The National Hockey League on Friday suspended Dallas Stars forward James Neal two games for a hit from behind.

After starting their four-game road trip on a positive note, the Boston Bruins will try to continue heading in the right direction when they visit the Buffalo Sabres for tonight's Northeast Division clash at HSBC Arena.

Few teams in the NHL are hotter right now than the Philadelphia Flyers. However, a trip to San Jose to battle the Sharks just might be what cools the club down.

While the Canucks didn't enjoy very much success on a recent five-game road trip, they at least capped the trek with a convincing win over the Northwest Division-leading Avalanche.

The Florida Panthers will shoot for a fourth win in five outings when they visit the Detroit Red Wings tonight in an interconference clash at Joe Louis Arena.

The Washington Capitals will aim for a sixth win in seven games when they welcome the Montreal Canadiens for this evening's encounter at Verizon Center.

The Islanders' Matt Moulson didn't enter the season with the label "goal scorer" attached to his name. Twenty-one games into the NHL season, that might have to change.

ANAHEIM, Calif. Scott Niedermayer scored a power-play goal 52 seconds into overtime and the Anaheim Ducks beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3 on Thursday night after blowing a three-goal lead.

Scott Niedermayer rifled a shot into the top right corner of the net 52 seconds into overtime, and the Anaheim Ducks responded after blowing a 3-0 lead to beat the Lightning, 4-3, at Honda Center.

Patrice Bergeron got the lone goal of the shootout, and Tuukka Rask produced a solid effort with 32 saves, as Boston got by a hot Atlanta Thrashers club, 4-3, at Philips Arena. Michael Ryder scored twice in regulation for the Bruins, who snapped a three-game losing streak. Marco Sturm also scored, and Dennis Wideman notched two assists. Maxim Afinogenov tied the game with 41.4 seconds left in regulation and added an assist, while Ilya Kovalchuk had a goal and two assists for Atlanta, which saw its four-game win streak broken. Nik Antropov picked up a goal, and Tobias Enstrom had two assists in the setback. Ondrej Pavelec faced 42 shots and gave up three goals.

Kris Versteeg scored two goals, and the Chicago Blackhawks scored six unanswered goals -- five in the second period -- to start their annual circus road trip with a dominant 7-1 win over the Calgary Flames.

CALGARY, Alberta Kris Versteeg scored two power-play goals in Chicago's five-goal second period to help the Blackhawks rout the Calgary Flames 7-1 on Thursday night in a rematch of a first-round playoff series.

Kristian Huselius scored twice and added an assist, and Steve Mason returned to form with a solid 25-save effort, as Columbus took a 4-1 decision from Dallas at American Airlines Center.

DALLAS Rick Nash scored on a power play and Kristian Huselius added a short-handed goal in the final seconds of the fight-filled opening period, sending the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 4-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Thursday night.

Erik Johnson scored the game-winning goal only 17 seconds into overtime on a spectacular end-to-end rush as the St. Louis Blues earned a 3-2 win over the Phoenix Coyotes at Scottrade Center.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. Mike Santorelli and Martin Erat scored shootout goals, and Jason Arnott had two goals in regulation in the Nashville Predators' 3-2 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night.

Martin Erat scored the deciding goal in the shootout as Nashville won its fourth straight contest with a 3-2 victory over the New Jersey Devils at the Sommet Center.

ST. LOUIS Erik Johnson scored on an end-to-end rush 17 seconds into overtime to give the St. Louis Blues a 3-2 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes on Thursday night.

Erik Cole scored with 2.9 seconds left in regulation, and Tuomo Ruutu tallied in the shootout and added a career-high four assists, as the Carolina Hurricanes came back from a three-goal deficit to shock the Toronto Maple Leafs, 6-5, at RBC Center.

Chris Phillips scored a pair of third-period goals and Pascal Leclaire made 25 saves, as Ottawa blasted Pittsburgh, 6-2, at Scotiabank Place.

OTTAWA Chris Phillips scored twice in his 800th regular-season game and Pascal Leclaire made 25 saves, leading the Ottawa Senators to a 6-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night.

Patrice Bergeron got the lone goal of the shootout, and Tuukka Rask produced a solid effort with 32 saves, as Boston got by a hot Atlanta Thrashers club, 4-3, at Philips Arena.

