Roberto Luongo made 26 saves for his third straight shutout, setting personal and franchise records while leading the Canucks to a 2-0 victory over the Blue Jackets on Thursday night.

Chris Drury had a goal and assist during two power plays in the second period, and the Rangers finally solved Rick DiPietro and the Islanders during a 4-2 victory Thursday night. The Rangers had dropped all three previous meetings with their biggest rival this season, scoring only four goals in the process, and were 3-8-1 in the past 12 matchups dating to April 11, 2006. DiPietro played in all but one of those games and allowed two goals or fewer eight times.

The Stars were beaten everywhere except the scoreboard. They shook their heads and chuckled when it was over Sunday, marvelling at how they escaped Madison Square Garden with a 3-2 win over the Rangers. "The coaches just asked me what I'm going to say to the media and I said I'll say the goalie was really blanking good," said Stars coach Dave Tippett. Mike Smith surely was, stopping 39 shots and carrying the Stars to their fifth straight victory.

Anze Kopitar knew from recent experience that a week off sometimes leads to trouble on the ice. He also knew the Los Angeles Kings needed to take advantage. Kopitar and Dustin Brown each scored first-period goals, and the Kings ended a five-game losing streak with a 2-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Saturday night. The Sharks hadn't played since losing an overtime home game to Anaheim on Nov. 17. "I'm not going to say they weren't ready," Kopitar said. "It's just you're not as sharp as you would be after a normal week of playing a game or two. We had a week off earlier, and we were a little rusty. Obviously, the two goals were important." Jason LaBarbera stopped 26 shots as the Kings won their first road game since beating the Sharks at San Jose three weeks ago.

Ilya Bryzgalov has fit in perfectly in goal for Wayne Gretzky's Coyotes. Bryzgalov made 25 saves for his fourth straight victory since joining Phoenix after being claimed off waivers from Anaheim, leading the Coyotes to a 5-1 victory over the Maple Leafs on Saturday night. "He is truly one of the pieces of this puzzle," Gretzky said. "He's helped us turn this team around, and maybe our franchise. It's only four games and we have a long way to go. It's a nice start for him."

The Boston Bruins are starting to believe their defensive system will net better results this season behind the play of goaltender Tim Thomas. Now they've got to find a way to continue it on the road. Thomas stopped 25 shotsm and Glen Metropolit scored the winner to lift the Bruins to a 2-1 victory over the New York Islanders on Friday. It was the 12th time in 20 games this year the Bruins have scored two goals or fewer, but behind Thomas' play they've remained in the middle of the NHL's Eastern conference standings. "I think he's been extremely good for us from the start," Boston Coach Claude Julien said of his goalie. "Part of it is being in control of the shots. I know I keep preaching it, but guys are in control of things in front of him." Metropolit scored in the third period for the Bruins, who won for the fourth time in five games.

Nicklas Backstrom scored in overtime to make Bruce Boudreau's debut as the Capitals' interim head coach a success with a 4-3 win over the Flyers on Friday. Backstrom, who also had two assists, slipped a loose puck past Philadelphia goaltender Marty Biron at 1:55 of the extra period to snap the Capitals' five-game losing streak.

Forget about the New Jersey Devils' early season flirtation with a faster-paced offense. They're back to doing what they do best: trapping, defending and getting excellent goaltending from Martin Brodeur. Zach Parise scored two power-play goals to support Brodeur's 501st NHL victory, and the Devils held on despite Pittsburgh's strong third period for a 2-1 win Wednesday night. Parise scored five seconds after the Devils' two-man advantage ended in the first period, then took advantage of a tripping call on Penguins' captain Sidney Crosby to score again off Jamie Langenbrunner's rebound early in the third. The last-place Penguins lost their sixth in seven games and eighth in 10 games and are 8-11-2 after winning 47 games last season.

Devils' defenseman Colin White played for the first time this season Wednesday night, taking regular shifts during a 2-1 victory in Pittsburgh nine weeks after a deflected shot during practice damaged his right eye.

Glen Hanlon tapped his fingers on the podium while speaking slowly and softly, trying to dissect the worst stretch he could remember as a hockey coach or player. His Capitals had just dropped their fifth consecutive game, a 5-1 loss to Ilya Kovalchuk's streaking Thrashers on Wednesday night, and Hanlon was asked if he believes his players can turn things around even though they have the NHL's fewest points and are off to the franchise's slowest start in 26 years.