Penguins

Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin scored less than two minutes apart in the third period and the host Pittsburgh Penguins rallied past the Tampa Bay Lightning, 4-3, Monday. Chris Kunitz added his 12th of the season for Pittsburgh and James Neal scored an empty-net goal in the final minute as the Penguins sent the struggling Lightning to their fifth straight loss. Elsewhere: Nazem Kadri continued his points streak with a goal and an assist in the host Toronto Maple Leafs' 4-2 victory over the struggling New Jersey Devils.

Brandon Sutter's second goal of the game 52 seconds into overtime lifted the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins to a wild 7-6 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night. Sutter took a pass from Simon Despres on a rush, stepped around Max Pacioretty, and beat goalie Carey Price with a high shot to help Pittsburgh end a two-game skid and avoid being swept on a three-game road trip.   'Canes top Southeast Jussi Jokinen scored twice and added an assist as the host Carolina Hurricanes beat the Florida Panthers, 6-2, to move into sole possession of first place in the Southeast Division.

Jonathan Toews scored twice, and Ray Emery and Corey Crawford combined on a shutout as the Chicago Blackhawks extended their NHL-record season-opening points streak to 20 games with a 3-0 win over the Blues in St. Louis on Thursday night. Chicago was coming off a 6-0-1 homestand and improved to 9-0-2 on the road. The Blackhawks, who have won seven in a row overall, have earned 37 out of a possible 40 points this season.   Rangers end skid Carl Hagelin and Derek Stepan scored in a one-sided first period, and the suddenly healthy New York Rangers snapped a four-game losing streak with a 4-1 victory over the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Blackhawks set an NHL record for the best start to a season, beating the visiting Sharks, 2-1, Friday night to give them at least one point in their first 17 games. Blackhawks rookie Brandon Saad scored a shorthanded goal early in the third period to snap a 1-1 tie. Chicago (14-0-3) won its fourth straight game to break a mark set by the 2006-07 Anaheim Ducks, who earned points in their first 16 games.   Isles waive DiPietro Oft-injured goalie Rick DiPietro was placed on waivers by the Islanders and will likely be headed to the minors once he clears, as expected.

PITTSBURGH - Eleven goals. Eighteen penalties. Three lead changes. Two bears in the crowd taunting Ilya Bryzgalov. One fight. One actual hat trick and one of the Gordie Howe variety. And one relieved Flyers team on a charter flight home to Philadelphia after a six-game road swing, the longest of the season. All that was missing from Wednesday night's circus at Consol Energy Center was a big top and an acrobat parachuting from the rafters with a ceremonial Stanley Cup playoff puck to separate it from a reenactment of last spring's epic first-round series.

PITTSBURGH - If you didn't know better, you would have sworn you were watching a continuation of last year's wild, no-defense playoff matchup between the Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night. There were fights, there were mad scrambles in front of the net - one in which the Flyers scored on their sixth shot from around the crease - and there were goals galore. The Flyers overcame an early, two-goal deficit and another injury, getting a hat trick from Jake Voracek as they rallied past the Penguins, 6-5, at the electric Consol Energy Center.

PITTSBURGH - The Flyers and Penguins cannot do normal, or sedate. Starting last spring, and continuing until today, these two rivals have been incapable of playing a hockey game that does not resemble a coin spinning wildly on its edge, spinning and toppling in an unpredictable direction. And for all of this, we are glad. A dozen preposterously fun things happened Wednesday night at Consol Energy Center, and maybe more. "There were just so many crazy parts to the game," Flyers coach Peter Laviolette said.

PITTSBURGH - The Flyers on Wednesday completed the most brutal part of the abbreviated schedule - a season-high six-game road trip - and they will start a five-game homestand Thursday against Florida. The Flyers played 12 of their first 18 games on the road, the most by any NHL team. "It wasn't an easy start, but there's nothing you do about the schedule," defenseman Kimmo Timonen said before the Flyers faced the Penguins. "It'll be nice to get back home. " The Flyers are 4-1-1 at home, and they entered Wednesday with a 3-8 road record.

PITTSBURGH - The Flyers, coming off their most lopsided victory of the season, get a reality check Wednesday night when they face the streaking Penguins in Pittsburgh. It will be the final stop on a season-high six-game road journey, one in which the Flyers are 2-3, including Monday's 7-0 rout of the New York Islanders. The victory over the Islanders, the Flyers (7-9-1) realize, won't mean much if they don't carry the momentum into Pittsburgh (11-5), which entered Tuesday atop the Eastern Conference.