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OTTAWA — The biggest news at the NHL’s All-Star Weekend on Saturday had nothing to do with the players on the ice participating in the made-for-TV skills competition.

It was all about one who wasn’t.

The Pittsburgh Penguins confirmed an initial report from Canada’s SportsNet that captain Sidney Crosby isn’t just dealing with another concussion, but also a neck injury that was revealed during an MRI.

Pat Brisson, Crosby’s agent, told Hockey Night in Canada that Crosby might have fractured two vertebrae. The Penguins had not confirmed that Crosby sustained another concussion until releasing their statement Saturday night. Crosby’s neck injury was discovered by Los Angeles-based neurological spine specialist Dr. Robert S. Bray.

Various news outlets are reporting that Crosby is back in Pittsburgh and will be evaluated there.

“Dr. Bray reports that the neck injury is fully healed,” the statement from the Penguins read. “Those findings will be evaluated by independent specialists over the next few days. The most important goal all along has been Sidney’s return to full health, and we are encouraged that progress continues to be made.”

Crosby missed last year’s All-Star Game as he was held off the ice from January through November. Crosby returned Nov. 21 and played in eight games before concussion symptoms from a hard hit by Boston’s David Krejci on Dec. 5 shut him down again.

Alex Ovechkin, Crosby’s rival as far as popularity goes, also was missing from the festivities as he decided to skip the weekend after the NHL suspended him three games for a shot to the head of Pittsburgh’s Zbynek Michalek. Ovechkin will miss Washington’s game against the Panthers in Sunrise on Wednesday.

A photo forwarded to the @OnFrozenPond Twitter account shows Ovechkin enjoying his break by posing with fans in Miami Beach.

As far as Crosby goes, the Penguins confirmed he has been doing some on-ice work in Los Angeles and Atlanta. General manager Ray Shero told reporters he was optimistic Crosby would be back this season.

“We want to continue to look to see how we can get this under control and manageable,” Shero told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “Hopefully we’ll have him back here at some point soon.”

LABOR STRIFE?

Commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr met with the media Saturday morning, and both said there is no real rush to sit down at the bargaining table. The Collective Bargaining Agreement, which has been in effect since the lockout wiped out the entire 2004-05 season, expires Sept. 15.

“My guess is we’ll have some discussions in the not-too-distant future,” Bettman told reporters after Saturday morning’s board of governors meeting. “We’re ready, and have been ready. But the union has had some work to do. . . . We’re patient. I’m not concerned about the time frame.”

Bettman announced the 2013 All-Star Weekend will be held next January in Columbus, Ohio. The Blue Jackets hosted the 2007 NHL Draft in which the Panthers selected Keaton Ellerby with the 10th overall pick and also traded for goalie Tomas Vokoun.

Brian Campbell, the lone representative from the Panthers at All-Star Weekend, competed in two events in Saturday’s skills competition. Campbell stumbled out of the gate in his fastest skate competition — the first event of the night — losing in the one-lap race to Pittsburgh’s Kris Letang .Campbell also competed in the accurate shot competition.

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PHILADELPHIA — Two of the Flyers’ biggest struggles this season have been in goal and in afternoon games. Those two intersected again when the Flyers dropped a 6-4 decision to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday at the Wells Fargo Center.

Starter Ilya Bryzgalov and Sergei Bobrovsky each surrendered three goals and the Flyers fell to 4-10-1 in games that have begun before 7 p.m. The Flyers and Penguins are now tied with 71 points in the Eastern Conference. The New York Rangers lead with 79 points.

Both goalies gave up questionable goals, and afterward coach Peter Laviolette tried his diplomatic best to discuss the goaltending situation.

“You’re coming off of a day where we needed to be better,” Laviolette said. “You’re asking the question now, so I think everybody is frustrated right now with the loss to Pittsburgh and I think that we can be better in a lot of different areas, and that certainly is one of them.”

