Shanahan leads Rangers in shootout victory
Brendan Shanahan scored the tying goal in the third period and then lifted the New York Rangers to a 3-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins with the only tally in the shootout Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.
After looking lifeless through two periods, the Rangers woke up in the third and erased a 2-0 deficit when Blair Betts scored a short-handed goal and Shanahan followed with a power-play marker less than two minutes later.
Panthers 3, Sabres 1: At Sunrise, Fla., Ric Jackman scored the winning goal and Alex Auld made 17 saves as Florida beat Buffalo.
Stephen Weiss and Olli Jokinen also scored for the Panthers, who won back-to-back games for just the second time this season.
Canadiens 4, Islanders 2: At Uniondale, N.Y., Saku Koivu’s two power-play goals powered Montreal past New York.
Craig Rivet and Guillaume Latendresse also scored for Montreal, which moved five points ahead of Toronto and Ottawa for second place in the Northeast Division.
Lightning 8, Thrashers 0: At Tampa, Fla., Vincent Lecavalier had three goals and two assists, helping Tampa Bay stop a four-game losing streak with a win over Southeast Division-leading Atlanta. Lecavalier has four career hat tricks and has scored a goal in five straight games.
Red Wings 4, Blues 3 (OT): At Detroit, Pavel Datsyuk’s goal 3:23 into overtime completed a comeback from a three-goal deficit and the Red Wings beat St. Louis.
Bruins 3, Maple Leafs 1: At Boston, Tim Thomas had 23 saves and the Bruins scored three third-period goals in a victory over Toronto.
Coyotes 2, Blackhawks 1 (SO): At Chicago, Shane Doan and Michael Zigomanis, the Coyotes’ fifth and sixth shooters, scored in the shootout to give Phoenix the win over the Blackhawks.
Wild 3, Flames 2 (SO): At St. Paul, Minn., Manny Fernandez stopped two of three shots in the shootout to help Minnesota hold on for a victory over Calgary in a game featuring 18 penalties.
Predators 4, Kings 1: At Los Angeles, Scott Hartnell celebrated his 400th NHL game with a power-play goal and Nashville beat the Kings.
Avalanche 5, Sharks 2: At San Jose, Calif., Joe Sakic and Brett Clark each had two goals and an assist, and Colorado snapped out of a slump with a victory over the Sharks.
Around the league
The Colorado Avalanche activated forward Pierre Turgeon from the injury list. … Prosecutors charged San Jose Sharks forward Mark Bell with felony hit-and-run and driving under the influence, three months after an accident during the Labor Day weekend. Bell, who will be arraigned Jan. 3, faces a maximum of three years and eight months in prison.