Red Wings Get a Big Surprise

Beating the defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings was probably the last thing on Carolina’s mind Wednesday night at Greensboro, N.C.

The Hurricanes hadn’t beaten the Red Wings since 1993--a span of eight losses--and spent the last two days fielding questions about an alleged domestic violence assault by four-time team most valuable player Sean Burke.

But Sami Kapanen scored two goals in the final 3:55 and goalie Trevor Kidd extended his personal winning streak to four as the Hurricanes surprised the Red Wings, 3-1.

The Red Wings, 6-0 on the road before the loss, fell one victory short of matching Toronto’s 57-year-old NHL record of seven straight road wins to start a season.

“Every time you beat a team like that you get pumped up, and hopefully it’s going to carry over the next couple of games,” Kapanen said.

Carolina is 4-1-1 in its last six games.

Meanwhile, Burke, removed from the lineup for the game, could return by the end of the week, the team said.

Dallas 5, Pittsburgh 2--Joe Nieuwendyk had his first hat trick in more than two years in leading the streaking Stars to victory at Pittsburgh.

The Stars improved to 5-1-1 in their last seven games and ended a 3-1-1 trip.

Nieuwendyk scored three goals in a game for the first time since April 10, 1995, when he was with Calgary. It was the 11th hat trick of his career.

The Penguins lost goalie Ken Wregget because of a back injury in the second period. He was replaced by Peter Skudra, making his NHL debut. Wregget was starting in place of Tom Barrasso, who didn’t dress because of a leg injury.

New Jersey 4, Florida 2--Scott Niedermayer scored two goals and Randy McKay had a goal and an assist to lead the Devils past the slumping Panthers at Miami.

The Devils, winners of six of their last eight games, snapped a seven-game winless streak at Miami and are 6-1 against Atlantic Division opponents.

Florida has dropped three straight at home and is 1-6-2 in its last nine games.

With New Jersey leading 3-2, John MacLean added an open-net goal with 30 seconds left for his 700th career point (347 goals, 353 assists).

Panther Coach Doug MacLean sat out the first of his two-game suspension for running toward referee Dennis LaRue after an overtime loss to Buffalo last Saturday. Assistant coach Duane Sutter filled in.

N.Y. Rangers 4, Colorado 2--Wayne Gretzky and Niklas Sundstrom each extended their point streaks to six games as the Rangers ended a four-game winless streak while handing the Avalanche their first home loss. Colorado is 4-1-4 at home.

Gretzky had a goal and two assists and Sundstrom scored a goal.

The Avalanche had plenty of chances to tie the score in the final two periods, but it failed to convert six power plays and two close-in shot attempts by Stephane Yelle and Joe Sakic.

Toronto 4, Calgary 3--Wendel Clark scored the tiebreaking goal at 5:28 of the third period at Calgary, Canada, to give the Maple Leafs their third victory of the season over the Flames.

Breaking in two on one with Rob Zettler, Clark held on to the puck before snapping a shot from the faceoff circle past rookie goaltender Tyler Moss.

Felix Potvin made 27 saves for Toronto to earn the victory. Moss made 22 stops in taking his first loss in four starts.

Montreal 4, Phoenix 2--Shayne Corson had a goal and an assist at Montreal as the Canadiens won their third straight game.

Valeri Bure and Vladimir Malakhov also scored for Montreal, which ended a five-game home stand at 4-1.

N.Y. Islanders 4, Edmonton 4--Travis Green capped a three-goal comeback at 4:50 of the third period, giving the Islanders a tie with the Oilers at Uniondale, N.Y.