Bryzgalov wasn’t feeling much better than his coach.

“It’s easy to find a scapegoat,” Bryzgalov said. “You point to one guy and say we are always losing because we have a bad goalie, but I think that is the wrong philosophy.”

Yet there is no denying that this was another subpar performance.

“I know I was frustrated in my game today and I know I got to do better,” Bryzgalov said. “I will continue to work on this, but I will try to find peace in my soul to play in this city.”

The Penguins broke a 3-3 tie by scoring two goals within the first three minutes of the third period.

Dustin Jeffrey’s rebound just 37 seconds into the period gave the Penguins a 4-3 advantage. The lead increased to 5-3 when Pascal Dupuis’ intended pass from the left side of the goal line went off Bobrovsky’s skate and into the net, just 2 minutes, 9 seconds into the period.

“Once it got to be 5-3 we lost our steam there it seemed to me,” Laviolette said.

Pittsburgh extended the margin to 6-3 when James Neal scored on a rebound of his own shot with 10:58 left in the game. It was his 30th goal of the season.

Wayne Simmonds scored his 21st goal with 19 seconds left to end the scoring,

The Penguins scored on their first shot of the game, definitely a sign of things to come. Forward Matt Cooke unleashed a slap shot from an angle near the left circle, 3:17 into the game.

Jaromir Jagr then scored twice in 18 seconds to give the Flyers a 2-1 lead. Both came from near the right faceoff circle.

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BUFFALO, N.Y. — Don’t count out the Buffalo Sabres just yet.

Nathan Gerbe scored the decisive shootout goal in the fifth round to cap a 3-2 comeback victory over the Dallas Stars on Friday night.

The Sabres overcame a two-goal, third-period deficit. And after a forgettable and injury-plagued first half of the season, Buffalo’s the healthiest it has been in months, and now on a 5-0-1 roll.

“We need character wins like that, and it’s a big two points for us,” said forward Derek Roy, who forced overtime by scoring with 39 seconds left. “That was a character battle. We’ve just got to keep this thing going. Everybody’s on the same page and we’ve got to keep the momentum going.”

Thomas Vanek, playing his first game after missing three because of an upper-body injury, started the comeback by scoring 5:07 into the third period — and 50 seconds after Tomas Vincour scored to give Dallas a 2-0 lead.

And then came the shootout.

After Buffalo’s Brad Boyes and Dallas’ Jamie Benn traded goals, Gerbe sealed the win by backhanding a shot that struck the post and then caromed in off goalie Kari Lehtonen.

Michael Ryder had a chance to tie it, but shot high and wide while driving in from the left side.

“That was huge. It gives our team some confidence,” Gerbe said. “In order to be a good team, you have to come from behind. It doesn’t matter how much time is left.”

Ryan Miller stopped 24 shots through overtime.

The Sabres are 6-0-4 in their past 10 home games.

Ryder also scored for the Stars, who blew a two-goal lead for the first time this season.

The Stars ran out of gas, playing on back-to-back nights following a 4-2 win at Columbus.

“I think we maybe sat back a little too much in the third and gave them momentum,” Ryder said.

The Stars’ struggles continue in Buffalo, where they now haven’t won in more than 14 years. Dallas dropped to 0-5-2, including a tie, in its past seven trips to Buffalo, with the team’s last regular-season win coming on Oct. 7, 1997.

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SAN JOSE, Calif. — Whenever Wayne and Joe Thornton talk hockey, the advice from father to son is always the same.

Shoot the puck.

“Pretty much before every game I have to remind him,” Wayne Thornton said. “But he doesn’t shoot enough. He never has.”

Joe Thornton, the Sharks captain, continues to be one of the NHL’s preeminent passers. At the same time, he can be unselfish to a fault. San Jose coach Todd McLellan long has pressed Thornton to be more aggressive about challenging goaltenders himself.

“Some players are shooters and some players are passers,” Thornton countered, “and I guess I’m just a passer at heart. I enjoy setting guys up.”

