Sabres top Capitals in shootout

Ryan Miller made 49 saves, and the host Buffalo Sabres beat the Washington Capitals, 2-1, Sunday night.

Drew Stafford netted Buffalo's goal in regulation, and Steve Ott scored the lone shootout goal in the sixth round as the Sabres improved to 5-0-1 in their last six home games.

Phil Kessel scored twice, reaching the 20-goal plateau for the sixth straight season, to help the host Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Carolina Hurricanes, 5-2.

The game was Toronto's last outing before Wednesday's outdoor Winter Classic against Detroit at the Big House in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Henrik Lundqvist made 37 saves in his first start in four games, and Mats Zuccarello had a goal and two assists in the visiting New York Rangers' 4-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

James Neal scored three times and had two assists, and Sidney Crosby scored the go-ahead goal and set up two other tallies to lead the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins past the Columbus Blue Jackets, 5-3.

Brian Campbell, Aleksander Barkov, and Dmitry Kulikov each scored goals to lift the host Florida Panthers over the Montreal Canadiens, 4-1.

- Associated Press