Primeau sparks Flyers
By The Associated Press

NEW YORK – Keith Primeau had two assists just hours after being selected to the All-Star game, and the Philadelphia Flyers’ snapped out of a power-play slump in a 4-2 victory over the New York Rangers.

Primeau was a surprise choice to the Eastern Conference All-Star team earlier in the day, but the checking center responded by notching just his second multipoint game this season.

He set up Sami Kapanen’s tying goal late in the first period and then assisted on Simon Gagne’s score that gave Philadelphia a 3-2 lead. Mark Recchi and John LeClair added power-play goals for the Flyers, who entered 3-for-35 with the man-advantage in 10 games since tallying five times on the power play Dec. 30 in St. Louis.

Anson Carter gave New York a short-lived lead in the first period, and Brian Leetch added a power-play goal to draw the Rangers even at 2 in the second.

It wasn’t enough as the slumping Rangers fell further away from a playoff spot by dropping their third straight and stretching their winless streak to five (0-3-2).

The Rangers were without former Flyers star Eric Lindros, who was forced to sit out due to the flu, and then lost goalie Mike Dunham to a mild concussion.

Senators 6, Penguins 5

OTTAWA – Martin Havlat and Peter Schaefer each scored two goals and Marian Hossa had three assists in the Ottawa Senators’ 6-5 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night.

Daniel Alfredsson and Josh Langfeld also scored to help Ottawa move within a point of Toronto for the Eastern Conference lead. The Senators improved to 13-2-4 in their last 19 games.

Milan Kraft, Drake Berehowsky, Tom Kostopoulos, Brian Holzinger and Dick Tarnstrom scored for Pittsburgh, which lost its fifth in a row.

Kostopoulos hit the left post with a shot in the final seconds after Tarnstrom’s power-play goal drew the Penguins within one with 2:22 remaining.

Pittsburgh, which has allowed a league-high 178 goals and is last in the NHL with 30 points, has just three wins in its last 19 games (3-14-1-1). The Penguins were 3-for-6 with the man advantage.

Avalanche 1, Thrashers 1

ATLANTA – Pasi Nurminen made 20 saves and the Atlanta Thrashers held Colorado’s NHL-leading power play scoreless in a 1-1 tie Thursday night.

The Avalanche had converted 24 percent of their opportunities with the man-advantage coming in, but they squandered five chances against the Thrashers, including a brief five-on-three in the second period.

That shouldn’t be a surprise, because the Thrashers lead the NHL in penalty killing at home.

Frantisek Kaberle gave Atlanta a 1-0 lead early in the first period on a power play, and Brad Larsen tied it in the second. Both goals came from unlikely scorers – it was Kaberle’s second of the season and Larsen’s third.

Colorado goalie David Aebischer made 20 saves.

For Thrashers coach Bob Hartley, it was his second game against the team he led to the Stanley Cup in 2001.

He was fired by Colorado after a 10-8-9-4 start last season, and Atlanta hired him about a month later.

The Thrashers won the first meeting, a 4-3 victory in overtime last February. In 4 seasons with the Avalanche, Hartley was 198-118-48.

Perhaps mindful of Hartley’s presence, both teams played a tight, physical game. Atlanta’s Ben Simon came charging out of the penalty box in the first period and leveled Andrei Nikolishin, stealing the puck in the process.

Colorado is 6-1-1 in its past eight games, and Atlanta has a modest three-game unbeaten streak (2-0-1).

Kaberle gave the Thrashers the lead with eight seconds left on the power play. Shawn McEachern dug out the puck in the corner, then fed Kaberle between the circles. His wrist shot beat David Aebischer for a 1-0 lead.

Larsen tied it with a one-timer at the 6:16 of the second, taking a pass from Milan Hejduk near the blue line and slapping the puck through Nurminen’s legs.

The Avalanche had their best chance to go ahead during that 20-second, two-man advantage in the second period. After they failed to score, they still had another 30 seconds on the power play, which they also wasted.

Another chance with the man-advantage early in the final period disappeared without a shot, and Colorado was called twice for offsides.

Notes: Thrashers D Garnet Exelby left in the first period because of a hip contusion and didn’t return. One of only six players on the team to play in every game this season, he has seven assists. … The Avalanche will finish a four-game road trip Saturday in Pittsburgh. They return home for one game, then hit the road again for two.

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