SCOREBOARD
Thursday, Dec. 6
Carolina at Tampa Bay (7:30 p.m. EST). The Southeast Division-leading Hurricanes, in the midst of a five-game road trip, lead the second-place Lightning by seven points.
STARS
Tuesday
-Pavel Datsyuk, Red Wings, scored two unassisted goals off turnovers to lead Detroit to a 4-1 win over Montreal.
-Vesa Toskala, Maple Leafs, stopped 34 shots to help Toronto beat Nashville 3-1.
SLUMPING
Vinny Prospal scored in the fourth round of a shootout as Tampa Bay extended Ottawa’s losing streak to seven games with a 4-3 victory Tuesday night. The Senators have lost seven games in a row for the first time since Feb. 22-March 9, 1996.
SWINGS
Detroit’s 4-1 victory over Montreal on Tuesday night was the Red Wings’ fourth straight, and the third straight loss and fifth in six games for the Canadiens.
LONG TIME COMING
Toronto forward Wade Belak scored his first goal since Dec. 20, 2003 – his eighth career goal in 407 NHL games – in a 3-1 victory over Nashville on Tuesday night.
DOMINANCE
Calgary outshot St. Louis 20-2 in the second period of a 3-1 victory Tuesday night. The Blues lost in regulation for just the second time in 11 games (8-2-1).
SUDDENLY SCORING
Tampa Bay forward Mathieu Darche, who has five goals in 48 career NHL games, scored for the third straight game Tuesday night, a 4-3 shootout victory over Ottawa.
STREAKING
Toronto captain Mats Sundin extended his record home-ice points streak from the start of the season to 16 with an assist in Tuesday night’s 3-1 victory over Nashville.
GOODBYE?
Mark Recchi, who played on Pittsburgh’s first Stanley Cup-winning team in 1991 and rejoined them in 2004 and 2006, was placed on waivers Tuesday. If the 39-year-old right wing is not claimed, the Penguins are expected to negotiate a buyout of his $1.75 million contract. Recchi, 23rd in NHL career scoring with 1,341 points, has two goals and six assists in 19 games this season.
UP AGAIN
Forward Steve Downie, who received a 20-game suspension for a vicious preseason hit on Ottawa’s Dean McAmmond, was recalled by the Flyers from the team’s AHL affiliate on Tuesday. Downie had a goal and 11 assists in 13 games for the Philadelphia Phantoms, leading them with 63 penalty minutes.
SPEAKING
“Maybe he sees himself at the All-Star game too quick. I don’t think he’s injured but his play on the ice is not where it should be. We’ve talked to him about it. We need him to get back to where he was earlier in the year. We need him to be our best defenseman and right now he’s not.” – Montreal coach Guy Carbonneau on defenseman Andrei Markov, who leads Eastern Conference defensemen in All-Star voting, following a 4-1 loss to Detroit on Tuesday night.
