Harvey in Right Place for Sharks

Todd Harvey of the San Jose Sharks was rewarded for his hard work.

Harvey scored an empty-net goal and had two other pucks hit him or his stick and bounce into the net Monday night for his first hat trick in more than five years as the Sharks defeated the Washington Capitals, 5-3, at Washington to end the Capitals’ nine-game home unbeaten streak.

Harvey said the hat trick was a product of being in the right place at the right time.

“Tonight I was,” he said. “ . . . I was fortunate to be there and the puck kept bouncing in off me.”

Columbus 2, Montreal 0--Ron Tugnutt recorded the first shutout in Blue Jacket history, stopping 27 shots, and Chris Nielsen and Kevyn Adams scored the goals at Montreal.

Detroit 4, Edmonton 3--Larry Murphy scored with 1:55 to play in overtime at Detroit.

New York Rangers 6, Florida 3--Petr Nedved returned from a three-game suspension and had three assists, and linemate Jan Hlavac had a goal and two assists for the Rangers at New York.

Around the League

The sale of the Montreal Canadiens will be delayed until early next year. Owner Molson Inc. is extending its Dec. 31 target date to sell the team and the Molson Center arena. . . . Sergei Zholtok, struggling this season with the Canadiens, joined his fourth NHL club when he was traded to the Edmonton Oilers for center Chad Kilger. . . . Boston Bruin center Joe Thornton was suspended for two games by the NHL for cross-checking Carolina Hurricane defenseman Dave Karpa in the head Saturday night. . . . The Hurricanes dropped the Cincinnati Cyclones of the International Hockey League as their top minor-league affiliate.