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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

NHL Capsules: Sidney Crosby gets point No. 999, Penguins top Canucks 4-0

Pittsburgh Penguins’ Sidney Crosby looks to pass to Jake Guentzel, ending up with an assist on Guentzel’s goal during the third period of the team’s NHL hockey game against the Vancouver Canucks in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2017. It was the 999th point of Crosby’s NHL career. The Penguins won 4-0. (Gene J. Puskar / Associated Press)
Associated Press

PITTSBURGH – Evgeni Malkin had a goal and an assist in his return from a lower-body injury, Sidney Crosby got his 999th career point with an assist and the Pittsburgh Penguins rolled by the Vancouver Canucks 4-0 on Tuesday night.

Phil Kessel, Jake Guentzel and Matt Cullen also scored for the defending Stanley Cup champions. Matt Murray stopped 29 shots for his third shutout this season and the fourth of his career.

Pittsburgh broke it open with three third-period goals past Ryan Miller. Crosby fed a streaking Guentzel down the slot 2:27 into the third to make it 2-0 and pull Crosby within a point of becoming the 86th player in NHL history to reach 1,000.

Miller made 38 saves while under siege for most of the night as the Penguins remained unbeaten in regulation since the All-Star break (5-0-2).

Ducks 1, Wild 0

ST. PAUL, Minn. – John Gibson made 37 saves for his fourth shutout of the season, rookie Joseph Cramarossa scored his fourth goal and Anaheim blanked Minnesota.

Gibson stalled the league’s fourth-highest scoring team, beating Minnesota and former coach Bruce Boudreau for the first time in three meetings.

The Wild were 0 for 5 on the power play and lost in regulation for the first time in six games and the fifth time since the start of December, a span of 34 games. Devan Dubnyk made 22 saves.

Cramarossa scored for the first time in 16 games 4:38 into the first period.

Maple Leafs 7, Islanders 1

TORONTO – Auston Matthews scored twice, Frederik Andersen earned his 100th NHL win and Toronto routed New York in a game with playoff implications.

The Maple Leafs set a season high for goals and won for the third time in nine games. They moved three points ahead of the Islanders for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference.

New York fell to 10-4-2 in its past 16 games.

Matthews increased his rookie total to 27 goals and Andersen stopped 33 shots. Josh Leivo had a career-high three points with one goal and two assists for Toronto.

Nazem Kadri and William Nylander each had a goal and an assist. Tyler Bozak and Matt Hunwick also scored for the Maple Leafs.

Jason Chimera scored on a penalty shot for New York. Thomas Greiss and Jean-Francois Berube combined to give up seven goals on 41 shots.

Devils 3, Avalanche 2

NEWARK, N.J. – Devils defenseman Andy Greene scored the go-ahead goal on a power play and Kyle Palmieri converted on an odd-man rush with Taylor Hall to lead New Jersey over struggling Colorado.

Cory Schneider made 28 saves and Pavel Zacha added a goal as New Jersey won for the fourth time in six games (4-1-1) in its push to make the playoffs.

Jeremy Smith stopped 37 shots in his NHL debut after seven seasons in the minor leagues. Recent waiver pickup Mark Barberio and Mikhail Grigorenko scored for Colorado, which has lost four straight and is 4-22-1 in its last 27 games.

The win was only the Devils’ second against the Avalanche in 11 meetings.

Sabres 3, Senators 2

OTTAWA, Ontario – Robin Lehner made 39 saves against his former team, and Matt Moulson and Justin Bailey scored in the third period to rally Buffalo past Ottawa.

Lehner is 4-0-2 against the club that selected him in the second round of the 2009 NHL draft. He was traded away with David Legwand in June 2015 to Buffalo for the 21st overall pick in that year’s draft.

Ryan O’Reilly also scored for the Sabres.

Bobby Ryan ended a five-game run without a point by getting a goal and an assist for the Senators. Dion Phaneuf also scored, and Craig Anderson made 22 saves.

Jets 5, Stars 2

WINNIPEG, Manitoba – Patrik Laine got his third hat trick of the season, including the go-ahead goal with 5:07 left to lift Winnipeg over Dallas.

The Finnish rookie has 26 goals, including two in the third period as the Jets broke open a tight game. Joel Armia and Blake Wheeler also scored to help Winnipeg snap a four-game skid.

Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin scored in the second period for the Stars to erase a two-goal deficit.

Connor Hellebuyck made 34 saves in his third straight start for the Jets since Ondrej Pavelec sustained a lower-body injury.

Antti Niemi stopped 19 of 22 shots for Dallas.

The victory snapped a five-game home losing streak for the Jets, and Dallas took its sixth loss in seven games.

Oilers 5, Coyotes 2

EDMONTON, Alberta – Leon Draisaitl and Oscar Klefbom each had a goal and two assists as Edmonton overcame a slow start to beat Arizona.

Matt Hendricks, Mark Letestu and Patrick Maroon also scored for the Oilers, who won for the second time in six games. Cam Talbot finished with 23 saves.

Josh Jooris and Martin Hanzal had the goals for the Coyotes, who won their previous two.