CALGARY, Alberta - Dougie Hamilton scored his first two goals and added an assist to lead the Calgary Flames to a 5-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Friday night for their third straight win.

Sam Bennett, Sean Monahan and Michael Frolik also scored for Calgary, and Brian Elliott stopped 31 shots.

Erik Karlsson and Kyle Turris scored for Ottawa. Andrew Hammond started in goal and had three saves on four shots before leaving with a lower-body injury after one period. Chris Dreidger replaced him and gave up four goals on 15 shots.

With the score tied 2-2 halfway through the second, Hamilton retrieved the puck from the sideboards, spun and whipped a shot from a bad angle over the Dreidger's shoulder.

Calgary put the game away on goals by Monahan and Frolik 2:46 apart midway through the third.

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DENVER - Shawn Matthias scored in the second period against his former team, Michael Hutchinson stopped 37 shots for his third career NHL shutout and the Winnipeg Jets beat the Colorado Avalanche 1-0 on Friday night.

The Jets were more energetic despite playing their third game in four days, including a 4-1 win over Dallas the night before. Colorado looked a bit rusty after a week off and couldn't to solve Hutchinson. It was Hutchinson's first shutout since Jan. 15, 2015, against Columbus.

The Avalanche pulled Semyon Varlamov with around 1:22 remaining, but the Avalanche couldn't capitalize.

Varlamov stopped 20 shots, his only mistake not sliding over in time to stop Matthias' wrist shot.

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PHILADELPHIA - Pittsburgh won three of its four games without defenseman Kris Letang in the lineup and there is a chance the Norris Trophy candidate could be back in uniform when the Penguins renew their rivalry with the Flyers in Philadelphia on Saturday night.

Sidelined by an upper-body injury suffered on Oct. 18 in Montreal, Letang was examined by a doctor on Friday before boarding the team's flight to Philadelphia.

"He's getting closer for sure," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan told the team's website. "Obviously, he's a big part of our team and we're a better team when he's a part of our lineup."

The same can be said of captain Sidney Crosby, who has two goals and one assist in two games since returning from his third concussion in six years.

Pittsburgh is 2-0 with its captain in the lineup and if history is any indication, Crosby will get an earful when he steps on the ice at the Wells Fargo Center. Crosby has scored more goals against the Flyers (33 in 55 games) than he has against any other NHL team.

While the Penguins (5-2-1) are coming off Tuesday night's 4-2 home win over the New York Islanders, the Flyers (3-4-1) are coming off a 5-4 loss to the Arizona Coyotes, whose only two wins of the season have come against Philadelphia.

Slow starts have been an Achilles' heel for the Flyers, who surrendered the first goal in each of their four home games and have been outscored 8-1 in first periods this season, including 2-0 against Arizona on Tuesday.

"The first period was not pretty and we know that," Flyers captain Claude Giroux said. "We need to find a way to come out stronger."

"We did some good things sporadically," Flyers coach Dave Hakstol said. "But you don't win games by doing a few good things sporadically throughout the game. You have to be good from start to finish, individually, collectively and that's how you win games."

Giroux is still seeking his first goal of the season but leads the NHL with nine assists. He is on a seven-game point streak, which ties the second-longest of his career. He also recorded a seven-game streak from Jan.14-25, 2011 and posted a nine-game streak from Dec. 11-30, 2013.

Flyers right wing Jake Voracek leads the team and ranks third in the NHL with 33 shots this season. He has three goals.

Philadelphia defenseman Andrew MacDonald (1 goal, 1 assist, minus-3) could be a healthy scratch for the first time this season in favor of Nick Schultz on Saturday.

Sullivan said Marc-Andre Fleury (5-2-1, 2.97 GAA) will be between the pipes for the Penguins on Saturday.

Flyers coach Dave Hakstol has a tougher decision. Both Steve Mason (2-4-1, 3.15 GAA) and 1-0-0, 4.47) have struggled. Neuvirth was pulled from each of his first two starts.

