Crosby scores in overtime to give Penguins rare win
Sidney Crosby scored the game-winning goal with 1 1/2 minutes left in overtime by steering a rebound past New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist, and also set up the first goal as the Pittsburgh Penguins won 4-3 Saturday despite squandering three leads.
Crosby has three goals in two games and has five goals and four assists in four games since being snubbed for the Canadian Olympic team. The No. 1 draft pick has six goals in six games since being limited to one goal in his previous eight games and 19 goals in 37 games.
With Tomas Surovy scoring twice for the second consecutive game, the Penguins outshot the Rangers 37-17, two nights after being outshot 46-25 in a 6-2 victory over the New Jersey Devils. But the Rangers bounced back from deficits of 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 with goals by Jaromir Jagr, Martin Rucinsky and Fedor Tyutin while going 3 of 8 on the power play.
Pittsburgh, also 3 of 8 on the power play, has won successive games for the first time since beating the Devils and Islanders on the road in early November.
Capitals 4, Flyers 3 (SO): At Washington, Brian Willsie and Matt Pettinger scored in a shootout to lead Washington over Philadelphia. Olie Kolzig stopped attempts by Michal Handzus and Peter Forsberg in the shootout, with Mike Richards netting for the Flyers. Willsie, the last player to shoot, beat goaltender Antero Niittymaki low and to the stick side to decide the game.
Mighty Ducks 5, Blues 4 (SO): At St. Louis, Chris Kunitz scored twice in regulation and had the only goal in a shootout to give Anaheim the victory. Kunitz, who has six goals and 11 points in 26 games, got one of his scores during a two-goal, 10-second flurry that tied a franchise record in the first period.
Wild 4, Canucks 3: At St. Paul, Minn., rookie Kurtis Foster had a goal and an assist to lead Minnesota to its sixth victory in eight games. Foster, playing in his 20th game for the Wild after being recalled from Houston of the AHL on Nov. 17, scored his sixth goal of the season in the second period and set up Randy Robitaille’s power-play goal in the third.
Red Wings 5, Blue Jackets 2: At Detroit, Nicklas Lidstrom and Mikael Samuelsson each scored twice and the Red Wings overcame a two-goal deficit for their fifth straight victory. Mathieu Schneider also scored and Robert Lang added three assists for the Red Wings, who outshot the Blue Jackets 43-15. Rick Nash and Jason Chimera scored for Columbus.
Maple Leafs 6, Devils 3: At East Rutherford, N.J., Mariusz Czerkawski and Darcy Tucker scored 21 seconds apart in the second period to spark Toronto. Mats Sundin, Jeff O’Neill, Tomas Kaberle and John Pohl also scored to help Toronto stretch its season-best winning streak to five. New Jersey’s Scott Gomez had his second career hat trick, two nights after scoring twice in a loss at Pittsburgh.
Avalanche 5, Coyotes 2: At Glendale, Ariz., Ian Laperriere sparked Colorado’s productive offense with two goals, and rookie Peter Budaj was solid in goal, leading Colorado over Phoenix. Pierre Turgeon, Milan Hejduk and Andrew Brunette also scored for the Avalanche, who won for only the fourth time in 11 games.
Hurricanes 5, Canadiens 3: At Raleigh, N.C., Rod Brind’Amour scored his second goal of the game with 1:52 left to help Carolina beat Montreal. Cory Stillman, Erik Cole and Aaron Ward also scored for the Hurricanes, and Martin Gerber made 24 saves.
Kings 3, Stars 2: At Dallas, Mathieu Garon made 38 saves, Derek Armstrong scored a power-play goal and Los Angeles strengthened its grip on first place in the Pacific Division with a victory over Dallas. Alexander Frolov and Tom Kostopoulos added goals to help the Kings take a three-point lead over the second-place Stars. Dallas’ Mike Modano had two power-play goals in the third period to make it close.
Dallas to host 2007 All-Star game
The Dallas Stars will host the 2007 NHL All-Star game at the American Airlines Center. The date of the game will be announced Jan. 23.
The NHL hasn’t held an All-Star game since 2004. The 2005 game was wiped out by the league’s lockout, and this season’s game was dropped so players can participate in the Winter Olympics.
Around the league
Columbus recalled defenseman Jamie Pushor under emergency conditions from Syracuse of the AHL because the Blue Jackets are short on defensemen. Adam Foote (hip), Bryan Berard (back), Luke Richardson (broken jaw) and Duvie Westcott (ribs) are out with injuries. … Tampa Bay associate coach Craig Ramsay is scheduled for prostate surgery and will be away from the team for two weeks. Ramsay, diagnosed with prostate cancer in September, will have surgery Friday in Tampa. … New York Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro was diagnosed with a mild left knee sprain and is day-to-day. DiPietro, recently selected to the U.S. Olympic team, was injured Friday night at Ottawa when he fell to the ice during a scramble that led to Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson‘s tying goal at 6:29 of the first period. … Los Angeles called up center Matt Ryan from Manchester of the AHL before their game against Dallas.