Jagr scores pair to lead Rangers to seventh straight

Jaromir Jagr scored his NHL-leading 41st and 42nd goals and also had an assist to lead the New York Rangers to their seventh straight victory, 6-1 over the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night in Philadelphia.

The Atlantic Division-leading Rangers have a four-point lead over the second-place Flyers. Kevin Weekes made 36 saves for New York, first in its division this late in the season for the first time since 1995-96.

The Rangers, 3-0-2 against Philadelphia this season, didn’t need a lot of shots to beat the Flyers. They scored three goals – two on the power play – in a 1:58 span early in the second period and had four goals in a 6:46 span.

Jagr, the NHL leader with 91 points, scored two power-play goals to open the second period and give the Rangers a 3-0 lead. His second goal gave him 1,400 career points.

The Flyers have lost six of their last eight.

Islanders 3, Devils 2 (SO): At Uniondale, N.Y., Trent Hunter smacked a shot between Martin Brodeur’s pads in a shootout, denying the Canadian Olympian his 30th victory as New York defeated New Jersey.

Senators 7, Capitals 1: At Ottawa, rookie defenseman Andrej Meszaros had three assists, Ray Emery made 30 saves and Ottawa scored five special-teams goals to defeat Washington.

Canadiens 1, Panthers 0: At Sunrise, Fla., Alexei Kovalev scored with 5:49 left in the third period and Cristobal Huet made 24 saves for his third shutout of the season as Montreal edged Florida.

Bruins 3, Thrashers 2: At Boston, Marco Sturm scored a power-play goal with 2:41 left to help the Bruins defeat Atlanta and snap a three-game losing streak.

Predators 3, Canucks 1: At Nashville, Tenn., Greg Johnson broke a tie with a short-handed goal 45 seconds into the third period, and Tomas Vokoun made 41 saves as Nashville stopped Vancouver.

Avalanche 1, Blue Jackets 0: At Denver, David Aebischer made 24 saves for his third shutout of the season and 13th overall, and Brent Clark scored the lone goal as Colorado edged Columbus.

Flames 3, Blues 1: At Calgary, Alberta, Calgary captain Jarome Iginla scored twice and had a spirited fight with St. Louis defenseman Barret Jackman. Shean Donovan also had a goal to help the Flames move into first place in the Northwest Division, a point ahead of Colorado.

Coyotes 6, Stars 2: At Glendale, Ariz., Geoff Sanderson and Shane Doan each scored twice to help Phoenix defeat Dallas and end a four-game losing streak.

Kings 3, Wild 2: At Los Angeles, Lubomir Visnovsky scored with 2:36 left in the third period as the Kings nipped Minnesota for their third straight win.