Brandon Sutter scores twice in Penguins win over Bruins

Brandon Sutter scored twice in the final seven minutes to cap a furious rally as the host Pittsburgh Penguins slipped past the Boston Bruins 3-2 last night.

Chris Kunitz started Pittsburgh's third-period surge with his 18th goal of the season and Sutter beat Boston's Anton Khudobin twice in less than four minutes, including the game-winner with 2:03 remaining.

Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 14 shots for the Penguins, who broke loose late against the NHL's best defensive team.

Zdeno Chara and Tyler Seguin scored first-period goals for the Bruins. Khudobin made 31 saves and the Bruins kept Pittsburgh's high-powered offense in check until the final minutes of a matchup between two of the Eastern Conference's best teams.

It all changed quickly. Kunitz revived Pittsburgh's hopes with a wrist shot from the right circle to pull the Penguins within one with 6:18 left in regulation. Sutter, who has been solid if not spectacular in his first season with Pittsburgh after being acquired in a trade for Jordan Staal last summer, then drew the Penguins even 51 seconds later with a wrist shot from the left side.

The Penguins played their second straight game without reigning NHL MVP Evgeni Malkin, out for at least a week with an undisclosed upper body injury.

Lightning 3, Panthers 2: Steven Stamkos snapped a third-period tie with his NHL-leading 20th goal as Tampa Bay held on to beat the host Florida despite recording only 13 shots. Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis also scored for the Lightning, and Anders Lindback made 37 saves.

Hurricanes 4, Capitals 0: Riley Nash scored twice, Joe Corvo put one in off the goaltender's mask and Justin Peters got his second career shutout as surging Carolina beat slumping Washington 4-0, taking the first leg of a key home-and-home series between the Southeast Division rivals.

Canucks 2, Blue Jackets 1: Mason Raymond scored the only goal in the shootout, and seldom-used Roberto Luongo stopped 26 shots through overtime to lead the Vancouver over host Columbus. Luongo, playing in his second game in 16 days, stopped all three Blue Jackets in the shootout. -- AP