Red Wings Save Best for Last to Tie Blues

Pavel Datsyuk and Brett Hull scored during a 57-second span late in the third period, and the Detroit Red Wings rallied from a three-goal deficit to tie the St. Louis Blues, 4-4, Thursday night at St. Louis.

The Red Wings scored four times on their first 11 shots of the third against former teammate Chris Osgood. Hull has 730 goals and needs one to tie Marcel Dionne for third place on the career list.

The comeback rescued goalie Dominik Hasek, who played for the first time in nine games because of a groin injury. He gave up goals on two of the first three shots he faced and three of the first 10.

Chris Pronger had two goals and an assist and Keith Tkachuk had a goal and an assist for the Blues. But St. Louis tried to sit on a 3-0 second-period lead, totaling eight shots the last two periods, and paid for it.

The Red Wings stayed in first place in the Central Division with 33 points, two more than the Blues.

New Jersey 3, Washington 0 -- Martin Brodeur didn’t have to work very hard at East Rutherford, N.J., in posting his 69th shutout. He faced only nine shots as the Devils won for the eighth time in their last 10 home games (8-1-1), while ending a four-game winless skid.

Toronto 6, Boston 0 -- Ed Belfour made 25 saves at Boston to help the Maple Leafs win their seventh straight game. It’s their longest winning streak since they won 10 straight during the 1993-94 season.

Toronto improved to 14-6-5-2 and has 35 points, one behind Philadelphia for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. The Bruins are 1-3-1-1 in their last six.

Ottawa 4, Tampa Bay 1 -- Martin Prusek made 29 saves for his third straight win, and Jason Spezza had two goals to lead the Senators at Tampa, Fla. Prusek has allowed two goals in his three wins while filling in for Patrick Lalime, who is sidelined by flu.

Tampa Bay is winless in its last six games (0-4-2), and has scored six goals in the span.

Phoenix 3, Buffalo 2 -- Branko Radivojevic scored with 4:03 left and Brian Boucher made 34 saves to help the Coyotes extend their unbeaten streak to four games (3-0-1). The loss ended the Sabres’ three-game home winning streak and dropped them to 3-4 in their last seven games.

Nashville 4, Columbus 2 -- The Predators extended their franchise-record winning streak to six, and won for the fourth straight time on the road. They are 10-2-0-0 in their last 12 games. Nashville is 14-10-1-0. The Predators didn’t win their 14th game last season until Jan. 18.

New York Rangers 4, New York Islanders 2 -- Brian Leetch and Anson Carter scored during a five-minute power play in the second period at Uniondale, N.Y., to help deal the Islanders their seventh straight loss.

Calgary 4, Vancouver 1 -- Jarome Iginla scored two goals, including an empty-netter, for the Flames, who have picked up points -- and no regulation losses -- in eight straight games (5-0-1-2). The Canucks lost their second straight home game after going unbeaten in their first 10 at GM Place.

Colorado 2, San Jose 2 -- Nils Ekman had the first two-goal game of his career for the Sharks, but the Avalanche rallied in the third period for the tie at San Jose. The Avalanche has lost in regulation only twice in its last 15 games.

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Forward Claude Lapointe of the Philadelphia Flyers has entered the NHL’s substance abuse treatment program, the league said Thursday. The Flyers did not elaborate on Lapointe’s condition or say when he is scheduled to return. The program’s doctors, Dr. Dave Lewis on behalf of the NHL and Dr. Brian Shaw on behalf of the NHL Players’ Assn., are supervising Lapointe’s care.