Struggling Panthers Shut Down Stars, 2-0

While Mike Sillinger celebrated his game-winning goal, Mike Modano could only wonder about missed opportunities.

Sillinger and Viktor Kozlov scored in the final 5:34, and Roberto Luongo earned his third shutout this season Monday night to lead the Florida Panthers to a 2-0 victory over the Dallas Stars at Sunrise, Fla.

It was only the ninth win of the season for the Panthers, who won for just the fourth time at home and ended a two-year, four-game losing streak to Dallas.

Luongo, who had 30 saves, including two dazzling stops on third-period breakaways by Modano, recorded his fourth career shutout to end Dallas’ four-game road winning streak.

“I didn’t go up high enough,” Modano said of the first breakaway. “On the second, I figured I’d try something else.”

Dallas rookie goalie Marty Turco, Ed Belfour’s backup who had won his last five games, made 18 stops.

The Panthers, winless in their previous four games (0-3-1), ended a three-game, four-night homestand 1-1-1 before embarking on a five-game road trip.

Detroit 3, San Jose 2--Steve Yzerman scored the go-ahead goal with 6:42 left and Chris Osgood made 37 saves for the Red Wings at San Jose.

Martin Lapointe scored two goals for the Red Wings, and Patrick Marleau had two for the Sharks in a meeting of Western Conference powers that featured two fights and plenty of ill feelings.

Detroit blew a two-goal lead in the third period but hung on for its fifth win in seven games.

San Jose outshot the Red Wings 39-20, but Osgood made several scrambling saves in the final two periods. Detroit is unbeaten in four games, matching its season high.

Phoenix 3, St. Louis 1--Daniel Briere scored a pair of power-play goals at Phoenix as the Coyotes ended a four-game winless streak.

Briere, recalled last week from the minors, has four power-play goals in his last three games.

Shane Doan added a short-handed goal and Robert Esche made 32 saves for Phoenix, which moved one point ahead of Edmonton for seventh place in the Western Conference.

Craig Conroy scored a short-handed goal for the Blues, who own the league’s second-best record despite going 3-4-0-1 in their last eight games.

Columbus 3, Minnesota 0--Ron Tugnutt stopped 31 shots for his 17th career shutout and also assisted on a goal as the Blue Jackets beat the Wild at Columbus, Ohio, in the first meeting between the NHL’s newest teams.

It was the second shutout in the Blue Jackets’ short history--and the first at home.

Tugnutt also was in goal for a 2-0 victory at Montreal on Dec. 18.

Geoff Sanderson scored two goals, including an empty-netter, giving him points in 15 of his last 19 games as the Blue Jackets ended a four-game losing streak.

Minnesota lost its third in a row.

Around the League

The Pittsburgh Penguins, looking for bigger and tougher players to protect Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr, recalled Billy Tibbetts from the AHL. Tibbetts was signed by the Penguins in April after spending 2 1/2 years in prison in Massachusetts. The 6-foot-2 forward had 14 goals and 24 points and 185 penalty minutes in 38 games for Scranton Wilkes-Barre. According to the Massachusetts Department of Corrections, he was paroled Oct. 29, 1999, after serving jail time for an assault and battery conviction. . . . The Tampa Bay Lightning activated goalie Kevin Weekes from injured reserve and recalled forward Nils Ekman from Detroit of the International Hockey League. To make room for Weekes, the team sent goalie Dieter Kochan down to Detroit. . . . Two Dallas players were among those arrested when Tampa, Fla., police raided a nude club to enforce a city ordinance banning lap dances. Left wings Ted Donato and Tyler John Bouck, a rookie celebrating his 21st birthday, posted $250 bail less than 90 minutes after being arrested Saturday night. . . . The Atlanta Thrashers reassigned defensemen Sergei Vyshedkevich and Brett Clark to Orlando of the IHL.