LAST NIGHT IN THE NHL
SENATORS at BRUINS:
Dany Heatley scored two goals and set a franchise record for the longest consecutive point streak, leading the Ottawa Senators to a 5- 2 victory over the Boston Bruins.
“ When I saw him in training camp, he didn’t look like a special player,” Senators goalie Dominik Hasek said, laughing. “ He is a great stickhandler, knows where to be on the ice and where to shoot the puck.”
Heatley has scored in all 14 games for Ottawa this season, and has 13 goals and 26 points.
“ With the year off, I think most guys were excited to get going, but coming to Ottawa, a new place, made me even more excited,” said Heatley, who had a turbulent 2003- 04 season after he was involved in a fatal car accident at the beginning of training camp and played only 31 games after battling through injuries. The Senators won their fourth straight and improved to 9-0 against Northeast Division teams. Bryan Smolinski, Peter Schaefer and Martin Havlat scored in a 4: 55 span in the second period to give Ottawa a 4- 1 lead.
After Smolinski put Ottawa ahead 2- 1, Wade Redden passed to a streaking Havlat, who hit the post. Schaefer knocked the rebound past Andrew Raycroft for a short- handed goal. The Bruins lost in regulation for the first time since Oct. 20 against Buffalo. Boston had recorded a point in nine straight games. Brad Boyes and Glen Murray scored for Boston, which is 1- 6- 1 against division teams and 7- 6- 5 overall.
Daniel Alfredsson and Jason Spezza each had two assists. The Senators’ Alfredsson- SpezzaHeatley line has 29 points in the last four games. CANADIENS at PENGUINS:
Penguins rookie Sidney Crosby beat Jose Theodore with a backhander for the only goal in the first shootout in Montreal Canadiens history and Pittsburgh recovered after losing a two- goal lead for a 3- 2 victory.
Crosby got a goal that counted in regulation and so did Mario Lemieux on the next shift after he lay prone on the ice after being hit by a stick. Jocelyn Thibault — previously winless — turned aside 30 shots in easily his best game of the season. ISLANDERS at FLYERS:
Patrick Sharp scored two goals, including the tiebreaker early in the third period, and the Philadelphia Flyers overcame a two- goal deficit to beat the New York Islanders 3- 2 for their fifth straight victory.
Jeff Carter had a goal and two assists, and Antero Niittymaki made 38 saves for the Flyers, who have won eight straight at home.
Miroslav Satan and Mike York scored power- play goals in the first period to give the Islanders a 2- 0 lead. New York held a 4030 shots advantage including 20- 5 in the first period. RANGERS at LIGHTNING:
Dominic Moore scored twice during New York’s four- goal third period and the Rangers sent the defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning to their fifth straight loss with a 5- 2 victory. Henrik Lundqvist made 23 saves for the Rangers, who have won four consecutive road games.
Ville Nieminen, Jason Ward and Marcel Hossa, with an emptyalso scored for the Rangers ( 10- 5- 3), who climbed five games over .500 for the first time since Dec. 31, 2001. BLACKHAWKS at BLUES:
Jim Vandermeer scored two goals, one tapped in by a hapless opponent, to help the Chicago Blackhawks run the St. Louis Blues’ franchise-record losing streak to 10 with a 4- 2 victory. Mark Bell also scored for the Blackhawks, who have won two straight for the first time in 41 games. They’re near the bottom of the NHL with 12 points, five more than the league-worst Blues, including an overtime victory in St. Louis on Nov. 2. The Blues’ 2- 11- 3 start is their worst since 1977- 78 when they were 2- 10- 2.