nhl roundup Thursday’s games

Penguins 4, Avalanche 1

DENVER

Patric Hornqvist scored twice while Sidney Crosby was held in check, and Matthew Murray made 27 saves as Pittsburgh beat Colorado. Crosby remained stuck on 998 career points. The Penguins captain needs two more to become the 86th player in NHL history to reach the 1,000-point plateau. Phil Kessel scored a goal and Chris Kunitz added an empty-netter for Pittsburgh, which has won four of its last five road games. Gabriel Landeskog finally solved Murray on a power play with 3:16 remaining. But it was too little, too late as Colorado saw its modest — and season high-tying — two-game win streak snapped.

Canucks 3, Blue Jackets 0

COLUMBUS

Daniel Sedin had a goal and an assist and Ryan Miller stopped 33 shots as Vancouver beat Columbus. Loui Eriksson and Jayson Megna also scored for the Canucks, who won for the first time in five games. It was the third shutout this season for the Canucks and Miller, and the first on the road. Sergei Bobrovsky had 21 saves for the Blue Jackets, who had plenty of offensive opportunities but couldn’t find the back of the net. Sedin put the Canucks up 44 seconds into the second period when he beat Seth Jones to a rebound and slammed it past Bobrovsky for his 12th goal of the season.

Senators 3, Stars 2

OTTAWA, ONTARIO

Mark Stone scored the go-ahead goal in the third period, leading Ottawa to a victory over Dallas. Dion Phaneuf and Chris Kelly also had goals for the Senators, who had dropped their last two games. Mike Condon made 31 saves. Antoine Roussel and Jamie Benn scored for the Stars, who are on a four-game losing streak. Kari Lehtonen stopped 24 shots. The Senators managed to score twice, but still had their share of struggles as they blew a two-goal lead.

Blues 2, Maple Leafs 1, OT

TORONTO

Vladimir Tarasenko scored 20 seconds into overtime and St. Louis kept rolling under new coach Mike Yeo, beating Toronto. Tarasenko snapped his 26th goal of the season past Frederik Andersen to lift St. Louis to 4-1-0 since Yeo replaced Ken Hitchcock as coach last week. Patrik Berglund also scored, and Jake Allen stopped 31 shots. Morgan Rielly scored for Toronto, and Andersen made 38 saves.

Kings 6, Panthers 3

SUNRISE, FLA.

Jeff Carter had two goals and two assists, and Los Angeles snapped a two-game scoreless drought in easily beating Florida. Dwight King, Tanner Pearson, Tyler Toffoli and Dustin Brown also scored for the Kings, while Peter Budaj made 36 saves. Carter’s four points were a season high, and Los Angeles poured in six goals for the first time since getting seven at Toronto on Nov. 8.

Rangers 4, Predators 3

NEW YORK

J.T. Miller scored two goals and New York rallied past Nashville for their fourth consecutive victory. Henrik Lundqvist stopped 34 shots in the win. Coming off a 43-save performance Tuesday against Anaheim, the star goaltender is 7-1 in his past eight appearances and needs one win for 400 in his career. Michael Grabner and Chris Kreider also scored for the Rangers, who overcame a 2-0 deficit and have won seven of nine overall.

Bruins 6, Sharks 3

BOSTON

David Pastrnak scored two power-play goals, Patrice Bergeron had a goal and three assists and Boston beat San Jose in Bruce Cassidy’s coaching debut. Cassidy was named Boston’s interim coach after longtime bench boss Claude Julien was fired Tuesday. Cassidy joined the Bruins as an assistant last May after spending five seasons coaching Providence in the AHL.

Ducks 5, Sabres 2

BUFFALO, N.Y.

Corey Perry scored twice and added an assist, and Anaheim snapped a three-game skid with a win over Buffalo. Rickard Rakell scored to break a 1-1 tie 55 seconds into the third period, Antoine Vermette and Andrew Cogliano, with an empty-netter, also scored for the Ducks, who were 0-2-1 in opening a six-game road trip. John Gibson stopped 22 shots to earn his second win in his past six appearances.

Islanders 3, Flyers 1

PHILADELPHIA

Jason Chimera scored the go-ahead goal early in the second period and Thomas Greiss made 33 saves to lead New York to a victory over Philadelphia. John Tavares and Casey Cizikas also scored for the Islanders, who have won nine of their last 13 games to move closer to a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Wayne Simmonds scored for Philadelphia.

Capitals 6, Red Wings 3

WASHINGTON

T.J. Oshie scored twice and set up John Carlson’s go-ahead goal in the third period for NHL-leading Washington, who collected their 11th consecutive home victory by beating Detroit. Detroit’s Henrik Zetterberg made it 3-all less than 11/2 minutes into the final period.

Associated Press