WASHINGTON, 9 January 2004 — Brian Boucher made 27 saves to record his fourth consecutive shutout, stretching his streak to the second longest in the modern history of the NHL, as the Phoenix Coyotes beat the Washington Capitals 3-0 on Wednesday.
Boucher has not allowed a goal in 265 minutes, 45 seconds, trailing only Bill Durnan’s all-time record of 309:21, set in 1949, which was also the last time any goalie posted four straight shutouts.
Starting the season as the team’s third string goalie, Boucher was elevated when Zac Bierk suffered a groin injury in mid-November. Since then he’s been almost unbeatable, helping the Coyotes improve to 4-0-4 in their last eight road games.
The goalie, who turned 27 last Friday, faced just six shots in the first period but had to make two tough saves, including a close-in drive by Mike Grier late in the period.
Shane Doan and Daymond Langkow scored in the first period for the Coyotes and Ladislav Nagy added an empty-netter in the third period.
Meanwhile in Buffalo, Alexei Zhitnik scored a power-play goal in the second period and Martin Biron made 44 saves to earn the Sabres a 1-1 tie against the Philadelphia Flyers.
John LeClair opened the scoring early in the second period for the Flyers, who out-shot Buffalo 17-2 in the first period and 45-21 in the game.
In Detroit, Andrew Raycroft turned aside 36 saves for his second shutout, giving the Boston Bruins a 3-0 win over the Red Wings.
Joe Thornton, Travis Green and Mike Knuble all scored for the Bruins, who picked up their second straight road win.
In East Rutherford, Ryan Malone scored the winning goal in the second period to help the Pittsburgh Penguins defeat the Devils 4-2.
Mike Eastwood and Matt Bradley netted in the first period and Eric Meloche filled an empty net with 20 seconds left on the clock to help the Penguins snap a four-game losing skid.
Eric Chouinard scored a pair of goals to help the Minnesota Wild rally to a 7-4 win over the Chicago Blackhawks in St. Paul.
Jason Wiemer, Nick Schultz, Richard Park, Pascal Dupuis and Antti Laaksonen also counted for the Wild, who turned around a 3-1 deficit to win for the first time in eight games. Tyler Arnason scored twice for the Blackhawks.
In Anaheim, Mikael Holmqvist scored a pair of goals to give the Mighty Ducks a 4-4 tie with the Los Angeles Kings.
Sergei Fedorov and Todd Simpson scored the other goals for the Ducks. Sean Avery had a goal and an assist for the Kings.
Sundin Suspended for One Game, Tugnutt Demoted to Minors
In Toronto, Mats Sundin of the Toronto Maple Leafs was suspended for one game by the National Hockey League on Wednesday for throwing his broken stick into the stands.
Sundin’s stick snapped in the second period as he was about to take a shot. He backhanded the shaft of the broken stick into the stands without looking, but nobody was hurt.
There was no penalty called on the play and Sundin assisted on both Toronto goals in the third period of the Leafs’ 2-1 win over the Nashville Predators.
The Leafs captain will also forfeit one game’s salary.
Meanwhile, the Dallas Stars sent goaltender Ron Tugnutt to the minors after he cleared waivers.
Tugnutt, the team’s backup the past two seasons, was 1-3-0 with a 2.57 goals-against average and .889 save percentage in five games for Dallas this season.
He will join the Utah Grizzlies of the American Hockey League. The Stars recalled goalie Mike Smith from Utah to take his place on the roster.
