The Florida Panthers were close to finalizing a deal with free agent Donald Audette on Thursday night. The 34-year-old forward had three goals and five assists in 23 games with the Montreal Canadiens this season before having his contract bought out Jan. 2.
The Panthers also announced that rookie center Nathan Horton, 18, probably will miss the rest of the season after tearing the rotator cuff in his left shoulder.
Fleury to get a start
Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, coming off a disappointing finish to the world junior championships, will make his first NHL start since Dec. 9 at Minnesota on Friday night.
He allowed the winning goal in Canada’s title-game loss to the U.S. when his clearing attempt banked off a teammate and into his own net.
Stars recall Tugnutt
The Dallas Stars recalled goaltender Ron Tugnutt from Utah of the AHL and placed him on injured reserve with a groin injury. He was sent down Jan. 7 after clearing NHL waivers.
RESULTS, THURSDAY’S SYNOPSIS
Boston 1 at Buffalo 0
Felix Potvin made 27 saves for 31st career shutout. Sergei Samsonov scored early in 2nd period. Bruins extended winning streak to 5 games and unbeaten streak to 7 (6-0-1-0).
New Jersey 3 at N.Y. Rangers 3
Matthew Barnaby scored with 1:49 left to lift Rangers into tie. Devils’ Martin Brodeur made 30 saves in 50th straight start vs. Rangers, who are 1-21-13-1 against Devils since Feb. 17, 1997.
Carolina 4 at Tampa Bay 5
Lightning’s Martin St. Louis had 2nd career hat trick and Dave Andreychuk got 1,300th point (25th player to reach milestone) and 622nd goal. Tampa Bay won 5th in row.
N.Y. Islanders 4 at Ottawa 4
Todd White, Martin Havlat and Zdeno Chara scored in 3rd period to help Senators overcome 4-0 deficit and earn a point for the 14th time in their last 15 games (10-1-4).
Columbus 3 at St. Louis 5
Eric Boguniecki scored twice to lead Blues to just 4th win in last 14 games. Reinhard Divis made 23 saves to improve record to 3-0 and keep Blues perfect vs. Blue Jackets (4-0-0-0).
Phoenix 3 at Nashville 4
Scott Hartnell’s power-play goal with 47 seconds left won for Predators. Nashville’s Scott Walker had assist to give him 15 points (5 goals, 10 assists) in last 13 games.
Dallas 1 at Colorado 4
Peter Forsberg scored twice and David Aebischer had 29 saves as Avalanche won 4th in row (9-1-2-1 in last 13). Game delayed 5 minutes in 1st period after section of glass shattered.
Anaheim 0 at Edmonton 1
Tommy Salo made Ales Hemsky’s first-period goal stand up, recording 2nd shutout in less than a week and 36th of his career. Ducks winless in last 8 games (0-5-3).
Vancouver 1 at San Jose 3
Alyn McCauley and Alex Korolyuk each had a goal and an assist for Sharks, who are 9-0-4-2 in their last 15. Evgeni Nabokov made 34 saves for the victory.