Penguins forward Carl Hagelin, who is struggling with one goal in eight games, was checked into the boards from behind against the Islanders but practiced on Friday and is expected to play, despite sporting stitches and a black left eye.

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MONTREAL - Max Pacioretty scored the tie-breaking goal in Montreal's three-goal third period as the Canadiens beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-1 Thursday night for their sixth straight win.

Alex Galchenyuk and Torrey Mitchell also scored to help Montreal improve to 7-0-1. Carey Price made 29 saves to win for the fourth time in four starts this season.

Alex Killorn scored the lone goal for the Lightning, who lost against an Eastern-Conference opponent for the first time this season. Ben Bishop stopped 23 shots.

With the scored tied 1-1, Pacioretty got the go-ahead goal at 10:23 by beating Bishop glove-side. Blown coverage by the Lightning left the Canadiens' captain all alone on the edge of the face-off circle, and Bishop couldn't see the shot with Andrew Shaw posted firmly in front of goal.

Montreal, coming off a 3-2 win at the New York Islanders the previous night, remained the only NHL team still undefeated in regulation.

Price beat Tampa Bay for the first time in his last eight starts (1-5-2). His previous win against the Lightning was on Dec. 28, 2013.

Price wasn't tested much in the early stages of the game as Tampa Bay didn't get its first shot until 12:14 had elapsed - Killorn from an extremely difficult angle.

After just a four-shot first period, the Lightning were more threatening in the second.

Killorn beat Price for the game's first goal with 3:52 left in the middle period by deflecting home a slap pass from Victor Hedman. Killorn snuck in behind defenseman Alexei Emelin, put himself in a good position just outside the crease and got enough of the puck for his team-leading sixth goal of the season.

The 27-year-old Killorn has scored in six of Tampa's seven games this season.

It was just the second time this season Montreal gave up the first goal of the game.

Price did his best to keep Montreal in the game at the start of the third period, robbing Ondrej Palat from close range with his toe.

Just minutes later, Galchenyuk beat Bishop for his second goal of the season to tie it at 6:12. With the Canadiens on the power play, Andrei Markov fooled the Lightning with a cross-ice pass instead of taking a shot on net. Galchenyuk made no mistake with the one-timer just above Bishop's glove. Jeff Petry got the play started with a spin move at the blue line.

Mitchell added the empty-netter in the game's final minute.

NOTES: Tampa Bay's Nikita Kucherov fell awkwardly into the boards in the first period, left the game and did not return. ... Canadiens D Mikhail Sergachev was a healthy scratch for the fourth consecutive game. ... Shea Weber saw his four-game point streak come to an end. ... Montreal leads the league with 25 points from its defensemen.

UP NEXT

Lightning: At New Jersey on Saturday night in the fourth game of a six-game trip.

Canadiens: Host Toronto on Saturday night.

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BUFFALO, N.Y. - Devan Dubnyk made 38 saves for his second straight shutout and the Minnesota Wild beat the Buffalo Sabres 4-0 on Thursday night.

Ryan Suter had a goal and an assist, and Joel Eriksson Ek, Jason Zucker and Mikko Koivu also scored. The Wild went 2-1-1 on a four-game road trip to improve to 5-2-1.

Anders Nilsson made 18 saves in his second straight start for the Sabres. They have lost four in a row.

Minnesota built a two-goal lead in the first period, but Buffalo controlled the action in the second. Dubnyk made 19 saves, including 15 in the first 6:11 of the period, and the Wild killed two penalties.

Suter scored his third goal of the season 2:58 into the third period, sending a wobbly wrist shot from the right circle over Nilsson's glove. Koivu added an empty-net goal with 1:09 left.

Eriksson Ek scored at 4:51 of the first period when he played the puck off the right boards to elude defenseman Jake McCabe and snapped a shot over Nillson's left shoulder into the far corner of the net. The 19-year-old rookie has two goals and three assists in his first four games.

Zucker scored for the second straight game to make it 2-0 with 4:47 left in the first period. Taking a pass from Chris Stewart at the blue line, Zucker skated between two defenders into a breakaway and slipped a backhand beneath Nillson's left pad.

