Left wing Kyle Calder has signed a one-year contract with the Anaheim Ducks, who released him late in training camp.

Calder was assigned to the Ducks’ minor-league affiliate in Bakersfield.

The nine-year NHL veteran attended Anaheim’s training camp on a tryout basis, but was released after going scoreless in four exhibition games.

Calder scored 27 points for Los Angeles last season. He spent his last two seasons with the Kings after starting his career with the Chicago Blackhawks, followed by short stints with Philadelphia and Detroit.

The last-place Ducks are searching for scoring help after managing just 25 goals during their 3-6-1 start.

Superstitious Sindey Crosby didn’t want to jinx his shot at a hat trick after his first two goals. Perhaps for the same reason, he isn’t willing to acknowledge he’s morphing into a top pure goal-scorer.

Crosby had his third career hat trick and the Pittsburgh Penguins became the first NHL team to reach 10 victories this season, snapping the Montreal Canadiens’ four-game winning streak with a 6-1 victory Wednesday night. A few hours later, Colorado also reached 10 wins, beating Calgary 3-2.

Crosby, tied for fifth in the NHL with nine goals, had his third multiple-goal game in 12 starts this season for Pittsburgh (10-2-0).

“When you get three goals in a game, that kind of changes the look of your (season) numbers early on,” said Crosby, who has 36 goals in his past 55 games (including the playoffs). “I’m trying to shoot the puck when I get chances and trying to not pass up good shots, but it’s just been a matter of the puck going in early on.”

Chris Kunitz also scored and assisted on all three of Crosby’s goals. Mike Rupp and Alex Goligoski added goals, and Bill Guerin had three assists.

Marc-Andre Fleury made 23 saves, allowing only Tomas Plekanec’s power-play goal.

With the victory, the defending Stanley Cup champions rebounded from a loss to New Jersey on Saturday night that snapped their seven-game winning streak.

Montreal’s Jaroslav Halak stopped 19 of 23 shots before he was pulled after the second period.

Crosby extended his point streak to five games, completing a hat trick during the first 36 minutes, giving him nine goals in October for the first time in his career. Last season, Crosby’s ninth goal came a full month later on Nov. 28.

Crosby has averaged roughly twice as many assists as goals over the course of his career but is on a pace for 62 this season.

“He can score,” said linemate Guerin, who has 411 career goals. “He usually has a pass-first mentality, but with the positions that he put himself in during the game, he can score a lot of goals.”

Crosby’s third hat trick came three years to the day after his first, and all three of his goals Wednesday came at even strength. He scored 8:33 into the contest when he one-timed a slap shot off a pass from Guerin between the glove and left pad of Halak, who was diving to his left.

“We made mistakes,” said Montreal defenseman Hal Gill, who won the Cup with the Penguins in June. “We had some turnovers and (Crosby) feeds off that. He waits for it and that’s when he capitalizes.”

Crosby made it 2-0 5 minutes into the second when he corralled the rebound of Kunitz’s shot while in the slot and, with his back to the net, flipped a backhander high into the corner of the net.

“If you give him a chance, he’s going to score,” Halak said.

The goal that brought the deluge of hats onto the ice came with 4:27 left in the second when Kunitz fed him all alone in front of Halak, who stopped his initial shot but the rebound ricocheted off Crosby’s skate.

The play was reviewed but officials ruled he did not use a distinct kicking motion so the goal stood, giving the Penguins a 4-0 lead and Crosby his first three-goal game since Nov. 29, 2008.

“I felt good. I felt like I was getting chances, but I try to not to think about (hat tricks) too much,” Crosby said. “You don’t want to jinx it or think about it. I just wanted to make sure I kept generating chances. When Billy and Kuny are fore-checking like they were, creating loose pucks and stealing pucks, I just try to get ready for those opportunities.”

Rupp’s third goal came 12:58 into the second, and Plekanec scored his third 5:39 into the third during a 5-on-3 situation, ruining Fleury’s shot at his first shutout of the season.

Kunitz had a power play goal with 3:29 left — his second goal in his past 42 games (including playoffs).

“If you get points, it makes you feel good,” Kunitz said, “but the other aspects of my game — going in and being the first on the puck and trying to do all the small things I pride myself in… I’m not going to go up and score 40 or 50 (in a season), but if I get some breaks, hopefully this is the start of some good things.”

