Associated Press
RALEIGH ó Matt Cullen had his first career hat trick, and Carolina won its third straight, beating the Colorado Avalanche 5-2 to move within a point of eighth place in the Eastern Conference.
Joni Pitkanen and Ryan Bayda also scored for Carolina.
Darcy Tucker and Wojtek Wolski scored for Colorado.
Capitals 5, Penguins 2
WASHINGTON ó Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals thumped Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins with a 5-2 victorythat included a dismissive goodbye wave from one superstar to the other.
Lightning 4, Bruins 3
TAMPA, Fla. ó Vaclav Prospal beat Manny Fernandez on a power play with 1:33 left to lift Tampa Bay past Eastern Conference-leading Boston.
Maple Leafs 3, Rangers 2, OT
NEW YORK ó Pavel Kubina’s power-play goal 3 minutes into overtime delivered the latest crushing blow to New York ‘s sinking playoff chances.
Wild 2, Blackhawks 1
CHICAGO ó Josh Harding made 44 saves, and Peter Olvecky snapped a tie early in the third period with his first NHL goal.
GOLF
LOS ANGELES ó Phil Mickelson made back-to-back birdies before saving par on No. 18 to earn a one-shot victory Sunday in the Northern Trust Open.
Mickelson went from a four-shot lead at the start of the final round to a two-shot deficit with three holes to play. But he hit 9-iron to 5 feet for birdie on the 16th, holed a 6-foot birdie on the 17th and saved par with a 6-foot putt on the final hole.
He closed with a 1-over 72 to become only the fourth player to win in consecutive years at Riviera.
– NAPLES, Fla. ó Loren Roberts made a 3-foot birdie putt on the last hole to win The ACE Group Classic, beating Gene Jones by one stroke.
BASSMASTERS
BOSSIER CITY, La. ó Skeet Reese held off a rally from former champion Michael Iaconelli to win his first Bassmaster Classic on Sunday.
Reese bagged a limit of five bass weighing 16 pounds, 12 ounces from the Red River in northwest Louisiana and edged Iaconelli by 11 ounces in the three-day event.
TENNIS
MEMPHIS, Tenn. ó Andy Roddick won his first title of 2009 and the 27th of his career Sunday, beating Czech Radek Stepanek 7-5, 7-5 in the finals of the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships.
Only Roger Federer (57) and Rafael Nadal (32) have won more titles among active players.
Roddick survived a tight match with lots of long rallies by breaking Stepanek in the 12th game of each set.
Roddick extended his streak of years with at least one title to nine, though Federer could match him with a victory this year.
BASEBALL
FORT MYERS, Fla. ó Third baseman Joe Crede has agreed to a one-year deal with Minnesota, filling a major need on the left side of the Twins infield.
Crede has had two major back surgeries in the last two seasons. He hit .248 with 17 homers and 55 RBIs last season for the Chicago White Sox.