NHL Roundup: Legace, Pitkanen spark 'Canes

By: JournalNow Staff | JOURNAL WIRE REPORT
Published: February 10, 2010

Hurricanes 4, Panthers 1: Joni Pitkanen scored the go-ahead goal, and Manny Legace made 19 saves to help Carolina beat visiting Florida last night.

Matt Cullen had a goal and two assists, and Tuomo Ruutu and Jussi Jokinen also scored for Carolina. While the Hurricanes remain near the bottom of the NHL standings, they're playing their best hockey with seven wins in their last nine games.

Cory Stillman scored the lone goal for Florida, which has lost four in a row. The Panthers have scored only four goals in that stretch to lose ground in the chase for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Tomas Vokoun made several nice saves for the Panthers, making 26 stops in his 19th straight start.

Islanders 4, Predators 3 (SO): Mark Streit scored the tying goal in the closing seconds of regulation, and Frans Nielsen and John Tavares connected in the shootout to help New York snap a seven-game losing streak with a win against visiting Nashville last night.

Lightning 3, Canucks 1: Martin St. Louis scored two third-period goals and Tampa Bay beat visiting Vancouver last night.

Senators 3, Flames 2: Jason Spezza scored his 10th goal in his last 10 games late in the second period to send Ottawa past visiting Calgary last night.

Bruins 3, Sabres 2 (SO): David Krejci scored the winner in the third round of the shootout, and rookie Tuukka Rask made 43 saves to help visiting Boston send Buffalo to its fifth consecutive loss last night.

Blues 4, Red Wings 3 (SO): Paul Kariya scored his first goal at home in more than 15 months and St. Louis recovered after blowing a two-goal lead to defeat Detroit in a shootout last night.

Note

Six NHL teams, including the Carolina Hurricanes, will open the 2010-11 season in Europe, the fourth straight year the league will start play overseas.

The NHL announced yesterday that the Hurricanes, Boston Bruins, Columbus Blue Jackets, Minnesota Wild, Phoenix Coyotes and San Jose Sharks will combine to play a total of six games.

The Hurricanes and Wild will meet in two games in Helsinki on Oct. 7-8; The Blue Jackets and Sharks will play Oct. 8-9 in Stockholm; and the Bruins and Coyotes will play Oct. 9-10 in Prague.