NHL roundup: Kessel extends points streak

BOSTON — Phil Kessel had a goal and an assist to extend his points streak to 15 games — the best in the NHL this season — and Michael Ryder scored two goals Saturday night to lead the Boston Bruins to a 4-2 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers.

It was the 11th consecutive home victory for the Bruins, their longest streak in 26 years. Manny Fernandez stopped 20 shots to win his eighth straight and improve to 6-0 with a 1.67 goals-against lifetime against Atlanta.

Dennis Wideman also scored for Boston, which has won 16 of its last 19 overall to move to the top of the Eastern Conference standings.

One night after Boston won 7-3 in Atlanta, thanks in part to a goal and two assists from Kessel, the Bruins completed the home-and-home sweep and sent the Thrashers to their 11th loss in 13 games. Nathan Oystrick and Marty Reasoner scored for Atlanta.

SHARKS 5, BLUES 4: At San Jose, Calif., Patrick Marleau scored twice, including the winner with just over 5 minutes to play, for NHL-leading San Jose. Devin Setoguchi and Ryane Clowe scored in a 2:17 span in the third period.

SABRES 4, DEVILS 2: At Newark, N.J., Thomas Vanek scored his NHL-leading 23rd and 24th goals, and Derek Roy scored the go-ahead goal midway through the third period. Drew Stafford added a goal in the Sabres' fourth win in their last five games. Patrick Lalime, making his first appearance in seven games, made 20 saves. Patrik Elias and Bobby Holik scored for New Jersey.

CAPITALS 2, CANADIENS 1: At Montreal, Michael Nylander scored with 3:32 remaining in the third period, and Simeon Varlamov stopped 32 shots for Washington in his NHL debut. Nylander put a shot from behind the goal line into the net off goalie Jaroslav Halak's pad. Nicklas Backstrom also scored for Washington. Patrice Brisebois scored for Montreal, which lost its second in a row to finish 4-2-1 on its franchise-record seven-game homestand.

RED WINGS 5, COYOTES 4, SO: Glendale, Ariz., Johan Franzen scored his second goal of the game with 19.9 seconds left to force overtime, and Henrik Zetterberg and Jiri Hudler scored in a shootout for Detroit. Chris Osgood made three saves in the shootout, the last a pad save on Shane Doan's attempt to secure the victory — Detroit's fifth in six games. Zetterberg and Tomas Holstrom also scored in regulation for the Red Wings.