The Associated Press

HOUSTON - Tiger Woods let a good round get away from him Thursday in the Tour Championship. The goal for Charles Howell III is not to waste another good start.

Howell made three straight birdies on the back nine and shot a 4-under 67 for a share of the lead with three-time winner Kenny Perry at Champions Golf Club.

Woods looked every bit like the No. 1 player in the world by putting five shots between him and Singh over the first five holes.

But three straight bogeys on the back nine, and a harsh lipout from 6 feet for par on the final hole, dropped him back into a tie for 13th at 1-under 70.

Woods is battling with Vijay Singh for the money title and votes for player of the year. Singh has a $768,494 lead over Woods.

Hockey

RED WINGS: Defenseman Derian Hatcher had right knee ligament surgery Thursday and is expected to be sidelined four to six months.

Flyers 4, Capitals 2

PHILADELPHIA - Tony Amonte and Jeremy Roenick each had a goal and assist to lead Philadelphia.

Robert Esche stopped 20 shots for his fourth straight win, and the Flyers remained unbeaten at home (4-0-2) with their fourth win in five games. Vancouver (6-0-1) is the only other NHL team unbeaten at home this season.

Hurricanes 6, Rangers 3

RALEIGH, N.C. - Light-scoring Craig Adams had two goals for Carolina, enabling Carolina to snap a three-game losing streak.

The two goals by Adams were his ninth and 10th in 170 career games.

Kings 1, Lightning 0, OT

TAMPA, Fla. - Ziggy Palffy scored with 12 seconds left in overtime to lift Los Angeles.

Los Angeles' Roman Cechmanek made 20 saves for his second shutout of the season and 22nd overall.

Oilers 3, Senators 3

OTTAWA - Ethan Moreau and Fernando Pisani scored 2:30 apart in the second period and Edmonton overcame a two-goal deficit to earn the tie.

Marian Hossa had his second two-goal game of the season, and Peter Schaefer scored a short-handed goal for Ottawa, winless in four games (0-2-2).

Sharks 5, Bruins 5

BOSTON - Sergei Samsonov scored with 13.4 seconds left in regulation to salvage a Boston tie.

Samsonov tied it when he chopped at the puck in front of the crease and it bounced past goalie Vesa Toskala. San Jose just missed its first win in Boston, where the Sharks are 0-7-3.

Islanders 4, Stars 1

UNIONDALE, N.Y. - Trent Hunter's goal with 3:20 left in regulation broke a tie and lifted New York.

Shawn Bates iced the game with 1:00 left on a backhand. Michael Peca added an empty-net goal.

Blues 3, Canucks 2

ST. LOUIS - Keith Tkachuk scored his second consecutive game-winning goal, leading St. Louis to a win in a match between first-place teams Thursday night.

Tkachuk, who scored in overtime on Tuesday when St. Louis beat Anaheim, leads the Blues with seven goals this season.

Avalanche 2, Coyotes 1

DENVER - Joe Sakic and Milan Hejduk scored third-period goals, Peter Forsberg posted his 500th career assist and Colorado rallied to beat Phoenix.

Avalanche rookie Philippe Sauve made 27 saves to record his first NHL victory.

Auto Racing

NASCAR: Kyle Busch will attempt to qualify for the season-ending Winston Cup race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

The 18-year-old Busch, brother of Cup star Kurt Busch, will drive the No. 60 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports.