A week off did wonders for the New York Rangers and their playoff hopes.
During a five-day break from games between last weekend and this one, the Rangers could only watch as teams pushed them below the postseason cutoff. With a pair of home wins, New York is right back in the thick of the hunt.
Ryan Callahan scored twice and Chris Drury added a power-play goal and an assist yesterday for the Rangers, who finally beat a Western Conference team with a solid 3-1 effort against the San Jose Sharks at Madison Square Garden.
That came on the heels of a relatively easy 5-1 rout of Buffalo at home Saturday. New York is back in the mix after dropping to ninth, moving past Philadelphia into sixth place.
"It was definitely a tough game, the second of back-to-backers, especially playing against a big, physical, talented team," forward Brendan Shanahan said. "It was a real good test for us and we really responded well."
Henrik Lundqvist made 29 saves for the Rangers, who beat a Western team in their last chance after going 0-7-2 in the first nine.
Jonathan Cheechoo had the lone goal for the Sharks, who have the fewest road losses in the NHL (17-6-3).
Canadiens 5, Flyers 3 - Alex Kovalev had a goal and two assists to lead visiting Montreal past Philadelphia, the reeling Flyers' seventh straight loss.
The Flyers, who lost to Montreal for the second straight night, have taken a stunning freefall from division leaders to seventh place in the Eastern Conference standings. The season-high skid has left Philadelphia only one point ahead of Boston and Buffalo.
Francis Bouillon scored his first goal in 75 games, and Michael Ryder and Saku Koivu also scored for Montreal. Maxim Lapierre added an empty-net goal with 1:24 remaining.
Stars 1, Red Wings 0 - Marty Turco made 28 saves for his 32d career shutout and second win in 15 tries against Detroit, and Niklas Hagman scored as host Dallas handed the Red Wings their season-high sixth straight loss.
Turco preserved the shutout with 48.8 seconds left, falling on his back to make a sliding stop on Detroit's Brett Lebda. Turco also denied Johan Franzen with 34.8 seconds remaining.
Hagman scored the game's only goal at 3:13 of the third period, notching his career-best 21st of the season from a sharp angle to the left of Detroit's third-string goaltender Jimmy Howard, the former University of Maine standout who was making his first start of the season.
Blues 5, Blue Jackets 1 - Brad Boyes's 31st goal snapped a five-game point drought, Eric Brewer had a career-best four assists, and host St. Louis scored a season-high three power-play goals in beating Columbus.
Rick Nash scored his 31st goal, his fourth shorthanded, for Columbus.
Andy McDonald netted his 100th career goal, defenseman Matt Walker scored his first in 153 career games, and rookie David Perron added his 11th for the Blues, who have won three of four.
Penguins 4, Sabres 1 - Evgeni Malkin had a goal and assist and Ty Conklin stopped 36 shots in leading visiting Pittsburgh past Buffalo, which wasted a chance to move past the Bruins for eighth place in the Eastern Conference.
Petr Sykora, with a goal and assist, Jarkko Ruutu and Colby Armstrong also scored in a victory that moved the Penguins into a tie with New Jersey atop the Atlantic Division.
Ducks 4, Flames 2 - Teemu Selanne set an Anaheim record with his 670th point on an assist during the Ducks' four-goal, second-period outburst and the host Ducks beat Calgary.
Blackhawks 2, Avalanche 1 - Patrick Lalime stopped 21 shots and defenseman James Wisniewski had two assists, helping host Chicago extend its unbeaten streak to five games (4-0-1).
Wild 5, Predators 4 - Marian Gaborik had two goals and an assist, including the winner with 4.4 seconds left in overtime, and host Minnesota held off Nashville.
