Richards hits winner outdoors

LOS ANGELES — Brad Richards’ goal with a minute left broke a 3-3 tie as the Colorado Avalanche beat Detroit Red Wings 5-3 Saturday in the warmest NHL regular season outdoor game to date. The first outdoor NHL game in the Mile High City of Denver, Colorado proved to be a toasty one with temperatures at 18 degrees C (65 degrees F) during the opening face-off. One of the coldest outdoor games took place in 2003 at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta where the temperature at game time was a bone-chilling -20 degrees C with a wind chill. The Los Angeles Kings played the New York Rangers in an exhibition game in Las Vegas in 1991 where the temperature was 27 degrees C. During the game grasshoppers began to jump onto the ice, where they would freeze or drown in water making it dangerous for the skaters. On Saturday night at Coors Field the players had to avoid another foreign substance. High winds whipped up decorative fake snow, which had been placed around the rink. The game was delayed several times so the cotton-like material could be cleared off the ice surface. Centers Darren Helm and Tomas Tatar had a goal and an assist each for Detroit, and Justin Abdelkader and Gustav Nyquist also scored for Detroit. Goaltender Petr Mrazek stopped 24 shots for the Red Wings, who have won two straight. The event marked the first outdoor NHL game in Colorado, and it provided plenty of highlights for the 50,000 fans that crammed into sold-out stadium which is the home of the Major League Baseball’s Colorado Rockies. Rangers 3, Stars 2: New York Rangers defenseman Kevin Klein scored the winning goal with 2:53 remaining and goaltender Henrik Lundqvist stopped 36 of 38 shots in a 3-2 win over the Dallas Stars on Saturday afternoon at American Airlines Center. Klein scored his sixth goal of the season on a wrist shot from the slot that beat Stars goaltender Kari Lehtonen, who stopped 26 of 29 shots. Flyers 4, Coyotes 2: Center Claude Giroux and defenseman Mark Streit enjoyed milestone games and the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Arizona Coyotes 4-2. Giroux scored a goal for his 500th career NHL point, while Streit ripped off three assists in the first period to reach 400 lifetime points as the Flyers (28-22-11) won consecutive games for the first time in nearly a month. Arizona (27-29-6) lost its fifth in a row. Penguins 4, Jets 1: Goals by defenseman Kris Letang and left winger Carl Hagelin in the first minute of the second period helped carry the Pittsburgh Penguins past the Winnipeg Jets 4-1 Saturday afternoon. Other results: Predators 5, Blues 0; Blue Jackets 4, Panthers 3 (SO); Canadiens 4, Maple Leafs 1; Senators 6, Flames 4; Kings 2, Sabres 0.