Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
ATLANTA - Trevor Kidd didn't stop every shot, but he slowed enough of them.
Kidd had 25 saves in a rare start to lead the Maple Leafs past the struggling Thrashers 4-1 Friday night.
Alexei Ponikarovsky and Gary Roberts scored less than three minutes apart late in the second period to put the Maple Leafs ahead 3-1. Matt Stajan finished off the Thrashers with a goal about 71/2 minutes into the third.
Kidd, in his seventh start of the season and first since Jan.8, got all the bounces.
One shot trickled through his pads, giving Marc Savard a fleeting chance to whack it in. Instead, the Atlanta player knocked the puck off the side of the net.
Late in the second, Patrik Stefan unleashed a wicked slap shot coming down left wing. Kidd got part of it, then turned around in time to swat the puck out of the air as it was fluttering toward the net.
"Some crazy things happened out there," he said.
Not enough to help the Thrashers, who have two wins in their past 16 games.
"That's part of being a goalie," Atlanta coach Bob Hartley said. "As long as it doesn't cross the red line, you can stop it any way you want. It was a big game for him."
Injury-plagued Atlanta was bolstered by the return of Savard, who scored his team's lone goal after missing seven games with a sprained knee.
Also, Dany Heatley played his second game for the Thrashers since recovering from a car wreck that killed teammate Dan Snyder. Heatley didn't make much of an impact, managing only two shots on goal in 191/2 minutes. He directed a power play that went 0-for-5.
Also, the Thrashers activated center Marc Savard and defenseman Chris Tamer.
SABRES 3, RANGERS 1: Buffalo is putting itself in position to make a surprising run at the playoffs. New York's road to the postseason is growing tougher with every loss.
Daniel Briere and Chris Drury each scored a power-play goal, and Martin Biron made 33 saves to lift the visiting Sabres.
Buffalo won for the fourth time in five games and pulled within five points of the Islanders for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
"The way I look at it, the seventh and eighth teams in the conference will be three or four games over .500," Biron said after the Sabres improved to 22-25-5-1. "That's where we've got to get. We've got a lot of big games upcoming against conference teams and we're trying to get on a roll."
The Rangers learned star center Eric Lindros will be out indefinitely after sustaining the eighth concussion of his career Wednesday against Washington.
Mike Dunham returned from his concussion after missing two games and had 32 saves for New York.
STARS 3, SHARKS 1: Jere Lehtinen scored the winner with 2:49 left for host Dallas, which moved within four points of first-place San Jose in the Pacific Division. The Stars have won the division four of the past five seasons. Lehtinen got his eighth goal when he beat goaltender Vesa Toskala from the right circle, converting Mike Modano's pass from behind the goal line to snap a tie at 1.
Stu Barnes added an empty-net goal with 0.6 seconds left for Dallas. Marty Turco had 14 stops for the Stars, 8-3-1 in their past 12.
Also, the league fined Stars forwards Steve Ott and Scott Young $1,000 each for penalties committed during a win over Ottawa on Wednesday. Ott received a five-minute major penalty for charging and a game misconduct; Young was fined for a high-sticking penalty.
BLUE JACKETS: Center Brad Moran was assigned to AHL Syracuse.
CAPITALS: The league suspended defenseman Jason Doig for two games without pay for kneeing Hurricanes center Kevyn Adams on Thursday.
PREDATORS: The league suspended defenseman Jamie Allison one game without pay after he argued with a fan after receiving a 10-minute misconduct penalty during Thursday's win at Columbus. The team also was fined $10,000.
NETWORK IN WORKS? Kroenke Sports Enterprises plans to start a television network to broadcast Avalanche and Denver Nuggets games and other events, ESPN.com reported, citing the Daily Camera of Boulder, Colo. Fox Sports Net's contracts to televise Denver's NBA and NHL games expires after this season. E. Stanley Kroenke owns the Nuggets, Avalanche and Pepsi Center, where both teams play.