New-Look Coyotes Roll, 5-0

Sean Burke played much better than he felt.

Burke made 30 saves for his second shutout and Jeremy Roenick had a goal and an assist as the revamped Phoenix Coyotes defeated the New York Islanders, 5-0, Thursday night at Phoenix.

“I didn’t feel as strong as I have the last couple of games,” said Burke, who has 21 career shutouts. “But I found my game and just stayed with it.”

Trevor Letowski and Travis Green each had a goal and an assist for the Coyotes, who won for the second time in nine games (2-6-1).

Mikael Renberg, acquired Wednesday from Philadelphia for Rick Tocchet, and defenseman Lyle Odelein, traded to Phoenix by New Jersey on Tuesday, each recorded an assist in their Phoenix debuts.

“I’m an average player, so I just have to come out and play my game and play hard every night,” Odelein said.

Phoenix, which also got goals from Dallas Drake and Shane Doan, moved within six points of the idle Dallas Stars for the Pacific Division lead.

“It’s almost a fresh start for us,” Letowski said. “Hopefully, this can be a turning point.”

New York had its two-game winning streak snapped and the Islanders are winless in six of eight (2-5-1).

“It looked a lot like an ambush, there’s no doubt about it,” Islander Coach Butch Goring said. “We never did seem to get into the game. We had a lot of guys out of position and letting their checks go.”

Toronto 6, Calgary 2--Glenn Healy made 30 saves and also had an assist as the Maple Leafs inched closer to the lead in the Eastern Conference with a victory over the Flames at Calgary, Canada.

Toronto got goals from six players en route to its fourth consecutive victory and eighth in nine games. The Maple Leafs are within three points of the Eastern Conference-leading New Jersey Devils.

Vancouver 2, St. Louis 2--Markus Naslund and Alexander Mogilny scored third-period goals and the Blues wasted a third-period lead for the first time as the Canucks rallied to tie at St. Louis.

Al MacInnis recorded his 800th assist and Mike Eastwood had a goal and an assist. Tyson Nash also scored for the Blues, who came into the game with 29-0-0 record when leading after two periods.

Ottawa 7, Pittsburgh 0--Shawn McEachern scored twice and added an assist and Patrick Lalime made 16 saves for his fifth career shutout as the Senators routed the Penguins at Kanata, Canada.

The Penguins, who lost 3-0 to Montreal on Wednesday, were shut out in consecutive games for the first time since Feb. 7, 1980.

Philadelphia 3, Washington 1--Gino Odjick’s go-ahead breakaway goal early in the third period led the Flyers to a victory over the Capitals at Philadelphia, snapping the Capitals’ six-game unbeaten string.

Around the league

The status of Dallas Stars goalie Ed Belfour remained in limbo as he saw counselors for the second time since his arrest on charges of assault and resisting arrest in a late-night scuffle with a hotel guard. Star General Manager Bob Gainey said once the counselors issue a report, the team and league will decide what penalties--if any--are warranted. “I think that the team image, whenever there is an incident that involves the law, is tarnished,” Gainey said. “Our responsibility is to recognize it and address it squarely and to move through the problem, not around it.” . . . The Edmonton Oilers acquired defensemen Igor Ulanov and Alain Nasreddine from the Montreal Canadiens for defensemen Christian Laflamme and Mattieu Descoteaux. . . . The Tampa Bay Lightning sent Ian Herbers to the New York Islanders for a seventh-round draft choice.