UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) – Nick Leddy had a goal and two assists, Jaroslav Halak tied the team record for wins in a season, and the New York Islanders cooled off the NHL-leading Nashville Predators with a 5-2 win on Thursday night.
Brian Strait, John Tavares and Johnny Boychuk scored in the first for the Islanders, who snapped Nashville’s six-game winning streak with their sixth victory in seven games. Tavares has at least one goal in each of his last four games.
Leddy and Josh Bailey scored 1:39 apart in the third period to break open a one-goal nail biter. Halak made 30 saves for his 32nd win.
Filip Forsberg and James Neal scored for the Predators. Pekka Rinne had a rare off night, allowing five goals on 40 shots.
The Islanders lost center Mikhail Grabovski for the game with 11:21 left in the first when he was leveled by a shoulder from Eric Nystrom. A stretcher was brought onto the ice, but Grabovski skated off on his own after being down for several minutes. He sustained an unspecified upper-body injury.
BLUE JACKETS 2, PENGUINS 1
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Brandon Dubinsky poked a pass from Matt Calvert past a sprawled Marc-Andre Fleury with 2:17 remaining, sending Columbus to the road win.
Pittsburgh’s Blake Comeau turned it over and the Blue Jackets quickly pounced. Calvert fed Dubinsky as Pittsburgh’s Steve Downie ran over Fleury. Dubinsky had little trouble tapping in his seventh goal of the season.
Scott Hartnell also scored for Columbus. Curtis McElhinney stopped 29 shots as the Blue Jackets won their second straight.
Evgeni Malkin picked up his 22nd goal for Pittsburgh. Captain Sidney Crosby was held without a point, though he tussled with Dubinsky in the second period. It was the seventh fight of Crosby’s 10-year career.
CAPITALS 5, JETS 1
WASHINGTON (AP) – Nicklas Backstrom scored two second-period goals and had an assist, and Washington won for the fourth time in five games.
Capitals star Alex Ovechkin added his league-leading 38th goal and an assist. Troy Brouwer had an empty-net goal and an assist, and John Carlson also scored.
Backstrom, who has 16 assists in his past 16 games, moved into a tie with Chicago’s Patrick Kane atop the NHL scoring list with 63 points.
Ovechkin, celebrating his bobblehead night, extended his point streak to six games, and Braden Holtby stopped 19 shots.
Toby Enstrom scored for Winnipeg, which had won four of five, and Ondrej Pavelec made 28 saves.
CANUCKS 5, RANGERS 4, SO
NEW YORK (AP) – Alexandre Burrows and Radim Vrbata scored in the shootout, and Vancouver stopped New York’s four-game winning streak.
Henrik Sedin scored twice for the Canucks, including a tying tally on a rebound with 2:00 left in regulation after Vancouver pulled goaltender Ryan Miller.
Miller finished with 30 saves, and he stopped Mats Zuccarello and Derek Stepan in the shootout. Shawn Matthias and Bo Horvat also scored as Vancouver snapped a five-game losing streak against the Rangers dating to January 2011.
Stepan, Rick Nash, Martin St. Louis and Carl Hagelin scored for the Rangers. Cam Talbot made 24 saves, but he was beaten on both shootout attempts.
PANTHERS 3, CANADIENS 2, SO
MONTREAL (AP) – Dave Bolland scored in the sixth round of the shootout, lifting Florida to the road victory.
Tomas Fleischmann and Steven Kampfer scored in regulation for the Panthers (26-19-12), who won their second game in a row to start a five-game trip.
Brendan Gallagher scored both of Montreal’s goals in the second period. The Canadiens (37-16-5) outshot the Panthers 39-21 and blew a 2-0 lead.
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