SCOREBOARD
Thursday, Jan. 17
Dallas at San Jose (10:30 p.m. EST). The Sharks have a two-point lead over the Stars for first place in the Pacific Division.
STARS
Tuesday
– Marian Hossa and Kari Lehtonen, Thrashers. Hossa scored three goals and Lehtonen made 46 saves in Atlanta’s 5-1 victory over Detroit.
– Shane Doan and Peter Mueller, Coyotes. Doan had two goals and an assist, and Mueller had four assists in a 5-3 victory over San Jose.
– Jose Theodore, Avalanche, made 22 of his 32 saves in the third period to lead Colorado to a 3-0 win at Tampa Bay.
– Tomas Plekanec, Canadiens, scored in each of the first two periods in Montreal’s 3-1 win over the New York Islanders.
– Alex Ovechkin and Alexander Semin, Capitals. Ovechkin scored the tiebreaking goal on a third-period power play, Semin added two goals and Washington beat Ottawa 4-2.
– Scott Niedermayer, Ducks, had a goal and two assists as Anaheim beat Dallas 4-2.
SHOCKING SWEEP
Washington completed the four-game sweep of its season series with Eastern Conference-leading Ottawa after a 4-2 win on Tuesday night. The Capitals hadn’t swept Ottawa since 1995-96.
HOME SWEET HOME
Columbus set a franchise record with its sixth straight home win Tuesday night, 3-2 over Vancouver. The Blue Jackets surpassed the mark of five consecutive home wins, set last year while moving to 16-6-4 at Nationwide Arena this season. Columbus, which didn’t get its 16th home game a year ago until March 20, came in tied for second in the NHL for the best home record.
NEW LEADER
Atlanta, which began the season 0-6, moved atop the Southeast Division with its 5-1 win at Detroit and Carolina’s 5-4 loss at Toronto on Tuesday night.
JUST DUCKY
Anaheim won its fourth straight game and 10th in the last 13 with a 4-2 victory over Dallas on Tuesday night. The Ducks are 10-2-2 since defenseman Scott Niedermayer returned to the lineup after contemplating retirement and jumped into second place in the Pacific Division, one point behind San Jose and one ahead of the Stars.
LONG TIME COMING
Jose Theodore earned his first shutout 109 games after stopping 32 shots in Colorado’s 3-0 win at Tampa Bay on Tuesday night. … Atlanta’s Marian Hossa picked up his first hat trick in nearly a year with three goals in a 5-1 win at Detroit.
SNAPPED
Toronto halted a five-game losing streak and won in regulation for only the third time in 14 games with Tuesday night’s 5-4 win over Carolina.
FLICKERING FLAMES
Calgary lost its fourth straight game with Tuesday night’s 3-0 loss at Nashville and has scored only six times during the skid.
REIGNING KING
Los Angeles captain Rob Blake set a Kings franchise record for games played by a defenseman, appearing in his 781st contest on Tuesday night. Mattias Norstrom held the previous mark.
SEASON OVER
Washington’s Michael Nylander will undergo surgery to repair a torn left rotator cuff Wednesday and will be sidelined for three to six months. Nylander, a center who signed a four-year, $19.5 million contract with the Capitals as a free agent in July, had 11 goals and team-high 26 assists in 40 games.
YOUNGSTERS CHOSEN
Rookie scoring leader Patrick Kane of Chicago topped a list of 16 newcomers invited Tuesday to NHL All-Star weekend, this time to compete in a 3-on-3 competition instead of the traditional YoungStars game. Joining him up front for the West are Sam Gagner of Edmonton, Peter Mueller of Phoenix and St. Louis’ David Perron. The defensemen are Alexander Edler of Vancouver, Erik Johnson of St. Louis, Los Angeles’ Jack Johnson, and Matt Niskanen of Dallas. Headlining the East defensemen is Tobias Enstrom of host Atlanta. The other East defenseman are Kris Letang of Pittsburgh, Mike Lundin of Tampa Bay and Marc Staal of the New York Rangers. The forwards are Washington’s Nicklas Backstrom, the Rangers’ Brandon Dubinsky, Pittsburgh’s Tyler Kennedy and Milan Lucic of Boston.
SPEAKING
“It’s a win and we’re taking it. With all that was going on … getting back to just playing hockey … in some ways, it becomes easier.” – Toronto coach Paul Maurice after the Maple Leafs snapped a five-game losing streak by holding off Carolina 5-4 despite the Air Canada Centre crowd calling for the firing of general manager John Ferguson.