Hurricanes blank Leafs
By The Associated Press

TORONTO – Kevin Weekes made 32 saves for his sixth shutout of the season and Erik Cole scored a short-handed goal as the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-0 Tuesday night.

Weekes has the second most shutouts in the NHL this season, four fewer than New Jersey’s Martin Brodeur. Weekes is 17-7-7 this season and is the only goalie to win a game for the Hurricanes.

He made several impressive saves throughout for his 19th career shutout. More than a few Toronto players missed the net with shots.

Toronto outshot Carolina 32-19, but went 0-for-6 on the power play.

Josef Vasicek also scored for the Hurricanes, who have won just two of their last six games. Toronto entered tied for the most points in the Eastern Conference.

Bret Hedican assisted on Cole’s breakaway goal. Hedican shot the puck off the boards to Cole, who streaked toward the net before putting a wrist shot over Ed Belfour’s glove midway through the first.

Lightning 6, Penguins 2

PITTSBURGH – Pavel Kubina scored two power-play goals 54 seconds apart, Cory Stillman added two goals during Tampa Bay’s four-goal third period, and the Lightning ran the Pittsburgh Penguins’ home losing streak to a club-record eight games by winning 6-2 Tuesday night.

The game was the first in the NHL in more than two seasons with multiple penalty shots – both unsuccessful. Penguins rookie Marc-Andre Fleury smothered Dan Boyle’s shot at 15:44 of the second and Brian Holzinger shot high and wide off the glass at 12:00 of the third after a Lightning player threw a stick as he skated down the slot.

Despite opening a 1-0 lead – their first at home since they beat Chicago 1-0 on Dec. 29 – the Penguins have been outscored 40-8 during the longest single-season home ice losing streak in their 37-year history.

Fredrik Modin had a goal and two assists, and Brad Richards had three assists as the Lightning finished off a 3-0-0-1 road trip and improved to 9-2-0-2 in their last 13 games.

Devils 4, Blue Jackets 3

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Grant Marshall scored in his first game against his former team and Patrik Elias added a goal and an assist in the New Jersey Devils’ 4-3 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets .

Marshall spent almost two full years with the Blue Jackets before being traded to the Devils late last season for a draft pick.

Sergei Brylin added a goal, and Martin Brodeur stopped 28 shots as New Jersey won its third in a row. Brian Gionta also scored, into an empty net.

Rick Nash scored his NHL-leading 31st goal for the Blue Jackets, who traded top defenseman Darryl Sydor to Tampa Bay earlier Tuesday for center Alexander Svitov. Nash added an assist.

Sabres 4, Canadiens 1

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Maxim Afinogenov scored to spark a three-goal third period that lifted the Buffalo Sabres to a 4-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night.

Chris Drury and Ales Kotalik had a goal and assist apiece, and Alexei Zhitnik also scored for the Sabres. Martin Biron stopped 29 shots to help Buffalo rally from a 1-0 deficit and win for just the sixth time this season.

Saku Koivu scored for the Canadiens, who have lost three straight for only the third time this season. It was also Montreal’s sixth consecutive loss at Buffalo, dating to Oct. 26, 2001.

Afinogenov’s goal, that came after the Sabres were outshot 9-1 in the period, turned the tide and gave the Sabres a 2-1 lead.

Derek Roy skated up the left wing before he had the puck knocked off his stick by Montreal defender Craig Rivet. Afinogenov pounced on the loose puck in the left circle and drove to the net, snapping a shot that beat Jose Theodore high on the short side.

Flames 2, Coyotes 1

GLENDALE, Ariz. – Shean Donovan scored on a penalty shot with 2:08 remaining to give the Calgary Flames a 2-1 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes on Tuesday night.

Donovan was awarded the penalty shot – his second successful attempt of the season – after he was pulled down from behind by Phoenix defenseman Ossi Vaananen, who had slipped and lost the puck to the Calgary forward.

Donovan skated slowly toward the crease, faked a shot to his backhand to draw goalie Sean Burke to the ice, pulled the puck back across his body and slipped it into the right side of the net for his 16th goal of the season. Donovan also scored on a penalty shot Dec. 2 against San Jose.

Jarome Iginla added his team-leading 19th goal to help the Flames beat the Coyotes for the third straight time.

Avalanche 3, Oilers 1

DENVER – Peter Forsberg scored two goals for the second straight game since returning from a groin injury, and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Edmonton Oilers 3-1 on Tuesday night.

Colorado goaltender David Aebischer had 33 saves and recorded an assist on one of Forsberg’s goals. Edmonton rookie goalie Ty Conklin had 19 saves.

Steve Konowalchuk had the other Colorado goal, and Radek Dvorak scored for Edmonton.

Colorado, the Western Conference points leader, is 12-1-1-1 in its last 15 games. Edmonton has lost three straight.

Oilers forward Mike York fractured a finger in the second period and didn’t return.

Dvorak’s goal gave Edmonton a 1-0 lead in the first period.

The Oilers had an apparent goal by Ryan Smyth disallowed at 5:22. After consulting video replay, referee Dan O’Halloran ruled that Smyth kicked the puck into the net with his left skate.

Five minutes later, Dvorak got a goal that counted. The Oilers dug the puck out of the left corner, and Dvorak scored from the slot at 10:42.

Smyth hit the right post with a shot later in the period, and Colorado’s Joe Sakic fired wide on a two-on-one rush.

Forsberg got the lone goal of the second period, his 13th.

Seven minutes into the period, Edmonton had outshot Colorado 9-0, but the Avalanche regrouped. Forsberg chipped in his own rebound from just left of the goal at 11:24.

Edmonton, which outshot Colorado 17-6 in the period, had three straight power plays but couldn’t convert.

Forsberg scored again at 6:18 of the third period during Colorado’s first power play of the game. He skated from the left boards to the right side, eluding a defender, and beat Conklin from the right circle. Aebischer got the second assist on the goal, playing the puck just outside of the net and passing to Derek Morris.

Konowalchuk scored at 18:23 on another power play, taking Rob Blake’s pass in the slot.

Notes: Edmonton G Tommy Salo started 15 of the previous 17 games. … Colorado forward Milan Hejduk is the NHL’s offensive player of the week. He had three goals and five assists in four road games last week, including a penalty-shot goal in overtime against Tampa Bay. … Colorado forward Andrei Nikolishin missed his second straight game with an abdominal muscle injury, and Peter Worrell was scratched because of a bruised knee. … Colorado forward Travis Brigley returned after missing 18 games with a back injury.

AP-ES-01-27-04 2342EST