Gretzky Provides Boost For Rangers

NHL roundup

If there is any gold nugget the New York Rangers can hold in their fumbling hands it is that Wayne Gretzky has begun to live up to his billing. Little else has been reliable in this disjointed fledgling season.

So maybe the gods were being kind to the Great One Tuesday night, for the Rangers’ sakes. With 32.3 seconds remaining in the third period and Glenn Healy pulled for an extra attacker, Gretzky helped orchestrate a scramble in front of Florida Panthers goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck, and Adam Graves dumped in the tying goal after an evening of frustration. Niklas Sundstrom and Gretzky earned the assists and the Rangers tied the Panthers 1-1 at Miami.

Last time the Rangers visited Miami Arena - on the final game of the regular season - nothing went right. Mark Messier was sidelined with a rib injury and Brian Leetch fractured his foot blocking a shot. At least this season the rodents no longer are a problem, but the Rangers (0-1-2) have more about which to worry than vermin.

Florida had an emotional lift after having its Eastern Conference championship banner raised at the Miami Arena before the game.

Rangers 1, Panthers 1

N.Y. Rangers 0 0 1 0 - 1

Florida 1 0 0 0 - 1

First period-1, Florida, Fitzgerald 1 (Skrudland), 18:58.

Second period-None.

Third period-2, New York, Graves 3 (Kovalev, Gretzky), 19:28.

Overtime-None.

Shots on goal-New York 8-6-11-3-28. Florida 8-14-7-3-32.Power-play opp.-New York 0 of 2; Florida 0 of 5.Goalies-New York, Healy 0-0-1 (32 shots-31 saves). Florida, Vanbiesbrouck 2-0-1 (28-27).A-14,703 (15,635).

Avalanche 6, Sharks 0

Denver

Patrick Roy recorded his 31st career shutout, most among active goalies, as Colorado recovered from its post-Stanley Cup hangover.

Colorado, which had suffered 4-2 and 4-1 losses to St. Louis and Dallas, respectively, in its first two games, jumped to a 5-0 lead in the first period, and Roy made it stand up.

San Jose 0 0 0 - 0

Colorado 5 0 1 - 6

First period-1, Colorado, Kleem 1 (Foote, Gusarov), 7:34. 2, Colorado, Corbet 1 (Forsberg, Leschyshyn), 10:13. 3, Colorado, Lacroix 2 (Ricci, Wilson), 12:04. 4, Colorado, Krupp 1 (Ricci, Forsberg), 15:43 (pp). 5, Colorado, Ozolinsh 1 (Sakic, Young), 19:40.

Second period-None.

Third period-6, Colorado, Forsberg 1 (Sakic, Krupp), 18:47 (pp).

Shots on goal-San Jose 6-11-7-24. Colorado 18-7-9-34.Power-play opp.-San Jose 0 of 6; Colorado 2 of 7.Goalies-San Jose, Hrudey 1-1-0 (18 shots-13 saves), Terreri (0:00 second, 16-15). Colorado, Roy 1-2-0 (24-24).A-16,061 (15,635).

Oilers 4, Maple Leafs 2

Toronto

Ryan Smyth scored three goals, including the go-ahead score with 2:14 left and an empty-netter with 8 seconds remaining, as Edmonton picked up its third consecutive victory.

The Oilers’ 3-0 start is their best since 1985-86, when they opened with five consecutive wins.

Jason Arnott also scored for the Oilers.

Edmonton 1 1 2 - 4

Toronto 0 0 2 - 2

First period-1, Edmonton, Arnott 1 (Norton, Kovalenko), 11:17 (pp).

Second period-2, Edmonton, Smyth 2 (Buchberger, Murray), 17:04.

Third period-3, Toronto, Craig 2 (Intranuova, Baker), 4:10. 4, Toronto, Sundin 1 (Yushkevich, Gilmour), 14:22. 5, Edmonton, Smyth 3 (Weight, Buchberger), 17:46. 6, Edmonton, Smyth 4 (Marchment), 19:52 (en).

