Atlanta ends long dry spell vs. Philly

ATLANTA — Johan Hedberg made 34 saves for his first shutout in two years the Atlanta Thrashers stopped a 14-game losing streak against the Philadelphia Flyers with a 1-0 victory Saturday night.

Rich Peverley scored his 10th goal, his sixth on the power play, midway through the second and helped the Thrashers overcome a sluggish third period.

Ending what was the NHL’s longest current losing streak against one opponent, the Thrashers won their third straight overall. They have just 12 points at Philips Arena, however, after starting the game with the league’s third-fewest points total at home.

Philadelphia has lost two straight and five of six. The Flyers hadn’t lost to Atlanta since Nov. 18, 2005.

While his teammates managed only 17 shots on goal, including just three in the third, Hedberg stopped 13 shots in the final 20 minutes for his 12th career shutout.

Penguins 8, Rangers 3

PITTSBURGH — Sidney Crosby had his fourth career hat trick and added two assists for his second five-point game and Pittsburgh won for the fourth time in five games.

Crosby fell a point short of his career high for points. He had six points with a goal and five assists Dec. 13, 2006, in an 8-4 win at Philadelphia.

Crosby scored once in the first and twice in the third period and added two-first period assists to help the Penguins rout the Rangers, winless in regulation at Mellon Arena in their past 13 tries.

Devils 6, Islanders 1

NEWARK, N.J. — Brian Rolston and Patrik Elias each had two goals and two assists and Martin Brodeur made 22 saves to lead New Jersey.

Mike Mottau and Zach Parise had the other New Jersey goals. Parise extended his career-high point scoring streak to 10 games.

Brodeur was back in net one day after setting a record for minutes played by a goaltender.

Bruins 4, Senators 3, SO

It was the fifth win in six games — and sixth straight over the past two seasons against Ottawa — for the Bruins, who moved into first place in the Northeast Division after an injury-filled, sluggish start this season.

Ottawa’s Milan Michalek forced overtime, scoring his second goal of the game with 19.3 seconds left and the goalie off for an extra attacker.

Sabres 5, Hurricanes 1

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Ryan Miller made 30 saves, and the Buffalo Sabres scored five goals in the third period to keep Carolina winless on the road.

Up by a goal after 40 minutes, the Hurricanes were unable to preserve a third-period lead for the second straight night. Atlanta erased a three-goal deficit Friday by scoring five goals in the final frame against Carolina in a 6-4 win.

Flames 4, Blue Jackets 3, SO

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Calgary backup Curtis McElhinney stopped Anton Stralman in the fourth round, and Jamie Lundmark followed with the shootout winner in the Flames’comeback victory over Columbus.

With the Blue Jackets seemingly in control late in the third period with a 3-1 lead, Calgary’s Dustin Boyd and Nigel Dawes scored in a 1:19 span to tie it.

Making only his second start, McElhinney made 29 saves to push the Flames’ road points streak to nine games. The Flames, playing the second game of a six-game trip, are 9-1-3 on the road.