Wojtek Wolski, Craig Anderson and the NHL-leading Colorado Avalanche needed a little time to get up to speed against the Calgary Flames.

Wolski broke a tie at 5:31 of the third period, and Anderson — after allowing two goals in first 1:10 — made 30 saves to help Colorado reach 10 victories with a 3-2 win over Calgary on Wednesday night.

Wolski scored his team-high eighth goal, beating Miikka Kiprusoff with a wrist shot from the high slot. Wolski dodged a fallen Daymond Langkow and eluded a stick check from Nigel Dawes, then faked a shot to freeze Kiprusoff before firing inside the post.

“I just tried to take it to the middle of the ice and (Milan) Hejduk and (Paul) Stastny were going to the net and that created a lot of space for me,” Wolski said.

Wolski had two goals Tuesday night in the Avalanche’s 3-0 victory in Edmonton. Last season, the Polish star had only 14 goals in 78 games.

“A lot of hard work this summer,” Wolski said. “With the season we had last year, I was so disappointed. Hitting rock bottom there, you tend to step back a little bit and assess how the season went and what you have to do to get ready for the next season.”

Anderson has started all 13 games for Colorado (10-1-2) in his first season with the team after leaving Florida as a free agent.

“There’s no quit in the room,” Avalanche coach Joe Sacco said. “You get in those situations, play back-to-back games on the road, there’s a good hockey team here waiting for us, but there’s no quit.”

Calgary’s Jarome Iginla and Olli Jokinen scored 15 seconds apart early in the first period, but David Koci and David Jones countered for Colorado in the period.

“For me, it was just a matter of resetting and refocusing,” Anderson said. “My job was just to make sure it didn’t get to three. I knew I had the confidence in our team to come back and get ourselves back into the hockey game.”

Colorado has won four straight games and has earned points in its last 10 games (8-0-2). The Avalanche also improved to 6-1-2 on the road.

“There’s a good feeling going on. The guys are pulling for each other. They’re working hard,” Sacco said. “The guys really believe they can win right now, doesn’t matter if the situation is we’re down 1-0 or 2-0, we have that feeling that we can come back at any time.”

Koci made it 2-1 at 7:53 of the first, deflecting Brett Clark’s point shot past Kiprusoff for his first goal of the season and second in 76 career games.

“We have a good mix here and the passion of the young guys is good for us because it brings energy to our game,” Koci said.

The Avalanche tied it with 3:22 left in the period, scoring on a mad scramble in front of the net, a sequence that set up by a shot on goal by rookie Ryan O’Reilly. Kiprusoff could not contain the rebound and Jones eventually fired in his third goal.

Iginla opened the scoring at 55 seconds, beating Anderson on a low harmless looking wrist shot from 40 feet out that found an opening just inside the post.

Just 15 seconds later, Jokinen’s centering pass from the corner glanced off the skate of a Colorado defenseman and past Anderson.

“We weren’t as sharp as we should have been after that first minute, we realize that,” Iginla said. “They also played a good road game. They didn’t do a lot of flashy things, they didn’t get a ton of shots, but they were opportunistic and on a back-to-back night, they did what they had to do.”

Game notes
Kiprusoff made 11 saves for Calgary. … Team Canada general manager Steve Yzerman attended the game.

Goalie Roberto Luongo of the Vancouver Canucks is out at least a week with a rib injury, a team spokesman said Wednesday.

Luongo has a hairline fracture of a rib on his left side. The injury is not considered serious.

The netminder isn’t sure how long he’ll be out, but expects to be back much quicker than the 24 games it took him to recover from a groin injury last year.

“I am stubborn so I don’t know,” Luongo said when asked about the possibility of an early return. “Thankfully I dealt with this a couple of years ago. It’s almost the same injury and I know more or less what the timeline is and how you feel on a day-to-day basis.

“There is no definite timeline because it’s really about the amount of pain that you’ve got there. I’m definitely not playing the next two games, so we’ll see after that.”

He was injured in a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday on a shot by Niklas Hagman, the team said. Luongo played through it the following night, shutting out the Edmonton Oilers, but on Tuesday Luongo allowed four goals in the third period in a 5-4 home loss to the Detroit Red Wings.

