Derek Stepan

The Carolina Hurricanes placed backup goalie Brian Boucher on injured reserve Sunday and said center Jeff Skinner is out with an undisclosed injury. The team also recalled forward Drayson Bowman from its AHL affiliate in Charlotte. Boucher suffered a lower-body injury during practice Monday in Calgary but did not elaborate on the injury. The team also did not have any details on Skinner.   Blackhawks win in OT Patrick Sharp scored 4 minutes, 26 seconds into overtime to give the host Chicago Blackhawks a 3-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks .   Rangers romp The host New York Rangers hammered the Florida Panthers , 6-1, as Derek Stepan scored twice.

The surging New York Rangers have been running away with the Eastern Conference and now they are picking up points even when they aren't playing up to the high standard they have set. "We're playing our third game in two-and-a-half days, and they're not all going to be pretty," Rangers coach John Tortorella said after the Rangers outlasted the Boston Bruins, 4-3, Sunday at Madison Square Garden. Derek Stepan and Marian Gaborik both scored tiebreaking goals in the third period, and the Rangers held on after losing in overtime at Tampa Bay on Friday.

Brad Richards scored the go-ahead goal and Derek Stepan had a goal and two assists as the top-seeded New York Rangers staved off elimination with a 3-2 victory against Senators on Monday night in Ottawa. The series heads back to New York Thursday night for the first Game 7 in any sport at Madison Square Garden in 17 years. Not even the return of Daniel Alfredsson, who missed three games with a concussion, in front of the fired-up home crowd at Scotiabank Place could help the eighth-seeded Senators complete the upset.

The Rick Nash saga seems to be going down to the wire. The Columbus Blue Jackets' front office Sunday mulled over offers for the elite power winger, who still could be dealt by Monday's 3 p.m. deadline. There also is the strong possibility that the Blue Jackets will hold out in the hope of getting better offers at the June entry draft. Columbus was said to be adamant about obtaining players who the Rangers deemed untouchable: center Derek Stepan or No. 1 prospect Chris Kreider, a power forward at Boston College, as well as defensemen Ryan McDonagh and Michael Del Zotto.

Jonathan Toews scored twice, and Ray Emery and Corey Crawford combined on a shutout as the Chicago Blackhawks extended their NHL-record season-opening points streak to 20 games with a 3-0 win over the Blues in St. Louis on Thursday night. Chicago was coming off a 6-0-1 homestand and improved to 9-0-2 on the road. The Blackhawks, who have won seven in a row overall, have earned 37 out of a possible 40 points this season.   Rangers end skid Carl Hagelin and Derek Stepan scored in a one-sided first period, and the suddenly healthy New York Rangers snapped a four-game losing streak with a 4-1 victory over the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning.

Ryan Callahan's goal 2 minutes, 55 seconds into overtime gave the New York Rangers a 4-3 victory over the host Carolina Hurricanes Thursday night, locking up a playoff berth for the Rangers. Derek Stepan, Derick Brassard, and Brad Richards scored the other New York goals, Richards' tally coming at 17:03 of the third period to force OT. Jiri Tlusty scored twice and Tuomo Ruutu added a goal for Carolina.   Senators clinch spot Sergei Gonchar scored 47 seconds into overtime, Erik Karlsson set up Ottawa's first goal in his sooner-than-anticipated return from a torn Achilles tendon, and the Senators clinched a playoff berth by beating the Washington Capitals, 2-1. Craig Anderson made 19 saves.

Frans Nielsen set up two early goals and Evgeni Nabokov made 24 saves and the New York Islanders continued their playoff push with a 3-1 victory over the host New Jersey Devils on Monday night. John Tavares added his 22d goal of the season as the Islanders won for the fourth time in five games. Also in the East: Derek Stepan scored twice to lead the host New York Rangers to a 4-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets, picking up two vital points in their fight to hold onto a playoff spot.

About three hours after asking for more respect from NHL officials, Washington's Alex Ovechkin was called for two penalties within seconds of each other, leading to a pair of goals that put the New York Rangers ahead for good Sunday in a 4-1 win over the host Capitals. Brian Boyle and Ryan Callahan took advantage of Ovechkin's miscues to give New York a two-goal lead in the second period. Derek Stepan and Brad Richards also scored, and Martin Biron made 28 saves for the Rangers. Ovechkin said "some refs don't like some personalities on our team" and are too quick to call a penalty when they hear a complaint.

Marian Gaborik scored twice, Derek Stepan had a goal and two assists, and the New York Rangers extended their winning streak to five with a 3-2 victory over the host Ottawa Senators on Wednesday night. Henrik Lundqvist stopped 29 shots for New York (8-3-3), which hit the road for the first time since a 4-1-1 homestand. The Rangers haven't lost since Oct. 29, when Ottawa rallied from three goals down in the third period and won 5-4 in a shootout. Gaborik, who extended his point streak to four games, and Stepan scored 2:17 apart to put the Rangers up, 2-1, midway through the second period.

Ryan Callahan and Michael Del Zotto each had a goal and an assist, and the visiting New York Rangers rebounded from a 2-0 deficit and moved to the top of the NHL standings with a 4-2 victory over the fading Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday night. Brian Boyle and Derek Stepan also scored, and Marian Gaborik added a pair of assists for the Rangers (49-21-7), who lead Pittsburgh by five points in the Eastern Conference. New York is tied with Western Conference-leading St. Louis with 105 points, but the Rangers have the edge because of one more non-shootout victory.

