NEW YORK – Jaromir Jagr assisted on a pair of first-period goals and Henrik Lundqvist stopped 31 shots Thursday night to lead the New York Rangers to a 3-1 victory over the New York Islanders.
The Rangers killed all 11 penalties called against them, and Lundqvist made a game-saving stop on Robert Nilsson’s shot with 2:19 left.
The first-place Rangers (5-3-3) moved three points ahead of the third-place Islanders (5-5) in the Atlantic Division.
The Islanders swept a home-and-home series from the Rangers last week, including a shootout victory at Madison Square Garden.
Jagr set up Martin Straka for his first goal of the season at 13:22 of the first period.
With the Rangers on a power play, Jagr sent a gorgeous pass from behind the goal line to Straka, who beat helpless goalie Rick DiPietro from the slot.
Fedor Tyutin scored his second goal of the season at 16:26 to give the Rangers a 2-0 lead.
Tyutin carried the puck into the offensive zone and left a drop pass for Michael Nylander, who sent a cross ice pass to Jagr.
Blair Betts scored his second goal of the season into an empty net at 19:29 to complete the scoring.
Avalanche 6, Canucks 2
DENVER – Milan Hejduk scored his 200th career goal Thursday to help Colorado to a 6-2 win over Vancouver and Todd Bertuzzi, who was booed all night in his first game in Denver since breaking Avalanche forward Steve Moore’s neck.
Pierre Turgeon scored twice for the Avalanche to reach 499 for his career as Colorado snapped the Canucks’ six-game winning streak.
Flyers 5, Panthers 4
PHILADELPHIA – Peter Forsberg tied the game in the final minute of regulation and Joni Pitkanen scored early in overtime to lead the Philadelphia Flyers to a 5-4 win over the Florida Panthers.
Wings 5, Blackhawks 2
DETROIT – Manny Legace made 21 saves in becoming the first NHL goalie to win 10 games in a month and Mathieu Schneider scored twice in the Detroit Red Wings’ 5-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks.
Penguins 7, Thrashers 5
PITTSBURGH – Mario Lemieux scored twice during a five-point night and the Pittsburgh Penguins rallied from a four-goal deficit to beat the reeling Atlanta Thrashers 7-5 and win for the first time this season.
Senators 4, Canadiens 3
OTTAWA – Jason Spezza scored 2:48 into overtime to lift the Ottawa Senators to a 4-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens.
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