WASHINGTON — Sidney Crosby scored his 20th goal of the season, Evgeni Malkin added three assists, and the Pittsburgh Penguins held on to beat the Capitals, 4-3, Wednesday night in Washington, averting a sweep of the season series. Patric Hornqvist, Brandon Sutter, and Chris Kunitz also scored for Pittsburgh, which has won three straight and leads Washington by 3 points for third place in the Metropolitan Division.
Crosby and Malkin both netted their first points of the season against Washington, which won the first three meetings by a combined score of 10-1. Alex Ovechkin's power-play tally, his NHL-leading 39th goal of the season, made it 4-3 with 3:34 left in the game, but Fleury made several saves in the final minutes to preserve the win.
Senators 3, Ducks 0
Andrew Hammond made 25 saves to earn his first NHL shutout in his third career start, and Erik Condra, Mika Zibanejad and Kyle Turris scored to lift Ottawa in Anaheim, California. Hammond, who got the chance to play because of injuries to Craig Anderson and Robin Lehner, has backstopped the Senators to three straight victories.
Flames 3, Devils 1
Sean Monahan scored a power-play goal 35 seconds into the third period, helping Calgary beat host New Jersey and move into a Western Conference wild-card spot. Calgary moved a point ahead of idle Minnesota in the playoff race.
Blackhawks lose Kane
Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane was placed on long-term injured reserve after the leading scorer crashed into the boards during a recent game, the team said Wednesday.
Kane was hurt during the first period of Tuesday's contest when he slid hard into the boards after a hit from Florida Panthers defenseman Alex Petrovic.
The 26-year-old American remained down on the ice for a short time and appeared to be favoring his left arm or shoulder before skating to the bench. He eventually went to the Chicago locker room and did not return. Chicago did not say how much time Kane would miss but an ESPN report said he will be out 6-10 weeks, meaning there is a chance he could miss the start of the NHL playoffs, which open on April 15.
Kane, whose 64 points is tied with Washington Capitals' forward Nicklas Backstrom for the NHL lead, has not missed any of Chicago's 61 games this season.
Selected first overall by Chicago in the 2007 NHL draft, Kane is a four-time All-Star who won Stanley Cups with the Blackhawks in 2010 and 2013. He signed an eight-year contract extension with Chicago last July with an annual average value of $10.5 million. — Agencies
