VANCOUVER: The Vancouver Canucks moved within a point of the NHL Western Conference lead with a 6-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers Tuesday. Ryan Kesler scored twice early in the second period and the Flyers responded by replacing goalie Brian Boucher. Kesler added an assist in the third. Jeff Tambellini had a goal, Manny Malhotra scored late in the first period, Daniel Sedin added a goal in between Kesler's two, and Jannik Hansen scored early in the third as Vancouver beat the Flyers at home for the first time since 1989. Danny Briere and Jeff Carter, on a late power play, scored for Philadelphia. Penguins 6, Thrashers 3: In Pittsburgh, Sidney Crosby got two goals to extend his scoring streak to 25 games, as Pittsburgh won its final home game before the Winter Classic by beating Atlanta. Crosby twice answered Thrashers goals by scoring in the first period, then set up Chris Kunitz's goal 9 seconds into the third period and another by Matt Cooke. Craig Adams also scored short-handed for Pittsburgh. Crosby, who will try to extend his streak against the New York Islanders Wednesday, is the first NHL player to have a streak this long since Penguins' Mario Lemieux's 28-game run to begin the 1995-96 season, according to STATS LLC. The Penguins captain, peaking just as the NHL's midseason outdoor game against Washington approaches on Saturday, continues to torment the Thrashers, who have lost their past nine in Pittsburgh. Crosby has six goals and four assists in three games against Atlanta this season. Wayne Gretzky (1990-91), Bryan Trottier (1981-82), Brett Hull (1991-92) and Bernie Nicholls (1984-85) also had 25 game streaks. The NHL record is Gretzky's 51-game run in 1983-84, during a more wide-open era in which he averaged three points per game. Lemieux had a team-record, 46-game streak in 1989-90. Bruins 4, Lightning 3: In Tampa, Mark Recchi scored a power-play goal with 20 seconds left to lift Boston over Tampa Bay. Stars 4, Predators 2: In Nashville, the hosts crashed to their fifth straight loss, beaten by Dallas. Capitals 3, Canadiens 0: In Washington, Semyon Varlamov made 25 saves to shut out Montreal and give victory to Washington. Blues 3, Blackhawks 1: In St. Louis, Ty Conklin shut down a team that burned him for seven goals in one game last month, stopping 25 shots in St. Louis' victory over Chicago. Ducks 3, Coyotes 1: In Glendale, Arizona, Corey Perry scored his team-leading 20th goal in Anaheim's win over Phoenix. Hurricanes 4, Maple Leafs 3: In Toronto, Patrick Dwyer scored the winner with just over five minutes remaining, lifting Carolina over Toronto. Sabres 4, Oilers 2: In Edmonton, Buffalo defenseman Mike Weber scored his first two NHL goals in the win over Edmonton.
