Pittsburgh goal-fest smothers Ottawa

Sidney Crosby notched two goals and two assists as Stanley Cup champions Pittsburgh tightened their grip on their NHL playoff series with a 7-4 win over the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday.

Also in the East, Jeff Carter scored twice in Philadelphia's 4-1 win to put the Flyers 3-1 up in their best-of-seven series and leave the New Jersey Devils on the brink of elimination.

In the West, Henrik Zetterberg scored two goals to help Detroit to a 3-0 victory over the visiting Phoenix Coyotes to tie their series at 2-2.

Crosby and Matt Cooke stunned Ottawa by scoring twice in just 12 seconds early in the second period to put the Penguins up 3-0.

Pittsburgh, who have a 3-1 lead, can wrap up the series in their own arena on Thursday.

Crosby's dominant performance lifted his postseason total to 11 points, the best in the playoffs overall.

"We're being rewarded for good work ... everything's going the way we want it to," he told reporters, playing down his four-point game.

"You get chances and they go in. That's the way it works. You can do the exact same thing other nights and the puck doesn't go in," he said.

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