Associated Press
RALEIGH ó The Carolina Hurricanes and the New York Rangers had a lot of chances in a wide-open first period.
The Hurricanes converted two of theirs ó and Cam Ward frustrated the Rangers.
The Carolina goalie made 39 saves, and Chad LaRose, Jussi Jokinen, Brandon Sutter and Jeff Skinner scored in the Hurricanesí 4-1 victory Thursday night.
ěThere are certain games that are going to be exciting, and there are certain games that are going to be dogs,î Carolina coach Paul Maurice said. ěFor whatever reason when the Hurricanes and the Rangers play, I think theyíre very exciting games and lots of chances and just outstanding goaltending.î
Tuomo Ruutu added two assists to help the Hurricanes snap a two-game losing streak.
Ward had his highest number of saves in more than a month.
ěHeís our wall back there,î LaRose said. ěA lot of times when we make mistakes, he bails us out and they donít get noticed as much. Heís definitely our leader, and we try to play well in front of him.î
Brandon Prust scored for New York, coming off a 7-0 home victory over Toronto on Wednesday night.
Henrik Lundqvist made 35 saves for the injury ravaged Rangers. One day after finding out Brandon Dubinsky (stress fracture in left leg) and Ruslan Fedotenko (separated left shoulder) would miss extended time, New York struggled to keep up with Carolina offensively.
The Hurricanes struck early in the first period when LaRose deflected Jeff Skinnerís shot through Lundqvistís legs. The spinning puck looked as if it might stop before crossing the goal line, but it had enough momentum to make it over. Carolina made it 2-0 with 5:17 left in the period when Jokinen deflected Joe Corvoís slap shot from the blue line past Lundqvist on a power play.
Early in the second period, Sergei Samsonov fed a streaking Sutter near the New York blue line to send Sutter in on a partial breakaway. Sutter went to his backhand to beat Lundqvist for his first goal in 16 games.
Devils 2, Peguins 0
NEWARK, N.J. ó Martin Brodeur and the suddenly revived New Jersey Devils took advantage of the absence of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin to shut out the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-0 on Thursday night.
Brodeur had a a relatively easy night, stopping 23 shots in posting his fourth shutout of the season and the NHL regular-season record 114th of his career.
Brian Rolston and rookie Nick Palmieri scored for the Devils, who have points in a season-high five straight games (4-0-1). The loss snapped the Penguinsí three-game winning streak.
Flyers 6, Senators 2
PHILADELPHIA ó Mike Richards scored twice, Chris Pronger had an assist in his return from a broken foot and Philadelphia beat Ottawa in a fight-filled game.
The Flyers lead the NHL with 31 wins and the Eastern Conference with 67 points.
Daniel Briere, Scott Hartnell, James van Riemsdyk and Andrej Meszaros also scored for Philadelphia.
Capitals 2, Islanders 1
UNIONDALE, N.Y. ó Alex Ovechkin assisted on goals by Jason Chimera and Nicklas Backstrom, and rookie Braden Holtby made 24 saves in his return from the minors to lift Washington.
Ovechkin had the primary assist on Chimeraís first-period goal and Backstromís tally in the second that put Washington ahead 2-0. The Capitals are 2-0-1 following an 0-2-1 skid but Washingtonís high-powered offense failed to score more than three goals for the 12th straight game.
Red Wings 4, Blues 3, OT
ST. LOUIS ó Darren Helm scored at 1:51 of overtime for Detroit and Jimmy Howard stopped 26 shots in his return after missing two games because of a bruised right kneecap.
Patrick Eaves, Todd Bertuzzi and Jakub Kindl ó with his first NHL goal ó scored in regulation for Detroit. The Red Wings blew a three-goal lead before rebounding to end a three-game road losing streak.
T.J. Oshie, Patrik Berglund and David Backes scored for St. Louis.
1:Maple Leafs 5, Ducks 2
TORONTO (AP) ó Jean-Sebastien Giguere made 26 saves against his former Anaheim teammates and Mikhail Grabovski scored twice for Toronto.
Clarke MacArthur added a goal and two assists and Carl Gunnarsson and Tyler Bozak also scored to help the Maple Leafs rebound from a 7-0 road loss to the New York Rangers on Wednesday night.
Dan Sexton and Brandon McMillan scored for Anaheim.
1:Sabres 4, Bruins 2
BOSTON (AP) ó Ryan Miller stopped 38 shots and Thomas Vanek had a goal and an assist for Buffalo.
Cody McCormick, Nathan Gerbe and Jason Pominville also scored in the Sabresí fifth victory in seven games.
Dennis Seidenberg and Gregory Campbell scored for Boston.
1:Lightning 3, Thrashers 2, SO
ATLANTA (AP) ó NHL goals leader Steven Stamkos scored twice and Dominic Moore added the shootout winner, leading Tampa Bay to its 10th straight win over Atlanta.
Stamkos has 37 goals this season. Niclas Bergfors and Anthony Stewart scored in regulation for Atlanta.
The Associated Press
01/20/11 22:50