NHL roundup
Crosby gives Pens win over Stars in shootout DALLAS (AP) – Erik Christensen scored the only goal in the shootout and Sidney Crosby had two assists in his first game since going scoreless in the All-Star game as the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Dallas Stars 4-3 Friday night.
Marc-Andre Fleury stopped all three shots in the shootout, preserving the win by holding off Dallas’ Sergei Zubov, Jussi Jokinen and Mike Ribeiro. Fleury finished with 32 saves to help Pittsburgh improve to 2-5 in shootouts and drop Dallas to 5-2.
Mark Recchi scored two goals for the Penguins, including the 500th of his career that tied the score at 3 with 8:01 left.
He has five goals in his last two games. Crosby had assists on both of Recchi’s goals.
The 19-year-old superstar was originally credited with a goal that gave the Penguins a 2-1 lead at 12:08 of the second. However, the official scorers later ruled that Recchi deflected Crosby’s wrister into the net.
Crosby was playing his first regular-season game in Dallas, two nights after not scoring in the All-Star game on the Stars’ home ice.
Patrick Stefan’s goal gave Dallas a 3-2 lead midway through the third. Zubov and Jokinen also had goals for the Stars.
Predators 3, Blackhawks 1
CHICAGO – Vernon Fiddler scored the winner with 2:21 left in the third period to lead Nashville to its third straight win.
Fiddler beat Nikolai Khabibulin from the edge of the crease after getting open and taking a feed from Alexander Radulov, who was behind the net.
Scott Nichol added an empty-net goal with 42.6 seconds left, and Nashville won for the ninth time in 10 games. Rookie defenseman Kevin Klein scored his first NHL goal for the Predators, who lead the league with 73 points and 35 victories.
Nashville’s Tomas Vokoun stopped 30 shots.
Blue Jackets 3, Sabres 2
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Dan Fritsche jammed in a rebound on the second try midway through the third period for the decisive goal in the Columbus Blue Jackets’ victory over the Buffalo Sabres.
The Blue Jackets, who had lost five of their last seven games, came into the third period trailing 2-1. They improved to just 3-22 when down through two periods. The Sabres fell to 24-2-2 when on top after two.
Manny Malhotra centered a pass to Rostislav Klesla, who was trailing the play, for a high shot that eluded Buffalo goaltender Ryan Miller and tied the score at 5:22 of the third period.
Hurricanes 6, Capitals 2
RALEIGH, N.C. – Justin Williams had two goals and an assist to lead Carolina.
Ray Whitney had a goal and three assists, and Rod Brind’Amour, Cory Stillman and Eric Staal also scored.
The Hurricanes scored three goals in the second period and outshot the Capitals 41-26 to snap a two-game losing streak.
Alexander Ovechkin scored his team-leading 30th goal and Chris Clark added a goal on a deflection for Washington, which has lost five of six and is one point ahead of last-place Florida in the Southeast Division.
Cam Ward made 24 saves for the Hurricanes, who took a 3-2 series lead against the Capitals. Brent Johnson stopped 35 shots for Washington but allowed at least six goals for the second time this season.
Thrashers 5, Islanders 4
ATLANTA – Ilya Kovalchuk scored his second goal of the game with 2:01 left in overtime, giving Atlanta a victory it squandered an early three-goal lead.
Kovalchuk took a pass from Marian Hossa, sped across the blue line and beat Mike Dunham with a shot just inside the far post.
Kovalchuk, who has 26 goals on the season, also scored during a first-period spurt that led the Islanders to yank starting goalie Rick DiPietro before the game was 6 minutes old.
But New York kept coming back, rallying to tie the game at 3 in the second period and bouncing back again to force overtime after Hossa put Atlanta back in front with a goal 19 seconds into the third.
Devils 2, Lightning 0
TAMPA, Fla. – Martin Brodeur made 28 saves, extending his NHL record for consecutive 30-win seasons to 11, to record his NHL-best ninth shutout this season and the 89th of his career.
Brian Gionta and Jay Pandolfo scored for the Devils, who are 11-1-2 over the last 14 games.
Tampa Bay goalie Johan Holmqvist stopped 23 shots as the Lightning lost for just the second time in nine games.
Gionta put New Jersey ahead 1-0 with 50.5 seconds left in the first.
He scored from just outside the crease off a pass from behind the net by Scott Gomez.
Pandolfo made it 2-0 with an empty net goal with 42.5 seconds left.
Blues 2, Red Wings 1
ST. LOUIS – Bill Guerin scored 1:09 into overtime to lift St. Louis over Detroit.
Guerin scored his team-leading 21st goal as he gathered a rebound off the pads of Detroit goalie Chris Osgood and slapped it into the goal from about 5 feet away.
Ryan Johnson returned to the ice after sitting out 12 games with a separated shoulder and notched his fifth goal of the season 8 minutes into the second period to put St. Louis ahead 1-0.
The lead lasted 1:56 before Deroit’s Johan Franzen tied the score. St. Louis defensemen Jamie Rivers and Dennis Wideman went to clear the puck just in front of the net only to hit sticks and leave the puck for Franzen, who beat Manny Legace for his sixth goal.
Wild 2, Flames 1, SO
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Pavol Demitra and Petteri Nummelin scored in the shootout to give Minnesota its NHL-best eighth shootout win.
Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom stopped Alex Tanguay and Byron Ritchie in the shootout for the victory.
Brian Rolston scored in regulation for Minnesota, which moved into a first-place tie with Calgary and Vancouver in the Northwest Division. The Canucks played Los Angeles later Friday.
Mark Giordano scored for Calgary, which has won just seven road games – third-worst in the league.