Avery scores 2, revives Rangers
NY passes Bruins for sixth in East
Sean Avery posted his third two-goal effort in a month and Henrik Lundqvist made 22 saves for the Rangers, who got back to their winning ways with a 5-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins last night in New York.
Avery gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead in the first period, then provided insurance in the third when New York restored the two-goal edge it squandered in the second. Avery has 10 goals in 15 games.
The Rangers shook off an empty two-game trip to Florida that broke their 13-game point streak (10-0-3).
Fredrik Sjostrom snapped a 2-2 tie in the second period for New York, which moved 2 points ahead of the Bruins for sixth place in the Eastern Conference. The Rangers are third in the Atlantic Division, 4 points behind Pittsburgh and 5 in back of New Jersey, their road opponent tonight.
New York also slowed down the Sidney Crosby-less Penguins, who had won three in a row and racked up 14 goals in their previous two victories without the injured captain.
Sharks 2, Kings 1 - Brian Boucher stopped 29 shots and San Jose beat Los Angeles for its ninth straight win on the road.
The Pacific Division-leading Sharks, whose franchise-record 11-game winning streak ended Sunday, improved to a league-best 26-8-3 on the road. They are one victory shy of the club record for consecutive road wins, which they set in December.
They are the first team in NHL history with two road winning streaks of nine or more games in the same season.
Flyers 3, Thrashers 2 - Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, and Vaclav Prospal scored and host Philadelphia kept its hold on the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference by beating Atlanta.
Antero Niittymaki allowed a goal 58 seconds into the game but was near flawless in helping the Flyers to their 10th straight series win against the Thrashers, dating to November 2005.
Ilya Kovalchuk scored his 50th goal of the season for the Thrashers in the final minute. Kovalchuk just missed tying the score in the final seconds on a shot from point-blank range. Kovalchuk dropped to his knees in disbelief and the Flyers mobbed each other in celebration.
Blues 4, Canadiens 3 - Brad Boyes scored his team-leading 38th goal of the season and was the only player to score in the shootout as St. Louis ended a 10-game road losing streak (0-7-3) by edging Montreal.
Manny Legace stopped Saku Koivu, Andrei Kostitsyn, and Alex Kovalev in the shootout as St. Louis got its first road win in more than a month.
Capitals 4, Predators 2 - Alexander Ovechkin had a goal and two assists to lead visiting Washington over Nashville, tying a season high with its fourth straight win.
Ovechkin's 58th goal was an empty-netter and Alexander Semin, Nicklas Backstrom, and Matt Bradley added first-period goals for Washington. Ovechkin also got his 100th point of the season, becoming the first Capital to twice record 100 points in a season.
Maple Leafs 3, Islanders 1 - Pavel Kubina's third-period power-play goal helped visiting Toronto keep alive its slim playoff hopes with its third win in four games.
Blue Jackets 3, Flames 0 - Backup Fredrik Norrena made 18 saves for his first shutout of the season and fourth of his career and Manny Malhotra scored two goals for the second straight game as Columbus stopped visiting Calgary.
Oilers 8, Coyotes 4 - Curtis Glencross scored twice and host Edmonton routed Phoenix for its third straight win and 10th in 12 games.
