NHL's youngest lifts Carolina

NEW YORK — Erik Cole scored the go-ahead goal on a power play with 3:59 left in the Hurricanes' 4-3 victory over the Rangers on Friday night.

Jeff Skinner, the youngest player in the league at 18 years, 5 months, had a big night, scoring twice and playing a pivotal role in Cole's tally.

Skinner drew the hooking penalty by Brian Boyle that put Carolina on the power play. Skinner then made the pass to set up a wide-open Cole for the winner.

Skinner took advantage of a bounce to put the Hurricanes up 2-0 only 56 seconds into the second. As players battled for control behind the Rangers net, the puck bounced off New York defenseman Michal Rozsival's skate and landed in the high slot, where Skinner hammered it home.

Ryan Callahan and Marc Staal scored on the power play as the Rangers tied it at 2 in the second. The bounces went the Rangers' way on Callahan's goal as the puck hit him in the skate and popped in the air, and he bunted it home at 4:06.

Stall connected at 12:24, but Skinner struck 55 seconds later. Stall turned the puck over at his blue line, and Skinner beat Henrik Lundqvist on a breakaway.

Game highlights: Claude Giroux scored short-handed and on a power play to lift the visiting Flyers past the Penguins 3-2. Rookie Sergei Bobrovsky made 26 saves to win at Pittsburgh for the second time this season. … Benoit Pouliot, the trail man on a three-on-two, broke a third-period tie to help the visiting Canadiens beat the Islanders 3-1. Carey Price did not start for the first time this season for Montreal. His backup, Alex Auld, made 30 saves. … Dustin Byfuglien split two defenders and beat Ryan Miller with a wrist shot with 29 seconds left in overtime to give the host Thrashers a 4-3 victory over the Sabres. Buffalo tied it with eight seconds left and its goalie pulled when Derek Roy tipped Jordan Leopold's shot past Chris Mason.

Around the league: Goalie Ondrej Pavelec, who on opening night fainted then sustained a concussion when he fell on the back of his head, rejoined the Thrashers. He backed up Chris Mason on Friday against the Sabres and is expected to start tonight at St. Louis. Tests showed he suffered from a common fainting spell just 2½ minutes into the Oct. 8 opener against the Capitals. … The Flames signed defenseman Mark Giordano to a five-year extension. Financial details were not disclosed. Last season, his third, he set career highs in goals (11) and assists (19). This season, he has three assists and is third in the league in blocked shots.

First Period—1, Carolina, Ruutu 2 (Babchuk, McBain), 15:29 (pp). Penalties—Carolina bench, served by O'Sullivan (too many men), 1:42; Callahan, NYR (roughing), 9:30; Eminger, NYR (interference), 13:48; LaRose, Car (hooking), 16:02.

Second Period—2, Carolina, Skinner 2 (Cole, E.Staal), :56. 3, N.Y. Rangers, Callahan 3 (Anisimov, Rozsival), 4:06 (pp). 4, N.Y. Rangers, M.Staal 2 (Christensen, Frolov), 12:24 (pp). 5, Carolina, Skinner 3 (Ruutu), 13:19. 6, N.Y. Rangers, Dubinsky 5 (Callahan), 15:43. Penalties—Pitkanen, Car (elbowing), 3:18; Ruutu, Car (slashing), 11:02.

Third Period—7, Carolina, Cole 2 (Skinner, Ruutu), 16:01 (pp). Penalties—Harrison, Car (tripping), 5:48; Boyle, NYR (hooking), 14:28; Fedotenko, NYR (boarding), 19:49; Pitkanen, Car (slashing, roughing), 20:00; Boyle, NYR (roughing), 20:00. Shots on Goal—Carolina 12-8-18—38. N.Y. Rangers 11-18-14—43. Power-play opportunities—Carolina 2 of 4; N.Y. Rangers 2 of 5. Goalies—Carolina, Ward 5-3-0 (43 shots-40 saves). N.Y. Rangers, Lundqvist 3-3-1 (38-34). A—17,819 (18,200).

