Panthers stay in race

Anderson's shutout streak ends, but Florida wins anyway

Craig Anderson wasn't perfect. For a change, the Florida Panthers goalie didn't have to be.

Anderson stopped 25 shots, and the Panthers beat the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins 5-2 on Thursday night. After leading Florida to consecutive 1-0 victories, Anderson's bid for a third consecutive shutout ended early, yet he was good enough to help the Panthers open a critical seven-game homestand with a victory.

David Booth had a goal and two assists, and Stephen Weiss added a goal and an assist for the Panthers, who remained seven points behind Carolina in the Southeast Division standings.

Anderson stopped 93 shots in his previous two outings at the New York Islanders and Boston Bruins, making Florida the first NHL team to win consecutive 1-0 games on the road.

He ran his streak to 106 saves before Malone tapped in a rebound at 6:19 of the first.

ALSO THURSDAY

RANGERS 4, ISLANDERS 1: Scott Gomez deflected a shot past Islanders backup goalie Wade Dubielewicz early in the third period, and the visiting Rangers split the home-and-home series.

The Rangers, who lost to the Islanders 4-3 in a shootout on Tuesday night, came out of the two-game series with three points out of four. They are 8-0-3 in their last 11.

MAPLE LEAFS 8, BRUINS 2: Bryan McCabe had a goal and an assist during a four-goal second period to lead resurgent Toronto over host Boston.

Alexei Ponikarovsky, Matt Stajan and Nik Antropov also scored in the second as Toronto turned a tight game into a rout. Antropov had two goals in all.

Toronto, which looked to be buried outside the Eastern Conference's tight playoff chase three weeks ago, won for the seventh time in 10 games. The Maple Leafs entered the night six points out of the final playoff spot.

FLYERS 3, LIGHTNING 2: Jeff Carter scored his second goal with 1:54 left in the third period as Philadelphia snapped a five-year home losing streak against Tampa Bay.

The Lightning had beaten the Flyers eight straight games in Philadelphia. The Flyers' last win over the Lightning at home was on Jan. 18, 2003.

AVALANCHE 1, DUCKS 0: Jose Theodore stopped 27 shots for his second shutout of the season, Wojtek Wolski had a goal, and host Colorado won its fifth straight.

Theodore has been in net for all five victories, giving him his longest winning streak since March 2004, when he was with the Montreal Canadiens. It was his 25th career shutout.

CANADIENS 4, COYOTES 2: Saku Koivu, Andrei Markov and Sergei Kostitsyn scored third-period goals as visiting Montreal rallied past Phoenix.

Alex Kovalev and Chris Higgins each had two assists for the Canadiens, who are 6-0-3 against the Coyotes since 1998.

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SHARKS 3, SENATORS 2 (OT): Patrick Marleau scored his second goal of the game 3:05 into overtime to lead host San Jose to its seventh straight win.

The Sharks rallied from a pair of one-goal deficits in the third period.