NOTES: Minnesota D Marco Scandella went to the locker room during the first period after getting his right leg tangled up in a scrum in front of the net. ... Wild D Jared Spurgeon (upper body) and F Erik Haula are both close to returning, coach Bruce Boudreau said. Spurgeon skated Thursday morning, while Haula did not. ... Sabres F Evander Kane (cracked ribs) missed his fifth straight game and C Jack Eichel (ankle) remains out indefinitely. ... Sabres D Rasmus Ristolainen played in his 200th NHL game on his 22nd birthday. He is the fourth-youngest player to appear in 200 games for the Sabres, according to Elias Sports Bureau. ... The Wild have gotten a point from every player in the lineup this season after D Nate Prosser, D Christian Folin and Scandella each recorded their first assists.

UP NEXT

Wild: Return home to play Dallas on Saturday.

Sabres: Host Florida on Saturday.

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NEW YORK - Brandon Pirri scored twice to help the New York Rangers beat the Boston Bruins 5-2 on Wednesday night.

Rick Nash, Kevin Hayes and Jimmy Vesey also scored for New York, and Henrik Lundqvist stopped 27 shots. The Rangers won their third straight game, overcoming a 2-0 deficit to improve to 5-2-0.

David Pastrnak and Austin Czarnik scored for Boston. The Bruins have lost three straight to drop to 3-4-0.

Zane McIntyre made 26 saves in his first NHL start. He was called up prior to Boston's 5-0 home loss to Minnesota on Tuesday night to back up Malcolm Subban due to injuries to Tuukka Rask and Anton Khudobin.

Down 2-0 after the first, the Rangers scored three times in the final 10:44 of the second.

Nash began the comeback with a power-play goal at 9:16. He curled to the net before corralling a rebound of Derek Stepan's point shot and flipping it over goalie Zane McIntyre for his third of the season.

Hayes tied it with 3:25 left in the second, banking a shot from behind the net off of McIntyre's pants.

Pirri's power-play goal with 36 seconds left made it 3-2. The free-agent signee ripped a shot from the right circle that was in the net before McIntrye could get his glove up. New York finished the game 2 for 6 on the man advantage, while the Bruins were 0 for 1.

It was not all positive for the Rangers in the second, with Dan Girardi missing two shifts following a hit from Pastrnak, who was assessed a minor penalty for an illegal check to the head. Girardi leaped in the air to play a loose puck in the neutral zone and, as he came down, Pastrnak drove his shoulder into the upper body of the New York defenseman.

Pirri made it 4-2 2:23 into the third with his fourth of the season. Vesey scored on a tap-in 43 seconds late.

The Bruins opened the scoring Pastrnak's fifth of the season 10 seconds into the game. The lead grew to 2-0 14:34 later when Czarnik scored his first goal in the NHL. Czarnik fired a shot from inside the blue line that New York defenseman Brady Skjei blocked, but Henrik Lundqvist appeared to lose track of the puck and it bounced across the goal line.

Lundqvist had 27 saves.

NOTES: Prior to the game, the Bruins announced Czarnik had been called up from Providence of the AHL. Czarnik had a goal and two assists in two games with Providence this season. Czarnik, 23, did play in two NHL games earlier this season with the Bruins. ... Boston also announced RW David Backes had his olecranon bursa removed from his elbow on Monday. The Bruins also scratched D Joe Morrow and C Danton Heinen. ... New York LW Chris Kreider missed his second straight game with neck spasms. ... The Rangers scratched D Adam Clendening and D Dylan McIlrath. ... New York lost fourth-line RW Josh Jooris for the game with what the team called an ''upper-body injury.''

UP NEXT:

BRUINS: Play at Detroit Saturday night.

RANGERS: Play at Carolina Friday night.

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SEOUL, South Korea - National Hockey League representatives are in South Korea to inspect Olympic facilities as the league mulls a decision on whether to let its players appear for a sixth consecutive Olympics in Pyeongchang.