But maybe his father’s words had greater impact when they were delivered in person last week as Wayne Thornton took part in the annual dads’ trip.

Over the last four games, his son has taken 18 shots, and the result has been three goals to go along with five assists. That has helped the Sharks (29-16-6) break out of their offensive doldrums with 17 goals.

So, is this the start of a trend?

“I doubt it,” Wayne Thornton said, laughing. “Joe will play three games and have two shots on net. The goalies know that if he’s going down on a two-on-one, they need to watch the other guy because Joe’s not going to shoot. It would be better if he would just change it up a little bit.”

Make no mistake: Thornton is the engine that drives the Sharks offense. He leads the team with 46 points, and his 35 assists were tied for sixth-best in the NHL.

Thornton, 32, has an uncanny ability to wait until just the right moment when a teammate finds a patch of open ice and deliver the puck with a magician’s sleight of hand. He’s a key reason why San Jose leads the league in shots on goals with 34.8 a game.

He also has drawn praise for becoming a more complete, three-zone player. A top-10 ranking in take-aways are a testament to his greater attention to defense.

But there’s still that curious reluctance by Thornton to shoot.

Sharks defenseman Brent Burns noted last Saturday after a 5-3 loss to Phoenix, where the Coyotes scored two goals on ricochets, that NHL players now are taught to fire pucks at the net and hope something good happens.

And it’s why McLellan has tried to push Thornton out of his pass-first comfort zone.

“If I had that answer, then we’d be able to solve it,” McLellan said when asked about Thornton’s hesitancy. “Only he can answer that. One of the tasks that we’re working on is his shooting and net presence. There is a reward to shooting the puck, and we always remind him of that.”

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NEWARK, N.J. — The hits kept coming hard and frequently, but the Devils would not be denied.

The Devils fought back from two-goal deficits twice to pull out a 5-3 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night at Prudential Center.

Zach Parise scored his second goal of the game with just 2:44 remaining to snap a 3-3 tie.

A diving David Desharnais deflected Ilya Kovalchuk’s slap shot attempt directly to Parise at the right side of the net for the put-away and his 18th goal of the season. David Clarkson scored his second goal of the game into an empty net with 31.6 seconds remaining to seal it for the Devils, who moved into seventh place in the Eastern Conference with 59 points.

Devils rookie defenseman Adam Larsson left the hard-hitting game with 5:58 remaining after a hard hit from Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban sent him flying into the boards.

The Devils rallied from deficits of 2-0 and 3-1 to tie the game at 3 on Dainius Zubrus’ deflection goal 6:11 into the third period.

Devils coach Pete DeBoer said Thursday morning that he was not worried about a letdown after his team’s emotional, 4-3 shootout win over the Rangers on Tuesday, but maybe he should have been. The Devils came out flat, falling behind 2-0 in the opening 9:23.

A goal credited to Desharnais gave the Canadiens a 1-0 lead 4:11 into the game. Rene Bourque’s shot from the left side of the net appeared to deflect in off Desharnais helmet in front.

Andrei Kostitsyn’s rebound goal at 9:23 upped Montreal’s lead to 2-0. With the shots 8-1 for Montreal after that goal, DeBoer called his timeout to try to settle down his players. The Devils responded with a goal from Parise just 1:13 later. Parise took a pass from Zubrus on a counterattack rush and let go a wrist shot that slid in under goaltender Carey Price’s right pad for Parise’s 17th of the season.

Devils center Patrik Elias received a two-minute boarding minor for his hit that sent Mike Blunden into the boards in front of the Canadiens’ bench with 1:06 left in the period. Blunden left with what the Canadiens called a “lower-body injury.” Elias’ hit will likely be reviewed by the NHL for possible supplementary discipline.

