Avs' Smyth injured; Ruutu gets his 1st goal for Hurricanes

Ryan Smyth scored 2 second-period goals and then was taken off the ice on a stretcher after being checked into the boards, Jordan Leopold had 3 assists, and the Colorado Avalanche halted a four-game home skid with a 5-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night.

Smyth was injured when Los Angeles defenseman Jack Johnson checked him into the glass at the end of the Avalanche bench late in the second period.

The Colorado forward lay motionless on the ice for several minutes as trainers rushed out to attend to him. The Avalanche reported that he was conscious and walking but was sent to the hospital for further examination.

Hurricanes 5, Lightning 1: Sergei Samsonov had 2 goals, Eric Staal added a goal and 2 assists, and Carolina easily handled visiting Tampa Bay. Tuomo Ruutu, acquired at the trade deadline from the Blackhawks, scored his first goal for the Hurricanes.

Predators 3, Stars 1: David Legwand broke a scoreless tie early in the third period, and Nashville added 2 more goals in less than a minute as the Predators beat host Dallas to snap a three-game losing streak.

Sharks 2, Blues 0: Rescued from the minors earlier in the week, Brian Boucher made 23 saves in his first start of the season as San Jose won at St. Louis for its fifth straight win.

Flyers 4, Islanders 1: Jeff Carter scored a goal and set up Mike Knuble's short-handed tally in the third period for rebounding Philadelphia, which beat the host New York Islanders for its third straight win.

Bruins 3, Thrashers 2 (SO): Rookie David Krejci scored for the third straight game, helping host Boston to its sixth straight victory. Goalie Tim Thomas stopped NHL goal-scoring leader Ilya Kovalchuk of Atlanta on a last-chance shootout attempt to stretch the Bruins' unbeaten streak to eight games (7-0-1).

Senators 5, Penguins 4: Daniel Alfredsson had 2 goals and an assist, and host Ottawa snapped a three-game skid. Antoine Vermette, Martin Lapointe and Dany Heatley also scored for the Senators, and goalie Martin Gerber made 25 saves.

Canadiens 2, Devils 1: Andrei Kostitsyn's power-play goal late in the third period helped Montreal edge visiting New Jersey and move past the Devils into first place in the Eastern Conference.

Maple Leafs 3, Canadiens 2: Mats Sundin had a goal and 2 assists, and Bryan McCabe also had 2 assists for visiting Toronto, which improved to 4-0-1 in its last five games.