Newsmakers in the NHL: Welcome Back Paul Maurice

Paul Maurice made his debut in his second stint with the Hurricanes on Thursday night, and, well, it wasn't exactly an impressive showing by Carolina, as the Penguins walked out of the building with a 5-2 win. Sidney Crosby registered four assists on the night, while Petr Sykora picked up a pair of power play goals to lead the Penguins.

Carolina goalie Michael Leighton struggled most of the night, giving up the five goals on only 22 shots. He struggled with puck control and wasn't exactly helped by his defense, as they were guilty of a few costly turnovers in the defensive zone. With the Hurricanes trailing 1-0 in the first, Josef Melichar (former Penguin) turned the puck over to Pascal Dupuis who ripped a shot behind Leighton giving the Penguins an early 2-0 lead.

Ruslan Fedotenko and Miroslav Satan also scored for the Penguins, while Tuomo Ruutu and Matt Cullen scored the only two goals of the night for Carolina. Both goals brought the Hurricanes to within two goals on the scoreboard, only to have the Penguins quickly strike back, squashing any momentum Carolina may have built.

The Hurricanes have now lost four of their past five games.

Red Wings Win Wild Game Over Vancouver

Jiri Hudler and Dan Cleary each scored a pair of goals for the Red Wings, as they chased Vancouver goalie Curtis Sanford in a 6-5 win at Joe Louis Arena on Thursday. Sanford was on the hook for all six goals on 33 shots, before being lifted in favor of rookie Cory Schneider.

The Canucks skated with a 3-2 lead midway through the second period, before Detroit erupted with four consecutive goals, taking a 6-3 lead early in the third. Vancouver rallied late, picking up goals from Henrik Sedin and Alexandre Burrows.

Vancouver is now 1-4 since Roberto Luongo went down with his injury two weeks ago.

Pekka Rinne Leads Nashville to Another Win

Nashville rookie goaltender Pekka Rinne improved his record to 5-0 on Thursday night, stopping 19-of-21 shots as he helped lead the Predators to a 3-2 win over Colorado.

The two teams exchanged goals throughout the first period, as David Legwand scored what was ultimately the game-winning tally with just one second remaining in the opening frame. Nashville also received goals from Vernon Fiddler and Shea Weber. Ryan Smyth and Wojtek Wolski picked up goals for the Avalanche, while Peter Budaj turned aside 21-of-24 shots in the losing effort.

Odds and Ends

... It's beginning to look as if the Tampa Bay Lightning may never win again. They dropped yet another game on Thursday, 3-1, in Boston. Phil Kessel picked up a pair of goals for the Bruins, helping hand the Lightning their 13th loss in the past 15 games. They've now lost six in a row.

... The Montreal Canadiens, led by three first period goals, pounded the Rangers, 6-2. This game wasn't even close, as the Canadiens doubled up the Rangers in terms of shots on goal, while Carey Price made 18 saves to pick up the win in his fourth consecutive start.

... Alex Ovechkin scored his 14th goal of the season for Washington, while Donald Brashear scored the game-winning goal to help lead the Capitals past the Islanders, 5-2. The Capitals peppered goalie Joey MacDonald with 46 shots on goal (the Capitals actually had 47 shots for the game, with the final one being an empty net goal for Nicklas Backstrom) in the win, including a game-high 11 from Ovechkin.

... Patrick Elias scored the game-tying goal for New Jersey with just under two-minutes to play in regulation on Thursday, and then scored the game-winner in overtime to lead the Devils to a 3-2 win over Philadelphia. New Jersey has won six of its past seven games.

... Gregory Campbell and Keith Ballard tallied goals for the Panthers, while goalie Craig Anderson stood on his head and turned aside 45 shots in Florida's 2-1 win over Buffalo. Anderson has started five consecutive games for the Panthers, winning each of the past three.