Flyers beat Senators for fourth straight win

Taking advantage of depth and balanced scoring, the Philadelphia Flyers are surging straight to the top of their division.

Scottie Upshall had two goals and an assist to lead the Flyers to their fourth straight win, 6-1 over the slumping Ottawa Senators on Sunday night in Philadelphia.

Braydon Coburn, Scott Hartnell, Sami Kapanen and R.J. Umberger also scored for the Flyers, who have won seven of their last eight games. Philadelphia has lost only once in regulation in its last 13 games.

Hartnell, who was acquired from Nashville with Kimmo Timonen in a trade last June, has scored ten goals in the last seven games and 16 in the last 28 games, after going without a goal for the first 15 games of the season.

Chris Kelly scored for the Eastern Conference-leading Senators, who have lost two in a row and four of their last five.

Avalanche 3, Blue Jackets 1: Jose Theodore made 26 saves to help Colorado beat the Columbus in Denver.

The win jumped Colorado from fourth in the crowded Northwest Division into a tie for first with Calgary, one point ahead of Minnesota and Vancouver.

Bruins 3, Rangers 1: Chuck Kobasew had a goal and an assist, leading Boston to a victory over the Rangers in New York and a sweep of the key home-and-home weekend series.

Kobasew scored in the first period and set up Glen Metropolit in the third for the Bruins, who moved three points ahead of the Rangers in the Eastern Conference playoff race with two games in hand.

Oilers 4, Thrashers 2: Edmonton rookie Sam Gagner, who seems to enjoy playing on the road, made the most of his first visit to Atlanta.

Gagner scored his fourth goal, all in road games, to give Edmonton the lead, and the Oilers beat Atlanta to snap a three-game losing streak.

Stars 5, Ducks 2: Brenden Morrow and Niklas Hagman scored two goals each to help host Dallas rout Anaheim, ending the Ducks’ six-game winning streak.

Marty Turco made 18 saves to help the Stars move past the Ducks and into first place in the Pacific Division.

Devils 3, Maple Leafs 2: At Newark, N.J., John Madden scored two goals and goalie Martin Brodeur did just enough, helping New Jersey beat Toronto.

Brodeur made 34 saves, including a couple from close in late in the game, and Travis Zajac also scored for the Devils, who ended a two-game losing streak – both of them on home ice.

Sharks lose Brown, recall Plihal

Sharks center Curtis Brown, who injured his hand in the San Jose’s 6-3 loss to Detroit on Saturday, went on injured reserve, and San Jose recalled Tomas Plihal from the minors to replace him.