Ruutu helps Penguins pluck Senators in SO

Jarkko Ruutu had the only goal in the shootout and the Pittsburgh Penguins tied the Ottawa Senators for fourth place in the Eastern Conference playoff race with a 4-3 win Sunday night in Pittsburgh.

The victory gives each team 92 points, with Ottawa having one more victory and the Penguins holding a game in hand.

Using his backhand, Ruutu tucked the puck past Ottawa goalie Ray Emery as the second Penguins shooter in the shootout. Ruutu is now 3 for 6 in shootouts.

Thrashers 4, Sabres 3: At Atlanta, Keith Tkachuk’s power-play backhander with 38 seconds left in overtime extended Atlanta’s home winning streak to seven games with an overtime victory over Buffalo.

Capitals 7, Lightning 1: At Washington, Alexander Semin got a natural hat trick in the second period to help Washington beat Tampa Bay.

The Capitals are 2-0-1 since goalie Olie Kolzig returned Thursday after missing 13 games with a knee injury. Kolzig made 30 saves against the Lightning.

Kings 5, Ducks 3: At Anaheim, Calif., Mike Cammalleri had two goals and rookie Patrick O’Sullivan had a goal and two assists leading Los Angeles to a win over Anaheim.

Blake and Sullivan scored in a 1:32 span late in the second period to erase a one-goal deficit and give the Kings a 4-3 lead.

Avalanche 4, Sharks 3 (OT): At Denver, Milan Hejduk scored 19 seconds into overtime and Colorado overcame a two-goal deficit to beat San Jose.

Hedjuk’s 45th career game-winning goal beat Evgeni Nabokov and came on Joe Sakic’s fourth assist of the game.

Stars 5, Coyotes 4 (OT): At Dallas, Mike Ribeiro scored two goals, including the game-winner with 40 seconds left in overtime, to send Dallas to a victory over Phoenix.

Ribeiro tucked a power-play rebound by Phoenix goaltender Mikael Tellqvist for his 13th goal of the season.