PITTSBURGH: The in-form Washington Capitals scored the final four goals to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-3 on Thursday in the first game this season between two of the NHL’s elite teams.
Alex Ovechkin scored twice; Tomas Fleischmann scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period and set up Nicklas Backstrom’s breakaway goal less than a minute later for Washington, which won its fifth in a row.
Eric Fehr and Mike Knuble also scored for the Capitals as Washington came back from deficits of 1-0 and 3-2.
Pittsburgh’s goals came from Sidney Crosby, Nick Johnson in his first NHL game, and Kris Letang.
Blackhawks 3, Flames 1: In Calgary, Alberta, Chicago built its lead in the Central Division to a giant 13 points with a win at Calgary.
Ben Eager scored the go-ahead goal at 5:52 of the third period, and Antti Niemi made 19 saves for Chicago.
Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith also scored for the Blackhawks.
Sharks 3, Ducks 1: In San Jose, California, San Jose beat playoff nemesis Anaheim for the fifth straight time this season to maintain its Western Conference lead.
Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Rob Blake scored rare goals in the second period, while Patrick Marleau assisted on both and added an empty-netter for his NHL-leading 35th of the season.
The Sharks have won four straight to remain two points ahead of Chicago for the most in the NHL.
Matt Beleskey scored for Anaheim.
Kings 4, Sabres 3, SO: In Los Angeles, the hosts extended their charmed run in shootouts, this time beating Buffalo.
Ryan Smyth scored the tying goal midway through the third period, and Dustin Brown had the winner in the shootout.
Buffalo’s goals came from Craig Rivet, Clarke MacArthur and Thomas Vanek.
Coyotes 4, Predators 2: In Glendale, Arizona, Scottie Upshall scored three goals in the third period to lift Phoenix over Nashville.
Ilya Bryzgalov made 41 saves for Phoenix, while Matthew Lombardi had a goal and an assist as the Coyotes moved two points ahead of Nashville for fourth place in the Western Conference.
Patric Hornqvist and Martin Erat scored for the Predators.
Canucks 4, Stars 3: In Vancouver, Alex Burrows tied it late in the second period, and Christian Ehrhoff put Vancouver ahead 5 minutes into the third as the hosts edged Dallas.
Mason Raymond and Kyle Wellwood also scored to help the Canucks win their third straight and move into a tie with Colorado atop the Northwest Division.
Trevor Daley, Toby Peterson and Loui Eriksson scored for Dallas, winless on the road since Dec. 11.
Red Wings 4, Wild 3, SO: In St. Paul, Minnesota, Drew Miller scored his first career shootout goal in the eighth round as Detroit survived Minnesota’s third-period rally.
Detroit goalie Jimmy Howard stopped six shots in the shootout and denied Eric Belanger in the eighth round to set up Miller’s winner.
Miller, Patrick Eaves and Todd Bertuzzi scored in regulation for Detroit.
The Wild overcame a 3-1 deficit with third-period goals from Martin Havlat and Andrew Brunette. Robbie Earl also scored for Minnesota.
Senators 3, Blues 2: In Ottawa, Peter Regin had a goal and two assists - all on the power play - to help Ottawa edge St. Louis and extend its winning streak to five.
Chris Phillips and Milan Michalek also scored for the Senators.
The Blues’ goals came via Brad Boyes and Eric Brewer.
Flyers 2, Rangers 0: In Philadelphia, Ray Emery made 24 saves for his second shutout of the season, as Philadelphia blanked New York.
James van Riemsdyk and Mike Richards scored for the resurgent Flyers, who prevailed after a second period that involved three fights.
The Rangers have been shutout three times in the past six games.
Islanders 2, Panthers 1, SO: In Uniondale, New York, Matt Moulson scored the decisive goal in a shootout to give New York its sixth straight home win, piping Florida.
Rob Schremp also found the net in the shootout, while goalie Dwayne Roloson turned away both Panthers’ attempts.
Blake Comeau scored in regulation for New York.
Blue Jackets 3, Bruins 2: In Boston, R.J. Umberger tipped in Anton Stralman’s power-play slap shot with 1:16 remaining to give Columbus a comeback victory over Boston.
Chris Clark and Antoine Vermette also scored for the Blue Jackets.
The Bruins slumped to their third straight defeat despite goals from Michael Ryder and Patrice Bergeron.
Lightning 3, Maple Leafs 2, OT: In Tampa, Florida, Martin St. Louis scored with 9.8 seconds left in overtime to lift Tampa Bay past Toronto.
Steven Stamkos had a goal and two assists, and Ryan Malone also scored for the Lightning.
Ian White and Matt Stajan scored for the Maple Leafs, who have won just two of their past 13 road games.
Hurricanes 5, Thrashers 2: In Atlanta, Eric Staal scored three goals in his first game since becoming Carolina’s captain as Carolina comfortably downed Atlanta.
Cam Ward stopped 32 shots to tie Arturs Irbe’s franchise record for goaltenders with 130 career victories.
Jussi Jokinen and Sergei Samsonov also scored for Carolina.
The Thrashers got goals from Rich Peverley and Colby Armstrong.
