NEW YORK, 24 February 2004 — Martin Havlat scored three goals and added an assist as the Ottawa Senators handed the Penguins their NHL record 18th consecutive loss with a 6-3 drubbing in Pittsburgh on Sunday.

Although the Penguins have lost 18 games in a row, one of the defeats came in overtime, so the streak will not go into the NHL record books. Both the 1975 Washington Capitals and the 1993 San Jose Sharks lost 17 games in a row, all in regulation.

The Penguins managed a point in a 3-2 overtime loss to the St. Louis Blues on Feb. 14. Pittsburgh is 0-17-0-1 in its last 18 overall games and has lost 14 in a row at home, three more than any other team in NHL history.

The win pulled Ottawa (81 points) into first place in the NHL’s overall standings, one point ahead of idle Detroit, Toronto and Philadelphia, all of whom have 80 points. “It’s tight and it will be right to the end,” Ottawa coach Jacques Martin said of the race for first place overall.

Antoine Vermette, Chris Phillips and Chris Neil scored the other goals for the Senators, who lead the NHL in scoring. Aleksey Morozov, Milan Kraft and Ryan Malone scored the goals for the Penguins, who trailed 3-1 after one period and 4-3 after two.

In East Rutherford, Patrik Elias scored a pair of goals to give the New Jersey Devils a 3-1 win over the Calgary Flames. Scott Gomez assisted on both of Elias’ goals for the Devils, who are 4-1-1 in their past six games.

Gomez has 10 assists in those six games. Martin Brodeur had to make just 18 saves in goal for the Devils, who held Calgary without a shot on one five-minute powerplay.

Turner Stevenson added an empty net marker to complete the scoring for the Devils. Chuck Kobasew scored the lone Flames goal on a second period powerplay. Calgary has lost three straight games, matching a season high.

In Chicago, Stephane Robidas scored his second goal of the season and first with Chicago with 19.5 seconds left in overtime to give the Blackhawks a 3-2 win over the St. Louis Blues. Kyle Calder scored with 1:28 left in regulation time to force the overtime for the Hawks. Mark Bell had the other Chicago goal. Keith Tkachuk and Eric Weinrich scored for the Blues.

In Dallas, Marty Turco made just 14 saves for his 18th career shutout as the Stars blanked the Anaheim Mighty Ducks 4-0. Jere Lehtinen, Mike Modano, Brendan Morrow and Pierre Turgeon scored the goals for the Stars.

Dallas is unbeaten in its last eight home games (6-0-2) and is 11-3-2 overall in its last 16 games.

In St. Paul, Paul Kariya had a goal and an assist to lead the Colorado Avalanche past the Minnesota Wild 3-1.

Joe Sakic and Milan Hejduk scored the other Colorado goals, while David Aebischer made 24 saves. Marc Chouinard scored the lone Minnesota goal.

Czech NHL Defender Suffers Broken Ankle

In Uniondale, New York Islanders defenseman Radek Martinek will miss the remainder of the NHL regular season with a broken left ankle, the team announced Sunday.

Martinek was hurt in Wednesday’s 4-3 victory over Pittsburgh when he was hit by a slap shot. The injury will not require surgery, but he will miss six weeks and the regular season ends April 4.

The 27-year-old Czech defender has four goals, three assists and 41 penalty minutes in 44 games, missing three games in November due to a concussion. The Islanders stand seventh in the Eastern Conference, two points atop Montreal and five points ahead of Buffalo in a three-team fight for the final playoff spot in the East.

The Islanders are off until Tuesday when they host Boston, ranked fourth in the East.