National Hockey

MONTREAL — It was only a matter of time before the relentless Pittsburgh Penguins broke through Montreal's defences for good.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — James van Riemsdyk thought about the possibility of back-to-back hat tricks. Then again, five goals over two nights and a career milestone will do just fine.

NEW YORK — The Washington Capitals — particularly T.J. Oshie — were grateful to get a high-scoring win.

OTTAWA — His coach may dislike the word, but Ottawa forward Zack Smith says the Senators are determined to act as spoiler over the next three weeks.

NASHVILLE — The Nashville Predators say forward Calle Jarnkrok will miss the rest of the regular season with an upper-body injury. The Predators updated Jarnkrok's status Thursday .

EDMONTON — The Edmonton Oilers have signed forward Kirill Maksimov to a three-year entry-level contract.

A linesman orders Sean Couturier out of the faceoff circle and Claude Giroux shrugs before stepping in and winning the draw. Two centres on the ice at once is a nice luxury for the Philadelphia Flyers to have.

ANAHEIM, Calif. — After losing three consecutive games in the heat of a tight playoff race, the Anaheim Ducks were not going to be choosy about who scored their goals or which team they beat.

LAS VEGAS — The New Jersey Devils are fighting for their playoff lives. And they're certainly playing like it.

EDMONTON — Resiliency was the watchword for the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday.