NHL ROUNDUP Other games

Predators 3, Red Wings 2

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Martin Erat scored one goal and assisted on two others, including Radek Bonk’s game-winner in the third period. Jason Arnott also scored for the Predators, who beat their Central Division rivals despite taking six penalties in the first period. Erat has nine points (four goals, five assists) in his last five games. Johan Franzen and Henrik Zetterberg had goals for the first-place Red Wings. Bonk made it 3-2 with a power-play goal at 2:22 of the third period. He shot from about 5 feet outside the crease, bouncing the puck off the crossbar and into the net. Bonk leads Nashville with nine goals this season. The Red Wings took the lead on a power play at 2:49 of the first when Franzen backhanded the puck over the right shoulder of goalie Chris Mason, who finished with 28 saves.

Wednesday

Thrashers 5, Capitals 1

WASHINGTON — Ilya Kovalchuk scored twice to raise his NHL-best total to 19 goals and added two assists. Washington which has the NHL’s fewest points and is off to its slowest start in 26 years, fired coach Glen Hanlon on Thursday. Washington’s 3-0 start to the season is a distant memory. The Capitals have lost five consecutive games, nine of 10, and 15 of 18. At 6-14-1 for 13 points, the team has its lowest 21-game point total since having 12 in the 1981-82 season. Atlanta’s Tobias Enstrom had three assists, Niclas Havelid posted a goal and assist, and Bobby Holik contributed his first goal in 15 games. Eric Perrin also scored for the Thrashers. Alex Ovechkin put the Capitals ahead 1-0 with a power-play goal 2 1/2 minutes into the second period.

Canadiens 4, Islanders 1

UNIONDALE, N.Y. — Steve Begin scored twice and Long Islander Christopher Higgins added a goal and assist to lead Montreal over the New York Islanders. Tomas Plekanec also scored for Montreal, and Cristobal Huet made 43 saves — falling 3:50 short of shutout. Mike Comrie scored late for the Islanders, who got 29 saves from Rick DiPietro. New York lost for the first time at home in five games (4-1). They also had their NHL-record streak of regulation one-goal decisions snapped at seven, a span in which the Islanders were 5-2.

Flyers 6, Hurricanes 3

RALEIGH, N.C. — Daniel Briere scored three goals in the third period to lead Philadelphia past Carolina. Briere added an assist during his third career hat trick and first with the Flyers, who snapped a two-game losing streak. Mike Knuble had a goal and two assists, Kimmo Timonen also scored and Scott Hartnell added an empty-netter for Philadelphia, which snapped a two-game losing streak and won for just the second time this season when trailing after one period. Martin Biron stopped 32 shots but allowed the NHL’s second-best power-play unit to connect three times. The Flyers entered having allowed one power-play goal in six games. Matt Cullen had a goal and two assists, Rod Brind’Amour and Eric Staal also scored and Cam Ward stopped 15 shots for the Southeast Division-leading Hurricanes, who have lost three of four. Each of Briere’s goals put Philadelphia up by two.

Red Wings 3, Blues 0

DETROIT — Chris Osgood made 12 saves for his 44th career shutout, and Dan Cleary had a goal and an assist to give Detroit a win over St. Louis. Henrik Zetterberg and Mikael Samuelsson also scored for Detroit, which snapped St. Louis’ four-game winning streak. Manny Legace stopped 35 shots for the Blues.

Sabres 4, Senators 2

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Derek Roy and Drew Stafford had a goal and assist each, and Buffalo scored three times in the first period en route to a victory against NHL-leading Ottawa. Ales Kotalik and Michael Ryan also scored for the Sabres, who have won two straight after a three-game losing streak. Daniel Alfredsson and Dany Heatley scored for the Senators, losers in two of three. Ottawa, which has an NHL-high 32 points, lost for just the fourth time overall. The game marked the first meeting in Buffalo since Alfredsson’s overtime goal in Game 5 of last season’s Eastern Conference finals sent the Senators to the Stanley Cup finals. Ryan Miller, making his seventh consecutive start, finished with 27 saves — 15 in the second period — for Buffalo.

Rangers 2, Lightning 1

TAMPA, Fla. — Henrik Lundqvist made 32 saves to lead the New York Rangers past Tampa Bay. Fedor Tyutin and Colton Orr scored for the Rangers, who have won five straight road games. New York has won six of seven overall. Tampa Bay center Vincent Lecavalier had his team-record streak of eight multipoint games snapped. He had seven goals and 21 points over the stretch. Rangers defenseman Michal Rozsival, who has seven goals in 21 games this season, sat out with an undisclosed injury. Michel Ouellet scored with 16.7 seconds left in the third for the Lightning, who have dropped two in a row after a five-game winning streak. The goal prevented Lundqvist from earning his fifth shutout of the season.

Vancouver 4, Minnesota 2

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Markus Naslund scored three goals and Vancouver beat Minnesota.

Ryan Kesler also scored for the Canucks, 6-0-2 in their last eight games. Vancouver has gone 9-0-2 against Northwest Division opponents this season and moved into a first-place tie with Minnesota. Marian Gaborik scored twice for the Wild, who lost for the first time in four home games. Vancouver, 7-2-1 on the road, scored twice in 22 seconds to take a 2-0 lead in the first period. Each team entered the night with considerable anger directed at the other since last Friday’s game in Vancouver. In that one, Vancouver’s Mattias Ohlund earned a four-game suspension for his two-handed slash against Mikko Koivu after the Koivu elbowed him in the head. Koivu has missed the past two games with a cracked bone in his left leg but might return next week.

Stars 2, Ducks 1

DALLAS — Mike Modano notched his 513th career goal during a third-period power play to extend his record for U.S.-born NHL players, and Niklas Hagman scored 41 seconds later on the same advantage as Dallas ended Anaheim’s four-game winning streak. The Stars honored Modano in pregame ceremonies for surpassing Phil Housley’s points record of 1,232 for U.S.-born players. The tying goal against the Ducks stretched Modano’s career points total to 1,239. Modano tied it at 1 at 7:35 for his sixth goal of the season. Sergei Zubov set up Modano, earning his 600th NHL assist. The Stars’ remaining advantage carried over, and Hagman gave Dallas a 2-1 edge with a rebound goal at 8:16. Mike Smith made 17 saves in his third straight start for the Stars, 3-0-1 since last week’s front-office shake-up by owner Tom Hicks. Smith, the backup for Marty Turco, has allowed only two goals in those starts. Jean-Sebastien Giguere stopped 22 shots, and Corey Perry scored his fourth goal in six games for the Ducks, 0-3 against the Stars this season.

Coyotes 4, Kings 1

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Ilya Bryzgalov, acquired off waivers from Anaheim last Saturday, stopped 28 shots and beat Los Angeles for the second time in two starts with Phoenix.

He shut out the Kings on Saturday just hours after being picked up by the Coyotes. Bryzgalov also made 28 saves in that one, backstopping a 1-0 victory in Los Angeles.

Associated Press