nhl roundup \ Thursday’s other games

Capitals 5, Islanders 2

WASHINGTON — Desperate for firepower, the injury-laden Capitals received an offensive boost from the unlikeliest source. Enforcer Donald Brashear scored his first goal of the season with 13:10 left to snap a tie, and the Capitals went on to beat the Islanders. Brashear, a rugged winger known more for his fighting than his skating, had gone 37 games without a goal before giving Washington a 3-2 lead. After teammate Karl Alzner drove the puck off the backboards, it bounced crazily toward the crease. Brashear tapped it into the net before goalie John MacDonald could smother it.

Canadiens 6, Rangers 2

MONTREAL — Steve Begin and Maxim Lapierre each had a goal and an assist and the Canadiens scored three times in the first period to celebrate their 99th birthday. Andrei Kositsyn, Begin and Alex Tanguay scored for Montreal in the opening period. Lapierre, who set up Begin’s goal, made it 4-0 early in the second. Robert Lang scored 49 seconds into the third, and Matt D’Agostini scored with 49.5 seconds remaining to help the Canadiens improve to 3-0 on their franchise-record seven-game homestand. Georges Laraque and Andrei Markov each had two assists for Montreal.

Devils 3, Flyers 2, OT

PHILADELPHIA — Patrik Elias scored the tying and winning goals in the Devils’ overtime victory. Elias scored the winner at 2:46 of the extra period. He stole the puck in the slot, split two defenders and then put a backhander through goalie Martin Biron’s pads. Elias tied it with 1:30 left in regulation with a slap shot from just inside the blue line that trickled off Biron’s mid-section into the net.

Panthers 2, Sabres 1

SUNRISE, Fla. — Craig Anderson made 45 shots, and Gregory Campbell and Keith Ballard scored 35 seconds apart in the second period to lead Florida. Campbell scored for the third consecutive game and also had an assist for the Panthers. Florida has won three in a row and is 4-0-2 in its last six. Ales Kotalik scored for Buffalo. The Sabres have lost eight of their last 10 and have scored only 19 goals during their slide.

Bruins 3, Lightning 1

TAMPA, Fla. — David Krejci scored a tiebreaking short-handed goal in the third period to lead the Northeast Division-leading Boston Bruins past the Lightning. Phil Kessel had two goals, including an empty-netter with less than second remaining, for the Bruins, who are 12-1-1 since the start of November. Tim Thomas made 30 saves to improve to 7-1-1 in his last nine starts.

Red Wings 6, Canucks 5

DETROIT — Jiri Hudler and Dan Cleary each scored twice and the Red Wings broke a tie with a three-goal outburst early in the third period. Nicklas Lidstrom added a goal and two assists, Derek Meech scored his first career goal for Detroit, and Chris Osgood made 20 saves. Henrik Sedin had a goal and an assist, and Taylor Pyatt, Kyle Wellwood, Mason Raymond and Alex Burrows added goals for Vancouver.

Associated Press