LOS ANGELES, March 19, (Agencies): The Chicago Blackhawks moved into a tie for top spot in the West with a 3-0 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday.
Tomas Kopecky scored twice in the third period after Troy Brouwer put the Hawks ahead in the second as Chicago ended a three-game losing streak and joined San Jose at the top of the Western Conference.
Goaltender Antti Niemi needed only 17 saves in the shutout for Chicago (45-19-6). Los Angeles (40-24-5) are now tied for seventh in the West and have lost two in a row.
Leading scorer Anze Kopitar recorded four shots but could not lend support to netminder Jonathan Quick who finished with 34 saves.
Troy Brouwer put the Blackhawks on top at 11:36 in the second period and Kopecky put the game out of reach with his fifth and sixth goals of the year in a span of 3:20 during the third.
The Blackhawks had lost a trio of heart-breakers having given up the game-winning goal in the third or OT of each defeat.
But the visitors were able to turn things around despite a battered roster.
With defenders Brian Campbell and Brent Seabrook out it cleared the way for Kopecky to step in for winger Dustin Byfuglien, who was forced to play a defenseman.
It was the second multi-game goal of Kopecky’s career while Brouwer put in his 20th goal of the year.
Chicago now has five players with at least 20 scores, a feat they have accomplished for a second straight season.
The Kings will try to regroup beginning Saturday against the New York Islanders.
Penguins 3, Bruins 0
At Boston, Marc-Andre Fleury made 17 saves for Pittsburgh’s first shutout of the season in the Penguins’ 3-0 victory over the Boston Bruins.
Cooke, whose blindside hit sidelined Boston’s Marc Savard indefinitely with a Grade 2 concussion in Pittsburgh on March 7, took the ice for the first time 1:53 into the game as fans booed loudly. Just 5 seconds later, he and Shawn Thornton brushed against each other in the faceoff circle to the left of the Penguins net.
They dropped their gloves and, in a brief exchange, traded punches before Cooke’s helmet fell off and he went to the ice. Thornton, who kept swinging while Cooke was crouched in a vulnerable position, was given a 10-minute misconduct.
Tyler Kennedy, Alex Ponikarovsky and Michael Rupp scored.
Coyotes 4, Panthers 3, SO
At Sunrise, Florida, Radim Vrbata scored with a minute left in the third period to force overtime, then added the winner in the third round of a shootout for Phoenix’s franchise-record 44th victory of the season.
Martin Hanzal and Lee Stempniak also scored in the third period to help the Coyotes stretch their winning streak to seven games. The Coyotes broke the franchise mark set by the 1984-85 Winnipeg Jets — before overtime ties were broken in shootouts.
David Booth, Cory Stillman amd Stephen Weiss scored for Florida.
Hurricanes 4, Capitals 3, OT
At Raleigh, North Carolina, Ray Whitney scored at 4:02 of overtime as Carolina edged Washington.
Eric Fehr forced the overtime for Washington, scoring with 10 seconds left in regulation and goalie Semyon Varlamov off for an extra attacker.
Washington played without captain and scoring leader Alex Ovechkin, who is serving the second of a two-game suspension for his hit on Chicago defenseman Brian Campbell.
Eric Staal had a goal and set up Whitney’s winner, and Brett Carson and Chad LaRose also scored for Carolina. Defenseman Joe Corvo, obtained from the Hurricanes in a March 3 trade, had Washington’s first two goals.
Sabres 6, Lightning 2
At Tampa, Florida, Jason Pominville scored three goals as Buffalo moved within four points of New Jersey for the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Pominville scored twice in the first period and Tyler Myers added a goal to help Buffalo take a 3-0 lead. Derek Roy had a short-handed goal and an assist, Thomas Vanek also scored, and Ryan Miller made 23 saves for Buffalo.
Steve Downie and Vincent Lecavalier had third-period goals for Tampa Bay.
Canucks 3, Sharks 2
An Vancouver, British Columbia, Ryan Kesler and Alexander Edler each had a goal and an assist for Vancouver, and Ryan Johnson scored his first goal of the season.
Roberto Luongo made 32 saves as Vancouver beat San Jose for just the second time in 10 games over the last three seasons to move five points up on Colorado in the Northwest Division and within five of the Sharks atop the Western Conference.
Ryan Clowe and Joe Pavelski scored for the Sharks, who have lost four straight.
Blues 4, Rangers 3
At New York, Paul Kariya scored his 400th NHL goal to snap a third-period tie as St. Louis took advantage of uncharacteristically shaky New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist, scoring four times on its first 14 shots.
Just 1:13 after Wade Redden got the Rangers even at 3, Kariya took a feed in front from T.J. Oshie and scored his milestone goal. Brad Boyes and defensemen Mike Weaver and Erik Johnson also scored, and Ty Conklin made 26 saves.
Marian Gaborik had a goal and two assists, and Ryan Callahan also scored for New York. The Rangers are tied with Atlanta for ninth place in the Eastern Conference, three points behind Boston with 11 games left.
Thrashers 6, Senators 3
At Atlanta, Nik Antropov and Colby Armstrong scored two goals each as Atlanta gave itself hope in the playoff race with a second straight victory.
Evgeny Artyukhin and Jim Slater also scored for the Thrashers, three points out of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Chris Kelly, Jarkko Ruutu and Chris Phillips scored for Ottawa.
 The Senators have lost seven of eight games since the Olympic break, including the last four.
Maple Leafs 2, Devils 1, SO
At Toronto, Phil Kessel scored in regulation and in a shootout to help Toronto win for the fifth time in six games.
Nikolai Kulemin and John Mitchell also scored shootout goals for the Leafs, and Jean-Sebastien Giguere made 24 saves. David Clarkson scored for New Jersey, and Yann Danis stopped 24 shots in place of Martin Brodeur.
Flyers 3, Stars 2
At Dallas, Scott Hartnell scored the tiebreaking goal in the third period, and Simon Gagne and Mike Richards had a goal and an assist each for Philadelphia.
Steve Ott scored twice for Dallas.
Predators 5, Wild 0
At Nashville, Tennessee, Pekka Rinne made 17 saves for his fifth shutout of the season, and Colin Wilson, Jason Arnott, and Patric Hornqvist each had a goal and an assist for Nashville.
Nashville won its fourth straight, ending Minnesota’s winning streak at three.
J.P. Dumont and Marcel Goc also scored for Nashville.