Luongo will skip Thursday’s game in Los Angeles and Friday’s contest at Anaheim. His status for Sunday’s game with visiting Colorado will depend on how he feels. Luongo added that he had a similar injury two years ago.

Backup Andrew Raycroft, who has allowed one goal in 52 minutes over two games when Luongo got the hook from coach Alain Vigneault, will get his first start for the Canucks on Thursday. The Canucks recalled Cory Schneider from their American Hockey League affiliate Wednesday to serve as the backup.

Luongo did not accompany the club to California and said he doesn’t plan to rush his return.

“It’s about healing and making sure you don’t have issues the rest of the year,” he said. “It’s not about sucking it up and playing.”

Raycroft, who is used to the pressure of an intense hockey market after playing in Toronto, said he was probably due for a start.

“I’ve had more than enough time,” Raycroft said of his inactivity. “We’ve basically had two months so it’ll be fun to get in there.

Luongo is 6-6-0 on the season with a 2.79 goals-against average and .902 save percentage.

The Canucks struggled to a 9-12-3 record without an injured Luongo in the lineup last season.

The Associated Press and ESPN.com’s Pierre LeBrun contributed to this report.

Doug Weight’s nagging cough reminds him of his bout with swine flu. His creativity on the power play reminds the New York Islanders why they brought back the veteran center for another NHL season.

Weight, in his first game following his illness, assisted on Kyle Okposo’s tiebreaking, man-advantage goal in the second period that lifted New York to a 3-1 victory over the New York Rangers on Wednesday night.

It was the first win in regulation for the Islanders (2-4-5).

“It’s always fun to play them and beat them,” Weight said. “It’s points that we needed badly.”

Weight, sidelined for three games, sent a cross-ice pass to Jack Hillen in the Rangers’ zone. The defenseman fired a drive that bounced off goalie Henrik Lundqvist and past Rangers defenseman Daniel Girardi onto the stick of Okposo, who slammed the puck into the open right side with 1:46 left in the second.

“That play he made to Jack on the backdoor was something that comes with years of experience,” Islanders coach Scott Gordon said of Weight. “He can find all the options, and he certainly found that one.”

Islanders rookie John Tavares, the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft, snapped a four-game scoreless streak with 5:06 left by netting his fourth goal. Tavares was trying to hit Weight with a pass, but the puck bounded in off Lundqvist.

“That’s what I was trying to do. Get pucks to the net and get some rebounds,” the 19-year-old Tavares said. “It’s always nice to be working hard. Sometimes bounces go your way.”

P.A. Parenteau, in the Rangers’ lineup only because top scorer Marian Gaborik sat out because of an undisclosed injury sustained two nights earlier, scored his first NHL goal.

“It was one of the best feelings in my life, but it definitely would have been better if we won,” Parenteau said.

Lundqvist looked sharp in making 29 saves, but took the loss one day after he was in a minor car accident on his way to practice. The Rangers (8-4-1) are 1-3-1 following a a seven-game winning streak.

New York coach John Tortorella was frustrated that the Islanders were more physical than his club and pushed the Rangers around.

“We’re way too easy to play against,” Tortorella said.

It is unclear how long Gaborik will be out but the forward, who has 10 goals, will surely want to play Friday at Minnesota when New York takes on his former team. Gaborik spent his first eight NHL seasons with the Wild.

Hillen tied career highs with two assists and two points. He received the lone assist on Matt Moulson’s team-leading sixth goal — scored on a breakaway 55 seconds in.

Dwayne Roloson stopped 34 shots for the Islanders, who earned their second win — both at home. The Islanders managed to hang on and avoid a repeat of recent third-period collapses.

“We’ve played well, I just think trying too hard was the culprit,” Roloson said. “You can’t give any other reason why we were trying so hard … because we wanted to win so bad. We did whatever we had to do to play a solid 60 minutes.”

The 38-year-old Weight kept his shifts short in his return to the ice for the first time since being diagnosed with the H1N1 flu strain eight days earlier. Weight is the fourth NHL player known to have contracted swine flu.

Washington forward Quintin Laing, Edmonton defenseman Ladislav Smid, and Colorado goalie Peter Budaj also have the illness, their teams said this week. Weight, who missed two earlier games this season because of a groin injury, earned his third assist in six games.

