Richter Shuts Out Capitals As Rangers Extend Streak

NHL

Mark Messier had two goals and an assist, and Mike Richter got his 13th career shutout as the New York Rangers extended their home unbeaten streak to 15 games Monday night with a 3-0 victory over the Washington Capitals.

Messier scored a power-play goal early in the first period, and added his second goal late in the third to extend the Rangers’ run at home to 13-0-2 since Oct. 22.

Messier’s assist on Pat Verbeek’s goal with 6:02 gone in the third was the 901st of his 17-year career, tying him with Bryan Trottier for seventh on the NHL career list.

Messier and Verbeek share the club lead with 22 goals apiece.

Rangers 3, Capitals 0

Washington 0 0 0 - 0

N.Y. Rangers 1 0 2 - 3

First period-1, New York, Messier 21 (Graves, Leetch), 4:01 (pp).

Second period-None.

Third period-2, New York, Verbeek 22 (Samuelsson, Messier), 6:02. 3, New York, Messier 22 (Verbeek, Samuelsson), 16:11.

Shots on goal-Washington 6-13-11-30. New York 11-10-9-30.Power-play opp.-Washington 0 of 6; New York 1 of 7.Goalies-Washington, Carey 12-10-3 (30 shots-27 saves). New York, Richter 15-8-3 (30-30).A-18,200 (18,200).

Canadiens 3, Whalers 2 Montreal

Mark Recchi scored two goals as Montreal beat struggling Hartford.

Marc Bureau also scored for Montreal, which has won three of its last four games.

Brendan Shanahan scored both goals for the Whalers, who have won only two of their last 11.

Hartford 0 1 1 - 2

Montreal 2 1 0 - 3

First period-1, Montreal, Recchi 9 (Turgeon), 13:43. 2, Montreal, Bureau 1 (Brashear), 17:46.

Second period-3, Montreal, Recchi 10 (Turgeon, Malakhov), 15:32 (pp). 4, Hartford, Shanahan 10 (Sanderson, Wesley), 17:43 (pp).

Third period-5, Hartford, Shanahan 11 (Emerson, Sanderson), 15:39 (pp).

Shots on goal-Hartford 12-12-13-37. Montreal 12-14-9-35.Power-play opp.-Hartford 2 of 6; Montreal 1 of 3.Goalies-Hartford, Burke 9-12-1 (35 shots-32 saves). Montreal, Thibault 5-5-3 (37-35).A-16,237 (16,259).

Canucks 4, Avalanche 2 Denver

Martin Gelinas’ second goal of the game broke a tie with 2:08 left as Vancouver made Colorado pay for a late gamble.

Colorado, which lost its third straight, had a power-play opportunity with 1:38 left and chose to pull goalie Patrick Roy from the net for a 6-on-4 advantage.

But the Canucks got hold of the puck and Russ Courtnall fed Trevor Linden, who recorded a point for the seventh straight game when he beat defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh to put the game away.

Vancouver 1 1 2 - 4

Colorado 1 1 0 - 2

First period-1, Colorado, Corbet 1 (Wolanin, Yelle), 2:38. 2, Vancouver, Mogilny 23 (Oksiuta, Aucoin), 10:05.

Second period-3, Vancouver, Gelinas 12 (Walker), 13:35 (sh). 4, Colorado, Young 9 (Sakic, Simon), 16:11.

Third period-5, Vancouver, Gelinas 13 (Ronning, Courtnall), 17:52. 6, Vancouver, Linden 16 (Courtnall), 18:50 (sh-en).

Shots on goal-Vancouver 15-9-7-31. Colorado 12-16-9-37.Power-play opp.-Vancouver 1 of 6; Colorado 0 of 8.Goalies-Vancouver, McLean 9-9-6 (37 shots-35 saves). Colorado, Roy 13-12-2 (30-27).A-16,061 (16,061).

Oilers 3, Senators 1 Edmonton, Alberta

Jiri Slegr scored the tie-breaking goal in the third period as Edmonton beat slumping Ottawa.

Slegr picked off a clearing attempt by Ottawa defenseman Sean Hill and beat goaltender Don Beaupre with a fluttering wrist shot to break a 1-1 tie with 2:54 remaining.

Edmonton winger Jason Arnott added an empty-net goal with 26 seconds left, sending Ottawa to its fifth straight defeat.

Ottawa 0 0 1 - 1

Edmonton 1 0 2 - 3

First period-1, Edmonton, Kravchuk 4 (Oliver, Ranford), 5:12 (pp).

Second period-None.

Third period-2, Ottawa, Cunneyworth 9 (Quinn, Straka), 5:18. 3, Edmonton, Slegr 3, 17:06. 4, Edmonton, Arnott 12 (Weight, Manderville), 19:34 (en).

Shots on goal-Ottawa 6-11-4-21. Edmonton 7-7-12-26.Power-play opp.-Ottawa 0 of 4; Edmonton 1 of 6.Goalies-Ottawa, Beaupre 6-16-0 (25 shots-23 saves), Edmonton, Ranford 11-13-5 (21-20).A-8,419 (16,230).

Oilers’ future in jeopardy

The owner of the Edmonton Oilers is optimistic he can sell enough season tickets to keep the team from moving.

Peter Pocklington said the Oilers must sell the equivalent of 13,000 season tickets by May 31 to qualify for a $7 million aid package from the league.

He said without that money it makes little sense for the Oilers to stay in Edmonton because the team would be unable to compete with other teams in terms paying players.

The Oilers have 6,700 season-ticket holders and have been averaging just more than 11,000 fans a game this season. In addition to nearly doubling the season-ticket base, the team also has to sell all of its rink board advertising slots and the remaining 18 unsold luxury seat boxes.

Allen considers options

Paul Allen, owner of the National Basketball Association’s Portland Trail Blazers and a billionaire computer magnate, has examined the books of the Florida Panthers as he decides whether to buy an existing NHL franchise, wait for the next NHL expansion, or skip the whole thing.

The Blazers last week sent surveys to their season-ticket holders, asking if they would be willing to buy NHL tickets, and if so, how much they would be willing to pay. Employees also surveyed fans at a Portland Winter Hawks junior game. Allen is expected to announce his plans by the end of the month.

Around the NHL

Right wing Theoren Fleury, who scored 10 points while leading the Calgary Flames to a 2-1-1 record, was named the NHL’s player of the week. Fleury scored three goals in a 6-2 victory over Los Angeles. He also had a goal and four assists in an 8-4 win against Dallas… . Montreal right wing Andrei Kovalenko has been placed on the disabled list for seven days, retroactive to Saturday, because of a broken nose… . Calgary right wing Ron Stern has been suspended by the NHL pending a hearing today. Stern was disciplined as the result of a slashing incident against St. Louis defenseman Jeff Norton last Thursday.