Henrik Lundqvist became the fifth NHL goalie to start a career with four 20-win seasons as the New York Rangers downed the slumping Pittsburgh Penguins 4-0 on Monday.
Lundqvist made 27 saves for his first shutout of the season and 18th overall. He is the fourth Rangers goalie to post four consecutive 20-win seasons.
The Rangers got power-play goals from Nigel Dawes and defenseman Paul Mara and jumped over idle New Jersey and Philadelphia to regain first place in the Atlantic Division, a position they held all season until last weekend.
Chris Drury sealed it with a third-period goal, and Scott Gomez added a short-handed tally into an empty net with 3:11 left.
The defending Eastern Conference champion Penguins have dropped five straight games, six of seven, and seven of nine to fall below the playoff cutoff halfway through the season. They have only eight goals in seven games.
OILERS 3, ISLANDERS 2
At Edmonton, Alberta, Andrew Cogliano’s goal midway through the third period gave Edmonton a victory over New York.
Kyle Brodziak and Jason Strudwick also scored for the Oilers, who moved into a tie with Minnesota for eighth place in the Western Conference.
Kyle Okposo and Blake Comeau had goals for the Islanders (12-25-4), who have lost 13 straight road games and 15 of their last 17 overall in falling to last place in the NHL standings.
■GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS
AFP, BUFFALO, New York
The Buffalo Sabres got some good news and some bad news on Monday as captain Craig Rivet declared himself fit but right wing Maxim Afinogenov was sidelined indefinitely.
Afinogenov is out after injuring his groin when he took a hard hit from captain Zdeno Chara during the first period of Saturday’s 4-2 triumph over the Boston Bruins.
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