Former Penguins Jagr, Talbot power Flyers to win

PITTSBURGH — Jaromir Jagr spent the days leading up to his return to Pittsburgh insisting it wasn't personal. He stressed that he didn't mean to cause hard feelings when he signed with the hated Philadelphia Flyers over the summer instead of with the Penguins, with whom he became a star two decades ago.

Seeming to revel in the chance to play the villain, Jagr punctuated his homecoming with his 12th goal of the season in a 4-2 Flyers victory on Thursday night.

"I felt pretty good but I had so many chances that if I would have scored five goals, nobody would be surprised," Jagr said.

Jagr missed an open net in the first period, then atoned late in the second. He took a pass from Claude Giroux in the high left slot, fended off Pittsburgh's Brooks Orpik while skating through the zone, and flipped a backhander past goalie Marc-Andre Fleury to give the Flyers a lead they didn't relinquish.

The second-leading scorer in Penguins history briefly raised his arms in triumph, then skated along the boards, offering a stone-faced salute as the Consol Energy Center crowd booed lustily.

"I think it was important for not just him but the whole team to get that goal because he got it pretty tough from the fans," Giroux said. "But I think he kind of liked it a little bit."

Jagr wasn't the only former Penguins player to return in triumph. Max Talbot, who helped Pittsburgh to the 2009 Stanley Cup title, added an empty-net goal in the final seconds as the Flyers remained perfect in Pittsburgh's new building since it opened a year ago.

Islanders 3, Flames 1

In Uniondale, New York, John Tavares scored a goal and added an assist, and Evgeni Nabokov made 29 saves to lead the Islanders over Calgary.

Hurricanes 4, Leafs 3 (OT)

In Raleigh, North Carolina, Eric Staal scored a power-play goal 3:09 into overtime to lift the Hurricanes to a comeback win.

Lightning, 4 Canadiens 3

In Tampa, Vincent Lecavalier scored a tiebreaking goal midway through the third period.

Wild 4, Oilers 3

In St. Paul, Minnesota, Dany Heatley scored his third goal in four games to help the Wild snap an eight-game losing streak.

Blue Jackets 4, Stars 1

In Dallas, Rick Nash scored twice, Steve Mason made 36 saves, and Columbus earned its first regulation road win of the season.

Jets 1, Kings 0 (OT)

In Winnipeg, Evander Kane scored the only goal of the game 69 seconds into overtime, and Chris Mason made 31 saves.

Avalanche 3, Coyotes 2

In Denver, Semyon Varlamov made 25 saves and Gabriel Landeskog had a goal and an assist.

Canucks 5, Ducks 2

In Anaheim, Daniel Sedin scored twice and twin brother Henrik had a goal and two assists.

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