Canadiens beat Bruins again

BOSTON -- Chris Higgins had a lot easier time scoring than trying to come up with an explanation for Montreal's winning streak against Boston.

Higgins had a goal and 2 assists to help the Canadiens beat the Bruins for the seventh straight time, 4-2 on Thursday night.

"I can't explain it," Higgins said. "I don't know why we do so well against them. It was huge, we needed to get back on the winning side. We were down a little bit...the city and the fans were a little down on us."

Montreal, which snapped a three-game losing streak, has outscored the Bruins 28-11 during the seven-game winning streak.

"Maybe we should play more games against them," Canadiens coach Guy Carbonneau said. "We still have four more games against them and I'm sure they'll be ready."

Higgins, Kyle Chipchura and Tomas Plekanec scored goals on the first 6 shots of the game against goalie prospect Tuuka Rask, forced into the starting role with Tim Thomas sidelined by an apparent groin injury.

Mathieu Dandenault added a third-period goal for Montreal, and rookie Carey Price made 24 saves to improve to 7-4-1.

Phil Kessel and P.J. Axelsson scored for Boston, coming off a six-game road trip that ended Wednesday night with an overtime loss in New Jersey.

Canucks 5, Predators 2: Daniel Sedin scored 2 third-period goals to lead visiting Vancouver to a victory over Nashville. Alex Burrows, Taylor Pyatt and Trevor Linden also scored for the Canucks, and Curtis Sanford made 26 saves. Jed Ortmeyer and Martin Erat scored for Nashville.

Penguins 3, Flames 2 (SO):

Defenseman Kris Letang scored in the fourth round of a shootout to give visiting Pittsburgh a victory over Calgary. Letang ended it after Petr Sykora scored and Crosby and Evgeni Malkin missed. Kristian Huselius scored Calgary's lone goal in the shootout, while Jarome Iginla, Alex Tanguay and Matthew Lombardi failed to convert their chances.

Lightning 2, Hurricanes 1: Vincent Lecavalier scored his 19th goal of the season, and Johan Holmqvist made 23 saves in host Tampa Bay's victory over Carolina. Lecavalier opened the scoring with a power-play goal 16 minutes into the second period. Holmqvist, who stopped in-close tries by Justin Williams and Cory Stillman during a Carolina power play late in the second, came within 14 seconds of his first shutout of the season and second in 77 career NHL games.