The Vancouver Canucks captured their fifth straight win and extended their lead atop the Northwest Division with a 2-1 triumph over the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday.
Alexandre Bolduc and Mason Raymond netted goals to give Vancouver a 2-0 lead, while goaltender Roberto Luongo finished with 31 saves to preserve the victory.
Luongo had missed some time during the last week while his wife was giving birth to their child, but he held off Colorado in the final minute when the Avalanche took goaltender Craig Anderson off the ice for a sixth attacker.
PHOTO: REUTERS
“I was glad the game was over. I don’t know how much longer I could have lasted,” Luongo told reporters. “They were throwing everything at the net and we were doing a good job tying up sticks so they couldn’t get to the rebounds.”
Paul Stastny recorded his 15th goal of the season after 13 minutes, 35 seconds of the third period to close the deficit to 2-1 for the home side, but the Avalanche lost for the fifth time in six games to fall further behind the Canucks.
Vancouver (24-8-5) now have an eight-point lead over second-placed Colorado (20-14-5) in the division and are tied with three teams for the most points in the NHL.
The Canucks have defeated the Avalanche in all four meetings this season.
Anderson finished with 27 saves for Colorado, but Vancouver struck with a score after 18 minutes, 15 seconds of the first and got an insurance goal from Raymond at 3 minutes, 11 seconds in the third.
Raymond had missed the previous 10 games with a broken thumb.
FLYERS 3, RED WINGS 2
In Detroit, Michigan, James van Riemsdyk, Daniel Carcillo and Scott Hartnell scored to help the Philadelphia Flyers win for the first time in Detroit in more than 22 years.
Brian Boucher made 25 saves for Philadelphia.
Valtteri Filppula and Henrik Zetterberg scored for Detroit. Jimmy Howard stopped 24 shots before being pulled in favor of Chris Osgood at the start of the third period. Osgood made five saves.
In Sunday’s other action, it was:
‧ Panthers 3, Rangers 0
‧ Thrashers 4, Canadiens 3, OT
‧ Wild 6, Coyotes 5. OT
‧ Predators 4, Blue Jackets 1
‧ Stars 4, Blues 2
‧ Ducks 2, Blackhawks 1
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