Blake gives Islanders shootout win

Jason Blake, New York’s ninth shooter of an extended shootout, nearly lost the puck but recovered to steer a shot past Jocelyn Thibault and give the Islanders a 3-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday night in Pittsburgh.

As Blake came down the slot, the puck seemed to slide off his stick momentarily, but he got it back and beat Thibault by faking a backhander only to slide the puck inside the near post.

Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro stopped the Penguins’ final six shooters, including Mark Recchi, Ziggy Palffy and John LeClair, to give New York its second shootout victory in two attempts.

The Penguins lost the second of their three shootouts, even though rookies Erik Christensen and Sidney Crosby kept it going by scoring after getting Pittsburgh’s only goals in regulation.

Lightning 5, Flyers 2: In Tampa, Fla., Vinny Prospal had three goals and an assist to help Tampa Bay snap a six-game losing streak with a victory over Philadelphia.

“Lightning right wing Martin St. Louis is expected to miss two to four weeks with a broken bone near the tip of his left ring finger.

Oilers 5, Avalanche 2: In Denver, Chris Pronger scored his first goal for Edmonton to help Oilers goalie Mike Morrison win his first career start.

Flames 3, Wild 2: In Calgary, Alberta, Jarome Iginla scored a power-play goal with 1:07 left to give Calgary its seventh straight victory, defeating Minnesota.

Off the ice

Dave Checketts’ group withdrew from negotiations to buy the St. Louis Blues, putting the team back on the open market.

Blues owners Bill and Nancy Laurie had signed a letter of intent with Sports Capital Partners granting them exclusive rights to negotiate for 30 days to buy the team.

“Los Angeles left wing Ken Belanger has informed the Kings that he is retiring.

“Montreal’s high-scoring forward Alexei Kovalev is expected to miss three to four weeks after he has knee surgery today.