Associated Press
OTTAWA ó Alex Kovalev broke out of a long goal drought with a milestone night for the Ottawa Senators.
Kovalev scored three times, including the 400th of his career, to help the Senators beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-2 on Saturday night.
With the score tied 2-2 late in the third, Kovalev took a shot on an Ottawa power play that deflected off the skate of Hurricanes defenseman Jay Harrison and past Manny Legace for No. 400. Kovalev added an empty-net goal in the final minute.
“It’s always great to pass that point,” said Kovalev, the 82nd player in NHL history to reach 400 goals. “I know it’s been 14 or 15 (games since he’s scored) or something like that, so I could have done that early but now I can forget about it.”
Actually, it was 16 games between goals for the first-year Senator.
Jason Spezza also scored for the Senators, and Brian Elliott made 23 saves. Ray Whitney scored twice for the Hurricanes, and Legace stopped 33 shots.
Whitney sandwiched his ninth and 10th goals around Spezza’s fourth of the campaign in the second period, as the teams headed to the third tied 2-2.
Whitney’s first goal came on the power play. His point shot eluded Elliott along the ice and tied it at 1.
Red Wings 3, Predators 2, OT
NASHVILLE, Tenn. ó Todd Bertuzzi scored in regulation and overtime for the second straight night, lifting Detroit past Nashville.
Drew Miller also scored for Detroit. Legwand and Ryan Jones scored for Nashville.
Penguins 3, Panthers 2, OT
PITTSBURGH ó Evgeni Malkin scored a power-play goal 37 seconds into overtime for Pittsburgh, 8-2-1 in its last 11 games.
Devils 4, Flyers 1
NEWARK, N.J. ó Patrik Elias and Niclas Bergfors each scored two goals and Martin Brodeur made 22 saves for New Jersey.
Brian Rolston and Travis Zajac each added two assists for the Devils, winners of eight of their last 10 games.
Maple Leafs 6, Capitals 3
TORONTO ó Matt Stajan had two goals and an assist and Toronto beat Washington, giving it three straight wins at home for the first time since January 2008.
Thrashers 4, Canadiens 3, OT
ATLANTA ó Ilya Kovalchuk scored a power-play goal at 1:18 overtime, and Johan Hedberg stopped 16 shots to help Atlanta snap a three-game losing streak.
Islanders 3, Bruins 2, OT
UNIONDALE, N.Y. ó Frans Nielsen scored 24 seconds into overtime to snap New York’s losing streak at three games.
Ducks 3, Blue Jackets 1
COLUMBUS, Ohio ó Dan Sexton, Bobby Ryan and Corey Perry scored goals and Jonas Hiller stopped 35 shots to lead Anaheim.
Coyotes 2, Sharks 1
GLENDALE, Ariz. ó Ilya Bryzgalov stopped 37 shots, and Radim Vrbata and Robert Lang scored to help Phoenix extend San Jose’s losing streak to five games.
Sabres 3, Rangers 2
NEW YORK ó Tough guy Patrick Kaleta scored twice for Buffalo, including the tiebreaking goal in the second period.
Derek Roy also scored, and Ryan Miller made 36 saves.