By The Associated Press

UNIONDALE, N.Y. – Marc Chouinard’s power-play goal in the final seconds of the second period gave the Minnesota Wild a 4-3 victory over the Islanders on Tuesday night in a game marred by an injury to New York forward Jason Blake.

Blake, New York’s second-leading scorer with 24 points on 13 goals and 11 assists, was taken off the ice on a stretcher after crashing headfirst into the boards.

Blake was taken to a hospital. The severity of the injury was not known.

With 12:40 left in the third period, Blake and Wild defenseman Kurtis Foster were chasing a loose puck in the Minnesota zone. Foster’s stick caught Blake’s skate, sending him into the boards headfirst in the corner.

After being down for nearly 10 minutes, with Islanders team doctor Elliot Pellman tending to him, Blake was helped to his feet and placed on the stretcher.

Canucks 3, Rangers 2

NEW YORK – Matt Cooke knocked in a rebound with 4:31 left, snapping a tie in his first game since missing 17 with a broken jaw and lifting the Vancouver Canucks to a 3-2 victory over the New York Rangers on Tuesday night.

Canucks coach Marc Crawford’s only concern in playing Cooke was whether the forward would be able to see well in his first game while wearing a full face shield. Apparently that wasn’t a problem.

When Rangers forward Michael Nylander mishandled the puck in front, Cooke swooped in and smacked it in for his fourth goal and first since Oct. 29 – three days before he was injured in practice.

Panthers 7, Predators 3

SUNRISE, Fla. – Nathan Horton had his first career three-goal game to help the Florida Panthers snap a four-game losing streak with a 7-3 victory over the Nashville Predators on Tuesday night.

Horton has seven goals in seven games since returning from a knee injury.

Gary Roberts added two goals for the Panthers, who won for only the fourth time in their last 22 games. Martin Gelinas and Juraj Kolnik also scored.

Adam Hall, Scottie Upshall and Steve Sullivan scored for Nashville, which has lost three consecutive games in regulation for the first time all season.

‘Canes 5, Blackhawks 3

RALEIGH, N.C. – Aaron Ward was awarded the tying goal after a video review early in the second period and Matt Cullen put Carolina ahead about a minute later, helping the Hurricanes beat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-3 Tuesday night.

Cullen scored again in the third period and Craig Adams also had two goals for the Hurricanes, who were playing at home for the first time since Nov. 27. They went 3-2-1 on their longest trip of the season to hold onto the top spot in the Southeast Division and returned for five straight at the RBC Center – their longest homestand.

Thrashers 7, Red Wings 6

ATLANTA – Patrik Stefan scored twice, including the go-ahead goal with less than five minutes left in the third period, as Atlanta blew a four-goal lead before recovering for a 7-6 win over Detroit Tuesday night.

The Thrashers led 6-2 after two periods, but still needed a late goal to beat the Red Wings for the first in franchise history.

Stefan’s goal came on a breakaway as Detroit’s Andreas Lilja lost his stick and was unable to block the shot.

Flyers 3, Blue Jackets 1

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Rookie Jeff Carter scored the go-ahead goal early in the second period and Philadelphia killed a long two-man power play in the second period in the Flyers’ 3-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night.

Canadiens 5, Coyotes 2

MONTREAL – Andrei Kostsitsyn scored his first NHL goal and Michael Ryder scored his team-high 13th, leading the Montreal Canadiens to a 5-2 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes on Tuesday night.

Tomas Plekanec, Niklas Sundstrom and Jan Bulis also scored for Montreal, which had lost nine of 12 (3-5-4) after losing 5-3 on Saturday night to Los Angeles in the Canadiens’ first game in a week.

Phoenix ended a season-high three-game winning streak. With Phoenix down 4-0, Boyd Devereaux scored midway through the third to ruin Jose Theodore’s shutout bid. Mike Ricci scored on a scramble at 18:49.

Devils 2, Oilers 1, SO

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Viktor Kozlov and Brian Gionta scored in a shootout and Martin Brodeur stopped Jarret Stoll and Ales Hemsky in the tiebreaker to give the New Jersey Devils a 2-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday.

Richard Matvichuk scored in regulation and Brodeur made 29 saves to help the Devils end a four-game losing steak. Cory Cross scored for the Oilers and Ty Conklin made 27 saves in his first appearance since Oct. 21.

Blues 3, Penguins 0

ST. LOUIS – Keith Tkachuk and Jamal Mayers each scored their eighth goals of the season and goalie Curtis Sanford made 21 saves as the St. Louis Blues shut out the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-0 Tuesday night.

The win broke the Blues’ three-game losing streak and gave them only their third win at home this season.

and just their sixth overall, fewest in the Western Conference. The Penguins (8-17-6), meanwhile, remained stuck at eight wins, the lowest total in the Eastern Conference.

Tkachuk’s goal was his eighth in nine games, extended his goal scoring streak to five games and gave him 15 points in his last seven games.

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