Ward lifts Hurricanes past Rangers

Cam Ward stopped 28 shots in his fifth shutout of the season and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the New York Rangers, 3-0, last night in Raleigh, N.C., to match a season high with their fourth straight victory.

Joe Corvo and Rod Brind'Amour scored, and Tuomo Ruutu added an empty-netter for the Hurricanes.

Carolina jumped from ninth in the Eastern Conference into a tie for fifth with Montreal with 77 points in the crowded playoff chase, and has won eight of 10 while equaling the four-game winning streak it had in late December and early January.

The Rangers had their three-game winning streak snapped and dropped out of a playoff position for the first time this season. New York, ninth in the East, is 3-2-1 since coach John Tortorella replaced the fired Tom Renney.

Making his 15th straight start, Ward polished off his 10th career shutout with a stick save on Sean Avery's wrist shot with about 2 minutes left. That came after the Rangers pulled goalie Steve Valiquette for an extra attacker.

Valiquette, starting in place of Henrik Lundqvist, made 33 saves in his first appearance since Feb. 15. Lundqvist backstopped the Rangers' 4-3 victory Sunday over the NHL-leading Bruins.

Senators 2, Maple Leafs 1 - Daniel Alfredsson and Dany Heatley scored second-period goals, leading host Ottawa.

Brian Elliott made 25 saves in his third straight start for Ottawa, all wins.

Ian White scored in the first period for Toronto, which lost in regulation for the second straight game after earning at least a point in its eight previous games (6-0-2).

Maple Leafs veteran Curtis Joseph became the sixth goalie in league history to allow 2,500 goals on Alfredsson's score, an unassisted effort in the second period that tied it at 1.

Kings 3, Canucks 2 - Jarret Stoll scored twice during power plays and Teddy Purcell had two assists, leading host Los Angeles to its third straight win.