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Hurricanes finally win on road, top Pens

The Associated Press

PITTSBURGH — Manny Legace stopped 30 shots, Ray Whitney had the decisive goal and an assist and the Carolina Hurricanes won on the road for the first time this season by holding off the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 on Monday night.

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Penguins’ Sidney Crosby tries to collect a rebound in front of Hurricanes defenseman Aaron Ward, left, and goalie Manny Legace in the first period of Monday’s game in Pittsburgh.

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Eric Staal and Joni Pitkanen each had two assists and Andrew Alberts and Jussi Jokinen also scored as Carolina ended its 13-game road losing streak (0-10-3).

The Hurricanes finally played the way they wanted to during the Eastern Conference finals last spring, when Pittsburgh won the first two at home and then finished off the sweep on the road before Carolina found its game or the speed to match Pittsburgh’s star forwards.

Canadiens 3, Flyers 1

MONTREAL — Mike Cammalleri got his team-leading 16th goal after Andrei Kostitsyn scored on Montreal’s third shot of the game in the second period and the Canadiens went on beat Philadelphia.

Carey Price made 14 saves and Marc-Andre Bergeron also scored for Montreal, which won its second in a row following an 0-3-1 skid despite managing just 13 shots, including one in the opening period.

Devils 3, Sabres 0

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Martin Brodeur tied Terry Sawchuk’s NHL record with his 103rd shutout, leading New Jersey to victory over Buffalo.

Brodeur was rarely tested in making 22 saves to tie Sawchuk, who played from 1949-70. It was Brodeur’s second shutout of the season after he blanked Carolina on Oct. 17.

The NHL’s winningest goalie, Brodeur earned his league-leading 18th victory of the season. He preserved the shutout with a lightning-quick glove stop on Buffalo defenseman Steve Montador’s wrist shot from the slot 5 minutes into the third period.

Maple Leafs 5, Thrashers 2

TORONTO — Vesa Toskala made 22 saves in his first start since Nov. 23 and Alexei Ponikarovsky scored goals 28 seconds apart as Toronto beat Atlanta.

Lee Stempniak, Matt Stajan and Mikhail Grabovski also had goals for the Maple Leafs, who bounced back from a 7-2 loss in Boston on Saturday. It was the first time Toronto (8-13-7) won a weekday game at home this season and it came against one of the NHL’s best road teams. The Thrashers entered with an away record of 9-2-1.

Bryan Little and Marty Reasoner scored for Atlanta (15-8-3).

Capitals 3, Lightning 0

TAMPA, Fla. — Alex Ovechkin scored two goals in his return from a two-game suspension and Washington beat Tampa Bay for the 12th consecutive time.

Ovechkin was suspended by the NHL following a kneeing penalty during a Nov. 30 game with Carolina. Both of his goals came during the Capitals’ three-goal second.

Semyon Varlamov, who turned aside a spinning backhander by Vincent Lecavalier in the second, finished with 26 saves. The Washington goalie is 12-1-2 with two shutouts this season.

Avalanche 4, Blues 0

ST. LOUIS — Peter Budaj stopped 35 shots, Chris Stewart had two goals and an assist and Colorado ended a five-game trip with a win.

Paul Stastny and Matt Duchene each scored goals, Wojtek Wolski had three assists and John-Michael Liles collected two assists for the Avs.

Budaj earned his seventh career shutout and first this season in his fifth start. The shutout was Colorado’s fourth. It was also Budaj’s 84th career victory, which tied him with Stephane Fiset for fourth for most wins in franchise history.

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