Niclas Wallin scored on a deflection 16 seconds into the third period and the Carolina Hurricanes pulled away for a 5-1 victory over the slumping Atlanta Thrashers on Thursday night.
The Hurricanes, who lead the NHL with 74 points, won for the 12th time in 13 games, including the last three in a row. They came into the night with an 18-point lead over Tampa Bay in the Southeast Division.
Atlanta is fading a bit in the playoff race, losing its fourth straight game -- one away from its worst skid of the season.
PHOTO: AP
The Thrashers fell behind 2-0 in the second period, but began to turn things around after star Ilya Kovalchuk was struck by a stick and headed off the ice with blood streaming down his face. No penalty was called, and Kovalchuk slammed his helmet to the ice in disgust as he headed to the locker room for stitches.
With 59 seconds left in the period, Patrik Stefan swatted in a rebound with one hand on the stick to halve the deficit.
But whatever momentum the Thrashers took from Stefan's inspired play was quickly wiped out by Wallin's second goal of the season. With the teams skating 4-on-4, the defenseman slipped deep into the Atlanta zone and deflected Bret Hedican's shot past Kari Lehtonen.
Senators 3, Canadiens 0
At Ottawa, Daniel Alfredsson had two goals and an assist and Dominik Hasek recorded his fifth shutout. The Canadiens tied a franchise record by being held to 12 shots.
Zdeno Chara also scored for Northeast Division-leading Ottawa, which outshot Montreal 33-6 through the first two periods and 40-12 overall. The Senators went 2-for-6 on the power play through the first two periods while Montreal had only one opportunity with the man advantage over the same stretch.
The Canadiens, who have lost 17 of 19 on the road, fell to 1-4 on a six-game road trip that ends today in Toronto.
Bruins 3, Capitals 2
At Boston, Marco Sturm scored in the third period to lift the Boston Bruins.
After Ben Clymer tied the game at 2 for Washington at 10:55, Sturm responded 25 seconds later when he backhanded a shot under the arm of Capitals goalie Brent Johnson.
Tim Thomas made 31 saves and is 5-0-2 since taking over as starting goalie for the Bruins.
Red Wings 2, Canucks 1
At Detroit, Brendan Shanahan's power-play goal with 7 minutes left helped the Red Wings snap a two-game losing streak.
Detroit also got a goal from Nicklas Lidstrom and had a 35-15 shots advantage. Red Wings goalie Manny Legace held off Vancouver scramble in front of the net with 41 seconds to play to preserve the lead.
Anson Cater scored for Vancouver, which lost its third straight.
Lightning 1, Devils 0, OT
At Tampa, Florida, Ruslan Fedotenko scored with 2:38 left in overtime, spoiling another stellar outing by Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur.
John Grahame had 20 saves en route to his third shutout in Tampa Bay's last five games. The Lightning are 4-0-1 during that stretch, and Grahame has allowed a total of one goal in the four victories.
The loss was the second in 12 games for the Devils, who entered as the NHL's hottest team with Brodeur posting four shutouts during a stretch that's propelled the club into postseason contention.
Islanders 4, Penguins 3, SO
At Uniondale, New York, Alexei Yashin had a goal and recorded his 400th NHL assist and backup Wade Dubielewicz stopped all three Pittsburgh skaters in the shootout.
The Penguins, who lost for the 11th time in 12 games, tied it on John LeClair's goal with 26.6 seconds left in regulation. But Dubielewicz stopped Michel Ouellet, Crosby and Ryan Malone to help the Islanders break a three-game losing streak.
Yashin scored a power-play goal on a deflection in the first period, then helped set up Miroslav Satan for another man-advantage goal in the second.
Sabres 8, Maple Leafs 4
At Toronto, Thomas Vanek scored twice and the Buffalo Sabres handed the Toronto Maple Leafs their seventh straight loss.
Alex Steen scored twice for the Maple Leafs -- mired in their longest losing streak since dropping seven in a row in January 1997.
Chris Drury, Johan Hecht, Derek Roy, Brian Campbell, Jason Pominville and Jay McKee also scored for the Sabres. Fans booed goalie Ed Belfour after Vanek scored Buffalo's fourth goal early in the second period. Coach Pat Quinn replaced Belfour with Mikael Tellqvist.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
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