Spezza leads Senators past Flames

OTTAWA (AP)—Jason Spezza(notes) scored his 10th goal in his last 10 games late in the second period to send the Ottawa Senators to a 3-2 victory over the Calgary Flames in the NHL on Tuesday.

Brian Elliott(notes) made 27 saves in his 10th straight start for Ottawa, which won its 12th in 13 games. The Senators lost 5-0 in Toronto on Saturday to end their team-record winning streak at 11.

Spezza, who assisted on Alex Kovalev’s(notes) power-play goal in the first, got his 13th of the season to give Ottawa its first lead 16:37 into the second. Jarkko Ruutu(notes) scored midway through the middle period to draw the Senators even for the second time in the game.

Lightning 3, Canucks 1

At Tampa, Florida, Martin St. Louis(notes) scored two third-period goals as Tampa Bay beat Vancouver.

Steven Stamkos(notes) added a goal and an assist for the Lightning, who have won four in a row for the first time since Nov. 2007. Goalie Antero Niittymaki(notes) improved to 7-0-1 over his last eight starts.

St. Louis also had an assist and has a seven-game points streak (seven goals, four assists).

Vancouver got a goal from Ryan Kesler(notes). The Canucks are 2-3 on the first leg of an NHL-record 14-game road trip.

Hurricanes 4, Panthers 1

At Raleigh, North Carolina, Joni Pitkanen(notes) scored the go-ahead goal, and Manny Legace(notes) made 19 saves to help Carolina beat Florida.

Matt Cullen(notes) had a goal and two assists, and Tuomo Ruutu(notes) and Jussi Jokinen(notes) also scored for Carolina. While the Hurricanes remain near the bottom of the NHL standings, they’re playing their best hockey with seven wins in their last nine games.

Cory Stillman(notes) scored the lone goal for Florida, which has lost four in a row. The Panthers have scored only four goals in that stretch to lose ground in the chase for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Islanders 4, Predators 3, SO

At Uniondale, New York, Mark Streit(notes) scored the tying goal in the closing seconds of regulation, and Frans Nielsen(notes) and John Tavares(notes) connected in the shootout to help the New York Islanders snap a seven-game losing streak with a victory over Nashville.

Streit rescued a point for the Islanders with a rare power-play goal, scored with only 11.4 seconds left in regulation.

Martin Biron(notes) made the most of his first NHL game in over a month by making 24 saves through overtime and three more in the shootout. Only Martin Erat(notes) got a puck past him during the tiebreaker.

Bruins 3, Sabres 2, SO

At Buffalo, New York, David Krejci(notes) scored the winner in the third round of the shootout, and rookie Tuukka Rask(notes) made 43 saves to help Boston send Buffalo to its fifth consecutive loss.

Daniel Paille(notes) scored twice in regulation for Boston (25-22-11), which has won two straight after enduring a 10-game winless streak.

Derek Roy(notes) and rookie Tyler Myers(notes) scored for the sliding Sabres. Ryan Miller(notes), the likely starter for the United States when the Olympics begin next week, made 32 saves.

After Buffalo’s Jason Pominville(notes) and Boston’s Marco Sturm(notes) exchanged goals in the first round of the shootout, Krejci gave the Bruins the win with a wrist shot that beat Miller.

Blues 4, Red Wings 3, SO

At St. Louis, Paul Kariya(notes) scored twice for his first goals at home in more than 15 months as St. Louis Blues recovered after blowing a two-goal cushion, beating Detroit in a shootout.

T.J. Oshie(notes) and Brad Boyes(notes) scored in the shootout for St. Louis, while goalie Chris Mason(notes) clinched it with a left pad save on Henrik Zetterberg(notes) in the third round.

Kariya got credit for a deflection off David Perron’s(notes) drive on the Blues’ first goal and added an assist for his second two-goal game of the season and sixth multipoint game of the season.

Andy McDonald(notes) also scored in regulation for the Blues.

Blackhawks 4, Stars 3, SO

At Chicago, Kris Versteeg(notes) scored in the fifth round of a shootout to lead Chicago past Dallas.

Dallas’ Loui Eriksson(notes) tied it at 3-3 with 3:50 left in regulation after Chicago had taken a 3-2 lead early in the final period on a goal by Troy Brouwer(notes).

Mike Ribeiro(notes) and James Neal(notes) also scored in regulation for the Stars.

Patrick Kane(notes) had two first-period goals for the Blackhawks, his team-high 23rd and 24th of the season.