Associated Press
The NHL Roundup …
RALEIGH ó One practice wasn’t enough for Rick Tocchet to correct all that was wrong with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Tocchet lost his debut as Tampa Bay coach when Tuomo Ruutu and Rod Brind’Amour scored in the shootout and Cam Ward stopped two shots to give the Carolina Hurricanes a 3-2 victory Sunday.
“It’s a step in the right direction,” Tocchet said. “I thought the guys played well, I think they’re really starting to get what we’re trying to do here.”
Tocchet became a head coach for the first time when Barry Melrose was fired Friday after Tampa Bay lost three straight games. A veteran of 18 NHL seasons, Tocchet perhaps is best known for his role in a sports betting ring that led to a league suspension.
Vincent Lecavalier and Jussi Jokinen both failed to score in the shootout, giving the Hurricanes only their second victory in six games. Brind’Amour also scored in regulation to move out of a tie for 50th on the career NHL scoring list.
Carolina rallied in the second period. Wade Brookbank gathered a rebound with his back to the net and whirled to put the puck in the net to cut its deficit to 2-1. About 90 seconds later, Brind’Amour gathered in a beautiful pass from Ray Whitney and sent a low shot past goalie Mike Smith.
“I hope this puts us in the right direction,” Brind’Amour said. “Our game is not where you want it to be. But a win is a win and we’ll take it any way we can get it.”
Canadiens 3, Blues 2
ST. LOUIS ó Alexei Kovalev scored the lone shootout goal to give the Montreal Canadiens a 3-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues.
Sharks 6, Blackhawks 5
CHICAGO ó Devin Setoguchi’s power-play goal with 4:15 left helped San Jose hand Chicago its first home loss in regulation this season.
Setoguchi, who also had an assist, scored on a screened shot from the high slot.
Ducks 2, Kings 0
ANAHEIM, Calif. ó Jonas Hiller made 29 saves for his first NHL shutout and Anaheim got goals from Corey Perry and defenseman Bret Hedican.
Flyers 4, Thrashers 3
PHILADELPHIA ó Joffrey Lupul scored the go-ahead goal in the third period, Antero Niittymaki made 29 saves to remain perfect against Atlanta and the Flyers snapped the Thrashers’ five-game winning streak,
Simon Gagne had a goal and two assists