Niittymaki Continues to Fly High

Antero Niittymaki has made a strong case for more playing time.

The rookie goaltender stopped 35 shots for his third win in as many starts, leading the Philadelphia Flyers over the New Jersey Devils, 4-1, on Tuesday night at Philadelphia.

But Niittymaki’s playing time will decrease because Philadelphia acquired veteran goalie Sean Burke from Phoenix on Monday to step in until Robert Esche returns from a knee injury.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Niittymaki said. “It’s been fun.”

Simon Gagne and Danny Markov scored power-play goals, and Michal Handzus and Mark Recchi also scored for Philadelphia, which extended its lead to seven points over New Jersey in the Atlantic Division. The Stanley Cup champion Devils, though, have played three fewer games than the Flyers, who also lead the Eastern Conference.

Scott Niedermayer scored for New Jersey, which has lost two in a row.

The Flyers have won three in a row and seven of nine.

Niittymaki, 23, has given up only three goals since taking over as the starter after Esche went down because of a strained knee last week.

*

Buffalo 2, San Jose 1 -- Daniel Briere scored twice, and Martin Biron made 27 saves to lead the Sabres at Buffalo, N.Y. Briere’s second two-goal game of the season helped Buffalo win for the sixth time in its last eight games (6-2-0).

The Sharks have never recorded a point in Buffalo since entering the league in 1991 (0-11-0).

*

Boston 6, Pittsburgh 3 -- The Penguins lost a club-record 12th in a row and tied an NHL record with their 11th consecutive home loss.

Dan McGillis got his first goal in nearly two months, and Joe Thornton had a goal and two assists as the Bruins won their sixth in a row.

*

Toronto 4, Tampa Bay 4 -- Gary Roberts scored with 44 seconds left in the third period to lift the visiting Maple Leafs into a tie at Tampa, Fla. Martin St. Louis had a goal and two assists for the Lightning, which had lost nine in a row to the Maple Leafs.

*

Ottawa 3, St. Louis 1 -- Marian Hossa scored two of the Senators’ three first-period goals in their victory at Ottawa. The Senators, who had lost four of five, ended a season-high three-game losing streak. St. Louis has only three points in its last 10 games.

*

Florida 2, Montreal 1 -- Viktor Kozlov set a Panther record with two goals in seven seconds in the second period at Sunrise, Fla., in interim Coach John Torchetti’s debut. Kozlov’s two goals broke the team record of two in 50 seconds by Scott Mellanby on Jan. 25, 1997.

*

Calgary 5, Atlanta 2 -- Dean McAmmond and Jarome Iginla each scored twice at Calgary, Canada, and the Flames extended the Thrashers’ winless streak to nine games.

*

New York Islanders 1, Colorado 1 -- Philippe Sauve had two acrobatic saves in overtime, helping the Avalanche salvage a tie with the visiting Islanders at Denver.