Briere scores hat trick in Sabres win
Daniel Briere had three goals, including two during a three-goal first period, as the Eastern Conference-leading Buffalo Sabres beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-1 Tuesday night in Tampa, Fla.
Briere completed his first career hat trick from in close with 7:39 left to play.
Buffalo also got a goal from Chris Drury, who has a four-game goal-scoring streak. The Sabres, coming off a 7-4 defeat Saturday to Washington, have not lost consecutive games this season.
Thrashers 5, Maple Leafs 2: At Toronto, Vyacheslav Kozlov scored two of Atlanta’s five goals in the third period, and the Thrashers rallied for a season-high fifth consecutive win by beating the Maple Leafs. Marian Hossa scored his league-leading 21st goal as Atlanta outshot Toronto 37-19.
Senators 4, Islanders 2: At Uniondale, N.Y., Dany Heatley scored twice, Jason Spezza had three points, and Martin Gerber won the battle of backup goalies to lead Ottawa to a victory over New York.
Red Wings 5, Blues 1: At St. Louis, Pavel Datsyuk got his first goal in 16 games and added an assist and Detoit spoiled the retirement of Brett Hull’s jersey with a victory over the Blues.
Panthers 3, Penguins 2: At Pittsburgh, Olli Jokinen’s first road goal of the season helped Florida stop a six-game losing streak in a win over the Penguins.
Wild 3, Blackhawks 2 (SO): At St. Paul, Minn., Pierre Marc-Bouchard scored the winning goal in a shootout to carry Minnesota past Chicago, snapping a four-game losing streak.
Blue Jackets 3, Avalanche 0: At Denver, Fredrik Norrena got his second straight shutout and Columbus won in Denver for the first time in franchise history with a victory over Colorado.
Flames 3, Hurricanes 0: At Calgary, Alberta, Miikka Kiprusoff made 23 saves to lead the Flames to a shutout over Carolina.
Around the league
New York Islanders forward Trent Hunter will be sidelined up to four weeks with a sprained knee. … The Chicago Blackhawks extended coach Denis Savard’s contract through the 2007-08 season. … Vancouver forward Taylor Pyatt will be out two to four weeks with a shoulder injury and defenseman Sami Salo could miss seven to 10 days with a nerve injury in his shoulder.