Crosby, playing two days after beating United States goalie Ryan Miller for the game-winning overtime goal for Canada in Vancouver, could have opposed Miller again, but Sabres coach Lindy Ruff chose to start backup Patrick Lalime.
Ruff said Miller deserved a night off after the emotionally draining two-week Olympic tournament in which Miller was chosen MVP.
The pro-Olympic buzz created by the memorable Canada-US game was evidenced by the standing ovations given Miller and Crosby during pregame introductions— and, for perhaps the first time in his career, Crosby drew fewer cheers than an opposing player in his own arena. The ovation given Miller was noticeably louder and longer.
Kings 5 Stars 1: In Dallas, Alexander Frolov had a goal and two assists, Jonathan Quickstopped 31 shots and the Los Angeles Kings came roaring out of the Olympic break with a victory over the Dallas Stars.
The 16-day gap between games didn’t slow the momentum of Quick and the Kings, who are 11-1-1 in their last 13 games.
Quick looked sharp even though he didn’t see any action for the US Olympic team as Ryan Miller’s backup. He allowed only a power-play goal and improved to 11-1 in his last 12 games, setting a Kings record with his 36th win of the season.
Marty Turcohad 17 saves in his 500th game for the Stars.
Rangers 4 Senators 1: In Ottawa, Ryan Callahan had two goals, and the New York Rangers scored three times within 2:02 late in the second period of a victory over the Ottawa Senators.
Callahan, a member of the US Olympic team that won the silver medal, scored 22 seconds into the second to tie it at 2. He added his second of the game during New York’s three-goal outburst late in the middle period, which chased Ottawa’s Brian Elliottf rom the net.
Henrik Lundqvist made 24 saves for New York, which has won three in a row.
Milan Michalek scored his 21st for Ottawa, which entered the break in first place in the Northeast Division. The Senators had won 14 of 16 games, including a team-record, 11-game winning streak that began with a 2-0 victory in New York on Jan. 14.
Canadiens 4 Bruins 1: In Boston, Glen Metropolit tied the game early in the third period, and Maxim Lapierre scored the go-ahead goal for Montreal as the Canadiens scored four times in the final period to beat the Boston Bruins.
Mathieu Darche had a goal and an assist for Montreal, scoring to make it 3-1 with 2:30 left. Carey Price stopped 23 shots for the Canadiens, who had lost three of four before the Olympic break.
Montreal improved to seventh in the Eastern Conference and dropped the Bruins into the eighth and final spot in the playoff race.
Tuukka Raskmade 28 saves for Boston, which had won four straight before the Olympics.
Islanders 5  Blackhawks 3: In Uniondale, N.Y., Blake Comeauhad his first career hat trick and sparked a four-goal, second-period rally to lift the New York Islanders over the Chicago Blackhawks.
Comeau, Jon Simand Richard Parkscored three goals in a 4:39 stretch in the second, helping the Islanders win for the just the third time in 12 games.
US Olympian Patrick Kane had a goal and two assists. Brian Campbelland Dustin Byfuglien also scored, but the Blackhawks lost for the first time in five games.
Dwayne Roloson, who could be moved by Wednesday’s trade deadline, made 41 saves in his first win since Jan. 21.
Thrashers 4 Panthers 2: In Atlanta, Rich Peverley scored and added an assist to reach 100 career points, and Johan Hedbergmade 34 saves as the Atlanta Thrashers defeated the Florida Panthers.
Colby Armstrong, Todd Whiteand Pavel Kubina also scored for Atlanta, which returned from the Olympic break just outside a playoff spot in the NHL’s Eastern Conference.
Stephen Weissscored for Florida and David Booth, who missed 45 games with a concussion, had his first goal since Oct. 24 and had an assist. Backup goaltender Scott Clemmensen made his first start time since Dec. 27 and made 35 saves.
Canucks 4 Blue Jackets 3, OT: In Columbus, Ohio, Vancouver defenseman Christian Ehrhoff scored 1:33 into overtime as the Canucks rallied to beat the Columbus Blue Jackets.
US Olympic team member Ryan Kessler missed the net wide right, but the puck caromed off the end boards to Ehrhoff, who snapped home a shot at the other side of the net for his 12th goal.
Kyle Wellwoodscored the tying goal, his eighth, with 5:19 left in regulation.
Alexandre Burrows and Pavol Demitra also found the net for Vancouver. Andrew Raycroft finished with 27 saves, filling in for Roberto Luongo, who won an Olympic gold medal with the Canadian team.
Andrew Murray , Antoine Vermetteand Derek Dorsett scored for Columbus.
Hurricanes 5  Maple Leafs 1: In Toronto, Chad LaRose had a goal and two assists, Justin Peters stopped 32 shots and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Toronto Maple Leafs in the teams’ first game since the break for the Vancouver Olympics.
Tuomo Ruutu, Brandon Sutter, Jussi Jokinen and Sergei Samsonov also scored for the Hurricanes, and Joni Pitkanen had two assists.
LaRose returned to the lineup after missing the previous seven games before the break due to injury, and Peters was making just his third NHL start. He stopped every shot the Leafs threw his way until John Mitchellfinally broke the shutout bid with 5 minutes to go in the third.
Flyers 7 Lightning 2: In Tampa, Fla., Mike Richards had a goal and three assists, and the Philadelphia Flyers used a five-goal third period to win their fifth straight game, beating the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Simon Gagne scored two power-play goals, Claude Girouxhad a man-advantage goal, Jeff Carter contributed a short-handed goal and James Van Riemsdyk added an even-strength goal in the third.
Dan Carcillo also scored for the Flyers, who won all four games against Tampa Bay this season.
Steven Stamkos had two goals to set a Tampa Bay record by extending his points streak to 14 games.
Predators 4 Oilers 3: In Nashville, Tenn., Jason Arnott scored the tiebreaking goal 5:02 into the third period, lifting the Nashville Predators over the Edmonton Oilers.
Colin Wilson, Denis Grebeshkov and Shea Weber also scored for Nashville. Grebeshkov also had an assist while making his Predators debut against his former team, one day after being acquired from the Oilers in exchange for a second-round pick in this June’s NHL draft.
Mike Comrie, Gilbert Brule, and Marc Pouliot scored for Edmonton.
Neither team led by more than a goal, and Pouliot tied it at 3 at 2:54 of the third before Arnott put the Predators ahead for good.
Blues 5 Coyotes 2: In Glendale, Ariz., Andy McDonald scored his team-leading 20th goal and T.J. Oshieadded a goal and an assist to help the St. Louis Blues beat the Phoenix Coyotes for their fourth straight win.
David Backes had a goal and an assist, and Jay McClementalso scored for the Blues. St. Louis finished with a split of the four-game season series with the Coyotes after losing the first two matchups.
Joel Perrault scored his first goal and Matthew Lombardi also had a goal for the Coyotes, who have dropped three straight.
Devils 4 Sharks 3: In San Jose, Calif., Ilya Kovalchuk scored a power-play goal against Olympic teammate Evgeni Nabokovto cap New Jersey’s three-goal second period and the Devils returned from a two-week break by beating the San Jose Sharks.
Dainius Zubrus and Mark Fraser scored goals 35 seconds apart earlier in the second against Nabokov, who played his first game since allowing six goals in less than two periods in Russia’s 7-3 loss to Canada in the quarterfinals of the Olympics.
New Jersey goalie Martin Brodeur also struggled in his first game since a disappointing final performance at the Olympics. Brodeur wasn’t tested much early, but was beaten for three third-period goals in a span of 2:46 as the Sharks rallied from a 4-0 deficit.