Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2009

WASHINGTON (AP) When the top team in the Eastern Conference and the worst one got together, the result was, unsurprisingly, a high-scoring blowout.

Wide-eyed: Minnesota's Martin Havlat moves the puck in front of the Kings' Rob Scuderi on Monday night. AP PHOTO

The unexpected twist was that the last-place Carolina Hurricanes were skating circles around the high-flying Washington Capitals.

Eric Staal had two goals and three assists to help Carolina end a three-game losing streak with a 6-3 victory over Washington on Monday night.

"It feels good," Staal said. "We haven't had a lot of those this year. Hopefully we can follow this up and continue to play well."

Jussi Jokinen added a goal and two assists. Tuomo Ruutu also had a goal and an assist while Matt Cullen added two assists as the Hurricanes stopped the Capitals' three-game winning streak and got just their second road victory this season.

Staal and linemates Jokinen and Cullen combined for 10 points and caused trouble for Washington all night.

Carolina entered the game with 25 points, 12 behind second-worst Toronto. Washington had 54 points, but New Jersey took over first place in the Eastern Conference with a win over Atlanta.

"You look at their standings, and you look at how hard they played, (and) I find it hard to believe they are where they are," Washington coach Bruce Boudreau said of the 'Canes. "We know them as a divisional opponent that plays hard against us all the time, and tonight was no exception."

The Capitals traded captain Chris Clark and defenseman Milan Jurcina to Columbus for Jason Chimera earlier in the day and looked flat early, as the league's top-scoring team managed just four shots on goal in the first period.

But Boudreau and some players waved off talk that the deal affected the players.

"It's a hard situation for us because we lost our captain and a great guy," said Washington's Alex Ovechkin. "They're both good players, but it's a business and you can do nothing about it."

Sharks 3, Coyotes 2 (SO)

In San Jose, center Joe Pavelski scored once in regulation and the only goal in the shootout to give the Sharks a win over Phoenix.

Devin Setoguchi also scored for San Jose, which won its fifth straight.

Shane Doan and Matthew Lombardi scored for the Coyotes, who had their three-game winning streak snapped.

Phoenix goalie Ilya Bryzgalov stopped 36 shots, including all 19 he faced in the third period.

Sharks goalie Evgeni Nabokov made 31 saves.

Jackets 1, Red Wings 0 (OT)

In Columbus, Fredrik Modin backhanded in a rebound of his own shot 3:12 into OT to give the hosts a win over Detroit, ending the Blue Jackets' nine-game losing skid. Steve Mason had 34 saves for his second shutout of the year.

Modin carried the puck into the offensive zone and past defenseman Brett Lebda to flick a shot at Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard. He stopped the shot but Modin continued to skate and was able to backhand a shot past a diving Lebda that went behind Howard.

Flames 4, Oilers 1

In Edmonton, Rene Bourque scored three goals for his second career hat trick to help Calgary end a three-game losing streak with a win over the Oilers.

Wild 4, Kings 3

In Los Angeles, Eric Belanger had two goals and an assist, including the go-ahead score with 2:25 left in the third period, and Minnesota won its third straight.

Devils 3, Thrashers 2

In Newark, N.J., the Devils' Zach Parise ended a goal-scoring slump with a pair in a win over Atlanta.

Parise, who led the Devils with a career-high 45 goals last season, had gone 12 games without scoring.

Senators 4, Canadiens 2

In Ottawa, Pascal Leclaire made 29 saves and Chris Neil scored the Senators' third straight goal 6:15 into the third to help the hosts end Montreal's four-game winning streak.

Lightning 2, Bruins 1

In Tampa, Mike Smith made 30 saves and Kurtis Foster had two assists to help the Lightning beat Boston.

LOS ANGELES (AP) The Los Angeles Kings have placed Justin Williams on injured reserve after the veteran right wing broke his leg.

Williams was hurt in the Kings' loss at Phoenix on Saturday night. He could be out for three months, coach Terry Murray said.

Williams has 24 points in 22 games this season on the Kings' top line, which was back together for just two shifts in Phoenix when Ryan Smyth returned from a six-week absence because of an upper-body injury.

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