All Your Latest News

Montreal goalie Jaroslav Halak makes a save as teammate Jaroslav Spacek and Boston forward David Krejci battle in front. (Charles Krupa/Associated Press)

Montreal Canadiens goalie Jaroslav Halak was again the overwhelming reason for his team’s success on Thursday night, making 45 saves and stopping all three attempts in a 3-2 shootout victory in Boston.

Brian Gionta again demonstrated his shootout prowess, roofing a backhand shot over Tuukka Rask for the only shootout goal in six attempts by the teams. Gionta has scored on both shootout attempts this season, helping beat Toronto earlier.

The Canadiens were dominated for most of the first two periods but only trailed by a pair, thanks to their star Slovakian netminder. With just under three minutes remaining in the middle period, Glen Metropolit and Roman Hamrlik scored 39 seconds apart to place Montreal on even terms.

The teams traded a number of fantastic chances in the third without the desired effect and headed past regulation for the sixth time in the last 10 meetings.

Montreal (27-25-6) has now won all three games against their Northeast rivals this season after getting dominated by them last season.

The Canadiens will play two weekend matinee games, both to be shown on CBC and CBCSports.ca. Pittsburgh visits on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET, followed by Boston the next day at 3 p.m. ET.

The Habs are 2-0-1 in their last three and jumped over Philadelphia into sixth place in the Eastern Conference.

Halak stopped 45 shots against Vancouver on Tuesday in a 3-2 home victory. He has faced an average of 34.5 shots in his 26 starts for Montreal this season.

Mark Recchi and Blake Wheeler were the only Bruins to solve him, with Rask finishing with 23 saves.

Boston, the Eastern Conference champs last season, have now lost nine in a row (0-7-2). It is the longest franchise losing streak since the 1924-25 season, when the Bruins lost 11 straight.

Boston’s last home win came on Jan. 1, a game played at Fenway Park.

The Bruins haven’t won at TD Banknorth Garden since Dec. 30, which was also Rask’s last victory. The Finnish rookie has now lost his last five starts.

Boston (23-23-9) peppered Halak early on.

Former Canadien Michael Ryder, rumoured to be on the trading block, split the Montreal defence early in the first to get a strong chance on Halak. At the other end, Mathieu Darche tested Rask.

The Bruins flurried in the second half of the period but always seemed just one play small of scoring. Blake Wheeler couldn’t corral a huge rebound of a point shot, while Halak just got a piece of a Patrice Bergeron deflection.

Boston finally scored on their third power play of the period, with Andrei Markov summoned to the box for the dreaded “puck over the glass” delay of game call.

Much-maligned defenceman Dennis Wideman — who’s had difficulty placing his point shots on target — found the mark with a blast that veteran Recchi tipped past Halak.

It was Recchi’s 556th career NHL goal, tied for 23rd overall with Mike Modano of the Dallas Stars and former Bruins fantastic Johnny Bucyk.

The Canadiens got their own power play late, but while they couldn’t connect, they finished the period with a hint of momentum, with Scott Gomez sending a shot just wide.

Boston outshot Montreal 15-5 in the period.

The Bruins went up by a pair early in the second as Krejci drew three Montreal players to the right side before firing his shot on net, leaving Wheeler uncontested for the rebound goal.

Halak denied Wheeler and Ryder on scoring chances and later denied Wheeler again after a nice set-up from Bergeron.

Boston defender Matt Hunwick took a hooking penalty late in the frame that gave the visitors life. Metropolit again burned his ancient team, starting the play and then potting the rebound after Gomez had two whacks at the puck.

Metropolit has four points in three games against Boston this season.

Hamrlik scored just 39 seconds later on a wrist shot from the point that got through traffic.

Halak nearly got caught out of his net early in the third but Sturm couldn’t take advantage.

The teams traded power-play chances, but it was Stum while small handed with the best chance for either team.

Rask earned his keep by robbing Benoit Pouliot with about seven minutes left

Montreal forward Maxim Lapierre went off for boarding with just under four minutes left. Boston fired three shots on the power play, none of which hit the net.

The Bruins were on target time and again in overtime, with Hamrlik in the box for a leg trip, but Halak was in a zone. At the other end, Markov had a glorious small-handed chance that Rask foiled.

Tomas Plekanec skated in alone in the dying seconds of overtime, but a Boston defender prevented him from getting both hands on the stick for his shot.

Halak’s most impressive shootout save came when we he did the splits to make a right pad save on Krejci.

Toyota acknowledges problems in the brakes of the 2010 model of its well loved hybrid Prius. (Charles Rex Arbogast/Associated Press)

Toyota Motor Corp. will recall 270,000 Prius hybrid vehicles over brake problems in the United States and Japan, according to a top Japanese business newspaper.

The report comes after Toyota said Friday that it will investigate possible brake problems with its luxury Lexus hybrid in Japan and the United States. That announcement was made as the U.S. Transportation Department launched a formal investigation into brake problems in the 2010 Toyota Prius.

The newspaper Nihon Keizai reported that Toyota will soon say Japan’s Transport Ministry and the U.S. Department of Transportation about the recall, which would affect the new Prius hybrid model. The car went on sale in the United States and Japan in May 2009.

