Khabibulin keeps Red Wings at bay as SE Division

Reuters, Tampa Bay, Florida

Nikolai Khabibulin made 30 saves for his first shutout since the end of October as the Tampa Bay Lightning moved into first place in the Southeast Division with a 1-0 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday.

Brad Richards scored the lone goal of the game with 17:42 remaining, taking a pass from Vaclav Prospal and one-timing a shot past Curtis Joseph to help the Lightning end a three-game losing streak.

It was the 30th career shutout for Khabibulin and second of the season as Tampa Bay beat Detroit for just the fifth time in 24 meetings (5-18-1) in franchise history.

Joseph made 31 saves for the Red Wings and lost for just the third time in 23 games (18-3-2) against the Lightning.

Detroit also saw its seven-game unbeaten road streak snapped with the loss while remaining second in the Western Conference overall standings behind the Dallas Stars.

In Uniondale, Dave Scatchard scored his first career hat trick as the New York Islanders doubled the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-3.

Jason Blake assisted on all three of Scatchard's goals as the Islanders stretched their unbeaten streak to three games and tied the Penguins for third place in the Atlantic Division standings.

Shawn Bates, Oleg Kvasha and Mark Parrish scored the other Islanders goals.

NHL scoring leader Mario Lemieux left the game in the second period with a groin injury after scoring his 20th goal of the season.

Lemieux, 37, has played in 40 of Pittsburgh's 41 games this season and leads the NHL in points with 68. The extent of his injury wasn't known.

Steve McKenna and Ville Nieminen also scored for the Penguins, who saw their two-game winning streak snapped.

In Philadelphia, Justin Williams scored the game-winner in the third period and added an assist as the Flyers edged the Buffalo Sabres 3-2.

Keith Primeau and Jeremy Roenick scored the other goals for the Flyers, who have won four in a row.

Robert Esche made 21 saves. Ales Kotalik scored both Buffalo goals as the Sabres' two-game winning streak ended.

In Toronto, Ed Belfour made 40 saves and the Maple Leafs scored three goals in 2:24 late in the third period to beat the slumping Boston Bruins 5-2.

Tie Domi, Alexander Mogilny and Travis Green all had a goal and an assist for Toronto, while Jonas Hoglund and Alyn McCauley had the other Leaf goals.

Toronto is now unbeaten at home in 12 games (11-0-1).

Brian Rolston and Glen Murray replied for Boston, which has lost four games in a row.

In East Rutherford, Joe Nieuwendyk scored a pair of goals in the third period to lead the New Jersey Devils past the Montreal Canadiens 3-2.

Patrik Elias scored the other goal for the Devils, who have scored the fewest goals in the NHL this season.

Jamie Langenbrunner assisted on both of Nieuwendyk's goals. Stephane Quintal and Marcel Hossa scored the goals for Montreal, now winless in seven games.

In Atlanta, Dany Heatley scored a pair of goals to help the Thrashers tie the Carolina Hurricanes 3-3.

Ilya Kovalchuk scored the other Atlanta goal while Byron Dafoe stopped 36 shots, including eight in overtime, as the Thrashers ended a three-game losing streak.

In Nashville, Andy Delmore scored twice, including the winner with 16 seconds left in overtime, giving the Predators a 2-1 win over the St. Louis Blues.

Tomas Vokoun made 30 saves in goal for Nashville, including three in overtime, as the Predators won their second straight game.

Reed Low scored his second NHL goal for the Blues, the only shot to beat Vokoun, but St. Louis still managed to move to within four points of first place Detroit in the Central Division with the single point.

In Dallas, Jere Lehtinen scored three goals and Darryl Sydor scored two goals and added an assist as the Stars downed the Los Angeles Kings 7-4.

In Denver, Roman Turek made 31 saves as the Calgary Flames stayed unbeaten under new coach Darryl Sutter, downing the Colorado Avalanche 4-2.