Associated Press
The NHL roundup …
RALEIGH ó Anton Babchuk scored with 6:01 remaining and the Carolina Hurricanes won their season-high fifth straight game, beating the Ottawa Senators 2-1 on Wednesday night in a matchup of two of the NHL’s hottest teams.
Rod Brind’Amour tied it for Carolina at 3:15 of third. The Hurricanes matched a club record with their ninth straight victory at home, a mark set during their run to the Stanley Cup in 2005-06.
Sabres 5, Panthers 3
BUFFALO, N.Y. ó Jason Pominville had a goal and two assists during a 2:07 span of the third period, leading the Buffalo Sabres to a 5-3 comeback victory over the Florida Panthers on Wednesday night.
Tim Connolly scored the go-ahead goal to cap the surge and added an assist for a Buffalo team that overcame a 3-1 deficit and won for only the second time in eight games (2-5-1). Clarke MacArthur, Craig Rivet and Maxim Afinogenov also scored for the Sabres.
With 78 points and nine games left, Buffalo remains in 10th place in the Eastern Conference standings, but moved within five points of eighth-place Montreal.
Penguins 2, Flames 0
PITTSBURGH ó Marc-Andre Fleury made 31 saves for his fourth shutout of the season to help Pittsburgh keep pace in the tight Eastern Conference playoff race.
Defensemen Kris Letang and Hal Gill scored, and Evgeni Malkin had two assists, giving him a career-high 107 points and extending his NHL scoring lead to 11 points.
Wild 6, Islanders 2
UNIONDALE, N.Y. ó Marian Gaborik had two goals and two assists, Andrew Brunette and Owen Nolan each scored once and set up two others, and Minnesota snapped a five-game road losing streak.
Martin Skoula and Antti Miettinen added goals, and Niklas Backstrom made 32 saves for his 33rd victory.