NHL Capsules

&#151; -- DALLAS -- Brad Richards wasted no time showing what he can do for the Dallas Stars. Richards had a career-high five points -- all on assists -- in his Dallas debut, setting up new linemate Niklas Hagman's first NHL hat trick and sending the Stars past the Chicago Blackhawks 7-4 Thursday night. Richards arrived Tuesday as the centerpiece of a five-player deal with Tampa Bay because co-general manager Brett Hull figured the 2004 Conn Smythe Trophy winner could make a good offense even better. Richards' five points were the most by any Dallas player since Mike Modano had five on Feb. 10, 2002.< ^Flyers 3, Senators 1= PHILADELPHIA -- Mike Knuble scored twice to spoil Bryan Murray's return behind the Ottawa bench and lead Philadelphia over the Senators. Murray, also the Senators general manager, coached the team for the first time since the Anaheim Ducks eliminated Ottawa in last year's Stanley Cup finals. The pressure will surely build after the Senators' seventh loss in nine games and 15th in 22. They've lost three straight, though Jason Spezza's 25th goal prevented the Senators from getting shut out for the third consecutive time. Knuble scored twice in the third period and Jim Dowd also had a goal for the Flyers, who won their second straight after a 10-game losing streak (0-8-2).< ^Bruins 5, Penguins 1= BOSTON -- Tim Thomas stopped 27 shots, Marco Sturm scored twice to reach 200 NHL goals and Boston topped Pittsburgh for its fifth consecutive victory. Two nights after shutting out the Ottawa Senators, Thomas held the Penguins scoreless until Pascal Dupuis beat him with 6:57 left. Zdeno Chara, P.J. Axelsson and David Krejci also scored for Boston, which has back-to-back victories over two of the top three teams in the Eastern Conference. Dupuis was playing in his first game with Pittsburgh since being acquired from Atlanta at the trade deadline. Also coming to the Penguins in that deal was Marian Hossa. He lasted just 13 shifts before leaving the game and missing the third period with a knee injury. Penguins starter Ty Conklin, who had a career-high 50 saves on Tuesday to beat the Islanders, was pulled after giving up three goals in 13 shots in 22:21. In came Marc-Andre Fleury, who hadn't played for Pittsburgh since Dec. 6; he stopped 16 of 18 shots as the Penguins lost for the first time in seven games. ^Islanders 5, Thrashers 4, OT= ATLANTA -- Trent Hunter scored in overtime and the New York Islanders recovered after blowing a three-goal lead to beat slumping Atlanta. Josef Vasicek gained control of the puck following a faceoff and passed to Hunter, who scored at 3:51 to give the Thrashers their fifth straight loss. Atlanta's Bobby Holik scored with 1:22 left in regulation to force overtime. Mike Comrie's second goal of the game gave New York a 4-3 lead early in the third period. Vasicek and Andy Hilbert also scored for the Islanders. Eric Perrin scored on a short-handed penalty shot, and Ken Klee and Alexei Zhitnik also scored for the Thrashers.< ^Rangers 4, Hurricanes 2= RALEIGH, N.C. -- Brandon Dubinsky and Sean Avery scored first-period goals to lift the New York Rangers to their third straight victory and sixth in eight games (6-0-2). Chris Drury pushed the Rangers' lead to 3-0 in the second period, and Brendan Shanahan closed the scoring in the third after the Hurricanes got within a goal. Erik Cole scored twice for Carolina, including once on the power play.< ^Coyotes 2, Blues 1= ST. LOUIS -- Ilya Bryzgalov and Phoenix beat St. Louis for the fourth time this season and second in less than a week. Bryzgalov made 41 saves and Phoenix won at St. Louis for the sixth straight time. The Blues dropped their fifth consecutive. Bryzgalov (24-18-5), claimed off waivers from Anaheim earlier this season, topped the Blues 2-0 last Sunday at home with a 35-save effort. St. Louis, which scored just three goals in four games, got some early offense when Ryan Johnson netted his fourth of the season at 15:13 of the first period. That was the extent of what they could generate against Bryzgalov. Phoenix tied it when Ed Jovanovski scored a power-play goal at 17:21. Just 44 seconds later, and still with a man-advantage, Niko Kapanen deflected a shot from Keith Yandle through Manny Legace's pads for his ninth goal.