National Hockey

DENVER — Semyon Varlamov stopped everything — including a hard-crashing Chicago player late in the third period. Only, the collision took its toll: sending the Colorado goaltender flying into the net and knocking him out of the game.

NEW YORK — Coming off an emotional loss that knocked them out of first place, the Tampa Bay Lightning took a little while to get going against the New York Rangers. They eventually found their stride.

NEW YORK — With the score tied late in the third period, Auston Matthews saw an opening and got himself in position. And when he got the puck from William Nylander, he was able to knock in the winning goal.

WASHINGTON — Carolina is a long shot to make the playoffs. Coach Bill Peters is still looking for a strong finish for the Hurricanes.

VANCOUVER — Veteran left-winger Milan Lucic considered the question a moment. Would the Edmonton Oilers' season have gone differently if the team had lost its opening game against the Calgary Flames? "Could have been," Lucic answered with a chuckle.

CHICAGO — Scott Foster thought it was going to be just another night. Then the 36-year-old accountant signed a contract, put on his goaltender gear and waited in Chicago's locker room. Then he got into the game. Then it was his night.

Los Angeles Kings centre Jeff Carter had plenty of time to work on his shooting and stick handling as he recovered from surgery to repair a cut tendon in his ankle that sidelined him for 55 games.

NEWARK, N.J. — Sidney Crosby batted his own rebound out of the air and into the net 19 seconds into overtime and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Devils 4-3 on Thursday night, denying New Jersey a sweep of the four-game season series.

CALGARY — The Columbus Blue Jackets stayed hot thanks to a big night from rookie centre Pierre-Luc Dubois.

CHICAGO — Blackhawks defenceman Brent Seabrook played in his 1,000th regular-season game Thursday night, adding another accomplishment to his impressive career.