Boston Bruins stay on winning streak

BRUINS 4, THRASHERS 2

BRUINS 4, THRASHERS 2

Byron Dafoe made 21 saves in his season debut, and Dave Andreychuk scored twice to lead the Boston Bruins to their sixth consecutive victory, a 4-2 win over the Atlanta Thrashers on Saturday.

Darren Van Impe broke a 1-1 tie when he rebounded a Steve Heinze shot on a power play and beat goaltender Damian Rhodes at 18:13 of the second period.

Andreychuk got his first goal of the game just 1:11 later when he slipped a shot through Rhodes' pads to put the Bruins ahead 3-1.

Dafoe, who signed a three-year contract last week after missing the first 12 games due to a contract dispute, received a standing ovation just prior to the game.

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SABRES 2, ISLANDERS 1

In Buffalo, New York, Martin Biron won his third straight game in place of Dominik Hasek, and Brian Holzinger and Miroslav Satan scored to give Buffalo the win.

The Sabres have won five of their last six games and four straight at home after starting the season 0-5-2.

Mats Lindgren scored for the Islanders, who have won just one of their last six and entered the game with a league-low 23 goals.

The 22-year-old Biron made 24 saves and improved to 5-1. He replaced Hasek and picked up the win in a 3-2 overtime win over Florida on Oct. 29. In that game, Hasek sustained a groin injury that is expected to sideline the five-time Vezina Trophy winner for months.

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DEVILS 3, MAPLE LEAFS 3

In East Rutherford, New Jersey, Scott Gomez scored with 8:41 left in the third period to lift New Jersey to a tie with Toronto.

Gomez, who also assisted on the Devils' other two goals, tied the game for New Jersey when he pounced on a rebound off a Brendan Morrison shot and pushed the puck past Toronto goalie Curtis Joseph.

The Devils (7-5-2) dominated the overtime but were unable to convert. An apparent goal by Brian Rafalski was nullified by an offside call.

Mats Sundin's unassisted goal just 46 seconds into the third period gave Toronto a 3-2 lead. Sundin beat Martin Brodeur with a shot that slipped in off the goalies' pads.

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LIGHTNING 7, PENGUINS 4

In Pittsburgh, Sergey Gusev, Vincent Lecavalier and Fredrik Modin scored in the third period as Tampa Bay scored six consecutive goals to beat Pittsburgh.

The Penguins are winless in their last eight games (0-6-2) and are 0-3-2 at home this season. The winless streak ties their worst stretch in Kevin Constantine's three seasons as coach.

Gusev scored at 1:07 of the third period to tie the game at 4-4 after trailing 4-1. Lecavalier gave Tampa Bay its first lead of the game on a power-play tally at 4:32 when he took Pavel Kubina's cross-ice pass and beat goaltender Jean-Sebastien Aubin with a shot from the right circle.

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SENATORS 2, CANADIENS 1

In Kanata, Ontario, Marian Hossa and rookie Mike Fisher scored to give Ottawa the win and keep Montreal winless in its last eight games.

Martin Rucinsky scored for Montreal, which has scored just 11 goals over the winless streak.

The Senators (10-4-1) improved to 7-1-1 at home and have outscored their opponents 30-15 in that span.

Montreal (3-11-1) entered the contest last in the NHL in winning percentage. It has been 64 years (1935-36) since the Canadiens were in last place this late in the season.