NHL roundup: Miller saves Sabres

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Ryan Miller made 27 saves in his final tuneup before the Olympics, and the Buffalo Sabres beat the San Jose Sharks 3-1 on Saturday night to snap a six-game losing streak

Paul Gaustad, Thomas Vanek and Jason Pominville scored in the second period.

Evgeni Nabokov, also in his last game before joining the Russian Olympic squad, made 25 stops for the Sharks and had his NHL-record 11-game road winning streak snapped. Kent Huskins scored for San Jose.

BLUES 4, CAPITALS 3 (SO): At St. Louis, David Perron scored the lone goal in the shootout, and Chris Mason stopped Alexander Semin, Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Brendan Morrison in the shootout after making 31 saves in regulation and overtime. Mike Knuble had two goals for the Capitals, who pulled one point ahead of San Jose for the overall NHL lead with 90 points. But Washington has lost three in a row following a 14-game winning streak, with one of the losses in overtime.

BLACKHAWKS 5, THRASHERS 4 (SO): At Chicago, Jonathan Toews scored the lone shootout goal, and rookie Antti Niemi made 23 saves to help Chicago win its third straight game. Patrick Sharp had a goal and two assits, and Dave Bolland, Kim Johnsson and Marian Hossa also connected for the Blackhawks. Evander Kane, Maxim Afinogenov, Tobias Enstrom and Jim Slater scored for Atlanta.

STARS 3, COYOTES 0: At Glendale, Ariz., Marty Turco made 40 saves for his fourth shutout of the season and 40th overall, and Brandon Segal and rookie Jamie Benn had second-period goals for Dallas. Turco has blanked the Coyotes twice in the last eight days, posting a 4-0 shutout in Dallas on Feb 6. Segal also assisted on Toby Petersen's third-period goal.

FLYERS 6, CANADIENS 2: At Montreal, Daniel Briere had three goals for Philadelphia, and Jeff Carter scored his third goal against Montreal in two nights. Briere completed his hat trick when he beat Carey Price on a penalty shot midway through the third for his 21st goal. Mike Richards and Blair Betts also scored for Philadelphia, and Michael Leighton made 26 saves.

HURRICANES 5, DEVILS 2: At Raleigh, N.C., Ray Whitney scored two power-play goals in a minute in the second period, and rookie Justin Peters made 23 saves for Carolina in his second NHL start and victory. Jussi Jokinen also scored two goals, including an empty-netter, and Zach Boychuk added a goal for the Hurricanes, who have won a season-best five games in a row. Carolina has won nine of its last 11 games heading into the Olympic break.