NHL Capsules: Bruins beat Stars

BOSTON (AP) - Patrice Bergeron had two goals and an assist to lift the Boston Bruins to a fight-filled 6-3 victory over the Dallas Stars on Thursday night.

In the first 4 seconds of the game, there were three separate fights.

Stars agitator Steve Ott bloodied Boston's Gregory Campbell one second after the puck was dropped. That was followed by Boston's Shawn Thornton pounding Stars forward Krys Barch one second later. And then Boston's Adam McQuaid was fighting Dallas' Brian Sutherby 4 seconds in as the crowd roared with approval.

Mark Recchi added three assists and Tuukka Rask made 30 saves and won for the third time since Dec. 9. Boston won for the sixth time in its past eight games.

An energized Bruins team raced to a 2-0 lead in the first 1:20 courtesy of goals by Milan Lucic and Bergeron beating backup Stars goalie Andrew Raycroft. Raycroft was promptly removed after allowing goals on the only two shots he faced. He was replaced by Kari Lehtonen.

Wild 4, Avalanche 3

DENVER (AP) - Andrew Brunette scored twice and Jose Theodore stopped 38 shots.

Kyle Brodziak and Pierre-Marc Bouchard also added goals as the Wild won for the sixth time in their past seven games.

The Avalanche started off sluggish in their first contest in more than a week, allowing two goals in a 61-second span at the outset. They were scheduled to play Tuesday in St. Louis after the All-Star break, but it was postponed due to weather.

Milan Hejduk scored twice and Chris Stewart added another with 10.7 seconds remaining for the slumping Avalanche, who have dropped four of their past five.

Flyers 3, Predators 2

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Ville Leino scored two goals, including the winner late in the third period.

Leino's second goal came with 3:16 left in the game. He went 360 degrees in front of the net to avoid sliding Nashville forward Martin Erat and beat goalie Anders Lindback with a backhand on the high glove side for the winner.

Jeff Carter also scored for the Eastern Conference-leading Flyers in the start of a four-game homestand.

Sergei Bobrovsky had 26 saves for the Flyers.

Marcel Goc and Joel Ward scored for the Predators.

The Flyers won on the night they honored Hall of Famer and their former captain, Bobby Clarke. Devils 3, Rangers 2

NEW YORK (AP) - Dainius Zubrus had a goal and an assist to help New Jersey escape the NHL cellar.

Zubrus set up Ilya Kovalchuk's goal in the first period and scored along with Brian Rolston in the second to give the Devils a seemingly comfortable 3-0 lead.

Ryan Callahan and Vinny Prospal, in his season debut after recovering from offseason knee surgery, got the Rangers close, but Martin Brodeur hung on for the Devils (18-30-3), who moved one point ahead of Edmonton and tied the New York Islanders in the overall standings. Brodeur made 25 saves for New Jersey, 8-1-1 in its past 10.

The Devils, outshot 27-18, lost the first three meetings this season to New York and were outscored 9-2.

New York defenseman Dan Girardi nearly tied it with 0.8 seconds left, but his shot hit the right post. Flames 4, Thrashers 2

ATLANTA (AP) - Mikael Backlund scored with about 6 minutes and Calgary finally earned its first win in the Flames' former home city.

Mark Giordano, Brendan Morrison and Curtis Glencross also scored as the Flames earned their sixth straight win, their longest streak in two years. Glencross scored an empty-net goal with 6 seconds remaining.

The Flames, who played in Atlanta as an expansion franchise from 1972-80, won in Atlanta for the first time in seven games since leaving the South. Calgary was 0-5-1 in Atlanta since the Thrashers joined the league as an expansion team in 1999.

Bryan Little and Anthony Stewart scored for the struggling Thrashers, who have lost nine of 11.

Miikka Kiprusoff stopped 22 shots as the Flames continued their surge for a playoff spot. Maple Leafs 3, Hurricanes 0

TORONTO (AP) - Rookie goaltender James Reimer stopped 27 shots for his first NHL shutout.

It was the ninth career NHL appearance for the 22-year-old, who appears to have elbowed Jonas Gustavsson out of a job for the time being.

Clarke MacArthur, Darryl Boyce and Kris Versteeg scored for Toronto which shut out a team for the first time this season.

Coach Ron Wilson said before the game it was an easy decision to start Reimer because he's been solid every time he's played.

Reimer denied Chad LaRose on a breakaway in the second period and made 12 saves in the final 20 minutes as a desperate Carolina team tried to climb back into the game.