Minnesota run Wild on Penguins in shootout

The defenceman Marek Zidlicky scored in the first round of the shootout and Niklas Backstrom stopped all three attempts as the Minnesota Wild held their nerve to hand the Pittsburgh Penguins their first defeat in seven games with a 2-1 triumph in their match. Mikko Koivu had scored seven minutes 57 seconds into the first period and Backstrom turned aside 24 shots for the in-form Minnesota, who improved to a record of 4-1-0 in their last five games following this result.

Adrian Aucoin netted the decisive strike with 7mins 32secs remaining in the third period as the Calgary Flames scored three times in the session en route to a comfortable 4-1 win over the Colorado Avalanche. Rene Bourque and David Moss also scored, the captain Jarome Iginla added an empty-net goal and Daymond Langkow notched two assists for the winning team as Calgary successfully got the better of Colorado for the third time this season.

Shawn Horcroff had a goal and two assists and defenceman Sheldon Souray and Andrew Cogliano each recorded a goal and set up another as the Edmonton Oilers clinched a one-sided 7-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets in their encounter. Elsewhere, Sergei Samsonov and Ray Whitney were both on target in the third period as the Carolina Hurricanes recorded a 2-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens.

Nathan Horton scored in the second round of the shootout and the netminder Tomas Vokoun stopped all three attempts as the Florida Panthers clinched a 4-3 triumph over the Tampa Bay Lightning in a battle of Southeast Division rivals. Jonathan Toews and Patrick Sharp scored in the first two rounds of the shootout and Nikolai Khabibulin denied both of his shooters as the Chicago Blackhawks recorded a 3-2 triumph over the Phoenix Coyotes.

* PA Sport