Associated Press
The NHL Roundup …
RALEIGH ó Petr Sykora scored two goals, Sidney Crosby had four assists and the Pittsburgh Penguins routed Carolina 5-2 Thursday night to spoil the start of Paul Maurice’s second stint coaching the slumping Hurricanes.
Pascal Dupuis scored an early goal and NHL scoring leader Evgeni Malkin added two assists, even as his NHL lead over Crosby dwindled to two.
The Penguins scored five goals on their first 13 shots, including first-period goals by Sykora and Dupuis roughly 11/2 minutes apart. Crosby assisted on both of them, giving him 39 points this season and 16 career points in 12 meetings with the Hurricanes. Sykora has 32 points in 36 games against Carolina.
Miroslav Satan and Ruslan Fedotenko also scored, and Dany Sabourin made 34 saves to help Pittsburgh improve to 8-3-2 on the road.
Panthers 2, Sabres 1
SUNRISE, Fla. ó Craig Anderson made 45 saves, and Gregory Campbell and Keith Ballard scored 35 seconds apart in the second period for 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.
Bruins 3, Lightning 1
TAMPA, Fla. ó David Krejci scored the tiebreaking short-handed goal in the third period for Northeast Division-leading Boston.
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.
Canadiens 6, Rangers 2
MONTREAL ó Steve Begin and Maxim Lapierre each had a goal and an assist and Montreal celebrated its 99th birthday with a victory.
Red Wings 6, Canucks 5
DETROIT ó Jiri Hudler and Dan Cleary each scored twice and Detroit broke a tie with a three-goal outburst early in the third period.
Capitals 5, Islanders 2
WASHINGTON ó Donald Brashear scored his first goal of the season with 13:10 left to snap a tie for Washington.
Devils 3, Panthers 2, OT
PHILADELPHIA ó Patrik Elias scored the tying and winning goals for New Jersey.
Predators 3, Avalanche 2
NASHVILLE, Tenn. ó Vernon Fiddler, Shea Weber and David Legwand scored first-period goals, and Pekka Rinne made 19 saves for Nashville.
Coyotes 6, Maple Leafs 3
GLENDALE, Ariz. ó Martin Hanzal had his first three-goal game in the NHL, and Steven Reinprecht added a pair of third-period goals for Phoenix.