BOSTON — Goaltender Tuukka Rask kept his team alive in the first period before the Boston Bruins woke up and went on to their eighth straight home victory with a 5-0 win over the Senators. Rask made 15 stops in the first period, finishing with 33 saves for his fourth shutout of the season and right winger Reilly Smith scored twice to power Boston to victory over the Ottawa Senators. The win, fueled by four third-period goals, came in the front end of a home-and-home that ends in Ottawa on Saturday night. Blue Jackets 2, Devils 1 (SO): Right winger Cam Atkinson scored the only goal in a shootout to lift the Columbus Blue Jackets to victory over the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center. Devils left winger Adam Henrique had the tying goal in the third period. Left-winger Artem Anisimov scored for the Blue Jackets. Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur made 29 saves and Blue Jackets goaltender Curtis McElhinney stopped 16 shots. Capitals 3, Rangers 2: In a tense battle between rookie goaltenders, Washington left-winger Eric Fehr provided the difference, scoring with 5:09 remaining in the third period to give the Capitals a win over the New York Rangers at the Verizon Center. Penguins 4, Hurricanes 3 (OT): Left-winger James Neal scored 1:03 into overtime as the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena. Neal took the puck on a give-and-go from left-winger Jussi Jokinen for the winning goal. Maple Leafs 4, Sabres 3 (SO): Left winger Joffrey Lupul scored the only goal in the shootout as the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Buffalo Sabres who had tied the game 3-3 with 24.1 seconds left in the third period on the fifth goal of the season by center Steve Ott. Blackhawks 7, Avalanche 2: Right-winger Patrick Sharp became the first player ever to score a hat trick for the Chicago Blackhawks on his birthday, scoring three goals and an assist on his 32nd birthday as his team routed the Colorado Avalanche at the United Center. Jets 6, Wild 4: Based on their previous meetings this season, the Minnesota Wild and Winnipeg Jets seemed to be set for another low-scoring affair at the MTS Centre, but that possibility went out the window right away. Stars 4, Predators 1: When left-winger Erik Cole has multiple points, it is a good sign for the Dallas Stars. On Friday, he scored twice in a win over the Nashville Predators at American Airlines Center. Oilers 2, Flames 0: Edmonton Oilers left-winger Ryan Smyth suited up against the Flames for the 87th time in his 18-year NHL career, notched the winning tally of the night with the kind of greasy goal he is known for during his career, albeit with a twist. Late in the first period, Smyth drove to the net in anticipation of a pass from right-winger Ales Hemsky, and the puck came his way. However, the pass went right into his midsection and ricocheted past Flames goaltender Reto Berra. The flukey tally, which was only decided to be a good goal after a lengthy review, held up the rest of the way, while Oilers goalie Devan Dubnyk made 27 saves to record his second shutout of the season. Sharks 4, Coyotes 3 (SO): San Jose center Patrick Marleau scored his second goal of a game in the second round of a shootout to give the Sharks victory over the Phoenix Coyotes. — Reuters
