NHL | Brodeur records 11th 30-win season

TAMPA, Fla. - Martin Brodeur made 28 saves, extending his NHL record for consecutive 30-win seasons to 11, and the New Jersey Devils beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 2-0, last night.

Brodeur (30-13-4) also recorded his NHL-best ninth shutout this season and the 89th of his career.

Brian Gionta and Jay Pandolfo scored for the Devils, who are 11-1-2 over the last 14 games.

Tampa Bay goalie Johan Holmqvist stopped 23 shots. The Lightning lost for just the second time in their last nine games.

Blue Jackets 3, Sabres 2

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Dan Fritsche jammed in a rebound on the second try midway through the third period for the decisive goal in Columbus' victory over Buffalo.

The Sabres, cheered by thousands of fans who made the trip, fell to 24-2-2 when on top after two.

Manny Malhotra centered a pass to Rostislav Klesla, who was trailing the play, for a high shot that eluded Buffalo goaltender Ryan Miller and tied the score at the 5-minute, 22-second mark of the third period.

Thrashers 5, Islanders 4

ATLANTA - Ilya Kovalchuk scored his second goal of the game with 2:01 left in overtime, giving Atlanta a victory over New York after the Thrashers squandered an early three-goal lead.

Kovalchuk took a pass from Marian Hossa, sped across the blue line and beat Mike Dunham with a shot just inside the far post.

Kovalchuk, who has 26 goals on the season, also scored during a first-period spurt that led the Islanders to yank their starting goalie, Rick DiPietro, before the game was six minutes old.

Penguins 4, Stars 3

DALLAS - Erik Christensen scored the only goal in the shoot-out and Sidney Crosby had two assists in his first game since going scoreless in the All-Star Game as Pittsburgh beat Dallas.

Ex-Flyer Mark Recchi scored two goals for the Penguins, including the 500th of his career.

Blues 2, Red Wings 1

ST. LOUIS - Bill Guerin scored 1:09 into overtime to lift St. Louis over Detroit.

Guerin, coming off an appearance at the All-Star game earlier in the week, scored his team-leading 21st goal as he gathered a rebound off the pads of Detroit goalie Chris Osgood and slapped it into the goal from about five feet away.

Hurricanes 6, Capitals 2

RALEIGH, N.C. - Justin Williams had two goals and an assist to lead Carolina over Washington.

The Hurricanes scored three goals in the second period and outshot the Capitals, 41-26, to snap a two-game losing streak.

Alex Ovechkin scored his team-leading 30th goal.

Wild 2, Flames 1

ST. PAUL, Minn. - Pavol Demitra and Petteri Nummelin scored in the shoot-out to give Minnesota its NHL-best eighth shoot-out win.

Brian Rolston scored in regulation for third-place Minnesota, which moved within one point of Calgary in the Northwest Division.

Predators 3, Blackhawks 1

CHICAGO - Vernon Fiddler scored the winner with 2:21 left in the third period, and Nashville defeated Chicago.

The Predators, who lead the NHL with 73 points and 35 victories, won their third straight game and ninth out of 10.

Coyotes 5, Avalanche 4

DENVER - Ladislav Nagy scored the only goal in the shoot-out, lifting Phoenix over Colorado.

Curtis Joseph finished with 23 saves and then stopped Wojtek Wolski, Milan Hejduk and Joe Sakic in the shoot-out.

Sharks 5, Oilers 1

EDMONTON, Alberta - Patrick Marleau had two goals and an assist and San Jose beat Edmonton. Joe Thornton, Mike Grier and Patrick Rissmiller also had goals for the Sharks.

Fernando Pisani scored for the Oilers. San Jose goalie Vesa Toskala got his 21st win of the season against six losses.

Around the league. Vancouver center Ryan Kesler will miss the rest of the regular season after he undergoes the hip surgery that is scheduled for Monday in Colorado. . . . Former Ottawa Senators executive Randy Sexton joined the Florida Panthers as assistant general manager. His duties with Florida will include overseeing the scouting department, conducting contract negotiations and handling collective-bargaining matters.