Vancouver gets big win over Dallas

Brendan Morrison scored the tiebreaking goal early in the third period and added 2 assists to send visiting Vancouver to a 4-3 victory over the Dallas Stars after the Canucks had wasted an early 3-goal lead Saturday night.

Matt Pettinger, Ryan Kesler and Markus Naslund also scored for the Canucks, and Roberto Luongo made 34 saves.

The victory keeps Vancouver 2 points ahead of Nashville and tied with Calgary for the final two spots in the Western Conference playoff race. Nashville upset Detroit 3-1 on Saturday.

Brad Richards scored a short-handed goal, Mike Modano notched his 526th career tally -- tops among U.S.-born players -- and Joel Lundqvist also scored for the Stars.

Devils 4, Avalanche 2: Martin Brodeur stopped 24 shots in reaching 40 wins for a record seventh time, Jay Pandolfo added a goal and an assist, and New Jersey snapped Colorado's five-game winning streak at home.

Brodeur (40-22-5) extended his own NHL record by reaching 40 wins again. He broke the league mark last season by earning 48 victories, and is 18 shy of topping former Avalanche goalie Patrick Roy's career record of 551 wins.

Bruins 3, Flyers 2 (OT): Andrew Ference tied the game with 27 seconds left in regulation, and Aaron Ward won it for host Boston with 2:17 into overtime as the Bruins beat Philadelphia to stay ahead of the Flyers in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Predators 3, Red Wings 1: Rich Peverley's second-period goal broke a tie, and visiting Nashville snapped Detroit's five-game winning streak.

Canadiens 3, Islanders 0: Jaroslav Halak stopped 30 shots in his first shutout of the season for host Montreal.

Lightning 3, Rangers 0: Mike Smith made 20 saves to lead host Tampa Bay past the New York Rangers.

Sabres 6, Maple Leafs 2: Jason Pominville and Jochen Hecht each had a goal and 2 assists, and visiting Buffalo moved within 1 point of the Eastern Conference's postseason cutoff with a victory over Toronto.

Wild 2, Kings 0: Niklas Backstrom's first shutout since October and Marian Gaborik's 200th NHL goal helped host Minnesota snap a five-game losing streak.