Malkin strikes twice to lead Penguins
Evgeni Malkin tied the game late in the third period after Pittsburgh wasted a multiple-goal lead, then teamed with Erik Christensen to score in the shootout as the Penguins rallied to beat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-4 Wednesday night in Pittsburgh.
The Penguins gained at least a point for the 14th consecutive game — they are 12-0-2 during that stretch — for the first time since they won 12 times and tied twice from Dec. 19, 1996, through Jan. 21, 1997. They also won their fourth consecutive shootout decision after losing five of their first six.
Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury made a game-saving left skate save on Martin Havlat only seconds into overtime, then stopped both Havlat and Bryan Smolinski with glove saves in the shootout.
Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby, the NHL scoring leader with 88 points, got an assist but failed to score a goal for an eighth consecutive game — the longest streak of his two-season career.
Senators 4, Panthers 0: At Ottawa, Martin Gerber made 28 saves for his first shutout of the season and 10 Ottawa players scored points in the Senators’ win over Florida.
Blues 4, Blue Jackets 2: At Columbus, Ohio, St. Louis rookie David Backes had his first two-goal game in the NHL, leading the Blues past the Blue Jackets.
Devils 5, Canadiens 2: At East Rutherford, N.J., Brian Rafalski scored twice with New Jersey enjoying a two-man advantage and the Devils tallied three times on the power play in a win over Montreal, sending the Canadiens to a season-high fifth straight loss.
Red Wings 3, Stars 1: At Dallas, Henrik Zetterberg netted the go-ahead goal with 4:36 left, after setting up the tying score a little more than 4 minutes earlier, and Detroit rallied for a victory over the Stars.
Canucks 3, Wild 2 (OT): At St. Paul, Minn., Sami Salo’s goal 4:20 into overtime lifted Vancouver to a win over Minnesota.
Predators 5, Sharks 0: At Nashville, Tenn., Shea Weber scored two goals and Tomas Vokoun stopped 22 shots as the Predators beat San Jose.
Around the league
Los Angeles agreed to a two-year contract extension with center Derek Armstrong. … Phoenix has agreed to a five-year contract with captain Shane Doan, who joined the franchise when it still was in Winnipeg. … Center John Madden and defenseman Colin White missed New Jersey’s game against the Montreal Canadiens with injuries. … New York Rangers backup goalie Kevin Weekes was placed on the injured list because of a muscle strain in his leg sustained a day earlier in practice. … Montreal goalie Cristobal Huet left the Canadiens game against New Jersey in the second period after sustaining a lower body injury.