National Hockey

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher sounded like the concerned parent of a needing-to-be-punished teenager recently when he was assessing for reporters his team's performance nearing the one-third mark of the season.

PITTSBURGH — Ondrej Pavelec stopped 41 shots while filling in for late scratch Henrik Lundqvist to help the New York Rangers to a 4-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night.

DENVER — It took 28 games, but the Buffalo Sabres picked a good time to get their first goal of the season from a defenceman .

VANCOUVER — It took over 100 NHL starts, but Vancouver goalie Jacob Markstrom finally has first career shutout. Markstrom made 30 saves Tuesday night as the Canucks blanked the Carolina Hurricanes 3-0 for their third win in a row.

DALLAS — Nashville goalie Juuse Saros reveled in his busy night. Saros made a career-high 43 saves and his Predators teammates scored four times in the second period to cool off the Dallas Stars 5-2 on Tuesday.

DETROIT — If last weekend was rock bottom for the Detroit Red Wings, then this was a pretty strong response. Gustav Nyquist scored twice, and the Red Wings snapped a seven-game slide with a 5-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday night.

NEW YORK — San Jose Sharks defenceman Brenden Dillon has been suspended one game by the NHL for slashing Madison Bowey of the Washington Capitals. The league's department of player safety announced the punishment Tuesday.

TAMPA, Fla. — When the Tampa Bay Lightning needed to regain the momentum, Yanni Gourde took over. Gourde scored two of Tampa Bay's three goals late in the second period and the Lightning beat the New York Islanders 6-2 on Tuesday night.

MONTREAL — Brayden Schenn knew that if the St. Louis Blues kept dominating games their winless run would end sooner or later.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Cory Schneider was terrific in his 100th win with the New Jersey Devils. The veteran goalie got plenty of offensive help, too.