THE NEW YORK Rangers traded rugged forward Mike Rupp to the Minnesota Wild on Monday for forwards Darroll Powe and Nick Palmieri.
The deal was announced hours before the Wild faced the Phoenix Coyotes in Arizona.
The Rangers have been looking for depth at forward to complement their top line of Rick Nash, Brad Richards and former Wild star Marian Gaborik. New York is also dealing with the loss of captain Ryan Callahan, who is currently sidelined by a dislocated shoulder.
Powe, 27, has yet to record a point in eight games this season. He had six goals and seven assists while playing in all 82 games last season with the Wild. He played 204 games with the Flyers before joining Minnesota last season.
Rupp will provide Minnesota with a veteran, physical presence. In 565 NHL games over 10 seasons with New Jersey, Phoenix, Columbus, Pittsburgh and the Rangers, Rupp, 33, has 53 goals, 41 assists and 765 penalty minutes. Rupp scored the Stanley Cup-winning goal for New Jersey in 2003.
Palmieri, 23, has 10 goals and 21 points in 40 games with Houston of the AHL. He played nine games with the Wild last season and has 13 goals and 25 points in 87 NHL games with New Jersey and Minnesota. He has been assigned to Connecticut of the AHL.
In other news:
* The Red Wings put rookie Brendan Smith on injured reserve; he will be out 2 to 4 weeks with a sprained right shoulder.
* The NHL credited Chris Kunitz with a fourth goal in the Pittsburgh Penguins' 6-3 win Sunday over the Washington Capitals. The change gives Kunitz six goals on the season.
At Toronto, Jordan Staal scored his first goal with the Hurricanes, and his brother Eric added the winner in Carolina's 4-1 victory over the Maple Leafs. Jeff Skinner had three assists, Patrick Dwyer added a goal and an assist, and Justin Faulk also scored for Carolina. Cam Ward backed up the offense with a 41-save performance.
* At Glendale, Ariz., Mike Smith stopped 21 shots, Lauri Korpikoski and Martin Hanzal both scored, and the Phoenix Coyotes extended their point streak to five games with a 2-1 win over the Minnesota Wild. Zach Parise scored his 200th career goal, and Niklas Backstrom stopped 32 shots for Minnesota.
* At Denver, Jamie Benn scored in the closing minutes of the second period to put Dallas ahead and the Stars held on for a 3-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche.
Referee Chris Rooney had to be helped off the ice when he was hit by a puck after a shot by Stars defenseman Jamie Oleksiak deflected off the skate of Avalanche forward Paul Stastny. A stretcher was brought out, but Rooney slowly got up and was assisted off the ice.
