ATLANTA: The Atlanta Thrashers thrashed Washington 5-0 in the NHL Friday to emphatically end the Capitals' run of nine straight matches without a defeat in regulation time. Ondrej Pavelec stopped 29 shots to earn his third NHL shutout, and Evander Kane, Nik Antropov and Ben Eager had a goal and assist each. The NHL-leading Capitals were shut out for the first time in almost a year. Washington had 10 wins and 21 points in its first 12 games, but missed a chance at a victory that would've been the Capitals' best ever 20-game start. Dustin Byfuglien made it 4-0 in the final minute of the second period with his sixth goal, and Alexander Burmistrov finished the scoring when he netted his third goal late in the final frame. Wild 4, Red Wings 3, OT: In Detroit, John Madden scored 4:18 into overtime as Minnesota snapped Detroit's four-game winning streak. Brent Burns, Cal Clutterbuck and Mikko Koivu also scored for the Wild. Detroit's Patrick Eaves had a goal and an assist, while Darren Helm and Johan Franzen also scored. Blue Jackets 4, Ducks 3: In Anaheim, Columbus improved the best start in franchise history with a victory over Anaheim. In a span of 10 days, Columbus ended a seven-game winning streak by St. Louis with their most lopsided victory in franchise history, put an end to the Los Angeles Kings' club-record 8-0 start at home, and snapped a five-game home winning streak by the Ducks. Rick Nash scored for the sixth time in six games, Steve Mason made a season-high 47 saves, Chris Clark and Mike Commodore each had a goal and an assist and Jakub Voracek also scored for the Blue Jackets. Bobby Ryan and Saku Koivu scored less than 5 minutes apart early in the second period, and Corey Perry in the third period for the Ducks. Avalanche 5, Rangers 1: In Denver, Craig Anderson stopped 25 shots in his return from injury to help Colorado beat New York. Anderson was back in net after missing 10 games because of a right knee injury, showing little signs of rust as he gave up just a third-period goal to rookie Derek Stepan. Matt Duchene scored and had two assists in a four-goal second period. David Jones, Kevin Porter, Kevin Shattenkirk and Daniel Winnik also had goals for the Avalanche, who went 3-0 on their homestand. Sabres 4, Kings 2: In Buffalo, New York, Tim Connolly snapped a third-period tie with a power-play goal to help lift Buffalo over Los Angeles. Thomas Vanek added a goal and assist, and Andrej Sekera and Jochen Hecht also scored for the Sabres. Buffalo scored twice on the power play against a Kings team that had killed 90 percent of opposition power plays. Dustin Brown and Wayne Simmonds scored for the slumping Pacific Division-leading Kings, who have lost three straight. Penguins 5, Hurricanes 4, SO: In Pittsburgh, the hosts beat Carolina in a shootout after having given up three leads. Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang each put the puck past Justin Peters in the shootout, while Jeff Skinner and Jussi Jokinen, who had two tying goals, failed against Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. Crosby, who had a goal and three assists, has three more game-winning shootout goals than any other player since the NHL adopted the format in 2005. He is 21 of 50 in shootouts. Chris Kunitz scored twice for Pittsburgh. Blues 5, Senators 2: In St. Louis, Brad Boyes, Carlo Colaiacovo and Eric Brewer scored 86 seconds apart in the second period to lead St. Louis past Ottawa. Andy McDonald and Patrik Berglund added insurance goals in the third period for the Blues. Flames 7, Blackhawks 2: In Calgary, Jarome Iginla scored three times to help Calgary beat Chicago. David Moss had a goal and two assists for the Flames, who had lost eight straight games to the Blackhawks. Niklas Hagman, Brendan Morrison and Curtis Glencross each had a goal and an assist. Coyotes 4, Oilers 3, SO: In Edmonton, Phoenix rallied from a three-goal deficit and beat struggling Edmonton.