Kovalchuk nearly tied it with a short-handed goal 52 seconds into the second period. Kovalchuk’s backhand on the rush snuck through Price’s equipment and dropped on the goal line behind him. Alexei Ponikarovsky took a swipe at it, but missed and the video replay showed the puck never completely crossed the goal line.

That play loomed larger when Mathieu Darche scored a short-handed goal at 1:35 to up Montreal’s lead to 3-1. A bad turnover by Devils defenseman Kurtis Foster to Montreal’s Hal Gill led to a short-handed breakaway for Tomas Plekanec. Devils goalie Martin Brodeur did a split to make a great right pad save on Plekanec, but Darche followed up to put home the rebound for his third goal of the season.

Foster, who was shaken up on a hit by Darche late in the first period, did not play the remainder of the game.

That was the 13th short-handed goal the Devils have allowed this season — most in the NHL — but first since Jan. 2 in Ottawa, breaking their season-best streak of 11 games without giving up a short-handed goal.

Clarkson got the Devils back within one with his power-play goal at 13:43. Kovalchuk’s left point slap shot deflected off Darche at the top of the left circle and then went in off Clarkson’s right leg in front for Clarkson’s 18th of the season, establishing a career-high for him.

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OTTAWA — Claude Julien has coached before at the All-Star Game, including the time his Bruins [team stats] were in first place at the midway point of the 2008-09 season.

But this time it means more. Not only is Julien — along with his assistant coaches Geoff Ward, Doug Houda and Doug Jarvis — here because he’s a Stanley Cup champion, he has come back to his hometown as a conquering hero.

“It’s always an honor when you get an opportunity to coach in an All-Star Game and the fact that you’re coaching some of the best players in the league,” said Julien, who grew up in nearby Orleans, Ontario. “And the fact that it’s at home makes it something even more special. I have an opportunity to visit with family, to have them come to a game and make a nice week of it. You don’t always get that opportunity. I grew up in Ottawa, played my minor hockey here and there’s a lot of people I know. So if I was going to coach another All-Star Game, I couldn’t have asked for a better time.”

General manager Peter Chiarelli, another Ottawa homeboy, knows how much this means to Julien.

“Hockey runs pretty deep in Ottawa,” said Chiarelli earlier this week. “While it’s not a big metropolitan area, it’s a great, deep-rooted community for hockey. And I’m the same way. Whenever I go back, I feel proud of what I’ve accomplished with the Bruins. And I know it will be special feeling to Claude.”

Take your best shot

One of the most anticipated events in tonight’s skills competition is the hardest-shot competition. Zdeno Chara is looking to capture a fifth straight title, but it seems to be getting harder every year. It took a record-breaking shot of 105.9 mph to beat the blast of Nashville’s Shea Weber, who topped out at 104.8 mph. Weber is the odds-on favorite to dethrone the king.

“I’m going to try to my best, as every All-Star does,” said Chara. “It’s going to be hard again. There are so many guys that shoot the puck really hard. It’s challenging, I like to be in that position, but if it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen. I’d like to win it again, but we’ll see what happens.”

Julien will be watching.

“It’ll be interesting to see, because he had a close call last year,” said Julien. “He had to take that last shot and make it count. He’s going to be looking at his sticks real closely, probably closer than he does in a real game, to make sure he’s got the right twigs.”

Former Bruins defenseman Dennis Wideman, now with the Capitals, doesn’t expect to give Chara a run for his money and, as always, is self-deprecating about it.

“I’ve never used a radar gun and I’m nervous. Just don’t want to be the first guy to hit like 85 mph,” said Wideman with a laugh. “I’m going to put everything I have into it. If I hit 90, I’ll be happy.” …

Bruins forward Tyler Seguin will take part in the shooting-accuracy competition and the elimination shootout.

Senators’ choice

Chara talked yesterday about leaving Ottawa for the Bruins. The Senators’ management at the time had to choose between Chara and Wade Redden (now toiling for the Connecticut Whale in the AHL) and they went with Redden, making Chara a free agent. Of course, Chara came to the Bruins along with Chiarelli, who had been the assistant GM in Ottawa.

