Kariya’s Return Triggers an Avalanche of Goals

Paul Kariya made his long-awaited return to the ice Tuesday night, and it was as if he had never been away.

After nearly a two-month absence because of a sprained right wrist, Kariya scored a second-period goal, helping the Colorado Avalanche win its fourth consecutive game, 6-0, over the Columbus Blue Jackets at Denver.

“It was fun to get out there and play some hockey again,” Kariya said. “It’s been a long time, and it’s good that I could help the team.”

Avalanche Coach Tony Granato said Kariya “skated extremely well. He had good jump and obviously a lot of energy. He has been sitting around waiting for a long time to get back in the lineup. I think he did a real good job.”

David Aebischer had 35 saves to post his ninth career shutout.

Kariya, out since Nov. 15, scored the last of four Colorado goals in the second period, redirecting a shot by Rob Blake at 14:43 for a 4-0 lead.

Avalanche center Joe Sakic also returned after missing one game following surgery on his broken jaw. Sakic had an assist on Kariya’s goal and later one of his own. Colorado also received goals from Blake, Dan Hinote, Karlis Skrastins and Peter Worrell.

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Ottawa 5, Tampa Bay 2 -- At Ottawa, Marian Hossa scored twice and added an assist, and the Senators extended their unbeaten streak to 10 games.

Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza and Todd White also scored for the Senators, who won their fifth game in a row. Ottawa is 8-0-2 during its streak.

Martin Prusek made a surprise start after Patrick Lalime was sidelined because of back spasms before the warmup. Prusek made 27 saves.

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Carolina 2, St. Louis 0 -- Kevin Weekes made 19 saves, and Danny Markov and Kevyn Adams scored first-period goals to lift the Hurricanes at Raleigh, N.C.

Weekes’ fifth shutout of the season helped the Hurricanes end a three-game losing streak.

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Calgary 3, New York Islanders 2 -- Jarome Iginla had two goals and an assist, and Calgary extended its road winning streak to six games by beating the Islanders

The Islanders’ home winning streak was snapped at seven.

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Montreal 3, Buffalo 1 -- Jose Theodore made 34 saves, and Pierre Dagenais, Saku Koivu and Mike Ribeiro scored, leading the Canadiens at Montreal.

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Toronto 2, Nashville 1 -- Bryan McCabe scored twice in the third period to rally the Maple Leafs at Toronto.