(Sports Network) - Mike Richards' power-play blast 2:05 into overtime sent Philadelphia over Tampa Bay, 4-3, at the Wachovia Center. With Ryan Malone off for interference, Kimmo Timonen held the puck in the left circle and left a perfect no-look backhand pass for Richards, who blasted the game-winner high and inside the right post. Richards netted two goals, as did Jeff Carter for the Flyers, who wasted a two-goal lead but recovered to snap a two-game slide. Timonen and Joffrey Lupul each added a pair of assists. Martin Biron overcame a rough night and made 34 saves for the win. Mark Recchi, Vinny Prospal and Steve Downie tallied for the Lightning, which failed to secure a win for head coach Rick Tocchet in his return to Philadelphia. Mike Smith allowed four goals on 32 shots in defeat.

Final Score: Florida 5, Washington 3 Washington, DC (Sports Network) - Ville Peltonen, Radek Dvorak and Gregory Campbell each had a goal and an assist, leading the Florida Panthers to a 5-3 win over Washington and handing the Capitals (web|news) their first regulation home loss of the season. Jay Bouwmeester and Bryan McCabe also scored for the Panthers, who have registered points in five straight games, going 3-0-2 in that span. Craig Anderson made 23 saves to get the win. Nicklas Backstrom, Tomas Fleischmann and Viktor Kozlov each posted a goal and assist for the Capitals, who lost for the sixth time in their last nine outings. The uneven Jose Theodore, who earned his 27th career shutout as the Caps defeated Montreal, 3-0, on Friday, allowed four goals on 21 shots for Washington, which is 9-1-1 at the Verizon Center.



Final Score: Montreal 5, Atlanta 4

Montreal, QC (Sports Network) - Robert Lang's empty-net goal proved to be the game-winner in a wild finish at Bell Centre, as the Montreal Canadiens blew a a three-goal lead in the third period but eventually barely held on to secure a 5-4 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers. Andrei Kostitsyn's goal with 5:11 remaining in regulation put the Habs back on top 4-3 after they allowed three Atlanta goals within 59 seconds earlier in the period. Andrei Markov, Matt D'Agostini and Tomas Plekanec also scored for Montreal, which has won three of its last four games. Carey Price allowed four goals on 26 shots in the victory. Ron Hainsey scored twice for the Thrashers, who produced a stellar comeback with the three quick goals that erased a 3-0 deficit, but fell short and fell to 1-6-1 since a five-game win streak in early November. Jason Williams scored with 20 seconds remaining and Johan Hedberg made 28 saves in the losing effort.





Final Score: Dallas 3, Calgary 1

Calgary, AB (Sports Network) - Fabian Brunnstrom's second-period tally proved to be the game-winner, as the Dallas Stars defeated the Calgary Flames, 3-1, at the Pengrowth Saddledome. Toby Petersen and Loui Eriksson also scored for the Stars, who won consecutive games for the first time all season. Marty Turco, who entered play with a dreadful 3.61 goals-against average and crummy .868 save percentage, made 36 saves for Dallas. Before the game, the National Hockey League suspended Dallas forward Sean Avery indefinitely, pending a hearing with commissioner Gary Bettman. The renowned pest and antagonist was disciplined due to inappropriate public comments he made to the local Calgary media on Tuesday morning that did not pertain to the game. David Moss had the lone goal and Miikka Kiprusoff, who has started every game this season but one, allowed two goals on 22 shots for Calgary, which had a three-game winning streak snapped.



Final Score: Phoenix 4, Los Angeles 2

Glendale, AZ (Sports Network) - Enver Lisin scored twice in the third period to lead the Phoenix Coyotes to a 4-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings. Shane Doan also scored for the Coyotes, who have won three of their last four games on the heels of a six-game winless skid (0-4-2). Mikael Tellqvist made 32 saves in the win. Oscar Moller and Alex Frolov scored for the Kings, who have dropped two straight after a two-game win streak. Erik Ersberg allowed three goals on 25 shots in the losing effort.



Final Score: San Jose 5, Toronto 2

San Jose, CA (Sports Network) - Joe Thornton registered a goal and three assists to lead San Jose to a 5-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Shark Tank. Devin Setoguchi, Dan Boyle, Joe Pavelski and Marc-Edouard Vlasic also scored for the red-hot Sharks, who won their eighth consecutive game. Evgeni Nabokov made 29 saves in the victory. Nikolai Kulemin and Niklas Hagman scored for the Maple Leafs, who saw their brief two-game win streak halted. Vesa Toskala allowed five goals on 30 shots in the loss.





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