“It was very sad,” said Chara. “I wanted to stay, I really wanted to play for Ottawa. It’s just very unfortunate. Things like that happen in sports and you can’t really blame anybody.

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NEW YORK — Ryan Callahan scored for the fifth time in four days and defenseman Ryan McDonagh snapped a second-period tie to lift the New York Rangers to a 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals on Sunday.

Callahan, who notched his second NHL hat trick Saturday with three goals in a 5-2 win at Philadelphia, got the Eastern Conference leaders going on Sunday in the first period. McDonagh gave New York a 2-1 lead with 6:39 left in the second with his fifth of the season, and Brandon Prust snapped a 48-game drought with a short-handed tally in the third.

Henrik Lundqvist did the rest, making 24 saves to earn his second win in two days and setting New York up for a showdown with the Stanley Cup champion Bruins [team stats] on Tuesday at Boston.

The Rangers (36-13-5) have won three straight, four of five, and six of eight (6-1-1). They are 19-5-1 in their past 25 games and 33-10-3 since starting the season 3-3-2.

New York didn’t need its suddenly potent power play that had connected four times in the previous two wins after being mostly invisible for weeks. The Rangers were 0 for 2 with the advantage and killed both Washington power plays.

Alexander Semin scored, defenseman John Carlson had a goal and assist, and Michal Neuvirth stopped 25 shots for the Capitals, who have lost four of six (2-3-1) and sit ninth in the East playoff race.

Callahan has been on a three-game tear and has been the driving offensive force in the Rangers’ latest winning streak in a season that has been full of them.

The New York captain deftly dealt with a puck in his skates, off a pass from defenseman Anton Stralman, who found him on the goal line to the left of Neuvirth. Callahan kicked the puck to his stick, shifted to his backhand and lifted a shot under the crossbar for his 22nd goal of the season as he fell to the ice at 11:01 of the first.

The Rangers maintained that lead in a game that had many stops and starts and had trouble maintaining a constant flow over the first half.

Washington got even 6:31 into the second when Semin took a smooth drop pass from Jason Chimera above the right circle and fired a shot past Lundqvist for his 15th of the season. Semin has three goals and three assists in his past five games and 21 points in 23 games — including nine goals.

The lead didn’t last long, as McDonagh struck late in the period and narrowly avoided a serious injury in the process. McDonagh toe-dragged with the puck to get around Troy Brouwer and snapped a shot that hit Neuvirth before finding its way into the net.

On his followthrough, McDonagh twisted awkwardly and appeared to get his skate caught in the ice and crumpled. He was helped to the dressing room, without having a chance to celebrate his tiebreaking goal, but returned moments later before the second period ended.

Prust scored for the first time since Oct. 20 at Calgary, when he also notched a short-handed tally — giving him two goals in New York’s first five games.

Carlson made it 3-2 with 2:28 remaining with a drive that caromed in off McDonagh.

Lundqvist was tested at times and was up to the task, also getting help from several drives that were blocked by goal posts. Lundqvist made a stretching glove save in the third period, and even intentionally used the top of his helmet to knock a shot out of play.

Neuvirth got the nod by Capitals coach Dale Hunter over Tomas Vokoun, who had started four in a row and six of seven. Vokoun was in goal Thursday for Washington’s 3-2 shootout loss to Winnipeg.

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SAN JOSE, Calif. – Three weeks ago, the Sharks and the Chicago Blackhawks were among the NHL’s surging teams. They looked like two franchises perfectly capable of once again meeting deep in the postseason.

But when they play Friday night at HP Pavilion, the Sharks and Blackhawks will be just a couple of scuffling clubs badly in need of a win.

Chicago has slipped into a brutal tailspin. The Blackhawks arrive in town having lost six consecutive games and tumbling from their perch atop the Western Conference standings.