ATLANTA Michael Ryder scored twice, Patrice Bergeron had the only goal of the shootout and the Boston Bruins snapped Atlanta's four-game winning streak with a 4-3 victory over the Thrashers on Thursday night.

RALEIGH, N.C. Tuomo Ruutu and Jussi Jokinen scored in the shootout and the Carolina Hurricanes rallied from three goals down to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-5 on Thursday night.

The Dallas Stars placed forward Fabian Brunnstrom on injured reserve with a shoulder injury, retroactive to November 7.

The Carolina Hurricanes have placed forward Eric Staal on injured reserve and moved goaltender Cam Ward to long-term IR.

The Washington Capitals have recalled defenseman John Carlson from Hershey of the American Hockey League.

The Columbus Blue Jackets have activated forward Raffi Torres off injured reserve.

The Ducks were unable to pick up any momentum on what turned out to be a winless four-game road trip. Perhaps a return to the Honda Center can right the ship.

The Chicago Blackhawks begin their annual circus trip tonight with the opener of a six-game swing against the Calgary Flames at Pengrowth Saddledome.

The Phoenix Coyotes will try to win back-to-back games for the first time this month when they visit the St. Louis Blues for a clash tonight at Scottrade Center.

Though the Devils' nine-game road winning streak is over, starting a new one in Nashville shouldn't be too much of a problem.

The Pittsburgh Penguins will try to notch a third straight victory as they begin a three-game road trip with this evening's clash against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Place.

The surging Atlanta Thrashers will aim for a fifth consecutive victory when they welcome the struggling Boston Bruins for tonight's battle at Philips Arena.

While backup Mathieu Garon has helped the Blue Jackets recover from their worst loss of the season, he hasn't taken over the starting job just yet.

The Toronto Maple Leafs will try to end a lengthy slide tonight, when they visit the Carolina Hurricanes at RBC Center in a clash between the bottom-two teams in the Eastern Conference.

Brian Boucher stopped 37 shots to post his first victory of the season as Philadelphia withstood a late flurry to top Los Angeles, 3-2, at Staples Center.

LOS ANGELES Mika Pyorala scored his first NHL goal, backup goalie Brian Boucher made 37 saves and the Philadelphia Flyers opened a trip with their seventh victory in eight games, 3-2 over the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday night.

Michael Frolik netted a pair of scores as Florida used a four-goal third period to down Buffalo, 6-2, at HSBC Arena. Rostislav Olesz and Dominic Moore each posted a goal and one assist for the Panthers, who have won three of four. Stephen Weiss and Cory Stillman also tallied while Tomas Vokoun stopped 26 shots for the win. Drew Stafford and Clarke MacArthur tallied for the Sabres, whose three-game win streak came to an end. Ryan Miller was tagged for a season-high five goals on 23 shots in the loss.

Ales Hemsky picked up a goal and one assist while Patrick O'Sullivan notched the game-winner in the third as Edmonton used a three-goal final period to rally past Colorado, 6-4, at Rexall Place.

EDMONTON, Alberta Ryan Potulny and Patrick O'Sullivan scored third-period goals and the Edmonton Oilers overcame a two-goal deficit to beat the Colorado Avalanche 6-4 on Wednesday night.

Scottie Upshall scored the game-winning goal with 4:39 left in the third period, as the Phoenix Coyotes held on for a 3-2 win over the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center.

ST. PAUL, Minn. Radim Vrbata had a goal and an assist, and Ilya Bryzgalov made 24 saves in the Phoenix Coyotes' 3-2 victory over the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday night.

Alex Auld stopped 31-of-32 shots to lead Dallas past Detroit, 3-1, at Joe Louis Arena.

DETROIT Alex Auld made 31 saves, and Mike Ribeiro, Matt Niskanen and Loui Eriksson scored in the Dallas Stars' 3-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday night.

Michael Frolik netted a pair of scores as Florida used a four-goal third period to down Buffalo, 6-2, at HSBC Arena.

BUFFALO, N.Y. The Florida Panthers are making up for a sluggish start.

Washington Capitals forward Quintin Laing will miss 4-to-6 weeks after suffering a broken jaw.

The Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday announced that forward Ryan Smyth could miss up to a month with an upper-body injury.

The Colorado Avalanche will try to continue heading in the right direction tonight, when they visit the Edmonton Oilers for a Northwest Division battle at Rexall Place.