Pyeongchang's organizing committee said the NHL delegation led by vice president of international strategy Lynn White and facilities operation manager Dan Craig will make inspections on Thursday and Friday of facilities in Gangneung, a city near Pyeongchang which will host the ice hockey tournament during the 2018 Winter Games.

The International Olympic Committee's negotiations with the NHL over having the league's players competing in Pyeongchang have stalled over the IOC's decision not to pay for NHL players' travel and insurance as it has in the past.

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Ryan Dzingel scored two goals and Craig Anderson made 22 saves for his first shutout of the season and the 34th of his career as the Ottawa Senators beat the Vancouver Canucks 3-0 on Tuesday night.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored into an empty net for the Senators.

Anderson entered play with a 3.66 goals-against average and an .866 save percentage, but was flawless as Ottawa (4-2-0) opened a three-game road trip through western Canada with a solid defensive effort.

Ryan Miller made 25 stops for Vancouver (4-2-1), which has dropped three straight and lost at home for the first time in 2016-17.

After opening the scoring in the first period, Dzingel added his fourth of the season at 2:12 at of the third, taking a slick no-look feed from Bobby Ryan in front and beating Miller for the first two-goal game of his career.

The 24-year-old played the first five games of the season on Ottawa's fourth line, but was promoted to the second unit with Ryan and Derick Brassard against Vancouver, and made the most of his opportunity.

The Senators had allowed nine goals in third periods coming into Tuesday, and Anderson had to be sharp on a shot off the stick of Bo Horvat from the slot with about 12 minutes left in regulation.

Henrik Sedin had a golden opportunity for Vancouver with under 10 minutes to go, but decided on a pass despite getting a good look at the Ottawa goal with Anderson out of position.

Anderson then stopped Sven Baertschi on a breakaway with six minutes to go to preserve the shutout before Pageau scored his first into an empty net.

The Canucks had their first regulation loss of the season on Sunday, 4-2 at Anaheim, a result that came on the heels of a 4-3 shootout defeat to Los Angeles the previous night.

The Senators, meanwhile, dropped a 4-1 decision at home to Tampa Bay on Saturday.

Troy Stecher made his NHL debut for Vancouver after being called up from the AHL on Monday. The 22-year-old defenseman from nearby Richmond, signed with the organization as a undrafted college free agent in the offseason, and took the place of Christopher Tanev (lower-body injury) alongside Alexander Edler on Vancouver's top pairing.

Ottawa snapped a seven-game losing streak at Rogers Arena dating to 2004.

NOTES: Also missing for Vancouver were Fs Alexandre Burrows (neck) and Derek Dorsett (shoulder). Jayson Megna was recalled from the AHL and suited up for his first game with the club on the fourth line.

UP NEXT:

Senators: Visit Calgary on Friday.

Canucks: host Edmonton on Friday and Washington on Saturday, but after that play just seven of their next 21 at home.

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ST. LOUIS - Brian Elliott stopped 23 shots in his return to St. Louis, Johnny Gaudreau and Sam Bennett each had a goal and an assist and the Calgary Flames beat the Blues 4-1 on Tuesday night.

Elliott was traded from St. Louis to Calgary in June, and the 17,337 in attendance serenaded Elliott with chants of ''Moose,'' his nickname, on his first couple of saves. Elliott's best save came late in the second when he slid his right pad across the crease to rob Nail Yakupov on a rebound attempt.

Dennis Wideman and Deryk Engelland also scored to help the Flames snap a seven-game losing streak at St. Louis.

Kevin Shattenkirk scored for the Blues on a two-man advantage in the third, and Carter Hutton made 26 saves. After winning their first three games, the Blues are 1-2-1 in their last four.

Wideman's power-play goal early in the first ended a string of 19 straight penalty kills for the Blues. Wideman gave the Flames the 1-0 lead after former Blue Troy Brouwer won the puck along the boards and found Wideman alone in the slot.

