NHL
Capitals end five-game losing streak EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) – Alexander Semin had a goal and an assist and Brent Johnson made 29 saves Saturday as the Washington Capitals ended a five-game losing streak with a 4-2 win over the New Jersey Devils.
Milan Jurcina, Matt Pettinger and Tomas Fleischmann also scored for the Capitals, who had dropped six straight to the Devils.
Cam Janssen and Jay Pandolfo scored for the Devils, who came out flat following an emotional, hard-fought sweep of a home-and-home series with the New York Rangers.
Jurcina was credited with the only goal of the first period. The defenseman fired a shot from just inside that deflected off a maze of bodies that included Semin in front of Martin Brodeur at 8:43.
Islanders 3, Canadiens 2
UNIONDALE, N.Y. – Frans Nielsen’s first NHL goal turned out to be a game winner for the Islanders.
Jeff Tambellini and Jason Blake also scored for New York, now 4-1-0 during a seven-game homestand. Rick DiPietro, starting his 11th straight game, stopped 20 shots.
With the win, the Islanders moved into a tie for seventh place in the Eastern Conference playoff race with the Canadiens at 70 points. Carolina started the day one point behind Montreal and plays at Atlanta tonight.
Senators 6, Sabres 5
OTTAWA – Jason Spezza scored his second goal of the night on a power play with 4:07 remaining and Ottawa beat Buffalo in a rematch of their fight-filled game two days earlier.
Dany Heatley got his team-leading 36th goal and set up both of Spezza’s goals for the Senators, who recovered after blowing a three-goal lead.
There were two fights in the middle period, and Ottawa’s Mike Comrie and Buffalo’s Derek Roy were penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct for their shoving match following Heatley’s power-play goal 6:12 into the second.
Predators 4, Red Wings 3
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Peter Forsberg scored his first goal for Nashville at 2:11 of overtime, and the Predators moved past Detroit into first place in the Central Division with a victory over the Red Wings.
Hurricanes 4, Thrashers 1
ATLANTA – Justin Williams scored twice and Rod Brind’Amour had two assists to help Carolina beat Atlanta.
Mike Commodore and Ray Whitney also scored for Carolina, which has won six of nine to move past Montreal into seventh place in the Eastern Conference. With 71 points, the defending Stanley Cup champion Hurricanes are just one point behind struggling Atlanta for second place in the Southeast Division.
Maple Leafs 5, Flyers 2
PHILADELPHIA – Alex Steen and Jeff O’Neill each had a goal and an assist to lead Toronto past Philadelphia.
Chad Kilger, Mats Sundin and John Pohl also scored, and Bryan McCabe added three assists for the Maple Leafs. Toronto had dropped five of seven.
Sami Kapanen and Simon Gagne scored for the Flyers, who lost their fourth straight and fifth in six games.
Blue Jackets 3, Rangers 2
NEW YORK – Jason Chimera and Rick Nash scored short-handed goals in the second period to lift lowly Columbus over New York, putting another crimp in New York’s fading playoff hopes.
Columbus, the NHL’s third-worst team (24-32-6), shook off an early 2-0 deficit and snapped its three-game losing streak.
Anders Eriksson scored a rare goal for the Blue Jackets, who earned their 10th road victory and first ever in Madison Square Garden (1-1-1-0). Fredrik Norrena (16-14-3), on pace to be Columbus’ first goalie to finish a season over .500, made 40 saves – including 17 in the third period.
The Blue Jackets had scored just four short-handed goals this season, and the Rangers had allowed an NHL-low two. Blair Betts and Jaromir Jagr staked New York to its early lead.
Panthers 7, Bruins 2
SUNRISE, Fla. – Chris Gratton scored twice and Ed Belfour again dominated Boston in goal to help Florida beat the Bruins.
Belfour made 25 saves to run his career record against Boston to 19-7-3. He has two wins against the Bruins this season.
Ville Peltonen, Stephen Weiss, Nathan Horton, Olli Jokinen and Martin Gelinas also scored for the Panthers, and Juraj Kolnik had three assists. Florida, which chased goalie Tim Thomas after one period, is 4-1-2 in its last seven games.