Moulson started the scoring when he got free of defenseman Matt Gilroy and forward Chris Drury and raced in alone. He snapped a quick shot that beat Lundqvist’s blocker for his fifth goal in eight games.

“I knew they’d come hard, they always do,” Lundqvist said. “When they get the start they got, they build from it. I think we recovered pretty good but the late goal in the second killed us.

“You can feel the importance of that goal.”

Parenteau tied it at 1 at 8:30 when he got to a loose puck in the slot and sent a backhander through traffic and past Roloson.

The Rangers didn’t register many prime scoring chances, and were twice denied by shots that rang off posts. Marc Staal struck iron with 4.5 seconds left in the first period, and Enver Lisin nailed the crossbar in the second.

Game notes
Hillen also had two assists on March 7 against New Jersey. … Rangers enforcer Donald Brashear sat out for the fourth time in seven games due to an undisclosed injury. … Parenteau, recalled from Hartford of the AHL on Tuesday, made his Rangers debut. He had one assist in five previous NHL games with Chicago.

Islanders captain Doug Weight, the fourth NHL player known to have swine flu, returned to New York’s lineup on Wednesday night after a bout with the illness forced him to miss three games.

The 38-year-old center confirmed Wednesday that he was bedridden with the virus after being diagnosed eight days earlier. At least three other players are currently dealing with the H1N1 strain of the virus.

“I was never worried about it,” Weight said. “I think we’re a little up in arms about it as a nation.

“Obviously, it is important that we get a grip on it, but I think it’s the flu. It knocked me on my butt. I stayed away from guys so I made sure I was not infecting anybody else, and here we are.”

The Washington Capitals announced Wednesday that forward Quintin Laing has the swine flu, and on Tuesday it was revealed that Edmonton defenseman Ladislav Smid and Colorado goalie Peter Budaj also have the strain of the virus, their teams said.

“The league has provided clubs with all the relevant information, and with recommendations for proactive prevention and management steps,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said in an e-mail. “Clubs have been advised to provide the league with frequent updates to allow us to continue to monitor the situation on a league-wide basis.

“None of the information that has become public recently has warranted or caused a different approach to the situation than we have taken to date.”

Weight was cleared to resume workouts on Sunday and got the go-ahead to return to hockey action on Wednesday morning.

“I wasn’t scared at all. It was the flu as far as I’m concerned,” he said before the Islanders played the New York Rangers. “The only difference for myself, first and foremost, was I have three kids and a wife that I live with.

“I was fine, but you want to make sure you don’t bring it to their schools, to this building, to my teammates and my house.”

Weight was deemed to be no longer contagious after five days. He supports the idea of putting hand sanitizers in front of dressing rooms — which the Capitals have done — as well as in work places, schools and homes everywhere.

“As of now, the blood is off my hands,” Weight said. “They said it’s five days and it has been eight. So if anybody gets sick now, it’s not me. I took care of myself. My kids are good and my wife is good, so it’s all good.

“I stayed in bed and shut my door. … That was it. You cough in your arm and you wash your hands and you have the soap all around for the kids to wash their hands all day.”

In his first season as Islanders captain, Weight has missed five of New York’s 10 games. A groin injury sidelined him for two games. He has no goals and two assists during his limited play with the Islanders, who started the day with a mark of 1-4-5.

“I felt really good coming into camp, and that groin really bugged me,” Weight said. “That is better now. I will take some short shifts today, and we have seven [games] in 11 nights so there is no time to feel sorry for myself. I am excited to get back and I’m excited to contribute to some wins.

“I need to step up here and do some leading on the ice. I feel like I can. I feel good on the ice right now, so I’ve got to make sure I’m pulling my weight.”

Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press

Superstitious Sidney Crosby didn’t want to jinx his shot at a hat trick after his first two goals. Perhaps for the same reason, he isn’t willing to acknowledge he’s morphing into a top pure goal-scorer.

Crosby had his third career hat trick and the Pittsburgh Penguins became the first NHL team to reach 10 victories this season, snapping the Montreal Canadiens’ four-game winning streak with a 6-1 victory Wednesday night. A few hours later, the Colorado Avalanche also reached 10 wins, beating the Calgary Flames 3-2.

