that. He later set up Petr Sykora’s tying goal with 3:29 remaining in regulation after Sykora assisted on Mark Eaton’s goal.
NOTES
– RALEIGH ó Carolina captain Rod Brind’Amour came back from the Hurricanes’ West Coast trip early due to a lower-body injury and won’t play tonight against San Jose.
– PHOENIX ó NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said the league is trying to help the financially struggling Phoenix Coyotes and called reports of the franchise’s demise “ridiculous” on Wednesday night.
– ANAHEIM, Calif. ó The Anaheim Ducks acquired forward Mike Brown from the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday in exchange for defenseman Nathan McIver.