Engelland added to the lead midway through the first after Kris Versteeg sent him in alone on Hutton with a pass. The play started after Vladimir Tarasenko whiffed on a shot on the other end, sending the Flames in on an odd-man rush.

Bennett's wrist shot went in through a maze of traffic early in the second to give Calgary a 3-0 lead. Bennett had an assist on Engelland's goal, giving him his second multipoint game of the season, both against St. Louis.

The game was also a homecoming for Calgary's Matthew Tkachuk, son of former Blue Keith Tkachuk. Matthew Tkachuk, the 6th overall pick by the Flames, was one of four St. Louis area natives taken in the first round of this year's amateur draft.

NOTES: Blues F Alexander Steen played in his 500th game with St. Louis. ... Flames D Mark Giordano played in his 600th game with Calgary. ... Brouwer and Elliott both joined the Flames in the offseason and received a standing ovation after the Blues played a video tribute to them midway through the first period.

UP NEXT

Flames: Return home to face Ottawa on Friday night.

Blues: Continue a three-game home stand against Detroit on Thursday night.

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PITTSBURGH - Sidney Crosby scored in his season debut as the Pittsburgh Penguins rallied to beat the Florida Panthers 3-2 on Tuesday night.

Crosby, who scored on a power play, missed the team's first six games with a concussion. Carl Hagelin and Eric Fehr also scored for the Penguins, who extended a seven-game unbeaten streak against the Panthers.

Marc-Andre Fleury, who has started the first seven games of the season for Pittsburgh, stopped 20 shots. Matt Murray, who backstopped the Penguins to a Stanley Cup in June, served as the backup to Fleury after missing the first six games with a broken hand.

Reilly Smith scored a power-play goal and Mark Pysyk also scored for the Panthers, who have lost 11 of 12 against the Penguins in Pittsburgh.

James Reimer made 19 saves in his second start of the season.

Crosby cut the Panthers' lead to 2-1 in the second period. Crosby had to reach for a pass from Evgeni Malkin, but recovered to whip a shot from the slot over Reimer's shoulder.

Hagelin tied it in the third when he sent a shot underneath Reimer's arm during a 2-on-1.

Fehr put the Penguins in front for good when he one-timed a pass from Tom Kuhnhackl between Reimer's legs.

Crosby, the two-time MVP and reigning Conn Smythe Trophy winner, hasn't played since sustaining a concussion in practice earlier this month. Crosby participated in a full-contact practice Monday for the first time since suffering his third concussion in six years. He called his participation in practice a major milestone in his recovery.

Crosby described himself Tuesday morning as a game-time decision, but coach Mike Sullivan said the Penguins' captain would likely make his season debut barring a setback after participating in the game-day skate.

Crosby, who captained Team Canada to a World Cup of Hockey championship last month, missed the better part of two seasons after sustaining a concussion in January 2011. He stressed he didn't panic when doctors told him of the latest diagnosis. The Penguins, meanwhile, went 3-2-1 with Crosby out of the lineup.

Panthers F Jaromir Jagr returned to Pittsburgh where he won two Stanley Cups and five scoring titles, totaling 1,079 points in 806 games from 1990-01.

The Penguins honored Jagr, the No. 5 pick in the 1990 NHL draft, during Tuesday's morning skate with a commemorative plaque made out of material from the Civic Arena roof. The 44-year-old Jagr, who is in his 23rd NHL season, ranks third all-time in NHL history in goals and points.

NOTES: Jagr played his 1,635th career game, tying Scott Stevens for seventh all-time. ... Penguins D Kris Letang skated Tuesday with a no-contact jersey, but missed his third game with an upper-body injury. ... Penguins F Conor Sheary is not cleared to play and will be re-evaluated in a week. ... The Panthers played without Jonathan Huberdeau (lower body), Nick Bjugstad (upper body) and Jussi Jokinen (lower body). ... Penguins D Brian Dumoulin played in his 100th NHL game.

UP NEXT

Panthers: Continue a four-game road trip at Toronto on Thursday.

Penguins: Host the New York Islanders on Thursday.

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