Crosby, tied for fifth in the NHL with nine goals, had his third multiple-goal game in 12 starts this season for Pittsburgh (10-2-0).

“When you get three goals in a game, that kind of changes the look of your [season] numbers early on,” said Crosby, who has 36 goals in his past 55 games (including the playoffs). “I’m trying to shoot the puck when I get chances and trying to not pass up good shots, but it’s just been a matter of the puck going in early on.”

Chris Kunitz also scored and assisted on all three of Crosby’s goals. Mike Rupp and Alex Goligoski added goals, and Bill Guerin had three assists.

Marc-Andre Fleury made 23 saves, allowing only Tomas Plekanec’s power-play goal.

With the victory, the defending Stanley Cup champions rebounded from a loss to the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night that snapped their seven-game winning streak.

Montreal’s Jaroslav Halak stopped 19-of-23 shots before he was pulled after the second period.

Crosby extended his point streak to five games, completing a hat trick during the first 36 minutes, giving him nine goals in October for the first time in his career. Last season, Crosby’s ninth goal came a full month later on Nov. 28.

Crosby has averaged roughly twice as many assists as goals over the course of his career but is on a pace for 62 this season.

“He can score,” said linemate Guerin, who has 411 career goals. “He usually has a pass-first mentality, but with the positions that he put himself in during the game, he can score a lot of goals.”

Crosby’s third hat trick came three years to the day after his first, and all three of his goals Wednesday came at even strength. He scored 8:33 into the contest when he one-timed a slap shot off a pass from Guerin between the glove and left pad of Halak, who was diving to his left.

“We made mistakes,” said Montreal defenseman Hal Gill, who won the Cup with the Penguins in June. “We had some turnovers and [Crosby] feeds off that. He waits for it and that’s when he capitalizes.”

Crosby made it 2-0 five minutes into the second when he corralled the rebound of Kunitz’s shot while in the slot and, with his back to the net, flipped a backhander high into the corner of the net.

“If you give him a chance, he’s going to score,” Halak said.

The goal that brought the deluge of hats onto the ice came with 4:27 left in the second when Kunitz fed him all alone in front of Halak, who stopped his initial shot but the rebound ricocheted off Crosby’s skate.

The play was reviewed but officials ruled he did not use a distinct kicking motion so the goal stood, giving the Penguins a 4-0 lead and Crosby his first three-goal game since Nov. 29, 2008.

“I felt good. I felt like I was getting chances, but I try to not to think about [hat tricks] too much,” Crosby said. “You don’t want to jinx it or think about it. I just wanted to make sure I kept generating chances. When Billy and Kuny are forechecking like they were, creating loose pucks and stealing pucks, I just try to get ready for those opportunities.”

Rupp’s third goal came 12:58 into the second, and Plekanec scored his third 5:39 into the third during a five-on-three situation, ruining Fleury’s shot at his first shutout of the season.

Kunitz had a power play goal with 3:29 left — his second goal in his past 42 games (including playoffs).

“If you get points, it makes you feel good,” Kunitz said, “but the other aspects of my game — going in and being the first on the puck and trying to do all the small things I pride myself in… I’m not going to go up and score 40 or 50 [in a season], but if I get some breaks, hopefully this is the start of some good things.”

Game notes:
Halak, purportedly Carey Price’s backup, started his fifth straight game. … Guerin has 820 points, seventh among U.S.-born players. … Goligoski has a six-game points streak. … Plekanec has at least a point in four straight. … Penguins right winger Tyler Kennedy missed the game with an undisclosed injury. … Including playoffs, Mellon Arena was sold out for the 125th consecutive game, dating to late in the 2006-07 season.

Jonathan Toews remained off the ice on Wednesday and most likely will miss the next two games, but Brent Seabrook practiced and says he’s ready to return after missing the past two contests.

“It was good,” Seabrook said after practice. “I enjoyed being back out there with the fellas and look forward to hopefully playing (Thursday).”

Unless there is a setback, coach Joel Quenneville confirmed Seabrook would play against Nashville. Speaking for the first time since leaving the ice last Wednesday, the Blackhawks star defenseman explained what happened.

