OTTAWA: The Ottawa Senators extended their run of wins to seven with a 3-0 defeat of the NHL Atlantic Division-leading New Jersey Devils on Tuesday.
Goalie Brian Elliott made 24 saves to earn his third shutout of the season for Ottawa, which crept within two points of Northeast Division leaders Buffalo. Alex Kovalev and Milan Michalek scored in the first to stake Ottawa to a 2-0 lead. Jason Spezza scored the Senators’ third goal 15:47 into the second. New Jersey suffered its first loss in ten game away to the Senators.
Capitals 7 Islanders 2: In Uniondale, New York, Washington also notched a seventh straight win, routing New York.
Capitals star Alex Ovechkin was held in check, but Alexander Semin scored twice for Washington, which netted four goals in the first period.
Brendan Morrison and Mike Knuble also scored in the first period for the NHL’s most potent offense. A change of goalie in the second did little to help the Islanders, as John Erskine and Jason Chimera scored in the middle frame, and Brooks Laich in the third for the Eastern Conference-leading Capitals.
Coyotes 5 Red Wings 4, OT: In Detroit, Shane Doan’s goal 3:50 into overtime capped Phoenix’s comeback from a two-goal deficit to beat Detroit. With goalie Ilya Bryzgalov off, Phoenix got goals from Ed Jovanovski and Keith Yandle in the last 1:30 to tie it at 4-4.
Yandle scored twice and Scottie Upshall had a goal. For the Red Wings, Nicklas Lidstrom scored twice, while Pavel Datsyuk and Patrick Eaves also found the net.
Blue Jackets 3 Predators 2: In Columbus, Ohio, Steve Mason made 29 saves to help preserve Columbus’ victory over Nashville.
Derick Brassard, Kristian Huselius and Fredrik Modin scored for the Blue Jackets. The Predators, who lost their fourth in a row, had gone 22-2-2 against the Blue Jackets since the start of the 2006-2007 season, including wins in the previous five meetings.
Blackhawks 4 Oilers 2: In Edmonton, Alberta, Chicago extended Edmonton’s miserable skid to 11 straight defeats. Jonathan Toews, Troy Brouwer, Dustin Byfuglien and Marian Hossa all scored for the Blackhawks, playing their sixth of eight straight road games.
Thrashers 2 Ducks 1: In Atlanta, Maxim Afinogenov ended Atlanta’s power-play drought with a third-period goal that secured a win over Anaheim. The Thrashers were 0-for-13 over a three-game stretch with a man advantage, including their first power play against Anaheim. But Afinogenov scored from the right circle 4:03 into the third period.
Colby Armstrong gave Atlanta a 1-0 lead early in the second period. Steve Eminger equalized for the Ducks late in the second.
Panthers 2 Canadiens 1: In Sunrise, Florida, Shawn Matthias scored twice in the third period to lift Florida over Montreal. Tomas Plekanec scored for the Canadiens.
Kings 5 Leafs 3: In Toronto, Dustin Brown assisted on all three of Los Angeles’ second-period goals to engineer victory over Toronto.
Jonathan Quick made 25 saves for the Kings, who took an early lead through Drew Doughty. Nikolai Kulemin soon tied it for Toronto, but Jack Johnson, Jarret Stoll and Ryan Smyth all netted for the Kings in the second.