While the Blackhawks’ Zamboni has blown an engine, the Sharks merely are leaking oil. They have lost their last two games and continue to be plagued by inconsistent play. Regaining their edge against the Blackhawks would be a nice springboard for the upcoming nine-game road trip.

“The reality is every team is going to have ups and downs in a long season,” Sharks captain Joe Thornton said. “They’re hoping to get out of their funk, and so are we. But this is first time in a long while that both teams were struggling when we played each other. It’s definitely different.”

In fact, the Sharks and Blackhawks are examples of how quickly teams can find themselves mired in rough patches.

“Maybe we’re two wounded animals right now,” Sharks coach Todd McLellan said. “We’re not as deep into it as they are. But they’ll get themselves through this and be a force to be reckoned with. We just hope that it’s one night further down the line.”

Even the best franchises aren’t immune from skids. And the Blackhawks (29-18-7) should be very good.

They were leading the West thanks to a gifted offensive attack that overshadowed troubling cracks in the defense. But in the past six games, Chicago has scored more than two goals just once and has gone an ice-cold 1-for-15 on the power play.

That has put the focus on a struggling defense that is 26th in the NHL in goals allowed. Top blue-liners Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook have played below their capabilities.

The Blackhawks also could finally be feeling the pain for letting current Sharks goaltender Antti Niemi walk before last season rather than pay him the $2.75 million he was awarded in arbitration. Corey Crawford, who will start Friday, and Ray Emery have a combined 2.91 goals-against average.

“It sucks,” Seabrook said of the slump. “Nobody wants to go through this. But it happens. We understand that we have to work hard to get out of it. It hurts to lose this many in a row. It’s definitely a pride issue. We need to start with one win.”

Chicago, which is in the middle of its own nine-game trip, also hasn’t won on the road since Dec. 14 – going 0-6-2. The low point was an 8-4 loss at Edmonton Feb. 2 when Sam Gagner ripped the Blackhawks for eight points.

“It’s definitely not fun,” forward Patrick Sharp said, “but we’re going to come out of this and be a better team for it.”

The Sharks, who are 4-5-1 over the last 10 games, have their own issues.

San Jose (29-16-6) has transformed itself into a more defensive-minded team this season. But the Sharks have turned in back-to-back ugly performances where giveaways and mental lapses contributed to nine goals.

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OTTAWA — If Jeremy Jacobs was angry Tim Thomas [stats] snubbed the White House last Monday, the Bruins [team stats] owner certainly seemed over it yesterday.

In his first public comments since the goalie decided to skip the reigning Stanley Cup champions’ visit with President Barack Obama because of issues he has with the federal government, Jacobs supported Thomas’ right to feel and say what he believes.

“Tim is a great hockey player,” said Jacobs, who was here for the league’s Board of Governors meeting. “He’s done his job very well for us, and I’m totally behind him. I don’t necessarily agree with his political views, but that’s not what he does for me. And I’ve got to say this: While I don’t agree with it, I certainly feel he has the right to express himself as every American does, and he does a good job.”

Asked if he thought Thomas’ snub took away from the team’s moment last Monday, Jacobs said, “Oh no. You guys say some things to me that I don’t like, but I definitely believe you have the right to say it. And I’d fight for that and I fight for his right to do and to express what he wants. (The issue) is all over with, unless you guys want to make more out of it.”

To be determined

Commissioner Gary Bettman did not have a date for a start of formal talks with the Players Association on a new collective bargaining agreement. The current CBA expires Sept. 15.

“That’s a call we’ve pretty much left to the Players Association,” Bettman said. “We’re ready and have been ready, but the union has had some work to do. (Players Association chief) Don Fehr is somewhat new to the job and is going through a bit of a learning curve, and he wants to make sure he understands what his constituents want. I’m not concerned about the time frame. Frankly, we’re having a great season, and I’d rather everyone be focused on that.” …

Despite much public debate on whether the NHL should ban fighting after chronic trauma encephalopathy (CTE) was discovered in the brains of several former enforcers, Bettman said there hasn’t been an appetite to modify the rules.

