Hurricanes Beat Blues, Blackhawks Edge Sabres

By ESPN

Jeff Skinner says the holiday season is finally over for the Carolina Hurricanes.

Skinner got a go-ahead goal in the third period and Derek Ryan scored twice, helping the Hurricanes beat the St. Louis Blues 4-2 on Thursday night.

Carolina ended a two-game losing streak and won for just the second time in five games since Dec. 28.

"Coming out of the (Christmas) break, we really hadn't gotten to the level that we were before it," Skinner said. "Now, we're back on the right track. Maybe this will kick-start something."

Skinner scored a power-play goal with 6:08 remaining to make it 3-2, and then Ryan added an empty-netter for his second of the game with 1:19 left. Skinner's goal, his 14th of the season, deflected off St. Louis defenseman Jay Bouwmeester.

"It took a good bounce and fortunately, it went in," Skinner said.

Jay McClement also scored for Carolina, which won three in a row going into Christmas.

Cam Ward made 21 saves to improve to 14-11-1.

Joel Edmundson and Vladimir Tarasenko scored for St. Louis, which was coming off a 4-1 win over Chicago in the Winter Classic on Monday.

Jake Allen made 25 saves, but lost to Carolina for the first time in four starts.

Blackhawks 4, Sabres 3

Patrick Kane stayed on the ice long enough to shoot the Chicago Blackhawks to a sorely needed victory.

Kane scored 56 seconds into overtime, Artem Anisimov had two goals and the Blackhawks beat the Buffalo Sabres 4-3 on Thursday night.

Jonathan Toews set up Kane's 12th goal when he forced Anders Nilsson to make a left pad save. The rebound went right to the reigning NHL MVP, who knocked it into the open side of net before Nilsson could recover.

Coach Joel Quenneville was trying to get Kane off the ice before he scored the winning goal .

"The time I wanted him to come was the right time and then he knew that then it was a little too late, that he had to stay," Quenneville said. "I give him credit. He knows the game."

The Central Division-leading Blackhawks had dropped three in a row at home and five of six overall. Kane also had two assists against his hometown team, and Corey Crawford made 17 stops in Chicago's 10th consecutive victory against Buffalo.

"Nothing better than beating Buffalo, right?" a grinning Kane said as he addressed the crowd after the game.

Kyle Okposo had a goal and an assist for the Sabres, and Ryan O'Reilly had two assists in his return from an appendectomy. Jack Eichel also scored and Nilsson finished with 39 stops.

Thursday, January 5 Scoreboard

Edmonton 4, Boston 3

Washington 5, Columbus 0

Nashville 6, Tampa Bay 1

Carolina 4, St. Louis 2

Chicago 4, Buffalo 3 (OT)

Detroit 4, Los Angeles 0

Minnesota 5, San Jose 4

Friday, January 6 Schedule (All Times Central)

Nashville at Florida, 6:30 p.m.

Toronto at New Jersey, 6:30 p.m.

Carolina at Chicago, 7:30 p.m.

New York Islanders at Colorado, 8 p.m.

Calgary at Vancouver, 9 p.m.

Arizona at Anaheim, 9 p.m.

Saturday, January 6 Schedule (All Times Central)

Winnipeg at Buffalo, noon

Tampa Bay at Philadelphia, noon

Minnesota at Los Angeles, 3 p.m.

Montreal at Toronto, 6 p.m.

Washington at Ottawa, 6 p.m.

Boston at Florida, 6 p.m.

Edmonton at New Jersey, 6 p.m.

New York Rangers at Columbus, 6 p.m.

Dallas at St. Louis, 7 p.m.

New York Islanders at Arizona, 7 p.m.

Vancouver at Calgary, 9 p.m.

Detroit at San Jose, 9:30 p.m.

Sunday, January 8 Schedule (All Times Central)

Tampa Bay at Pittsburgh, 4 p.m.

Boston at Carolina, 4 p.m.

Philadelphia at Columbus, 5 p.m.

Edmonton at Ottawa, 6 p.m.

Nashville at Chicago, 6 p.m.

Minnesota at Anaheim, 7 p.m.