MONTREAL: Max Pacioretty had four goals and Brian Flynn scored twice during a six-goal first period as the Montreal Canadiens routed the Colorado Avalanche 10-1 in the NHL on Saturday.
Flynn, Pacioretty and Artturi Lehkonen each scored against Calvin Pickard in the opening 7:12, and then Pacioretty, Paul Byron and Flynn each had a goal among the first four shots on Semyon Varlamov.
Pacioretty completed his hat trick in the second period and added another in the third to give the captain seven goals in his last four games.
Alexander Radulov and Jeff Petry also scored for Montreal, which has shown no drop-off without injured scoring leader and first-line center Alex Galchenyuk. Montreal outshot the Avalanche 36-16.
Montreal’s six-goal first period was its first since Dec. 17, 1992 against the Quebec Nordiques in an 8-3 win.
Flyers 4 Stars 2: In Philadelphia, Brayden Schenn scored three power-play goals to lead Philadelphia to its eighth straight victory.
Jakub Voracek added an empty-netter and also had three assists for the Flyers, who matched Montreal for the longest winning streak in the NHL this season.
Philadelphia last won eight straight games from Jan. 6-19, 2002.
Devin Shore had both goals for the Stars.
Steve Mason made 21 saves for his seventh straight win.
Blue Jackets 6 Islanders 2: In Columbus, Ohio, Jack Johnson, Cam Atkinson and Seth Jones each had a goal and an assist and Columbus beat New York for its sixth straight win.
Josh Anderson, Brandon Saad and Lukas Sedlak also scored for Columbus and Sergei Bobrovsky had 25 saves.
Josh Bailey and John Tavares scored for New York, which had earned a point in a season-high five straight games (4-0-1).
Penguins 4 Lightning 3: Tampa, Florida, Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby both scored their second goals on third-period power plays, helping Pittsburgh rally to beat Tampa Bay.
It was the first meeting between the teams since the Stanley Cup champion Penguins beat Tampa Bay in a seven-game Eastern Conference final last season.
Pittsburgh, which won its fifth straight game, got three assists each from Phil Kessel and Kris Letang. The Penguins are 6-6-1 when trailing after two periods.
Sharks 4 Hurricanes 3: In San Jose, California, Logan Couture and Kevin Labanc scored less than 2 minutes apart in the second period and San Jose bounced back from consecutive losses by beating Carolina.
Patrick Marleau scored 12 seconds into the game and Paul Martin added his first goal of the season for the Sharks, who had allowed late tiebreaking goals in their previous two games.
Backup goalie Aaron Dell made 30 saves to earn his third win in four starts this season.
Lee Stempniak and Derek Ryan scored power-play goals and Joakim Nordstrom added a short-handed tally but it wasn't enough for the Hurricanes. Cam Ward made 16 saves.
Kings 4 Senators 1: In Los Angeles, Trevor Lewis had a goal and an assist, and Jeff Carter and Alec Martinez scored on the same power play early in the first period of Los Angeles' victory over Ottawa.
Peter Budaj made 19 saves and earned an assist, and Marian Gaborik scored his first goal since Feb. 12 to cap the Kings' final home game before a three-week, nine-game stint on the road until New Year's Eve.
Mike Condon stopped 15 shots, and Zack Smith scored for Ottawa, which has lost four of six. The Senators struggled to beat Budaj, the longtime Montreal goalie, in the second stop of their swing through California.
Veteran forward Chris Neil played his 1,000th game for Ottawa, joining Daniel Alfredsson and Chris Phillips as the only Senators to reach the mark.
Flynn, Pacioretty and Artturi Lehkonen each scored against Calvin Pickard in the opening 7:12, and then Pacioretty, Paul Byron and Flynn each had a goal among the first four shots on Semyon Varlamov.
Pacioretty completed his hat trick in the second period and added another in the third to give the captain seven goals in his last four games.
Alexander Radulov and Jeff Petry also scored for Montreal, which has shown no drop-off without injured scoring leader and first-line center Alex Galchenyuk. Montreal outshot the Avalanche 36-16.
Montreal’s six-goal first period was its first since Dec. 17, 1992 against the Quebec Nordiques in an 8-3 win.
Flyers 4 Stars 2: In Philadelphia, Brayden Schenn scored three power-play goals to lead Philadelphia to its eighth straight victory.
Jakub Voracek added an empty-netter and also had three assists for the Flyers, who matched Montreal for the longest winning streak in the NHL this season.
Philadelphia last won eight straight games from Jan. 6-19, 2002.
Devin Shore had both goals for the Stars.
Steve Mason made 21 saves for his seventh straight win.
Blue Jackets 6 Islanders 2: In Columbus, Ohio, Jack Johnson, Cam Atkinson and Seth Jones each had a goal and an assist and Columbus beat New York for its sixth straight win.
Josh Anderson, Brandon Saad and Lukas Sedlak also scored for Columbus and Sergei Bobrovsky had 25 saves.
Josh Bailey and John Tavares scored for New York, which had earned a point in a season-high five straight games (4-0-1).
Penguins 4 Lightning 3: Tampa, Florida, Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby both scored their second goals on third-period power plays, helping Pittsburgh rally to beat Tampa Bay.
It was the first meeting between the teams since the Stanley Cup champion Penguins beat Tampa Bay in a seven-game Eastern Conference final last season.
Pittsburgh, which won its fifth straight game, got three assists each from Phil Kessel and Kris Letang. The Penguins are 6-6-1 when trailing after two periods.
Sharks 4 Hurricanes 3: In San Jose, California, Logan Couture and Kevin Labanc scored less than 2 minutes apart in the second period and San Jose bounced back from consecutive losses by beating Carolina.
Patrick Marleau scored 12 seconds into the game and Paul Martin added his first goal of the season for the Sharks, who had allowed late tiebreaking goals in their previous two games.
Backup goalie Aaron Dell made 30 saves to earn his third win in four starts this season.
Lee Stempniak and Derek Ryan scored power-play goals and Joakim Nordstrom added a short-handed tally but it wasn't enough for the Hurricanes. Cam Ward made 16 saves.
Kings 4 Senators 1: In Los Angeles, Trevor Lewis had a goal and an assist, and Jeff Carter and Alec Martinez scored on the same power play early in the first period of Los Angeles' victory over Ottawa.
Peter Budaj made 19 saves and earned an assist, and Marian Gaborik scored his first goal since Feb. 12 to cap the Kings' final home game before a three-week, nine-game stint on the road until New Year's Eve.
Mike Condon stopped 15 shots, and Zack Smith scored for Ottawa, which has lost four of six. The Senators struggled to beat Budaj, the longtime Montreal goalie, in the second stop of their swing through California.
Veteran forward Chris Neil played his 1,000th game for Ottawa, joining Daniel Alfredsson and Chris Phillips as the only Senators to reach the mark.
