PITTSBURGH (AP) -Evgeni Malkin had his first NHL three-goal game and the Pittsburgh Penguins put Toronto away with three goals in 48 seconds early in the third period, returning indoors for a 6-2 victory Thursday night that ran their season-best winning streak to five games.
Sidney Crosby assisted on two of Malkin’s goals, Petr Sykora had a goal and an assist and Ty Conklin turned aside 33 shots to improve to 6-0 as a starter since being called up from the minors following goalie Marc-Andre Fleury’s ankle injury.
The Penguins showed no aftereffects from their physically demanding 2-1 Winter Classic victory Tuesday in Buffalo, the NHL’s first regular-season outdoor game in the United States. The players talked during a long practice Wednesday of not getting caught up in the emotion and the aura of the showcase game, watched by the largest crowd to attend an NHL game.
Blue Jackets 4, Kings 3
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Michael Peca scored twice in his return to the Columbus lineup, including the go-ahead goal with 5:05 left.
Sergei Fedorov and rookie Joakim Lindstrom each had a goal and an assist for the Blue Jackets, who at 19-16-6 are off to the best start in the franchise’s seven-year history.
Brian Willsie, Dustin Brown and Patrick O’Sullivan scored for Los Angeles. The Kings have been held to three goals or less in 23 of their last 26 games.
Flames 3, Sharks 2, OT
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) – Jarome Iginla scored two goals, including the winner in overtime.
The Sharks moved into a tie with Dallas for first place in the Pacific Division with the overtime loss.
Iginla scored 3:26 into the overtime when he charged into a crowd and pushed the puck through Sharks goalie Evengi Nabokov. It was Iginla’s 31st goal of the season.
It was the Flames’ fourth straight win and it snapped San Jose’s four-game winning streak.
Panthers 4, Islanders 3, OT
UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) – Jassen Cullimore’s goal 1:37 into overtime snapped Florida’s three-game losing streak.
Cullimore ripped a slap shot from the left circle into the top right corner of the net for his first goal of the season.
.
A goalie’s equipment must be inspected and approved by the NHL before it can be used in a game.
Canucks 3, Rangers 0
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) – Roberto Luongo stopped 27 shots for his sixth shutout of the season and Vancouver extended its home unbeaten streak to 13 games.
The Canucks have allowed just 11 goals at home since Nov. 9.
Ryan Kesler gave Vancouver its lead early in the second period on a goal that bounced in off the right foot of Rangers backup goalie Steve Valiquette.
Kesler’s clearing pass from the corner of the rink went off his right foot and into the net. Scott Gomez and Jaromir Jagr were held pointless, ending streaks of 13 and eight games.
Bruins 2, Capitals 0
BOSTON (AP) – Tim Thomas stopped 31 shots for his first shutout this season, Marc Savard broke a scoreless tie in the second period and Boston ended Alex Ovechkin’s seven-game point streak.
Zdeno Chara added a power-play goal in the third period for Boston, which has won two straight following a six-game losing streak.
Ovechkin, second in the NHL with 30 goals, was held without a point for just the seventh time this season. He had four goals and three assists in his previous two games, and at least one point in 23 of his past 25.
Predators 5, Oilers 2
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Alexander Radulov scored two goals and Dan Ellis stopped a penalty shot for Nashville.
J.P. Dumont, Jerred Smithson and Jason Arnott also scored for the Predators, who have beaten Edmonton six straight times.
Zack Stortini and Ethan Moreau connected for the Oilers, but Kyle Brodziak was thwarted by Ellis on a penalty shot in the second period. Edmonton has lost seven of eight overall.
Dumont has a goal in each of his last three games. Radulov extended his points streak to five games with five goals and two assists.
Wild 6, Stars 3
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Marian Gaborik scored twice, Pierre-Marc Bouchard added a goal and two assists and Brent Burns had three assists for Minnesota.
Pavol Demitra, Eric Belanger and Mark Parrish also scored for the Wild, who improved to 1-5 against the top three teams in the Western Conference: Detroit, Dallas and San Jose. Niklas Backstrom stopped 25 shots for his 16th win.
Minnesota scored on four of its first eight shots to lead 5-1 midway through the second period before goals by Steve Ott and Minnesota native Matt Niskanen cut the gap to 5-3.
Dallas has lost three in a row and failed to rebound after a poor showing against conference-leading Detroit on Wednesday. The Stars’ top line of Brenden Morrow, Mike Ribeiro and Antti Miettinen hasn’t scored during their three-game skid.
Canadiens 6, Lightning 3
MONTREAL (AP) – Michael Ryder had two goals and the Montreal Canadiens scored three times in the third period.
Alex Kovalev, Andrei Kostitsyn, Kyle Chipchura, and Chris Higgins also scored for Montreal, which returned from a 3-1-2 road trip and won for just the second time in its last nine games at the Bell Centre. Cristobal Huet finished with 30 saves.
Tampa Bay matched a season high with its third six-game winless streak of the season (0-5-1).
Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis and Vaclav Prospal scored second-period goals as the Lightning came back to tie it at 3 after trailing 2-0 and 3-1.
Coyotes 4, Blackhawks 2
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) – Mikael Tellqvist stopped 25 shots to help Phoenix win for just the seventh time in 18 home games.
Radim Vrbata tied a career high with his 18th goal of the season and Craig Weller, Martin Hanzal and Fredrik Sjostrom also scored for Phoenix.
Tellqvist, appearing in just his 11th game of the season, held Chicago scoreless until Cameron Barker ruined the shutout at 11:31 of the third period. Kris Versteeg brought the Hawks to within one at 18:33 before Sjostrom scored into an empty net.
Add A Comment