Shots on goal-Edmonton 11-9-17-37. Toronto 6-11-9-26.Power-play opp.-Edmonton 1 of 6; Toronto 0 of 5.Goalies-Edmonton, Joseph 3-0-0 (26 shots-24 saves). Toronto, Potvin 1-1-0 (36-33).A-15,424 (15,635).

Whalers 7, Penguins 3

Hartford, Conn.

Geoff Sanderson and Jeff O’Neill each scored two goals to lead Hartford.

The Whalers are off to a 2-0 start, while the Penguins dropped to 0-2.

Sanderson connected from between the circles with 15.3 seconds remaining in the second period, firing a hard wrist shot over goalie Tom Barrasso’s blocker. Midway through the final period, he converted a 2-on-1 with Steven Rice from the left circle.

O’Neill scored in the first and third periods for his first career multigoal game.

Pittsburgh 1 1 1 - 3

Hartford 2 2 3 - 7

First period-1, Hartford, Glynn 1 (Sanderson, Nikolishin), 7:20. 2, Hartford, O’Neill 1 (Kron), 11:10. 3, Pittsburgh, Hatcher 1, 11:36.

Second period-4, Pittsburgh, Lemieux 2 (Francis, Sandstrom), 9:05 (pp). 5, Hartford, Dineen 1 (Nikolishin), 11:57 (pp). 6, Hartford, Sanderson 1 (Dineen), 19:44.

Third period-7, Hartford, Shanahan 1 (Cassels, Burt), 5:03 (sh). 8, Pittsburgh, Tamer 1 (Nedved), 6:08. 9, Hartford, Sanderson 2 (Rice, Nikolishin), 10:03. 10, Hartford, O’Neill 2 (Godynyuk), 14:00.

Shots on goal-Pittsburgh 7-13-11-31. Hartford 19-13-10-42.Power-play opp.-Pittsburgh 1 of 3; Hartford 1 of 4.Goalies-Pittsburgh, Barrasso 0-2-0 (42 shots-35 saves). Hartford, Burke 2-0-0 (31-28).A-11,240 (15,635).

Stars 5, Capitals 3 , Dallas

Mike Modano had two goals and two assists, and Jere Lehtinen added a goal and two assists to lead Dallas past Washington.

Dallas took a 3-2 lead into the third period, then Modano gave the Stars some breathing room with a power-play rebound at 3:33. Greg Adams added his third goal of the season 2:11 later.

Andy Moog stopped 23 shots for Dallas for his 327th career victory, tops among active goaltenders.

Washington 1 1 1 - 3

Dallas 1 2 2 - 5

First period-1, Dallas, Lehtinen 1 (Hatcher, Modano), 2:00. 2, Washington, Jones 2 (Housley, Johansson), 14:42 (pp).

Second period-3, Dallas, Langebrunner 1 (Huard, Ledyard), 2:15. 4, Dallas, Modano 1 (Lehtinen), 8:27. 5, Washington, Housley 1 (Juneau, Hunter), 17:12 (pp).

Third period-6, Dallas, Modano 2 (Verbeek), 3:33 (pp). 7, Dallas, Adams 3 (Lehtinen, Modano), 5:44. 8, Washington, Allison 1 (Miller, Carter), 8:26.

Shots on goal-Washington 10-11-5-26. Dallas 9-10-8-27.Power-play opp.-Washington 2 of 6; Dallas 1 of 2.Goalies-Washington, Carey 0-2-0 (27 shots-22 saves). Dallas, Moog 2-0-0 (26-23).A-12,912 (15,635).

Clearing the ice

Mark Messier of the New York Rangers and Louie DeBrusk of Edmonton have been suspended by the league. Messier received a two-game suspension without pay and was fined $1,000 for hitting from behind against Florida Panthers forward Mike Hough Sunday. Messier got a major penalty and a game misconduct in the incident. DeBrusk was suspended for Tuesday night’s game at Toronto, and the league will hold a hearing today to determine if it should be extended. DeBrusk’s suspension was the result of a slashing incident against Vancouver defenseman Dana Murzyn on Sunday.