Tugnutt, Senators Stay Hot

Ron Tugnutt lowered his NHL-leading goals-against average, stopping 14 shots as the Ottawa Senators beat the Canucks, 1-0, Monday night at Vancouver.

Steve Martins’ power-play goal with 5:29 left in the first period stood up as the game winner for the Senators, coming off their best month in franchise history. The Senators are 11-2-2 in their last 15 games.

Tugnutt, who entered the game with a 1.65 goals-against average, has now given up only 13 goals in his last 12 appearances. He is 8-1-3 record over that span.

The shutout was Tugnutt’s second of the season and 10th of his career.

The Canucks set a franchise record when they failed to get a shot on goal in the third.

Detroit 2, New Jersey 2--If the Red Wings play the way they did in tying the Devils at East Rutherford, N.J., they can win a third straight Stanley Cup.

Despite losing defenseman Larry Murphy to a concussion in the opening minutes, the Red Wings were impressive, getting 32 saves from Chris Osgood.

The point was a rare one for Red Wings, who have struggled against the NHL’s elite teams this season, posting a 6-16-1 record against teams with a .500 or better record.

Devil goaltender Martin Brodeur made five saves in overtime and got a big assist from a goal post on a shot by Steve Yzerman.

Washington 3, New York Rangers 1--The Capitals, trying to get themselves back into the playoff picture after a subpar first half, stopped a five-game winless streak (0-4-1) by beating the Rangers at New York.

“We had pressure on them right from the get-go,” Capital Coach Ron Wilson said.

Washington goalie Olaf Kolzig was near-perfect with 24 saves, but Wilson called it a team victory. “I thought we played as well as any game this season,” he said. “We had pressure on them all night and we did a great job forechecking and our defensemen were involved.”

Dallas 2, Calgary 2--Defensemen Derek Morris and Cale Hulse scored goals over the final 6:28 of regulation as the Flames rallied for a tie with the Stars at Dallas.

Dallas goalie Ed Belfour seemed to be cruising toward his 44th career shutout before Hulse scored his second goal of the season with 6:28 left, and then Morris tied it with 1:42 remaining on his sixth goal.

St. Louis 4, Edmonton 3--Pierre Turgeon’s second goal of the game, 35 seconds into overtime, gave the Blues a victory over the Oilers at Edmonton.

Turgeon was left alone in front of goalie Mikhail Shtalenkov. His goal spoiled the Oilers’ third-period comeback from a 3-0 deficit.

San Jose 5, Chicago 1--Jeff Friesen scored twice, including a goal in the opening minute of the game, and Mike Vernon stopped 22 shots as the San Jose Sharks snapped a scoring slump by routing the Blackhawks at San Jose.

The Sharks had been shut out in their two previous games.