period penalty shot and assisted on David Clarkson's goal minutes later as the New Jersey Devils defeated the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins 3-1 in an Eastern Conference matchup Saturday. Kovalchuk's penalty shot, after Pittsburgh's Brooks Orpik was penalized for covering the puck in the crease, gave the Devils a 1-0 lead 14 minutes into the first before Clarkson made it 2-0 on a power play 24 seconds before the end of the first period. The Russian forward's goal enabled him to even the score with Penguins' netminder Marc-Andre Fleury who had saved one of his penalty shot attempts in March 2010. Kovalchuk also had another assist when the Devils added an empty netter by Parise with less than a minute left in the game. It came after Pittsburgh had pulled to 2-1 on Chris Kunitz's third period power play goal. Martin Brodeur made an impressive 29 saves as the Devils won for the ninth time in 12 games. Pittsburgh's Fleury produced 18 stops. Islanders 4, Oilers 1: Matt Moulson had a goal and two assists, and John Tavares and P. A. Parenteau each added one of each for the host Islanders, who took advantage of a shaky goalie in Devan Dubnyk in a matinee victory. Evgeni Nabokov made 28 saves for the Islanders, now 5-2-4 against the Western Conference. Ejection for reported slur: Florida Panthers forward Krys Barch was ejected after reportedly directing a racial slur at a Montreal player, and Panthers coach Kevin Dineen said it was now a matter for the NHL to investigate. Barch was given a game misconduct after a dustup at the end of the first period in Florida's 3-2 win. Neither he nor the on-ice officials spoke to reporters. Lightning 5, Hurricanes 2: Steven Stamkos had his second three-goal game this season and fifth over all to lift host Tampa Bay. Coyotes 4, Wild 2: Radim Vrbata scored two goals two minutes apart early in the third period as Phoenix beat host Minnesota. Red Wings 3, Blues 0: Jimmy Howard stopped 31 shots for his ninth career shutout as host Detroit beat St. Louis. Johan Franzen, Justin Abdelkader and Jiri Hudler scored for the Red Wings, who won their 12th consecutive home game. It was the Red Wings' second win over the Blues at Joe Louis Arena in five days. Capitals 4, Blue Jackets 2: Alex Ovechkin, Alexander Semin and Dennis Wideman scored in a short burst in the third period, erasing a 2-0 deficit and leading Washington to a win at Columbus. Jets 3, Maple Leafs 2: Zach Bogosian and Blake Wheeler scored power-play goals as host Winnipeg beat Toronto for its third straight win. In other games it was: Senators 3, Sabres 2; Avalanche 4, Ducks 2; Stars 4, Bruins 2.