“I got hit in the neck and it just sort of rattled my brain a little bit,” Seabrook said. “I had some headaches. Well, not so much headaches but pressure on my head when I’d get up or move or jump or when I’d run. We just had to wait for that to subside and once that did, then I could work out and that’s what I did yesterday with no symptoms. Today I could take the psych test and then practice.”

There is still no timetable for Toews’ return. Toews took a hit from Vancouver’s Willie Mitchell a week ago. Like Seabrook, it’s a matter of the symptoms subsiding and until that happens, Toews won’t see the ice.

“Johnny didn’t skate today and hasn’t skated yet so he’s not going on the trip,” Quenneville said.

Quenneville indicated that there is a chance they would use seven defensemen in Nashville Thursday instead of recalling a forward from Rockford. Jacob Dowell has played the past two games in place of Toews, but Jordan Hendry will most likely move up to play on the fourth line.

Meanwhile, Marian Hossa skated with his new team for the first time. Hossa, recovering from shoulder surgery, ran some drills on the fourth line with Colin Fraser and Tomas Kopecky. He didn’t take full slap shots or deal with any contact, but it’s a start.

“This kind of puts a smile on my face and makes me feel better,” Hossa said about practicing. “I’m looking forward to the next skate.”

Though Hossa was happy to be on the ice, his shoulder is not at full strength. He believes he is still three or four weeks away from playing in a game and wont do so until he is 100 percent.

“It’s getting there but lifting the weights, I can tell the arm is not like the other arm, so I try to adjust and am slowly progressing and lifting heavier,” Hossa said.

Even in limited action, Hossa’s new teammates were impressed with his practice debut as well as thrilled to see Seabrook back at it.

“Hossa actually looked really good today,” Patrick Kane said. “It’s going to be amazing what he looks like when he’s back to 100 percent but having Seabs back, that helps a lot for our defense. He’s probably one of the most underrated players on the team if not in the NHL, so it’s good to see [injured] players getting back on the ice. Now we just have to get the big captain back.”

The New Jersey Devils didn’t show up for the first period and that’s all the Buffalo Sabres needed to remain unbeaten on the road.

MacArthur and rookie Tim Kennedy scored in the opening six minutes and the Sabres completed a sweep of a three-game road trip and won for the fourth time overall away from home, beating the Devils 4-1 on Wednesday night.

“I thought we owned most of the first period and they did a nicer job in the second,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “In the third period, we traded opportunities and we took advantage of the good ones we got.”

Paul Gaustad and Jason Pominville iced the game with goals in the final period and Ryan Miller was outstanding in making 31 saves as Buffalo won for the seventh time (7-1-1) in nine games.

“We’re happy,” Miller said. “I don’t want to give people the impression we are not happy. We’re managing our expectations a little better. We know it’s going to be a steady improvement by every team. With this team, we also have to improve and show we can bring the work ethic every night. The good start shows the guys care and want to play. That will be the key to the season.”

Defenseman Andy Greene scored on a power play for New Jersey, which had a three-game winning streak snapped in losing for the fourth time in five home games.

“Obviously, they came out strong, more prepared, the way we should’ve been,” said Devils defenseman Johnny Oduya, who was on the ice for the Sabres’ first two goals.

New Jersey coach Jacques Lemaire said the staff told the team that the Sabres would come out strong and forecheck. The Devils didn’t handle the puck well in their own end and it cost them.

“In the second period we started to play,” Lemaire said.

MacArthur needed only 81 seconds to give Buffalo the lead, stuffing in the rebound of Craig Rivet’s slap shot for his fifth goal.

“I think we caught them on their heels with a couple of key players out tonight,” Ruff said of Devils defenseman Paul Martin and left winger Jay Pandolfo. “We didn’t give them much time to get organized and it seemed they missed Martin on defense.”

Kennedy got his first NHL goal at the six-minute mark. Jochen Hecht got control of a floating puck behind the Devils’ net and nudged it to Kennedy. He skated out from behind the goal to the right circle and then turned and shot, catching Brodeur off-guard, with the puck sliding between his wide-open pads.

“He is one of the best, if not the best all-time, he is right up there and for me to score on him for my first that’s just really special,” Kennedy said. “He’ll stop me a lot more than I’ll ever score on him, so to get that first one is nice.”

