The Colorado Avalanche overcame a frightening injury to winger Darcy Tucker to defeat the Carolina Hurricanes 5-4 on Friday.
Tucker was checked into the boards by Carolina’s Tuomo Ruutu in the second period and laid unconscious on the ice for several minutes before being taken away on a stretcher.
The Avalanche reported Tucker suffered a concussion, but had regained consciousness and was fully alert.
PHOTO: AFP
“I just told the guys to stay focused,” Colorado coach Joe Sacco told reporters. “The biggest thing at that point was getting the two points. Just keep our focus, keep our cool and play the game.”
The Western Conference-leading Avalanche got goals from Milan Hejduk and Wojtek Wolski in the second to give them a 4-2 lead.
After Matt Cullen scored for the Hurricanes with under four minutes left in the second, Stastny, who netted twice, converted a decisive wrister at 6:21 in the third to give the Avalanche a 5-3 cushion before Carolina’s Ray Whitney pulled one back.
Playing at home for the first time after a seven-game road trip, the Avalanche won their fifth game in six, while the Hurricanes suffered a fifth successive defeat.
Colorado goaltender Craig Anderson made 32 saves, while Cam Ward stopped 31 shots for the Hurricanes.
“We got in trouble a couple times and [Anderson] made some big saves,” Stastny said. “He’s been doing it all year for us.”
Carolina went 2-0 up in the first period on goals from Joe Corvo and Ruutu before the home team responded with four unanswered scores.
Ryan O’Reilly and Stastny put in goals 31 seconds apart to tie the game before the end of the first.
PENGUINS 3, PANTHERS 2
The Pittsburgh Penguins overcame a two-goal deficit to beat the Florida Panthers on Friday, extending their winning streak to seven and retaining their early-season lead in the NHL.
Playing his 300th career game, Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby had a power-play goal and a short-handed score — his first in the NHL — in regulation, then beat Tomas Vokoun with a nifty deke in the shootout to help the Penguins improve to an NHL-best 9-1-0.
Steven Reinprecht scored twice in the first period for Florida.
The Panthers have lost six of seven to drop to 2-5-1.
BLUES 3, WILD 1
In St Louis, David Perron had a goal and an assist for his first points of the season after getting shifted to the checking line, helping St Louis beat Minnesota.
Jay McClement also scored, and Chris Mason made 20 saves for St Louis.
Chuck Kobasew scored for Minnesota. The Wild have lost seven straight on the road, four shy of the franchise worst.
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