BUFFALO, New York _ Chris Drury had two goals and two assists, sparking Buffalo's six-goal first period in the Sabres' 6-3 win over the Washington Capitals in the NHL on Tuesday.

Ales Kotalik had a goal and two assists while Maxim Afinogenov and Thomas Vanek added a goal and assist each for the NHL's top-scoring team. Brian Campbell also scored in a game that was decided before it was 11 minutes old.

Buffalo needed only nine shots to build a 6-0 lead when Vanek connected with 9:03 left in the first.

Buffalo (26-7-3) scored four times in a 5:39 span, including two goals 15 seconds apart, and six in a span of 9:06. Remarkably, the six-goal first period wasn't even a season best for the Sabres, who scored seven times in a 7-2 win over Tampa Bay on November 20.

Alex Ovechkin, Chris Clark and Kris Beech scored for the Capitals. Hurricanes 4, Panthers 2=

At Raleigh, North Carolina, Rod Brind'Amour scored the go-ahead goal 50 seconds into the third period, and Carolina beat Florida for its season-best fifth straight victory.

Scott Walker, Cory Stillman and Justin Williams also scored, and Eric Staal added two assists for the Hurricanes. Williams' goal was his team-leading 18th of the season and seventh in seven games.

Cam Ward made 25 saves for the Hurricanes, who won their seventh straight home game against Florida.

Nathan Horton scored twice for Florida.

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