National Hockey

DETROIT — Andreas Athanasiou has become a more consistent player this season, and the score sheet is starting to reflect it.

RALEIGH, N.C. — Coming into the night, the Toronto Maple Leafs were tied for the NHL lead in scoring and ranked second in goal differential on the strength of a top-notch power play.

WASHINGTON — Tom Wilson missed Washington's first 16 games due to a suspension for an illegal check. In the five games since his return, Wilson has shown just how valuable he is to the Capitals.

TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa Bay scored early and often in another home victory over Florida.

NEW YORK — When Alexandar Georgiev was young, his family moved from Bulgaria to Russia so he could have a better opportunity to play sports. He was happy his parents were in attendance Wednesday night to see his first NHL shutout.

NEWARK, N.J. — Pavel Zacha is back from the minor leagues and brimming with confidence. Zacha scored twice, Taylor Hall had a goal and an assist, and the New Jersey Devils beat the Montreal Canadiens 5-2 on Wednesday night.

PITTSBURGH — Sidney Crosby's been around long enough to realize the issues currently plaguing the Pittsburgh Penguins can't be solved in one shift, one period or even one game. That sure didn't stop the Pittsburgh captain from trying.

The 55 in-season NHL coaching changes since beginning of salary cap era in 2005: 2005-06 New York Islanders replaced Steve Stirling with Brad Shaw, missed playoffs New Jersey Devils replaced resigning Larry Robinson with Lou Lamoriello, made playoffs

Peter Chiarelli didn't feel like he could wait another day. The Edmonton general manager didn't sleep well after another tough loss, put the wheels in motion to replace coach Todd McLellan with Ken Hitchcock and made the move on Tuesday — a game day.

ST. PAUL, Minn. — A hockey reporter representing the Ottawa Citizen was allowed back on the Ottawa Senators' charter flight on Wednesday ahead of their game in Minnesota.