First Period—1, Pittsburgh, Letang 3 (Malkin, Comrie), 8:12. Penalties—Richards, Phi, major (fighting), :06; Cooke, Pit, major (fighting), :06; Shelley, Phi, major (fighting), :23; Engelland, Pit, major (fighting), :23; Briere, Phi (tripping), 1:29; Hartnell, Phi (roughing), 1:29; Comrie, Pit (interference), 1:49; Kunitz, Pit (slashing), 2:15; Coburn, Phi (tripping), 2:35; Martin, Pit (hooking), 3:59; Carter, Phi (hooking), 18:36.

Second Period—2, Philadelphia, Giroux 5 (Richards), 5:20 (sh). 3, Philadelphia, Carcillo 1 (Carle, Betts), 13:34. Penalties—Briere, Phi (high-sticking), 4:16; Philadelphia bench, served by Shelley (too many men), 8:22; Engelland, Pit (hooking), 16:08.

Third Period—4, Philadelphia, Giroux 6 (Leino, Timonen), 10:43 (pp). 5, Pittsburgh, Kennedy 2 (Crosby, Letang), 19:15. Penalties—Shelley, Phi (interference), 6:23; Pittsburgh bench, served by Malkin (too many men), 10:32. Shots on Goal—Philadelphia 4-15-5—24. Pittsburgh 10-9-9—28. Power-play opportunities—Philadelphia 1 of 5; Pittsburgh 0 of 6. Goalies—Philadelphia, Bobrovsky 4-2-0 (28 shots-26 saves). Pittsburgh, Fleury 1-5-0 (24-21). A—18,275 (18,087).

First Period—1, Montreal, Plekanec 5 (Cammalleri, Hamrlik), 2:42 (pp). Penalties—Sim, NYI (roughing), 2:24; Eller, Mon (holding), 4:12; Kostitsyn, Mon (slashing), 11:46; Konopka, NYI (interference), 11:46; Lapierre, Mon (goaltender interference), 15:11.

Second Period—2, N.Y. Islanders, Martin 1 (Nielsen, Hunter), 16:45. Penalties—Hillen, NYI (holding), 2:32; Gill, Mon (interference), 10:18; Subban, Mon (interference), 10:35; Gill, Mon, major (fighting), 19:56; Martin, NYI, major (fighting), 19:56.

Third Period—3, Montreal, Pouliot 2 (Halpern, Subban), 7:19. 4, Montreal, Moen 2 (Gionta), 18:11. Penalties—Kostitsyn, Mon (cross-checking), 7:50; Hamrlik, Mon (cross-checking), 19:49. Shots on Goal—Montreal 12-4-10—26. N.Y. Islanders 7-13-11—31. Power-play opportunities—Montreal 1 of 2; N.Y. Islanders 0 of 6. Goalies—Montreal, Auld 1-0-0 (31 shots-30 saves). N.Y. Islanders, Roloson 2-3-0 (26-23). A—11,922 (16,234).

First Period—1, Buffalo, Connolly 4 (McCormick), 4:51. 2, Buffalo, Leopold 3 (Roy, Gerbe), 13:40. Penalties—Antropov, Atl (boarding), 11:12.

Second Period—3, Atlanta, Antropov 1 (Byfuglien, Enstrom), 9:53 (pp). 4, Atlanta, Burmistrov 1 (Oduya), 13:33. Penalties—Enstrom, Atl (interference), 2:27; Burmistrov, Atl (tripping), 2:27; Roy, Buf (holding), 3:45; Niedermayer, Buf (slashing), 8:27; Morrisonn, Buf (boarding), 8:48; Stafford, Buf (tripping), 10:56; Bogosian, Atl (interference), 14:53; Kaleta, Buf (roughing), 20:00.

Third Period—5, Atlanta, Bergfors 2 (Stewart, Kane), :50 (pp). 6, Buffalo, Roy 6 (Leopold), 19:52. Penalties—Ennis, Buf (hooking), 1:47; Burmistrov, Atl (tripping), 4:32; Montador, Buf (hooking), 9:22.

Overtime—7, Atlanta, Byfuglien 4 (Peverley, Enstrom), 4:31. Penalties—None. Shots on Goal—Buffalo 14-4-9-1—28. Atlanta 6-9-5-2—22. Power-play opportunities—Buffalo 0 of 5; Atlanta 2 of 7. Goalies—Buffalo, Miller 3-5-2 (22 shots-18 saves). Atlanta, Mason 5-4-1 (28-25). A—10,172 (18,545).