Toyota cannot announce a recall in Japan until it notifies the ministry.

No choice yet, Toyota says

Takayuki Fujimoto, a Transport Ministry official, said the government has yet to receive a recall notice from Toyota. Toyota spokeswoman Ririko Takeuchi said Friday that Toyota had not yet chose whether to recall the Prius.

“Nothing has been chose on whether we will recall or not,” she said.

But Takeuchi said Toyota has launched a probe into the Lexus HS250h because it uses the same brake system as the Prius hybrid.

Takeuchi said that Toyota has not received any complaints about the Lexus HS250h model, and that the probe is to ensure safety.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Transportation Department probe will look into reports of temporary loss of braking ability on uneven road surfaces.

Toyota, already reeling from a massive recall involving faulty gas pedals, acknowledged Thursday there were design problems with the antilock brake system of the latest model of its gas-electric Prius hybrid.

Takeuchi said the automaker learned design flaws in the new Prius and had corrected them for vehicles sold since January, including those shipped overseas.

But the company is still investigating how to inform people who bought their cars earlier. The model in question first hit showrooms last May. About 170,000 of the new model of cars were sold in Japan and 103,000 in the United States.

The revelation of problems in the company’s flagship green car adds to the woes of the world’s No. 1 automaker, whose reputation as a quality leader has taken a blow with the worldwide recall of 4.2 million vehicles with accelerator pedals that have the potential to stick.

About 180 complaints about braking problems in the third-generation Prius have been reported in the U.S. and Japan. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the U.S. says there have been four reports of crashes.

Toyota Canada said Thursday it was aware of “a small number of isolated reports of inconsistent brake feel in certain 2010 model year Prius vehicles and we are investigating those reports.”

NDP questions minister’s reaction

MP Brian Masse, the NDP transport critic, accused Transport Minister John Baird of ignoring public safety concerns relating to Toyota.

“You have to wonder about the cozy relationship of Transport Canada, the minister and Toyota because public safety is not being investigated here in Canada,” Masse told CBC News. “But abroad it’s really going through extensive and comprehensive hearings.”

But Baird’s office rejected the accusations, saying Transport Canada “has been quite engaged with the U.S administration and Toyota on this file.”

“Transport Canada officials have worked since the beginning with Toyota Canada to ensure corrective action is taken and that the safety of Canadians consumers is protected,” said an email from the minister’s office to CBC News.

Transport Canada was not made aware of issues related to the gas pedal recall until it was announced by Toyota.

Transport Canada said it has received five complaints relating to brake concerns on the 2010 Prius — all in the past two months.

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said two of the complaints involved crashes that resulted in injuries. Japan’s Transport Ministry said Wednesday it has received 14 complaints since July about brake problems with the new hybrid.

The gas pedal recall applies to 270,000 vehicles in Canada and 2.3 million in the United States. Toyota said Thursday the U.S. recall could cost $2 billion US — $1.1 billion in direct costs and $770 million to $800 million in lost sales.

2 Ontario plants affected

The company halted sales in January of eight recalled models in North America, including the top-selling Camry and Corolla, until it fixes the issue. The Prius was not one of the models covered in the gas pedal recall.

Production at two Toyota manufacturing plants in southwestern Ontario was halted this week because of the recall.

The company made its recall cost projection in its quarterly earnings release, which reported a net profit of about $1.7 billion US in the quarter finished in December and forecast an annual profit of $880 million.

Toyota also raised its full-year sales outlook to 7.18 million units from 7.03 million. The revised forecast remains lower than the 7.57 million vehicles it sold in the previous financial year.

With files from The Associated Press

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League has suspended Val-d’Or Foreurs defenceman Marco Scandella indefinitely for hitting an opponent in the head only weeks after it suspended another player for an elbow hit.

The latest incident occurred in a game Wednesday against the Rimouski Oceanic, with Scandella elbowing Alexandre Durette in the head during a collision near the boards.

Durette’s helmet was broken on the play, but no penalty was called.

“This afternoon, [QMJHL disciplinarian] Raymond Bolduc informed me of his choice to suspend Marco Scandella indefinitely,” league commissioner Gilles Courteau said in a statement Thursday. “After seeing the hit, I believe it is the right choice while the disciplinary process runs its course.

“Our position is clear: we have a responsibility to protect our players. Their safety is our No. 1 priority.”

Scandella was considered to be one of Canada’s top defencemen at this year’s world junior hockey championship in Saskatchewan last month.

The player, who turns 20 later this month, was a second-round pick of the Minnesota Wild in the 2008 NHL entry draft.

Bolduc will gather testimony from on-ice officials as well as players and members of both teams, then analyze the facts and review his findings with a committee before deciding what action to take.

No timetable for when a choice will be reached has been set.

Last month, the QMJHL suspended Patrice Cormier of the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies for the rest of the season. Cormier came off the bench during a game, headed to centre ice and elbowed Mikael Tam of the Quebec Remparts in the head.

Tam required hospitalization after suffering a head injury and broken teeth.

Cormier was the captain of Canada’s world junior team.

With files from CBCSports.ca