Messier second to one

Messier enjoyed being tied with Gordie Howe on the league points list for two periods before he passed Mr. Hockey in the closing seconds of the Rangers' 3-0 victory last night over the Dallas Stars in New York.

The Rangers captain scored the first and last goals to give him 1,851 points and set off an on-ice hug with his teammates.

"I always find it hard to celebrate something like that, but what I have to realize is it's a tremendous honor for all the people I played with and the game of hockey itself," Messier said.

Messier found an empty net for a shorthanded goal with 4.7 seconds left.

"Well, I wasn't really thinking about that point right there," Messier said. "Obviously if the opportunity presented itself, I wasn't going to pass it up."

The second goal came when Alex Kovalev fed Messier as he streaked down the right wing. When Messier hit the back of the vacated net, he threw his hands up in exultation, and the referees allowed the New York bench to empty and greet him in the Dallas zone. "I can't lie, I definitely wanted to do it in this rink," Messier said. "You only have one opportunity to do things like this."

Rangers coach and general manager Glen Sather clapped on the bench as Messier's family hugged in the stands. Sather was Messier's first NHL coach when the star was just 18.

Messier gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead 1:37 into the second period, earning his 1,850th point in his 1,691st game. Howe played 1,767 games over 26 NHL seasons. Wayne Gretzky is first with 2,857 points.

Messier is in eighth place with 682 goals, tied for third with 1,169 career assists, and second to Howe in games played. He's a 16-time All-Star and six-time Stanley Cup champion.

Capitals 5, Lightning 1 -- Dainius Zubrus scored twice, Robert Lang had a goal and two assists, and visiting Washington ended Tampa Bay's season-opening eight-game undefeated streak.

Washington's Olaf Kolzig made 41 saves, and Jaromir Jagr and Jeff Halpern also scored for the Capitals, who stopped a six-game road losing skid.

Washington scored two goals or less in its previous nine games, prompting coach Bruce Cassidy to put Lang, Jagr, and Peter Bondra on the same line.

The trio finished with two goals and three assists.

Martin St. Louis scored for Tampa Bay (7-1-1), which entered as the NHL's only unbeaten team.

Blues 2, Mighty Ducks 1 -- Keith Tkachuk scored on a 3-on-1 break with 31 seconds left in overtime for host St. Louis.

The Blues, frustrated most of the game by Jean-Sebastian Giguere, were shut out before Doug Weight scored on his own rebound with 5:19 to go in regulation.

Oilers 4, Canadiens 2 -- Peter Sarno scored in his debut, and Edmonton defeated host Montreal.

Raffi Torres, Fernando Pisani, and Cory Cross also scored and Marty Reasoner had two assists for Edmonton.

Sheldon Souray scored twice for Montreal.

Wild 4, Avalanche 4 -- Steve Konowalchuk scored twice, including an unassisted goal midway through the third period, to lift host Colorado to a tie with Minnesota.

Antti Laaksonen had two goals and an assist for Minnesota.

Maple Leafs 4, Penguins 2 -- Bryan McCabe had a goal and an assist in host Toronto's victory.

Aki Berg, Darcy Tucker, and Robert Reichel also scored as the Maple Leafs took advantage of the Penguins playing without Mario Lemieux, who is sidelined with a strained left hip muscle.

Red Wings 3, Flames 0 -- Brendan Shanahan scored twice, Curtis Joseph made 21 saves for his first win of the season, and visiting Detroit snapped a five-game winless skid.