Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby racked power-play goals as the Pittsburgh Penguins ended one of the best homestands in team history in routing Martin Brodeur and the slumping New Jersey Devils 6-1 in the NHL on Wednesday.
Brodeur and the Devils have lost six straight.
Matt Cooke and Bill Guerin scored 36 seconds apart in the first period to make it 2-0, and Crosby and Jordan Staal made the game one-sided by scoring in a 13-second span of the second.
The Penguins finished 6-1-1 during the longest homestand in their history, improving to 13-2-1 since Feb. 25.
CAPITALS 5, ISLANDERS 3
At Washington, Mike Green’s two power-play goals less than 1.5 minutes apart in the third period as Alex Ovechkin’s NHL-leading 54th tally helped Washington close in on a second consecutive division title.
Green’s 18 man-advantage goals set a team record for a defenseman, breaking the mark of 16 held by Scott Stevens. Ovechkin has 33 home goals, one more than the Capitals’ record he set in 2007-2008.
Nicklas Backstrom added a final-minute goal for Washington, who completed their first season sweep of New York since 2002-2003.
Kyle Okposo and Frans Nielsen each had a goal and an assist for the Islanders.
THMAPLE LEAFS 3, FLYERS 2
At Toronto, Jamal Mayers, Lee Stempniak and Ian White scored for already-eliminated Toronto in a win over playoff-hopeful Philadelphia.
Arron Asham and Claude Giroux scored for the Flyers, who were outworked all night by the Maple Leafs.
Mayers and Asham exchanged goals in an evenly played opening period.
The Flyers, fourth in the Eastern Conference, are tied on points with Pittsburgh with just over one week left in the season.
Curtis Joseph, who will turn 42 this month, earned the win in his 10th start of the season.
RASHERS 3, SABRES 2, OT
At Atlanta, Ilya Kovalchuk scored on an unassisted breakaway with 29.9 seconds left in overtime to lift Atlanta over Buffalo. The goal was Kovalchuk’s 41st and gave him 30 in 37 games.
Buffalo’s three-game winning streak ended. With 83 points, the Sabres are four behind ninth-place Florida and five behind Montreal and the playoff cutoff in the Eastern Conference.
Thomas Vanek scored twice for Buffalo.
Rookie defenseman Zach Bogosian and Slava Kozlov, with his 25th of the season, also had Thrashers goals.
Atlanta has won three straight and 10 of 13.
Also on Wednesday it was:
• Blackhawks 3, Blues 1
• Coyotes 3, Avalanche 0
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