Greg de Vries scored 3:05 into overtime, after Atlanta wiped out a two-goal deficit with power-play tallies in the final two minutes of regulation, and the Thrashers defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 6-5 Friday night.
After Peter Bondra cut the deficit to one with 1:50 remaining, Patrick Stefan tied it 5-5 with only 7 seconds left for Atlanta, which snapped a three-game losing streak to the Flyers.
Ilya Kovalchuk had two goals and three assists, and rookie Michael Garnett made 31 saves to record his first NHL win. It was the Thrashers' second victory in Philadelphia in their six-season history (2-8-2).
Branko Radivojevic had two goals and an assist for the Flyers, who entered with the league's worst penalty-killing unit and yielded four goals in 10 short-handed situations.
Radivojevic scored twice and Simon Gagne added a goal in a span of 4:24 of the second period to give the Flyers a 4-3 lead. Derian Hatcher made it a two-goal advantage with 1:02 left in the frame.
Devils 5, Canadiens 3
At East Rutherford, New Jersey, Brian Gionta scored two goals, including the winning tally in the third period, and Scott Gomez had a goal and two assists to lead New Jersey over Montreal.
Viktor Kozlov and John Madden also scored for New Jersey, and Martin Brodeur made 25 saves.
Tomas Plekanec, Richard Zednik and Saku Koivu scored consecutive, second-period goals as the Canadiens wiped out a 2-0 Devils lead but lost in regulation on the road for the first time this season (6-1-2).
Gomez and Gionta scored first period, power-play goals for the Devils.
Blackhawks 5, Flames 2
At Calgary, Alberta, Mark Bell and rookie Mark Cullen each scored twice as Chicago ended Calgary's eight-game winning streak.
Chicago weathered a rough first period before scoring three goals in the second to take control. The Blackhawks were called for nine straight minor penalties before Bell tied it 2-2 on Chicago's first power play.
Matthew Barnaby also scored for the Blackhawks, who have won four of five. Nikolai Khabibulin made 29 saves, including 11 in the final period to improve to 15-2-2 against Calgary.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
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