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Higgins helps Canadiens' cause

Calgary Flames wing Jarome Iginla, left, is shadowed by Los Angeles Kings defenseman Rob Blake in the third period of their NHL game in Los Angeles on Tuesday. PHOTO: AP

Christopher Higgins scored twice and Cristobal Huet made 42 saves, leading the surging Montreal Canadiens over the Buffalo Sabres 5-2 in the NHL on Tuesday.

Alex Kovalev, Maxim Lapierre and Francis Bouillon also scored for Montreal, which won its fourth straight and moved within five points of first-place Buffalo in the Northeast Division. Sheldon Souray and Sergei Samsonov each had two assists for the Canadiens.

Ales Kotalik and Jaroslav Spacek scored for Buffalo, which has lost consecutive games for the first time this season. Ryan Miller stopped 24 shots.

Montreal has not lost in regulation since Dec. 4.

Hurricanes 2, Flyers 1

At Philadelphia, Justin Williams and Anton Babchuk scored, and Carolina beat Philadelphia to hand the Flyers their franchise-record seventh straight loss.

Simon Gagne scored for the Flyers, who had dropped six in a row five times in their 40-year history -- including twice this season.

Philadelphia goalie Antero Niittymaki stopped 40 of a season-high 42 shots allowed by the Flyers.

Islanders 4, Rangers 3

At New York, Jason Blake scored three goals and the New York Islanders took advantage of the depleted and tired Rangers before holding on for a one-goal victory.

Blake's fourth NHL hat trick helped the Islanders take a 4-1 lead. He already has 19 goals, nine shy of his career best set last season.

Alexei Yashin also scored for the Islanders. Rick DiPietro gave up two goals to Jaromir Jagr but finished with 30 saves to win for the fifth time in seven decisions.

The Rangers have dropped three straight, getting outscored 19-6. Brendan Shanahan also scored for the Rangers.

Blues 4, Penguins 1

At Pittsburgh, Doug Weight and Dan Hinote each had a goal and an assist, and St. Louis beat uninspired Pittsburgh to stop an 11-game losing streak that was threatening a franchise record.

The Blues began the game with an NHL-low seven victories and a losing streak that was two short of last season's franchise-worst 13 in a row, only to dominate the Penguins for the second season in a row.

Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury was pulled early in the second after Ryan Johnson scored short-handed. Fleury allowed three goals on 12 shots.

Blues goalie Manny Legace also was lifted, with flulike symptoms, after stopping all nine shots he saw in the first period. Jason Bacashihua replaced him.

Lightning 5, Capitals 4

At Washington, Vincent Lecavalier scored his 200th career goal and assisted on Martin St. Louis' 21st and 22nd of the season, helping Tampa Bay build a big lead it nearly gave away before beating Washington.

Defenseman Filip Kuba added a goal and two assists, and Nikita Alexeev also scored for Tampa Bay, which snapped a four-game losing streak. The Lightning outshot the Capitals 29-9 through two periods while taking a 5-2 lead, bringing loud boos from an announced crowd of 10,417.

Bruins 7, Senators 2

At Ottawa, Marco Sturm scored three times and Marc Savard had two goals and two assists, leading Boston past Ottawa.

Patrice Bergeron had five assists, and Glen Murray and Paul Mara also scored to help Bruins captain Zdeno Chara win his first game in Ottawa since leaving the Senators last offseason.

Christoph Schubert scored Ottawa's first goal at 19:55 of the second -- with the Senators already trailing 5-0. Antoine Vermette added a 4-on-4 goal midway through the third.

Panthers 7, Maple Leafs 3

At Toronto, Gary Roberts scored twice against his former team and Ed Belfour made 33 saves in his first game in Toronto since he was cut by the Maple Leafs, leading Florida to a rout.

Ville Peltonen, Rostislav Olesz, Martin Gelinas, Joel Kwiatkowski and Nathan Horton also scored for the Panthers, who won back-to-back road games for the first time this season. They lost their previous five in Toronto.

Thrashers 4, Devils 3, SO

At East Rutherford, New Jersey, Marian Hossa scored two short-handed goals, then connected in the shootout to help Atlanta end a season-high five-game losing streak with a victory over New Jersey.

Slava Kozlov and Hossa, the first two shooters for Atlanta, beat Martin Brodeur. At the other end, Kari Lehtonen stopped Zach Parise and Brian Gionta.

Wild 5, Canucks 2

At St. Paul, Minnesota, Branko Radivojevic scored twice and Brian Rolston had a goal and an assist to lead Minnesota past Vancouver for a split of their home-and-home series.

Pavol Demitra and Mark Parrish also scored for the Wild, who won in regulation for only the second time in 21 games. Minnesota has five other wins during that stretch.

Avalanche 7, Oilers 6

At Edmonton, Alberta, Andrew Brunette scored three goals for Colorado and Brett McLean broke a tie midway through the third period, spoiling Edmonton's comeback bid.

Pierre Turgeon and Mark Rycroft also scored for Colorado, while Paul Stastny added a goal and three assists. Brunette had his first hat trick, and Peter Budaj made 31 saves.

Flames 5, Kings 3

At Los Angeles, David Moss and Richie Regehr scored their first NHL goals, leading Calgary past Los Angeles.

Jarome Iginla assisted on goals by Tony Amonte and Daymond Langkow

Kristian Huselius scored on a breakaway in the third period for the Flames. Jamie McLennan made 27 saves in his third start this season.

Rookie center Anze Kopitar had two goals and an assist for Los Angeles and Dustin Brown scored on a power play.
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