Neal posts 2nd hat trick as Penguins ground Jets

Author: 
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Publication Date: 
Wed, 2012-03-21 19:13

Evgeni Malkin added two goals — including the 200th of his NHL career — and dished out three assists to lift his point total to an NHL-leading 93.
Pittsburgh bounced back from an overtime loss in Philadelphia, that ended an 11-game winning streak, and pulled within a point of the Eastern Conference-leading New York Rangers.
Tyler Kennedy scored twice for Pittsburgh, which dealt the Jets a blow in their pursuit of a playoff spot. Winnipeg trails eighth-place Washington by four points with nine games remaining.
  In Philadelphia,  Stephen Weiss and Sean Bergenheim both scored, and Scott Clemmensen stopped 35 shots to lead Florida to its fifth straight win.
Eric Wellwood scored for the Flyers.
Clemmensen was outstanding for the Southeast Division leaders and he outplayed counterpart Ilya Bryzgalov. Bryzgalov, chosen as the NHL’s first star for the second straight week, made 11 saves.
Clemmensen stopped all 11 shots in the first period to set the tone for the Panthers, who snapped a five-game losing streak to Philadelphia.
In Ottawa, Ilya Kovalchuk scored his 400th NHL goal, and backup goalie Johan Hedberg made it stand up in New Jersey’s slim victory over Ottawa.
While working the point on the power play, Kovalchuk took a pass from defenseman Marek Zidlicky and fired a slap shot past goalie Ben Bishop with 2:40 left in the second period. The calm Kovalchuk kept his arms down and waited at the blue line for his teammates to come to him for a subdued celebration.
In Los Angeles, Anze Kopitar and Mike Richards each had a goal and two assists, and Los Angeles moved into an eighth-place tie in the Western Conference with their fifth consecutive victory, topping stumbling San Jose.
Alec Martinez scored the tiebreaking goal in the second period, Dustin Penner added an insurance goal with 4:06 to play, and Jeff Carter added an empty-netter for the Kings, who moved into a second-place tie with the Phoenix Coyotes in the Pacific Division.
In Columbus, Ohio,  Patrick Sharp scored two goals, Duncan Keith had four assists, and Corey Crawford made 24 saves as Chicago completed a season-series sweep of Columbus.
The Blackhawks outscored the Blue Jackets 31-10 in the six games. They won every game by at least three goals over Columbus, which has the worst record in the NHL.
Andrew Shaw and Marian Hossa each had a goal and an assist, and Brent Seabrook also scored for Chicago, which has won four in a row.
In Toronto,  Matt Moulson scored a power-play goal with just over six minutes remaining, and the New York Islanders handed Toronto its eighth straight home loss.
PA Parenteau’s breakaway goal less than two minutes later stretched New York’s lead and caused a cascade of boos from disgruntled Maple Leafs fans. Moulson made it 5-2 with an empty-net goal.
It was another poor performance for the Maple Leafs, who were beaten 8-0 at Boston on Monday in their worst loss of a disappointing season.
In Dallas,  Mike Ribeiro had three assists in regulation, then scored in the second round of the shootout to lift Dallas into sole possession of first place in the Pacific Division with a victory over Phoenix.
Ribeiro faked Mike Smith out of position and slid a backhand into an open net for the only goal of the shootout. Dallas’ Kari Lehtonen denied Mikkel Boedker, Ray Whitney and Shane Doan in the tiebreaker.
The Stars carried a 3-1 lead into the third period, but Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s short-handed goal at 8:51 got the Coyotes within one.
Whitney tied it at 3 at 14:58 of the third period with his 23rd of the season.
In Nashville, Tennessee, Ales Hemsky scored three goals for his first hat trick in the NHL, and Edmonton beat Nashville.
Darcy Hordichuk, Ryan Jones and Sam Gagner also had goals, and Devan Dubnyk made 40 saves for Edmonton. David Legwand scored twice for Nashville, and Patric Hornqvist added a goal and an assist.
Pekka Rinne was pulled in the second period by Predators coach Barry Trotz after allowing three goals on seven shots.
In Denver, David Jones knocked in a rebound 3:51 into overtime to lift Colorado past Calgary.
Miikka Kiprusoff turned away a shot from Paul Stastny, but the rebound trickled away. Jones skated in and drove the puck into the net, giving the Avalanche their first win in five games against the Flames this season. It was Kiprusoff’s first loss in 11 starts against Colorado.
 

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