NHL : Kessel lifts Bruins past Rangers, 1-0

Phil Kessel scored the lone goal in a shootout to give the Boston Bruins a 1-0 victory over the New York Rangers on Saturday at Boston.

After the first five shooters failed in the tiebreaker, Kessel skated in on Henrik Lundqvist and fired a wrist shot under the crossbar. The former University of Minnesota star had four shootout winners as a rookie last season.

Lundqvist made 19 saves in regulation and overtime, including a highlight-reel save on Marc Savard late in the opening period. Manny Fernandez stopped 26 shots for Boston in his first start since Oct. 12.

With the shootout victory, Boston ended an eight-game winless streak (0-5-3) against the Rangers. The Bruins’ last win against New York was March 4, 2004, in Boston.

Rangers forward Martin Straka left the game in the first period when he broke a finger blocking Zdeno Chara’s slap shot.

The Bruins improved to 5-2-0, while the low-scoring Rangers dropped to 2-4-1.

Penguins 2, Capitals 1: At Washington, Sidney Crosby set up the go-ahead goal on a power play, the Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin was held without a point for the first time this season and Pittsburgh beat Washington.

Blackhawks 6, Maple Leafs 4: At Toronto, Chicago scored five goals in the third period to rally past the Maple Leafs.

Lightning 6, Thrashers 2: At Tampa, Fla., Martin St. Louis and Mathieu Darche scored 39 seconds apart during a three-goal second period to help the Lightning beat Atlanta.

Senators 4, Panthers 1: At Ottawa, Ray Emery made 31 saves in his first regular-season start of the season to help the Senators beat Florida.

Flyers 3, Hurricanes 2 (OT): At Philadelphia, Simon Gagne scored his second goal of the game 48 seconds into overtime and the Flyers defeated Carolina for their fifth straight win.

Islanders 4, Devils 3 (OT): At Uniondale, N.Y., Bill Guerin’s power-play goal with 3.7 seconds left in overtime gave New York a victory over New Jersey after the Islanders squandered a two-goal lead in the third period.

Canadiens 4, Sabres 2: At Montreal, Roman Hamrlik had a goal and two assists to lift the Canadiens to a win over Buffalo.

Wild 3, Blues 1: At St. Louis, Eric Belanger had a goal and an assist, Josh Harding made 33 saves and Minnesota remained the NHL’s only unbeaten team by beating the Blues.

Stars 3, Ducks 1: At Dallas, Mike Ribeiro and Jere Lehtinen each had a goal and an assist to help the Stars beat Anaheim. Brenden Morrow added a goal, and Marty Turco made 20 saves as Dallas improved to 3-0-1 at home.

Red Wings 5, Coyotes 2: At Glendale, Ariz., Kirk Maltby scored a pair of second-period goals and Detroit rallied to beat Phoenix.

Sharks 3, Predators 0: At San Jose, Calif., Jeremy Roenick scored a power-play goal early in the second period and the Sharks defeated Nashville.

Flames 4, Oilers 1: At Calgary, Alberta, Jarome Iginla scored the go-ahead goal and added two assists to lead the Flames to a victory over Edmonton.