Kolzig finally overcomes Dallas
Olaf Kolzig made 35 saves and withstood a third-period rally Thursday night to finally defeat the only NHL franchise he had never beaten when the Washington Capitals posted a 4-3 victory over the Dallas Stars at Washington.
Richard Zednik, Chris Clark, Matt Pettinger and Alexander Semin scored for the Capitals, who won their second straight after six losses. Jakub Klepis had two assists.
Kolzig, who won his 262nd career game, had been 0-9-1 against the Minnesota/Dallas franchise before handing the Stars their season-high third consecutive loss. Dallas had beaten the Capitals five straight.
Jussi Jokinen had two goals and Stu Barnes also scored for Dallas, which lost its fourth consecutive road game.
Thrashers 5, Maple Leafs 0: At Atlanta, Marian Hossa had three goals and an assist, Kari Lehtonen stopped 36 shots and the Thrashers beat Toronto for their first victory over the Maple Leafs in more than three years.
Hurricanes 4, Canadiens 2: At Raleigh, N.C., Justin Williams and Eric Belanger scored less than a minute apart in the third period to lead Carolina past Montreal.
Bruins 4, Lightning 3 (SO): At Boston, Tim Thomas saved all seven shots in the shootout and Phil Kessel scored on Boston’s seventh attempt, giving the surging Bruins a win over Tampa Bay.
Flyers 3, Islanders 2: At Uniondale, N.Y., rookie defenseman Alexandre Picard posted the first two assists of his NHL career and Philadelphia used three special teams goals to beat New York.
Senators 6, Panthers 0: At Ottawa, Dany Heatley had two goals and an assist and Ray Emery made 31 saves for Ottawa’s first shutout of the season in a win over Florida.
Two children attending the game were sent to a hospital – as a precaution – after plexiglass shattered in front of them when Senators defenseman Chris Phillips checked Florida’s Stephen Weiss into the boards early in the first.
Predators 5, Blues 4: At St. Louis, Jordin Tootoo’s first goal of the season snapped a tie early in the third period, helping Nashville win its fourth straight game with a victory over the Blues.
Coyotes 7, Kings 4: At Glendale, Ariz., Ladislav Nagy returned from a one-game benching to score a goal and add three assists in Phoenix’s victory over Los Angeles.
Avalanche 7, Oilers 3: At Edmonton, Alberta, Tyler Arnason had two goals and an assist, leading Colorado to a victory over the Oilers.
Ducks 2, Canucks 1: At Vancouver, British Columbia, Ryan Getzlaf scored the tiebreaking goal on a two-man advantage with 7:34 left, sending Anaheim to a victory over the Canucks.
Penguins waive LeClair
John LeClair was placed on waivers by the Pittsburgh Penguins, a move designed to try to move the two-time 50-goal scorer to another team.
If LeClair clears waivers today, the Penguins must decide whether to release him and be responsible for his $1.5 million salary or keep him and try to work out a trade.
The 37-year-old LeClair, a healthy scratch for two of Pittsburgh’s last six game, had 22 goals and 51 points last season, but his ice time dipped this season after the Penguins added rookies Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal.