Alex Burrows proved his worth, and quickly.
Hours after signing a four-year contract extension with Vancouver, the left winger scored twice in the Canucks’ 4-2 victory over Minnesota.
The contract is said to be worth eight million U-S — a substantial raise from the 525-thousand dollars Burrows is making this season.
The Canucks rallied from a 2-0 deficit to win for the 11th time in 13 games.
Marty Brodeur remains unbeaten since returning to the New Jersey lineup after missing 50 games with an elbow injury.
Brodeur is 4-and-0 with two shutouts, after the Devils edged Toronto 3-2 in overtime.
Johnny Oduya scored with 12 seconds left in O-T, as Brodeur moved within four wins of breaking Patrick Roy’s N-H-L record of 551 goaltending victories.
Jarome Iginla scored twice and got to witness milestones by a couple of his Calgary Flames teammates in a 6-3 win at Ottawa.
David Moss got his first career hat trick and Warren Peters added his first N-H-L goal.
Iginla scored his 400th career goal on Sunday.
The Edmonton Oilers are part of a three-way tie for seventh in the Western Conference, after a 6-5 overtime loss at Nashville.
The Predators are tied with the Oilers and Anaheim, soaring from 14th in the conference at the start of February.
Jason Arnott scored the winner on a power-play, as Nashville won its fifth in a row.
Martin Havlat scored 1:40 into overtime to give Chicago a 3-2 win over Anaheim.
Havlat broke down the middle from centre ice, and despite being pulled down from behind by Corey Perry, he managed to loft a shot past Ducks goalie J-S Giguere.
The Detroit Red Wings overcame an early injury to forward Marian Hossa in a 5-0 win at St. Louis.
Hossa was taken to hospital for observation after slamming headfirst into the end boards early in the first period.
He leads the Red Wings in scoring with 34 goals.
Chris Kunitz scored twice to lead Pittsburgh past Tampa Bay 3-1.
Sidney Crosby missed his fourth straight game — all Penguins victories — due to a groin injury.
Dallas snapped a five-game losing streak in the N-H-L’s toughest road arena, beating San Jose 4-1.
Rookie James Neal scored twice for the Stars.
Before the game, the Sharks acknowledged that injuries could keep veteran forwards Mike Grier and Jeremy Roenick out until the playoffs.
Simon Gagne had two goals and an assist in Philadelphia’s 4-2 win over Boston.
The East-leading Bruins have lost eight of their last 11.
Rookie Michael Frolik scored twice, and Stephen Weiss had three assists as Florida held off Atlanta 4-3.
The Panthers are fifth in the Eastern Conference, one point behind idle Montreal.
Carolina produced goals every which way — penalty shot, short-handed, power play, and even strength — in a 5-2 victory at Washington.
The Hurricanes opened a 5-0 lead in the second period on rookie goalie Michal Neuvirth who got the start because Jose Theodore had the flu.
Manny Malhotra was a one-man show for Columbus.
He had two goals and an assist, scoring the go-ahead goal midway through the third period to lead the Blue Jackets past Los Angeles 5-4.
Malhotra also maintained control of the puck for the final few seconds, pinning it to the boards while the Kings tried to regain possession with a two-man advantage.