Penguins win, take lead in Atlantic
Evgeni Malkin had two goals and an assist, and Ryan Malone scored twice for the Pittsburgh Penguins, who beat New Jersey 7-1 Saturday night at Pittsburgh and took a two-point lead over the Devils atop the Atlantic Division.
Jarkko Ruutu, Pascal Dupuis and Petr Sykora also scored and Marian Hossa had three assists as the Penguins won for the fifth time in six games. Pittsburgh broke open a tight game by scoring five goals in the third period and chasing goalie Martin Brodeur.
Malkin scored two goals and had an assist during the final 11:36 to give him 102 points this season – four fewer than NHL leader Alex Ovechkin of Washington. Malkin is the 12th Penguins player to reach 100 points in a season.
Brian Gionta had a short-handed goal for the Devils, who have lost three in a row (0-2-1) and scored only three times in that time.
Pittsburgh will visit New Jersey on Tuesday in the final meeting between the teams this regular season.
The Penguins, who scored seven goals for the third time in four home games, remained one point behind Montreal in the race for the top seed in the Eastern Conference.
Ruutu has scored in a career-best three straight games. His centering pass during a 3-on-2 was intercepted by defenseman Andrew Greene, but Greene pushed the puck between Brodeur’s legs. Ruutu was credited with his fifth goal of the season.
Gionta tied it midway through the period with his 21st goal.
Pittsburgh regained the lead for good with 3:46 left in the second period with a short-handed goal. Malone picked up the puck at his blue line and started a 2-on-1 with Dupuis. Malone finished the play for his 25th goal and first in six games.
Malone scored a power-play goal 3 minutes into the third when he deflected Sergei Gonchar’s shot from the point out of the air while standing in the high slot. Dupuis scored less than 2 minutes later to make it 4-1.
Malkin notched another Penguins power-play goal with a wrist shot from the right circle at 8:24, then added an even-strength tally at 11:21. Both of his goals were scored against backup goalie Kevin Weekes.
Sykora added a goal on a pass from Malkin with 1:42 to play.
Brodeur was replaced after allowing four goals on 19 shots. Weekes gave up three on nine shots.
Kings 4, Stars 2: At Dallas, Lubomir Visnovsky scored the go-ahead goal with 2:06 left after Michal Handzus tied it 55 seconds earlier, and Los Angeles rallied for a victory over the Stars. Handzus also scored with 1:19 left to give the Kings a two-goal cushion.
Predators 2, Blackhawks 1 (SO): At Nashville, Tenn., Rich Peverley and Alexander Radulov scored in the shootout, and Nashville stopped a six-game home skid with a victory over Chicago.
Oilers 7, Avalanche 5: At Edmonton, Alberta, Sam Gagner scored twice and the Oilers edged closer to Colorado in the race for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference with a victory over the Avalanche.
Dustin Penner, Fernando Pisani, Kyle Brodziak, Marty Reasoner and Marc Pouliot also scored for the Oilers.
Tyler Arnason, Ruslan Salei, Wojtek Wolski, Milan Hejduk and John-Michael Liles responded for the Avalanche.
It was the 11th win in the last 14 outings for the Oilers (38-33-5) who moved to just three points back of Colorado for the eighth and final playoff position in the Western Conference.
The Avalanche (39-31-6) went winless on their three-game road trip and have lost four straight.
Red Wings 4, Blue Jackets 1: At Columbus, Ohio, Pavel Datsyuk set up power-play goals by Nicklas Lidstrom and Henrik Zetterberg and then scored a short-handed tally to lead Detroit past Columbus.
Panthers 4, Lightning 2: At Sunrise, Fla., Tomas Vokoun stopped 35 shots, and Florida kept working toward a playoff spot with a victory over Tampa Bay.
Maple Leafs 5, Senators 4: At Ottawa, Kyle Wellwood, Alex Steen, Darcy Tucker, Jiri Tlusty and Matt Stajan all scored for Toronto, which gave its playoff hopes a boost with a victory over the Senators.
Canadiens 3, Bruins 2 (SO): At Montreal, Saku Koivu scored in the shootout and the Canadiens beat Boston, completing a sweep of the season series.
Ducks 2, Coyotes 1: At Glendale, Ariz., Teemu Selanne scored twice to lift Anaheim to a victory over Phoenix.
Flames 5, Wild 4: At Calgary, Alberta, Jarome Iginla notched his seventh NHL hat trick, and the Flames beat Minnesota in a key Northwest Division clash.
The Flames captain tied it 2-2 with 23 seconds left in the second period, put the Flames ahead 50 seconds into the third, and scored his 48th of the season at 6:47.