The Toronto Maple Leafs broke a 1-1 tie with a four-goal second period on the way to a crushing 8-2 win over the Boston Bruins on Thursday.
"We didn't get off to the best start, but then we turned the corner and never looked back," Toronto defenseman Bryan McCabe said.
McCabe had a goal and three assists and Nik Antropov scored twice to drive the Maple Leafs to their seventh win in 10 games and keep them in contention for an Eastern Conference playoff spot.
Alexei Ponikarovsky, McCabe, Matt Stajan and Antropov all scored for Toronto in a one-sided second period.
The Maple Leafs added three more scores in the third to complete the rout. Mats Sundin had one of the goals in his 1,300th career game.
"It was just one of those games where the puck follows you around and everything goes your way," Sundin said.
Peter Schaefer and Phil Kessel were on target for Boston.
Panthers 5, Penguins 2
Craig Anderson wasn't perfect. For a change, the Florida Panthers' goalie didn't have to be.
Anderson's bid for a third consecutive shutout ended early as he helped the Florida Panthers open a critical seven-game homestand with a 5-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins in Sunrise, Florida.
Anderson stopped 25 shots after leading Florida to consecutive 1-0 victories.
David Booth had a goal and two assists, while Stephen Weiss added a goal and an assist for the Panthers, who remained seven points behind Carolina in the Southeast Division standings.
Rostislav Olesz and Brett McLean also scored for Florida, and Bryan Allen added an empty-netter.
Ryan Malone scored his 24th goal and Kristopher Letang got his fifth for Pittsburgh, which had beaten Florida in the teams' last five meetings. Reigning Hart Trophy winner Sidney Crosby, in his second game back since suffering a high ankle sprain and missing six weeks of action, had an assist for the Penguins.
Rangers 4, Islanders 1
At Uniondale, New York, Scott Gomez deflected a shot past the Islanders' backup goalie Wade Dubielewicz early in the third period, and the Rangers earned a split of the home-and-away series.
Brendan Shanahan and Sean Avery extended the Rangers' lead to 2-0 in the first period.
Dubielewicz had 24 saves. Islanders coach Ted Nolan went with his backup instead of starter Rick DiPietro, who was away from the team three days because of the death of his grandmother.
Avalanche 1, Ducks 0
At Denver, Jose Theodore stopped 27 shots for his second shutout of the season, Wojtek Wolski scored and Colorado blanked Anaheim for its fifth straight win.
Theodore has been in net for all five victories, giving him his longest winning streak since March 2004 when he was with the Montreal Canadiens.
In other games it was:
* Canucks 6, Predators 2
* Kings 1, Senators 0
* Flyers 3, Lightning 2
* Hurricanes 3, Wild 2
* Canadiens 4, Coyotes 2
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