Hype for January 30, 2010

ravis Zajac helped the New Jersey Devils erase the embarrassment of blowing a late two-goal lead to the lowly Toronto Maple Leafs.

Zajac scored at 4:14 of overtime as the Devils escaped with 5-4 victory Friday night. "For the first two periods, we had the gas pedal down," Zajac said. "We were on them, pressuring them, making them turn the puck over. In the third, we kind of let off."

On a night when Alex Ovechkin and Alexander Semin stepped out of the spotlight, the Washington Capitals still had enough firepower to earn their ninth straight victory.

Mike Knuble and Nicklas Backstrom fuelled the Capitals' vaunted attack with three points apiece, and Washington pulled away to a 4-1 victory over the Florida Panthers on Friday night.

Ryan Miller and Buffalo Sabres spoiled Marc Savard's return to the reeling Boston Bruins.

Despite getting Savard back from a knee injury that forced him to miss the past eight games, Boston continued its slide Friday night, falling 2-1 to the Sabres. Miller made 30 saves to send the Bruins (23-21-8) to their sixth consecutive loss - their worst winless drought since December 2007 - and ninth defeat in their past 10 games (1-8-1).

Mike Modano is on a scoring surge thanks mostly to a little extra down time between games.

Modano scored twice, including the go-ahead goal in the third period, to lead the Dallas Stars past the Colorado Avalanche, 3-2 on Friday night. Stars coach Marc Crawford has made it a priority to give Modano time off in between games so the 39-year-old star will be fresh for the stretch run.

That plan has paid dividends, withd Modano scoring six goals in eight games.

The Detroit Red Wings aren't used to saying a game is "huge" in January.

Oh, how times have changed. Jimmy Howard made 46 saves and four of his teammates scored, lifting Detroit to a 4-2 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night. "It was huge for us," Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. "Howie was sensational."

Detroit moved into an eighth-place tie with Nashville in the Western Conference standings with about a third of the regular season left.

James Wisniewski is becoming a shootout specialist.

The defenceman scored in regulation and added the winner in a shootout in the Anaheim Ducks' 2-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday night.

"Miracles happen," injured Anaheim right wing Teemu Selanne said while Wisniewski talked with reporters.