BRAD MARCHAND scored with 4:20 left in the first overtime and the Bruins beat the New York Rangers last night in Boston, 3-2, in the first playoff game in 40 years between the Original Six teams. Marchand, Boston's top goal scorer in the regular season, got his first of the postseason on a pass from Patrice Bergeron. Marchand had carried the puck up the right side, passed it to Bergeron and kept going toward the net. Bergeron passed across the slot and Marchand tipped it past goalie Henrik Lundqvist from the left side of the crease.

Brad Marchand scored with 4:20 left in overtime and the host Boston Bruins beat the New York Rangers, 3-2, in the first playoff game in 40 years between the Original Six teams. Marchand, Boston's top goal scorer in the regular season, got his first of the postseason on a pass from Patrice Bergeron. Marchand had carried the puck up the right side, passed it to Bergeron and kept going toward the net. Bergeron passed across the slot and Marchand tipped it past goalie Henrik Lundqvist from the left side of the crease.

THE KEY MOMENT of the New York Rangers' Game 4 win over the visiting Washington Capitals might have occurred off ice between the second and third periods. New York had squandered a two-goal lead and the momentum in the second. But a fortuitous power play after the buzzer set up the Rangers to grab it all back. And they did. Dan Girardi made the most of Jason Chimera's interference penalty, scoring the go-ahead goal 59 seconds into the third. That led to New York's 4-3 victory last night that tied the best-of-seven series, 2-2. "We've done better as the series has gone on," Rangers coach John Tortorella said.

THE BOSTON BRUINS spoiled the return of playoff hockey to Toronto, scoring two quick goals in the second period in a 5-2 victory over the Maple Leafs on Monday night. Adam McQuaid, Rich Peverley, Nathan Horton, Daniel Paille and David Krejci, with an empty-net goal with 1:17 remaining, scored for Boston The win came in front of 19,746 fans inside the Air Canada Centre. Outside, a blue-and-white throng watched on a big screen in Maple Leaf Square as playoff hockey returned to Toronto for the first time since 2004.

Ryan Callahan's goal 2 minutes, 55 seconds into overtime gave the New York Rangers a 4-3 victory over the host Carolina Hurricanes Thursday night, locking up a playoff berth for the Rangers. Derek Stepan, Derick Brassard, and Brad Richards scored the other New York goals, Richards' tally coming at 17:03 of the third period to force OT. Jiri Tlusty scored twice and Tuomo Ruutu added a goal for Carolina.   Senators clinch spot Sergei Gonchar scored 47 seconds into overtime, Erik Karlsson set up Ottawa's first goal in his sooner-than-anticipated return from a torn Achilles tendon, and the Senators clinched a playoff berth by beating the Washington Capitals, 2-1. Craig Anderson made 19 saves.

WITH TIME slipping away, the New York Rangers appeared destined for a long night by the television, hoping some other team would put them into the postseason. Then came one timely bounce off the boards, and another off a post. Just like that, the Rangers pushed themselves back into the Eastern Conference playoffs. Captain Ryan Callahan scored 2:55 into overtime, and visiting New York rallied to clinch a third straight playoff berth by beating the Carolina Hurricanes, 4-3, last night.

THE RANGERS insist they are focused much more on their drive toward the playoffs than ending the New Jersey Devils' postseason hopes. With a thorough 4-1 victory Sunday, the Broadway Blueshirts took care of both. Ryan Callahan scored a goal in the opening minute and another in the third period, and Henrik Lundqvist made 26 saves as the Rangers eliminated the Devils from the East playoff race. Callahan provided the lead 34 seconds in, Derek Stepan added a goal in the first period, and Taylor Pyatt snapped a long drought in the second for the eighth-place Rangers, who are inching closer to a playoff berth.

FRANS NIELSEN set up two early goals and Evgeni Nabokov made 24 saves and the New York Islanders continued their playoff push with a 3-1 victory over the host New Jersey Devils on Monday night. Josh Bailey and Travis Hamonic were the beneficiaries of Nielsen's passes and John Tavares added his 22nd goal of the season as the Islanders won for the fourth time in five games. New York's only loss was a 2-0 setback to the Pittsburgh Penguins, the winners of 15 straight. Alexei Ponikarovsky scored for the Devils, who are 0-1-3 since forward Ilya Kovalchuk was sidelined with a shoulder injury more than a week ago. Martin Brodeur finished with 18 saves.

Frans Nielsen set up two early goals and Evgeni Nabokov made 24 saves and the New York Islanders continued their playoff push with a 3-1 victory over the host New Jersey Devils on Monday night. John Tavares added his 22d goal of the season as the Islanders won for the fourth time in five games. Also in the East: Derek Stepan scored twice to lead the host New York Rangers to a 4-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets, picking up two vital points in their fight to hold onto a playoff spot.

The Flyers took a big step Tuesday night toward playing a meaningless final month of the season. They dropped a 5-2 decision to the New York Rangers and fell seven points behind the eighth-place Blueshirts in the Eastern Conference playoff hunt. Defensemen Kimmo Timonen, winger Jake Voracek, and goalie Ilya Bryzgalov said the Flyers weren't ready to play, a stunning statement when you consider they could have climbed to within three points of the Rangers with a victory. "We've got to find a better effort across the board," Timonen said.