RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Eric Staal had two goals and an assist, Justin Peters cruised to his first NHL shutout, and the Carolina Hurricanes routed the reeling Washington Capitals 5-0 on Monday night.
Justin Faulk and Anthony Stewart scored in an 88-second span and Andreas Nodl added a goal during Carolina’s three-goal first period. Staal has six goals and five assists in six games.
Peters needed to make just 17 saves to win his second straight start. He replaced Cam Ward, who was out with an undisclosed lower body injury.
Jiri Tlusty had two assists, giving him points in a team-best eight straight games. The Hurricanes led 4-0 after 40 minutes and won their third in four games, improving to 11-3-1 in their last 15 at home.
Tomas Vokoun allowed two goals on seven shots before he was pulled at 5:09. Michal Neuvirth made 30 saves but gave up the final three goals. The Capitals have lost five of six, and in two visits to Carolina since coach Dale Hunter took over, they have been outscored 8-0.
SENATORS 6, ISLANDERS 0
UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) — Erik Karlsson and Jason Spezza scored twice, Craig Anderson made 28 saves and Ottawa beat the New York Islanders for its third straight win.
The Senators (31-22-8) moved within two points of first-place Boston in the Northeast Division and one point behind Pittsburgh and Philadelphia for fifth place in the Eastern Conference.
Karlsson opening the scoring 1:08 in, and Spezza made it 2-0 just 27 seconds later. Spezza has seven goals and eight assists in six games.
Islanders goalie Kevin Poulin was then replaced by Al Montoya.
Karlsson made it 3-0 at 14:03 of the first, marking the fourth two-goal game for the 21-year-old defenseman.
Chris Phillips added a power-play goal at 9:37 of the second and Brian Lee became the third Senators defenseman to score with his first of the season at 9:49 of the third. Spezza completed the scoring at 10:57 with a power-play score for his team-leading 27th goal.
Karlsson also had assists on the final two goals, giving him a team-high 45 assists. It was the third shutout of the season for Anderson (28-19-6).