NHL-Highlights of Monday's National Hockey League games

Reuters

Jan 6 (The Sports Xchange) - Highlights of Monday's National Hockey League games. - - - Flames 4, Avalanche 3 Mike Cammalleri scored a power-play goal late in the third period and the Calgary Flames broke out of an offensive drought to beat the Colorado Avalanche. Joe Colborne and Jiri Hudler had two points each and scored goals 2:28 apart. Center Sean Monahan also scored and goaltender Karri Ramo stopped 22 shots for Calgary (15-21-6), who had lost four straight. With the game tied at three-all and the Flames on the power play, Hudler sent a pass to the front of the net to Cammalleri. He one-timed it past goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere for the game-winner. Center Paul Stastny had a goal and two assists and center Nathan MacKinnon had two goals for the Avalanche (26-12-4), who had their three-game winning streak ended. - - - Canadiens 2, Panthers 1 Brian Gionta scored the tie-breaking goal in the second period, and the Montreal Canadiens beat the Florida Panthers. At 15:46 of the middle period, Plekanec intercepted a pass behind the Florida net and fed a streaking Gionta in the left circle for the winning score. David Desharnais also scored for Montreal (25-14-5), who held their opponent to two goals or fewer for the first time since Dec. 28 against the Lightning in Tampa. Canadiens goaltender Carey Price made 26 saves. Left winger Sean Bergenheim scored for the Panthers (16-21-6). Goalie Tim Thomas, facing the Canadiens for the first time since Feb. 15, 2012, when he was with the Boston Bruins, stopped 33 shots. - - - Islanders 7, Stars 3 John Tavares scored his fifth career hat-trick as the New York Islanders rode a season-high four-goal second period to a win over the Dallas Stars. The seven goals were also a season high for the Islanders, who trailed 2-0 after one before mounting their third multi-goal comeback in their last five games. New York's (15-22-7) backup goaltender Kevin Poulin made 15 saves in earning the win in relief of Evgeni Nabokov, who left less than seven minutes into the first period due to a lower-body injury. Nabokov missed 12 games earlier this season with a groin injury. Jamie Benn, Erik Cole and Valeri Nichushkin scored for the Stars (20-15-7), who have lost three in a row. - - - Blue Jackets 4, Rangers 3 (Shootout) Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky made 40 saves in regulation and overtime, then stopped both shots he faced in a shootout as the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the New York Rangers. Cam Atkinson and center Ryan Johanssen scored in the shootout for Columbus (19-20-4) who got goals in regulation from Brandon Dubinsky, Atkinson and defenseman James Wisniewski. Left winger Rick Nash scored twice and center Brian Boyle added a goal for New York (21-20-3). Henrik Lundqvist made 36 saves for the Rangers. After New York entered the third period trailing 3-1, Boyle and Nash scored goals in a span of 2:02 to tie the game. - - - (Editing by Sudipto Ganguly)