Maple Leafs Ruin Hull’s Record Night

The Toronto Maple Leafs spoiled Brett Hull’s night.

Gary Roberts and Mats Sundin each had a goal and an assist to lead Toronto to a 5-2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday at Toronto, extending the Maple Leafs’ winning streak to eight games.

Hull scored his 731st NHL goal, moving the Red Wing forward into a tie with former King star Marcel Dionne for third place on the career list.

Hull, 39, skated with the puck across the front of the Toronto crease, waited until goalie Ed Belfour went down, and lifted in a backhander off Belfour’s helmet for his 15th goal of the season at 19:40 of the first.

After returning to the Detroit bench, Hull asked for the puck. Dionne has been in third place since retiring in 1989. Wayne Gretzky is first with 894 goals, followed by Gordie Howe, who scored 801.

“It’s an honor for me to be a part of that group. Maybe we can do it in the next game as a part of a win,” Hull said.

Bryan Marchment, Tie Domi and Matt Stajan also scored for the Maple Leafs, who have their longest winning streak since winning 10 games in a row at the start of the 1993-94 season.

Toronto’s streak includes two wins over Vancouver and one against Ottawa, two of the best teams in the NHL. Detroit entered the game tied for the Western Conference lead with the Canucks.

Montreal 3, Carolina 1 -- Jose Theodore made 25 saves, and Andreas Dackell, Michael Ryder and Saku Koivu scored to lead the Canadiens at Montreal.

Montreal extended its season-high unbeaten streak to five games (3-0-2). Theodore stopped 36 of 37 Carolina shots in a 1-1 road tie Friday.

Tampa Bay 3, Buffalo 1 -- Nikolai Khabibulin made 37 saves, and Dave Andreychuk scored his second goal in two games to lead the Lightning at Buffalo, N.Y.

Fredrik Modin and Dimitry Afanasenkov also scored for Tampa Bay, which ended its three-game losing streak.

New York Islanders 5, Chicago 2 -- Alexei Yashin scored twice and Dave Scatchard returned from a shoulder injury and had a goal and assist at Uniondale, N.Y., as the Islanders ended a seven-game losing streak.

The Blackhawks are winless in 13 games, including eight straight losses -- seven in regulation (0-9-1-3).

New Jersey 2, Ottawa 1 -- Scott Niedermayer and Brian Gionta scored in the last 1:37 to rally the Devils at Ottawa.

Gionta’s game-winner came with only 18 seconds left in the third period, 79 seconds after Niedermayer tied the score. Martin Brodeur made 18 saves for the win.

Philadelphia 1, Boston 1 -- Jeff Hackett made 38 saves, and Mark Recchi scored a second-period goal to lift the Flyers into a tie with the Bruins at Boston.

Hackett, who played 18 games for the Bruins last season, made 14 saves in the first period.

Colorado 5, Columbus 1 -- Joe Sakic had a goal and three assists, Philippe Sauve stopped 35 shots at Denver and the Avalanche remained unbeaten against the Blue Jackets.

Derek Morris had a goal and two assists for Colorado, which improved to 12-0-1 against Columbus.

Atlanta 4, Florida 3 -- Vyacheslav Kozlov scored 2:57 into overtime to lift the Thrashers at Sunrise, Fla. Kozlov beat Panther goalie Roberto Luongo with a hard slap shot from just inside the blue line.

Edmonton 4, Pittsburgh 3 -- Cory Cross and Shawn Horcoff scored early in the third period at Edmonton, Canada, to help the Oilers end a six-game winless streak.

St. Louis 4, Nashville 1 -- Mark Rycroft had two goals and an assist at St. Louis to help the Blues end the Predators’ six-game winning streak.

Minnesota 1, Vancouver 1 -- Trevor Linden scored with 2:52 left in regulation to lift the host Canucks to a tie.

San Jose 2, Dallas 1 -- Patrick Marleau and Nils Ekman each scored to keep the Sharks undefeated in their last six home games.

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Red Wing goaltender Curtis Joseph is headed back to the minors.

Joseph cleared waivers Friday and has been assigned to the Grand Rapids Griffins, Detroit’s American Hockey League affiliate.

When Dominik Hasek ended his retirement in July, the Red Wings tried to trade Joseph. So far, no team has wanted to take the rest of his two-year, $16-million contract.