Unpassable Anderson leads Panthers to shut out the Bruins

BOSTON: Florida goaltender Craig Anderson continued his unpassable form to give the Florida Panthers a 1-0 shutout win over the Boston Bruins in the NHL on Tuesday.

Anderson pulled off 40 saves - two days after his 53 saves broke the record for the most ever in a shutout - and Nathan Horton scored 22 seconds into overtime.

In Philadelphia, Buffalo downed Philadelphia 5-2 to pull within a point of the Flyers and the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Derek Roy and Jason Pominville scored 18 seconds apart early in the third period. Pominville and Maxim Afinogenov each had two goals for the Sabres.

Desperate to avoid falling five points behind the Flyers, the Sabres played like a team in a must-win situation.

In New York, Jeff Tambellini scored in the sixth round in the shootout as the Islanders pipped the Rangers 4-3 in the all-New York match.

Wade Dubielewicz, subbing for the second straight game for Rick DiPietro, made 27 saves through overtime. He then turned aside five shooters in the tiebreaker.

In Tampa, Florida, Sidney Crosby made a dazzling return in his first game in 6-1/2 weeks as Pittsburgh shut out Tampa Bay 2-0.

Crosby missed a series of scoring chances before finally setting up Maxime Talbot for the game's first goal with only 2:47 remaining.

Evgeni Malkin edged within a point of the NHL scoring lead by finding an empty net with 5 seconds remaining.

The win saw Pittsburgh stay a point clear of New Jersey atop the Atlantic Division and two points clear top of the Eastern Conference.

In Toronto, New Jersey snapped a three-game winless streak and damaged Toronto's playoff hopes, winning 4-1.

Zach Parise scored twice and Martin Brodeur made 40 saves for the Devils, who stayed on the tail of Pittsburgh in the Atlantic Division.

The Maple Leafs, who had picked up nine of a possible 10 points in their last five games, remained six points out of the final Eastern Conference playoff spot.

In St. Paul, Minnesota, Chicago snapped Minnesota's three-game winning streak with a 4-2 victory.

Jason Williams had a goal and an assist for Chicago, which got its first win in Minnesota since 2002.

Agencies

(China Daily 03/06/2008 page24)