Sidney Crosby extended his points streak to 23 games with a goal and an assist to help the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Washington Capitals 3-2 after a shootout on Thursday.
Pascal Dupuis scored the decisive goal in the seventh round of a shootout as the Penguins took out a game that previewed the upcoming Winter Classic.
Crosby, the NHL’s leading scorer with 60 points on 29 goals and 31 assists in 36 games, has the NHL’s longest points streak since 1992-1993 when Quebec’s Mats Sundin had a 30-game run.
PHOTO: AFP
Chris Kunitz also scored to help the Penguins win their third straight.
Mike Green and Mike Knuble scored in regulation for the Capitals.
LIGHTNING 4, RANGERS 3, SO
In New York, Tampa Bay recovered from conceding a late equalizer to beat New York in a shootout.
Rangers rookie Derek Stepan scored for the third straight game to tie the game in the third period, but New York couldn’t finish off the comeback. The shootout was tied 2-2 after three rounds and the next 15 shooters were denied until Ryan Malone won it with a drive that went in off the post.
Steven Stamkos scored his 27th goal, Martin St Louis added a goal and assist, while Vincent Lecavalier also scored for the Lightning, who won for the fifth win in six games.
Ruslan Fedotenko and Alex Frolov scored 12 seconds apart in the first for New York.
BLUES 4, RED WINGS 3
In St Louis, Patrik Berglund broke a 10-game scoring drought with two goals, helping St Louis edge Detroit.
Berglund scored twice in 4 minutes, 20 second span in the first period to break a 1-1 tie.
Jaroslav Halak stopped 35 shots, while Erik Johnson and Matt D’Agostini also scored for the Blues.
Johan Franzen, Nicklas Lidstrom and Patrick Eaves scored for Detroit.
ISLANDERS 5, DEVILS 1
In Newark, New Jersey, New York spoiled Jacques Lemaire’s return behind New Jersey’s bench.
Josh Bailey had two goals and an assist for the Islanders, who were tied for the worst record with New Jersey, but scored three times in the opening 11 minutes with Bailey getting the first two and John Tavares adding the other.
Frans Nielsen and Blake Comeau scored as New York extended their points streak to four games.
Travis Zajac scored for the Devils, who have lost four straight to slump to last place in the NHL. They have been outscored 20-4 in the past four games.
FLAMES 3, STARS 2, SO
In Dallas, Alex Tanguay converted in the second round of the shootout after scoring late in regulation, as Calgary won its first game in four by downing Dallas.
Miikka Kiprusoff stopped all three Dallas shooters, while Tanguay beat Kari Lehtonen for the only goal in the tiebreaker.
Brenden Morrow had given the Stars a 2-1 lead in the third period, but with the goalkeeper pulled, Tanguay tied it with 1 minute, 21 seconds left in regulation on a wrist-shot from the high slot.
Mike Ribeiro scored a power-play goal for the Stars, 10-0-3 in their last 13 at home.
Anton Babchuk scored on the power play for the Flames.
CANUCKS 7, BLUE JACKETS 3
In Columbus, Ohio, Vancouver raced to a 6-0 lead and went on to rout Columbus.
Henrik Sedin had a goal and three assists to match his career high with four points. Daniel Sedin and Alex Burrows each had a goal and two assists, Raffi Torres scored twice and Christian Erhoff and Ryan Kesler also netted for the Canucks.
R.J. Umberger had two goals and Tom Sestito one for the Blue Jackets.
WILD 3, AVALANCHE 1
In Denver, Colorado, Minnesota notched a third successive win, beating Colorado.
Matt Cullen had two goals and an assist, Andrew Brunette also scored and Niklas Backstrom made 36 saves for the Wild.
The Avalanche’s goal came from David Jones.
In Thursday’s other action, it was:
‧ Canadiens 3, Hurricanes 2
‧ Bruins 4, Thrashers 1
‧ Sharks 4, Coyotes 1
‧ Senators 2, Predators 1
‧ Kings 3, Oilers 2, SO
‧ Panthers 4, Sabres 3
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For almost 30 minutes, Vitomir Maricic did not take a breath. Face down in a pool, surrounded by anxious onlookers, the Croatian freediver fought spasming pain to redefine what doctors thought was possible. When he finally surfaced, he had smashed the previous Guinness World Record for the longest breath-hold underwater by nearly five minutes. However, even with the help of pure oxygen before the attempt, it had pushed him to the limit. “Everything was difficult, just overwhelming,” Maricic, 40, told reporters, reflecting on the record-breaking day on June 14. “When I dive, I completely disconnect from everything, as if I’m not even there.
An amateur soccer league organized by farmers, students and factory workers in rural China has unexpectedly drawn millions of fans and inspired big cities to form their own, raising hopes China can grow talent from the ground up and finally become a global force. The nation of 1.4 billion people has about 200 million soccer fans, more than any other country, but it has failed to build world-class teams, partly due to a top-down approach where clubs pick players from a very small pool of prescreened candidates. The professional game is marred by a history of fixed matches, corruption, and dismal performances,
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