NHL: Ottawa scores early, often in easy win

Dany Heatley had two goals and an assist, leading Ottawa to a 6-0 rout of Carolina in a battle of division leaders on Wednesday in Raleigh, N.C.

Ray Emery and Martin Gerber teamed to post Ottawa’s second shutout of the season. Jason Spezza had a goal and two assists, Dean McAmmond added a goal and an assist, and Mike Fisher, and Shean Donovan also scored.

The Eastern Conference-leading Senators had a 2-0 edge before the game was 5 1/2 minutes old, scored three first-period goals and added three more in the third for their third straight victory.

Emery stopped the only shot he faced before leaving due to soreness in his right hip, and was replaced early in the first by Gerber, a former Hurricanes goalie who stopped 31 shots.

Cam Ward allowed goals on two of the first four shots he faced and finished with 20 saves for the Southeast Division-leading Hurricanes.

Capitals 5, Rangers 4: At Washington, Mike Green scored 3:41 into overtime after posting two assists in regulation and Joe Motzko had his first two goals of the season in Washington’s win.

Sabres 5, Islanders 3: At Buffalo, Ales Kotalik had a goal and assist, Ryan Miller made 28 saves, and Buffalo scored three goals in the second period.

Bruins 5, Thrashers 3: At Atlanta, Milan Lucic scored the go-ahead goal off a rebound with 3:47 remaining and Alex Auld won his third straight start for Boston.

Blue Jackets 4, Avalanche 1: At Columbus, Ohio, Fredrik Norrena stopped 15 shots, and Columbus relied on defense to beat Colorado. It was the second time in a week the Blue Jackets defeated the Avalanche, a first for the franchise that was 2-21-2 against Colorado before the back-to-back wins.

Blackhawks 6, Kings 3: At Chicago, Martin Havlat scored twice, and Patrick Sharp and rookie Jonathan Toews each had a goal and two assists to help Chicago end a season-high, four-game losing streak.

Canucks 3, Ducks 2: At Anaheim, Calif., injury fill-ins Mason Raymond and Jason Jaffray assisted on each other’s first NHL goals for Vancouver.

Morrison’s streak snapped

Brendan Morrison’s 542-game playing streak, the longest current run in the NHL, ended Wednesday night when the Vancouver Canucks center was forced out of the lineup by a wrist injury that will require surgery.

Morrison left the team after posting two assists in the Canucks’ 4-2 loss Monday in Los Angeles to return to Vancouver to have his wrist evaluated.

Penguins lose two

Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, unbeaten the last three weeks, has a sprained ankle that will keep him out of Pittsburgh’s lineup for up to two months. Teammate Maxime Talbot has a similar injury and may be out a month.