Sheary, Penguins thump Flyers

Conor Sheary scored two goals, Sidney Crosby had three assists and the Pittsburgh Penguins moved into first place in the Metropolitan Division with a 5-2 victory against the Flyers lastnight in Philadelphia.

Phil Kessel, Jamie Oleksiak and Evgeni Malkin also scored for the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions, who have won three straight. Pittsburgh (39-254, 82 points) moved one point ahead of idle Washington and three in front of third-place Philadelphia.

Travis Konecny and Jakub Voracek had goals for the Flyers, who lost their fourth in a row heading into tonight’s game against the Bruins at the Garden.

The teams combined for six goals in an electrifying second period.

Flames 5, Sabres 1 — Sam Bennett and Mark Jankowski scored three minutes apart in the first period and visiting Calgary snapped a four-game skid with a win against Buffalo.

Calgary improved to 1-31 in its last five games to gain ground in the tightly contested Western Conference playoff race. With 76 points, the Flames jumped into 10th place, a point ahead of idle St. Louis, and within one of Los Angeles and Colorado.

Elsewhere in the NHL — Hall of Fame player Ron Francis is out as general manager of the Carolina Hurricanes after four years but will remain with the team in another capacity.

New owner Tom Dundon said last night that the team will begin a search for a new GM to report directly to Dundon. Francis will become the team’s president of hockey operations.