“As in internal matter, there hasn’t been much push at all from the general managers, who typically initiate those things,” said Bettman, who pointed out that fighting is down about 25 percent from last season.

Bettman said the rise of concussions this season seems to have more to do with accidents, such as teammates colliding or errant pucks and sticks. He considers the concussions and the fighting separate issues. …

The NHL officially announced that Columbus will host next season’s All-Star Game.

Chara wins, loses

Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara’s blistering hot slap shot wasn’t enough to beat Daniel Alfredsson and his team stocked with hometown favorites in the All-Star skills competition last night.

Team Alfredsson beat Team Chara 21-12, easily clinching the victory in the final-round shootout challenge. Alfredsson had one of his team’s 10 shootout goals in outscoring Chara 10-3.

Chara did break his own skills competition record for hardest shot with a blast at 108.8 mph. That bettered the mark of 105.9 he set in Raleigh, N.C., last year.

Chara gave his team a shot — literally and physically — by helping his team to a 3-2 win in the fifth round of the competition, cutting Alfredsson’s lead to 11-9.

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TAMPA, Fla. — The Carolina Hurricanes found a way to win a road game Thursday night.

Strike first. Strike often. Then keep pushing.

The Canes did that against the Tampa Bay Lightning, scoring four times in the first period in taking a 5-2 victory at Tampa Bay Times Forum.

Jiri Tlusty scored twice, and Tuomo Ruutu and Jay Harrison each had a goal in the opening period. Eric Staal had three assists in the most impressive first period — perhaps any period — by the Canes this season.

The Lightning has not won a game since a 5-2 victory over the Canes on New Year’s Eve. Tampa Bay still is oh-for-2012, going 0-4-1, and could not overcome the 4-1 first-period deficit.

Teddy Purcell scored for Tampa Bay early in the second period, but Cam Ward made the big stops in goal and the Canes were gritty enough over the final two periods. Tim Brent’s goal late in regulation – Harrison and Anthony Stewart with assists — pushed the lead to 5-2 and had many fans heading home.

The Hurricanes had not won a road game since Dec. 7, when they beat the Edmonton Oilers 5-2. But that was the same night forward Jeff Skinner suffered a concussion that would knock him out of the next 14 games.

The Canes had hoped Skinner, who has been cleared for contact, might return Thursday. But a decision was made to give him a few more contact practices before allowing him to play.

The Canes (15-23-7) didn’t need Skinner this night as Staal, who was not selected for the 2012 NHL All-Star Game, played like an all-star. Staal’s three assists gave him 301 for his career and moved him past Rod Brind’Amour as the Canes’ career leader since the franchise relocation.

Staal first set up Ruutu’s goal with a crisp centering pass from behind the Lightning net. He then hit the post with a shot, the rebound going to Tlusty in the slot for his first goal and a 2-0 lead.

Nate Thompson got Tampa Bay (17-21-4) on the board, converting on a breakaway after a Carolina turnover. But the Canes quickly bounced back as Harrison unloaded a shot off the left wing 34 seconds later, and Harrison’s sixth of the season pushed the lead to 3-1.

That was it for Lightning goalie Mathieu Garon, who was pulled by coach Guy Boucher after allowing three goals on eight shots. Dwayne Roloson relieved Garon but Tlusty struck for his second goal of the game.

Staal took a shot that Roloson blocked, but a bounding puck hit Tlusty in the shoulder and got past Roloson for a 4-1 lead.

The net came off its moorings on the play, but the play was reviewed during a media timeout. It was ruled the puck crossed the goal line before the net was dislodged.

Purcell’s goal early in the third, on a pass from Bruno Gervais, pulled the Lightning with 4-2 and had the crowd engaged. Roloson was doing his part in net and the home team steadied.

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