Panthers snap 12-game losing streak
Olli Jokinen's first career hat trick helped the Florida Panthers end a month of futility.
Jokinen scored two of his three goals during Florida's four-goal first period and the Panthers snapped a 12-game losing streak by beating the Pittsburgh Penguins, 6-3, last night at Sunrise, Fla.
Kristian Huselius, Gary Roberts and Stephen Weiss also scored for Florida, which avoided tying the franchise record for consecutive losses.
Sidney Crosby, who scored earlier in the game, left in the third period with a bruised left foot. X-rays were negative.
Avalanche 5, Blue Jackets 0 -- Marek Svatos had a goal and two assists, Andrew Brunette added a goal and assist, and David Aebischer stopped 35 shots to help Colorado hand host Columbus its seventh loss in a row.
It was another sorry showing for the Blue Jackets, who have not led in the last 420 minutes. They have lost 11 of 12, including five straight at home.
Senators 6, Islanders 2 -- Dany Heatley stretched his point streak to 20 games with a first-period goal, and Vaclav Varada doubled his season point total with a goal and an assist at Uniondale, N.Y.
Heatley gave the Senators a 1-0 lead 9:17 in with his 16th goal. He is the only NHL player to register a point in every game this season and he extended the club record he shattered seven games earlier.
Devils 8, Lightning 2 -- Viktor Kozlov had a goal and four assists as visiting New Jersey snapped Tampa Bay's four-game winning streak.
Kozlov set career highs for points and assists in a game, helping the Devils sweep two games in Florida. New Jersey beat the Panthers, 5-1, Wednesday.
Hurricanes 4, Maple Leafs 3 -- Radim Vrbata and Matt Cullen scored in a shootout, lifting host Carolina, which snapped a season-high three-game losing streak.
Toronto's Mats Sundin and Jeff O'Neill were stopped during the shootout, leaving the Maple Leafs with back-to-back losses for the first time in nearly a month.
Coyotes 4, Stars 1 -- Curtis Joseph stopped 32 shots for his 406th career victory, and visiting Phoenix ended Dallas' five-game winning streak.
Joseph and the Coyotes' penalty killers frustrated the Stars, who scored on only one of 12 power plays. The Stars had a two-man advantage for 33 seconds with less than 13 minutes remaining but were unable to get the tying goal past Joseph.
Wild 5, Blues 3 -- Minnesota scored a pair of goals via long lead passes that split the St. Louis defense as the Wild rallied with three third-periods goals at St. Paul.
Keith Tkachuk, who missed 15 games with a rib injury, scored a second-period power-play goal for St. Louis, which has a league-worst four wins.
Oilers 2, Flames 1 -- Fernando Pisani scored the deciding goal in a shootout, and Mike Morrison made 27 saves for visiting Edmonton, which won for the fifth time in six games.
After each team's first three shooters failed to score, Pisani beat Miikka Kiprusoff through the legs on a deke. Calgary lost for only the second time in its last 12.
Mighty Ducks 3, Red Wings 1 -- Andy McDonald scored Anaheim's first goal and set up Teemu Selanne's winner during a power play midway through the third period as Detroit lost its fourth straight on the road.
Selanne drew a hooking penalty from Pavel Datsyuk with 12:16 remaining, then capitalized on the man-advantage by converting a rebound of
Sabres 3, Canadiens 1 -- Martin Biron made 40 saves, and Brian Campbell and Tim Connolly each had a goal and an assist for host Buffalo, which has won five of six.
