Sidney Crosby left briefly in the second period after being bloodied when he was struck in the face with the puck, and the suddenly slumping Pittsburgh Penguins fell again to the NY Islanders, 5-3 Thursday. Crosby, playing in the ninth game of his second comeback of the season after recovering from concussion symptoms, was injured 1:43 into the second period. Islanders defenseman Dylan Reese was trying to clear the puck out of the lower left corner in the New York end when he hit Crosby, who was standing a few feet away. Crosby stayed down on his stomach for about a minute before gathering himself and getting back up on his skates. He then skated off toward the tunnel leading to the dressing room. He returned to the bench with 10:13 left in the period, and was back on the ice moments later. Blackhawks 4, Blues 3, SO: Dave Bolland scored the only goal in a four-round shootout and Chicago beat NHL-leading St. Louis to move closer to clinching a playoff berth. The Blackhawks needed a victory and for Phoenix to lose to San Jose in regulation later Thursday to clinch their fourth straight trip to the postseason. But they'll have to wait another day because the Coyotes beat the Sharks. Coyotes 2, Sharks 0: Radim Vrbata scored twice and Mike Smith made 38 saves to shut out San Jose for the third time this season, leading Phoenix Coyotes to a critical victory. Devils 6, Lightning 4: Ilya Kovalchuk and Marek Zidlicky scored in a 1:11 span to cap a four-goal second period and New Jersey put itself on the doorstep of a playoff berth with a victory over Tampa Bay. Dainius Zubrus, Jacob Josefson, Alexei Ponikarovsky and David Clarkson also scored as New Jersey matched its season high for goals and overcame a hat trick by Ryan Malone. Sebastien Caron also scored for Tampa Bay. Flyers 7, Maple Leafs 1: Brayden Schenn and Wayne Simmonds each scored twice and Philadelphia routed Toronto, handing the Maple Leafs their 11th straight home loss. Wild 3, Panthers 2, OT: Mikko Koivu split two defenders and beat former teammate Jose Theodore 15 seconds into overtime to lift Minnesota past Florida. In another game, Washington Capitals down Boston Bruins 3-2 in a shootout.
