Associated Press
RALEIGH ó Tuomo Ruutu and Jeff Hamilton each scored two of Carolina’s five power-play goals, and the Hurricanes routed the Atlanta Thrashers 7-1 on Friday night to move closer to clinching the Southeast Division title.
Eric Staal had a goal and two assists, Joe Corvo also scored with the man-advantage and Trevor Letowski added a short-handed goal for the Hurricanes.
Carolina outshot the Thrashers 34-25, led 4-0 midway through the second period, and earned another easy win against one of the worst teams in the Eastern Conference. The Hurricanes improved to 6-1-1 against Atlanta, scoring at least five goals in all but one of those victories.
Devils 5, Flyers 4, SO
NEWARK, N.J. ó Brian Gionta, Patrik Elias and Jamie Langenbrunner scored in the shootout to lead the New Jersey Devils to a 12th straight home victory over the Flyers.
New Jersey snapped a season-high, five-game losing streak (0-4-1) and ended Philadelphia’s four-game winning run. Every Devils shooter beat goalie Martin Biron in the tiebreaker.
Canadiens 4, Sabres 3, OT
BUFFALO, N.Y. ó Christopher Higgins scored 3:38 into overtime, capping Montreal’s rally from a two-goal deficit and giving the Canadiens a 4-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres. Tomas Plekanec scored consecutive goals in the final three minutes, and Montreal regained the top spot in the Eastern Conference.
Blues 4, Red Wings 3, OT
DETROIT ó Brad Boyes’ second goal of the game and 40th of the season gave the St. Louis Blues a 3-2 overtime win over the NHL-leading Detroit Red Wings. Erik Johnson and Andy McDonald also scored for the Blues, and Paul Kariya had three assists.
Predators 2, B. Jackets 0
COLUMBUS, Ohio ó Dan Ellis shut out Columbus for the second time in four days, and the Predators mastered the Blue Jackets again.