Sundays National Hockey League Capsules
TORONTO 3, NY RANGERS 2 (OT)
NEW YORK Niklas Hagman netted the game-winner exactly three minutes into overtime, lifting the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 3-2 victory over the slumping New York Rangers.
John Mitchell and blue-liner Ian White also scored and Vesa Toskala made 39 saves for the Maple Leafs, who ended a three-game losing streak.
Lee Stempniak and defenseman Pavel Kubina collected three assists apiece for Toronto, which will host the Rangers on Wednesday.
Scott Gomez and defenseman Michal Rozsival tallied and All-Star Henrik Lundqvist stopped 23 shots for New York, which has lost 10 of its last 12 contests (2-7-3).
WASHINGTON 5, PITTSBURGH 2
WASHINGTON Alex Ovechkin scored his league-leading 43rd goal and outplayed rival Sidney Crosby, sparking the Washington Capitals to a 5-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Ovechkin only had one goal - a power-play tally that opened the scoring 6:53 into the game - but he also picked up an assist and dazzled with a game-high nine shots on goal.
Defenseman Sergei Gonchars power-play goal pulled Pittsburgh within 3-2 just 4:46 into the second period, but Shaone Morrisonn and Brooks Laich scored 25 seconds apart just under eight minutes later to break open the contest.
The quick goals chased Penguins netminder Marc-Andre Fleury, who surrendered five goals on 20 shots in 33:11.
CAROLINA 5, COLORADO 2
RALEIGH, North Carolina Matt Cullen helped the Carolina Hurricanes end their futility against the Colorado Avalanche.
Cullen netted his first career hat trick to lead the Hurricanes to their third straight win, a 5-2 victory over the Avalanche.
Defenseman Joni Pitkanen recorded a goal and an assist and Ryan Bayda also scored for the Hurricanes (31-25-5), who have won four of their last five contests to move within one point of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Ray Whitney and Chad LaRose collected two assists apiece and Cam Ward made 17 saves for Carolina, which defeated the Avalanche for the first time since moving from Hartford. The franchises previous win over Colorado was February 9, 1996.
Wojtek Wolski and Darcy Tucker tallied and Andrew Raycroft stopped 34 shots for the Avalanche, who had their three-game winning streak snapped.
TAMPA BAY 4, BOSTON 3
TAMPA, Florida Vaclav Prospal scored a power-play goal to snap a tie with 93 seconds remaining as the Tampa Bay Lightning snapped a four-game losing streak with a 4-3 triumph over the Boston Bruins.
Jeff Halpern and Adam Hall scored 15 seconds apart in the first period and veteran Mark Recchi also tallied for Tampa Bay, which entered the contest 0-3-1 in its last four games.
Karri Ramo turned aside 40 shots for the Lightning.
Phil Kessel and defensemen Zdeno Chara and Andrew Ference scored for Boston, which fell to 1-4-2 in its last seven games.
Marc Savard notched two assists and Manny Fernandez finished with 14 saves for the Bruins.
MINNESOTA 2, CHICAGO 1
CHICAGO Peter Olvecky made his first career NHL goal a memorable one.
The rookie scored early in the third period to snap a tie and Josh Harding turned aside a career-high 44 shots as the Minnesota Wild recorded a 2-1 triumph over the Chicago Blackhawks.
Dan Fritsche netted a power-play goal for Minnesota, which has amassed back-to-back victories.
Captain Jonathan Toews scored and Cristobal Huet finished with 22 saves for Chicago, which saw its four-game winning streak come to an end.
Playing in his 11th career game, Olvecky accepted a centering feed from defenseman Martin Skoula and beat Huet between the pads 3:30 into the third period.