NHL ROUNDUP Thursday’s other games

Wild 6, Rangers 3

ST. PAUL — Marian Gaborik posted the NHL’s first five-goal game in a decade, lifting the Wild. Gaborik’s outburst was the biggest in the league since Sergei Fedorov scored five for Detroit on Dec. 26, 1996, in an overtime game against Washington. Pittsburgh’s Mario Lemieux was the last to net five in regulation, pulling off the feat on March 26, 1996 versus St. Louis. Gaborik had a goal in the first period, two on power plays in the second, and found the net twice more in the third to set the team record for tallies in a game. No Wild player had ever had four goals in a game. With two assists, Gaborik tied his career high with six points. That was established on Oct. 26, 2002, at Phoenix. It was his best offensive game since he scored three goals and helped set up another on April 9, 2006, at Colorado. This one got him carried off the ice by teammates Sean Hill and Keith Carney. Pavol Demitra, Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Aaron Voros added two points apiece for Minnesota, which extended its winning streak to four games. Michal Rozsival, Martin Straka and Nigel Dawes scored for New York, which fell to 2-5-1 in its last eight.

Thrashers 3, Senators 2

ATLANTA — Todd White’s power-play goal 47 seconds into the third period broke a tie and helped the Thrashers snap the Senators’ winning streak at six. Atlanta, which ended its four-game skid on Tuesday night with a win over Tampa Bay, beat Ottawa for the first time this season after three losses. The Eastern Conference-leading Senators fell to 22-8-3. On the strength of their back-to-back wins, the Thrashers are 16-17-1 this season — rebounding from an 0-6 start. White converted from in close, beating goalie Martin Gerber, who had 42 saves. The Thrashers tied a franchise record with 45 shots. Tobias Enstrom and Mark Recchi assisted on White’s ninth of the season, set up when Ottawa’s Chris Phillips was sent off for high-sticking at the end of the second period. The Senators took a 2-1 lead with three minutes left in the second period on a goal by Daniel Alfredsson, his 20th. He beat Kari Lehtonen with a shot that went between the goalie’s legs. Jason Spezza, who scored Ottawa’s first goal, assisted with Dany Heatley. The Thrashers tied it 46 seconds later when Ilya Kovalchuk put a rebound of Ken Klee’s shot past Gerber. It was the NHL-leading 28th goal for Kovalchuk, who has scored four times in three games. The Senators took a 1-0 lead in the first period on Spezza’s 11th goal, converting a perfect cross-ice pass from Randy Robitaille at 5:43. Atlanta tied it at 1 at 7:14 of the second period when Eric Boulton scored his third goal.

Panthers 5, Hurricanes 4

SUNRISE, Fla. — Brett McLean scored the winner, and the Florida Panthers moved above .500 for the first time this season. Stephen Weiss, Jozef Stumpel, Olli Jokinen and Radek Dvorak scored for the Panthers, who on their third straight. Tomas Vokoun made 29 saves. Ray Whitney, Cory Stillman, Erik Cole and Andrew Ladd had goals for Carolina. McLean’s wraparound goal at 13:06 put Florida ahead 5-4 and was his second goal in three games after missing 15 with a broken right hand.

Lightning 2, Maple Leafs 1

TAMPA, Fla. — Vincent Lecavalier scored with 41.6 seconds left in the third period and rookie Karri Ramo made 31 saves to lead Tampa Bay. Lecavalier’s goal came from the lower right circle off a pass from Martin St. Louis. Jason Ward also scored for the Lightning, who snapped a three-game losing skid. Matthew Stajan scored for Toronto, which has lost three straight. Ramo made his first career start one day after he was recalled from Norfolk of the AHL. Lightning starter Johan Holmqvist, pulled from three of his last four starts, is 13-12-3 this season with a 3.02 goals-against-average and .888 save-percentage. Backup Marc Denis has dropped five of six decisions, and has a 4.05 GAA.

Canadiens 5, Capitals 2

WASHINGTON — Guilliaume Latendresse scored two goals in his return from a benching, and the Canadiens beat the Capitals. Latendresse, scratched by coach Guy Carbonneau for the Canadiens’ 3-2 loss to Florida on Tuesday, notched the fourth two-goal game of his NHL career — the second this month. Latendresse has nine goals this season. His first of the game gave Montreal a 1-0 lead. He tapped in a pass from Saku Koivu at 18:15 of the first period — 13 seconds after Capitals defenseman Tom Poti went off for hooking. Latendresse’s second goal gave the Canadiens a 3-1 lead with 2:54 left in the second period. His slap shot from about 30 feet beat goalie Olie Kolzig. Montreal won the first of a season-high six-game road trip despite Washington holding a clear advantage in shots. The Capitals peppered Cristobal Huet, who started his first game since Dec. 1, with 37 shots. The Canadiens had 21 against Kolzig, but scored on five. Huet is 5-2 against Washington.

Associated Press