Associated Press
The NHL roundup …
RALEIGH ó Simon Gagne has been a nemesis for the Carolina Hurricanes all season, and the Tampa Bay Lightning winger helped deal them a huge blow Saturday night.
Gagne scored two goals, the second into an empty net in the final minute, to help the Lightning beat Carolina 4-2 and avenge a home loss to the Hurricanes on Friday night.
The result broke Carolina’s three-game winning streak and the Lightning’s four-game winless streak, dropping the Hurricanes five points behind eighth-place Buffalo with seven games left.
Gagne has 16 goals this season, six in five games against Carolina.
“We knew it was going to be a tight game,” Gagne said. “To get this one was huge for us. We battled really hard as a team from goalie to forward to defenseman. It was really a playoff-type game, and it’s good to come here on the road and beat a team that’s very desperate for points.”
Martin St. Louis added a goal and an assist for Tampa Bay. Dominic Moore also scored and Vincent Lecavalier had two assists.
Eric Staal and Erik Cole scored for Carolina, with Cory Stillman recording both primary assists. Mike Smith made 33 saves for Tampa Bay, and Cam Ward had 28 for Carolina.
Kings 4, Avalanche 1
LOS ANGELES ó Ryan Smyth had a goal and an assist, Michael Handzus connected on a power play, and the Los Angeles Kings beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-1 after losing scoring leader Anze Kopitar for at least six weeks because of a broken right ankle.
Capitals 2, Canadiens 0
MONTREAL (AP) ó Braden Holtby made 18 saves for his second shutout, Marco Sturm and Alexander Semin scored, and Washington sent Montreal to its third straight shutout loss.
Flyers 4, Islanders 1
UNIONDALE, N.Y. ó James van Riemsdyk scored two goals in the first period and finished his first NHL hat trick in the third to help Philadelphia remain alone atop the Eastern Conference.
Rangers 1, Bruins 0
BOSTON ó Henrik Lundqvist stopped 26 shots for his NHL-leading 11th shutout, and Derek Stepan deflected Michael Sauer’s shot into the net for the only goal to lead New York past Boston.
Sabres 2, Devils 0
BUFFALO, N.Y. ó Ryan Miller stopped 30 shots for his fifth shutout of the season and Buffalo all but ended New Jersey’s playoff hopes.
Red Wings 4, Maple Leafs 2
DETROIT ó Jiri Hudler broke a third-period tie and added an assist, Henrik Zetterberg also had a goal and an assist and Detroit beat Toronto.
Predators 4, Stars 2
NASHVILLE, Tenn. ó Mike Fisher and David Legwand each scored twice to help Nashville extend its winning streak to six games.
Blues 6, Wild 3
ST. PAUL, Minn. ó Chris Stewart and David Backes scored 23 seconds apart in the second period, and Matt D’Agostini, Adam Cracknell, Alex Pietrangelo and Patrik Berglund also scored.