I don't know what the Thrashers give-a-crap level was at, but the Penguins certainly kicked their give-a-crap level up a few notches as they snapped a five-game losing streak with a 3-1 win over Atlanta. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 28-of-29 shots, while Petr Sykora scored a pair of goals in the win.Not only did Pittsburgh ends its losing streak, it also ended an 0-for-32 power play drought by going 2-for-6 with the man advantage.
It was a costly win of sorts for the Penguins, as Ruslan Fedotenko and Pascal Dupuis left the game with injuries and did not return. Both players had been playing, perhaps, their best hockey of the season in recent weeks.
Fedotenko appeared to suffer a hand injury when he punched out Colby Armstrong in the first period. It was perhaps the shortest fight of the season, as it consisted of one Fedotenko punch to the jaw, and Armstrong attempting to throw one when both players were on the ice. Fedotenko could be seen shaking his hand as he went to the penalty box, and then headed directly to the locker room and did not return.
Alex Goligoski was again a healthy scratch, as head coach Michel Therrien used the same lineup he used in New York the night before, with much better results. Evgeni Malkin recorded three assists, while Sidney Crosby scored his 16th goal of the season.
Ilya Kovalchuk scored the lone goal for Atlanta late in the third period, ending Fleury's shutout bid.
Hurricanes 3, Devils 2: Well, Brandon Sutter may have only played seven minutes -- he registered three shots on goal -- but he was on the winning side of the latest Sutter family on-ice battle, as the Hurricanes pulled out a 3-2 win over New Jersey. Ray Whitney, Sergei Samsonov and Tuomo Ruutu all scored in the win, as Carolina managed to jump out to a 3-0 lead. Paul Martin and Zach Parise each tallied goals for New Jersey in the third period.
Capitals 2, Flyers 1: Jose Theodore was the story in net for Washington, helping lead the Capitals to a 2-1 shootout win over Philadelphia. Check out Ted Starkey's awesome recap of not only this game, but the Capitals first half of the season.
Sabres 4, Senators 2: I suppose it was the Buffalo Sabres getting the last laugh on Tuesday night, as they skated to a 4-2 win over the Ottawa Senators, despite Jarkko Ruutu's best efforts to eat the hand of Andrew Peters. Matt Ellis scored his fourth goal of the season -- and his third in the past two games -- for Buffalo, while Derek Roy, Drew Stafford and Thomas Vanek also added markers in the win. Vanek's goal was his 27th of the season, moving him into a tie for the top spot in the NHL with Philadelphia's Jeff Carter and Washington's Alex Ovechkin. Jason Spezza scored a pair of goals for Ottawa, which continues to be the lowest-scoring team in the league.
Red Wings 3, Blue Jackets 0: The usual suspects -- Marian Hossa, Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg -- scored goals for Detroit, while Ty Conklin made 23 saves helping lead the Wings to a 3-0 win. The shutout is Conklin's fourth of the season, and his second in his past three starts. The Blue Jackets were outshot 40-23, including 32-16 over the second and third periods.
Wild 1, Bruins 0: I don't know if they can win every game 1-0, but the Wild sure seem to be content to try, as Niklas Backstrom made 28 saves to earn the shutout. Marek Zidlicky scored the game's only goal -- his fifth of the season -- at the 7:29 mark of the second period. It almost sounded like the Bruins fans were booing as the third period clock expired, which would be absurd if that's what it was. The Bruins have lost two in a row for the first time since October 20-23.
Panthers 4, Maple Leafs 2: The Panthers jumped out to a 3-0 lead and never really looked back, winning for just the third time in their past eight games.
Avalanche 2, Predators 1: After Ryan Jones gave the Predators a 1-0 lead early in the first period, Wojtek Wolski scored a pair goals for Colorado, as it picked up a 2-1 win on Tuesday. Andrew Raycroft made 22 saves in the win.
Blackhawks 6, Coyotes 0: Chicago jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first period, and cruised to a 6-0 win in Phoenix. Jonathan Toews scored a pair of goals for the Blackhawks, while Cristobal Huet made 22 saves to pick up the win in net. Once the score became 6-0 in the third period, things started to get ugly as Matt Walker and Ed Jovanoski had a scrum, which was followed by Todd Fedoruk getting a five-minute major for charging Huet.
Ducks 3, Kings 1: Samuel Pahlsson scored a power play goal with 10:15 to play in the third period on Tuesday night, as the Ducks pulled out a 3-1 win over Los Angeles. Bobby Ryan and Rob Neidermayer also tallied goals for the Ducks, while Jonas Hiller made 17 saves in net.
Flames 5, Sharks 2: The Bruins and Sharks losing in regulation on the same night? Hey, it happened. Daymond Langkow scored a pair of goals for Calgary to help lead the Flames to a 5-2 win over San Jose. It's the Sharks fifth regulation loss of the season, and only their third since October 24. The Flames jumped out to a 4-0 lead, before Ryane Clowe and Mike Grier scored for San Jose to cut the deficit in half. David Moss scored his 12th goal of the season in the third period to help clinch the win.
