PITTSBURGH — Phil Kessel scored twice and picked up assist, Evgeni Malkin added two goals and two assists, and the surging Pittsburgh Penguins rolled past the Washington Capitals 7-4 on Friday night.
Bryan Rust, Carl Hagelin and Patric Hornqvist also scored for the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions, who won their fourth straight to pull within four points of first-place Washington in the crowded Metropolitan Division. Sidney Crosby had two assists to push his scoring streak to 11 games, the longest active streak in the NHL.
Matt Murray stopped 29 shots for Pittsburgh, which won its seventh consecutive home game by jumping on the Capitals early then pulling away late.
Alex Ovechkin scored twice to push his season total to an NHL-best 32 and Dmitry Orlov and Evgeny Kuznetzov also scored for the Capitals.
RED WINGS 4, HURRICANES 1: Darren Helm had a goal and two assists, Petr Mrazek stopped 36 shots and Detroit won at Raleigh, North Carolina.
Gustav Nyquist, Danny DeKeyser and Trevor Daley also scored for the Wings, who won their second straight.
SHARKS 3, BLUE JACKETS 1: Kevin Labanc had a goal and an assist, and Martin Jones stopped 28 shots to lift San Jose to a win at Columbus, Ohio.
The Sharks’ first two goals came on power plays, with Labanc getting a wide-open look at the net with a five-on-three advantage in the second period. Logan Couture and Marc-Edouard Vlasic also scored for San Jose, which snapped a four-game losing streak.
NOTES
SABRES: The NHL suspended forward Johan Larsson two games for cross checking Florida Panthers forward Vincent Trocheck in the face.
The league’s department of player safety issued the ruling after conducting a hearing with Larsson on Friday, a day after Buffalo’s 4-2 loss to the Panthers.
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