After being outshot 14-7 in the first period, the Devils picked up their game and got on the board with Gaustad off for hooking. Greene beat Miller with a shot from the right circle after a Zach Parise pass failed to connect in front and went right to him for his first goal of the season.

This marked the Devils’ first game without Martin (broken left arm) and Pandolfo (shoulder). Both were hurt Saturday in Pittsburgh and are expected to be sidelined at least four weeks.

Sabres rookie defenseman Tyler Myers played his ninth NHL game on Wednesday. Under NHL rules, the 19-year-old’s three-year rookie contract kicks in if he plays his 10th game, making Myers eligible to test free agency a year earlier than most players in his draft class. The other option would be to send Myers back to junior hockey, but the 6-foot-8 first-round pick is playing so well it might be hard for Buffalo to do that.

“We’re going to look at it,” Ruff said. “That’s something we’re going to talk about.”

Game notes
Devils left winger Andrew Peters was scratched and didn’t get a chance to play against his old team. … Defenseman Cory Murphy, who was recalled from Lowell after Martin’s injury, was scratched. … Sabres defenseman Toni Lydman did not dress for the second straight game.

James Neal’s net-crashing habit paid off for the Dallas Stars.

Neal’s rebound with 2:03 left in overtime gave the Stars a 4-3 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night.

Toronto rookie Jonas Gustavsson stopped Stephane Robidas’ shot from long range, but Neal skated hard to the net to knock in the rebound for his seventh goal of the season and first of his career in overtime.

“It’s a huge goal for him,” Stars coach Marc Crawford said. “We had talked all game long about playing a young goaltender that … there are rebounds that will spray out. It took us all that time to get one and James was the benefactor by having a good habit and being in the right spot. When you do that, good things happen.”

The Stars ended a four-game stretch of overtime futility this season. Dallas lost three shootouts and once in overtime before earning the extra point against Toronto.

“Any tight game, obviously it’s still early in the season, but that’s the type of hockey you want to play in the playoffs,” Robidas said.

Brad Richards scored twice, Mike Ribeiro added a goal, and Marty Turco made 33 saves for the Stars. Nikolai Kulemin had two goals for Toronto, Lee Stempniak struck on the power play, and Jason Blake had three assists.

Ribeiro’s deflection of Jamie Benn’s shot with 2:45 left in regulation tied it at 3, and the Stars went on to control play in the extra session.

“I thought the overtime was our best period for whatever reason,” Crawford said. “It looked like we had good command in our own zone, good control of the puck, and it looked like we had some sustainable pressure. Tonight we were able to persevere.”

The Maple Leafs lost their first eight games before beating Anaheim 6-3 on the road Monday night, but Toronto was unable to string together a second straight win.

“With 5 minutes left in [regulation] and up a goal, you have to find ways to close those games out,” Blake said. “It’s a tough one to take, giving up a late goal, but you learn from that and move forward.”

With the game tied at 2, Turco failed to control the rebound of Blake’s shot, and Kulemin fired the loose puck under Turco at 13:11 of the third period before Ribeiro’s tip-in tied it.

The Stars took advantage of a 5-on-3 to grab a 2-1 lead when Richards blasted a one-timer from the left circle past Gustavsson at 1:52 of the final period.

Toronto converted on the power play at 7:42 of the third period to tie it at 2 on Stempniak’s one-timer from the left circle.

The Stars broke up a scoreless game at 15:13 of the second period, capitalizing on a fortunate bounce when Richards banked in a sharp-angled shot off the skate of Maple Leafs defenseman Ian White. Toronto tied it at 1 at 17:00 of the second when Kulemin stuffed the rebound of his own shot past Turco.

Game notes
Crawford will coach his 1,000th NHL game Friday night against Florida, becoming the 15th to do so in league history. Scotty Bowman is the leader with 2,141 games over 30 seasons for five teams. … The Stars were among the teams in the running to sign Gustavsson, a Swedish free agent, in the offseason. … Dallas is 8-2-2 in the last 11 meetings with Toronto. …Stars C Steve Ott served the first game of a two-game suspension for a low hit on St. Louis’ Carlo Colaiacovo on Saturday night. … Toronto is without Ds Mike Van Ryn (knee) and Jamie Heward (concussion). … Dallas LW Brenden Morrow had an assist for his 400th career point.