NHL : Rangers win in shootout

Stephen Valiquette rebounded from a rough start, made 25 saves and then stopped Glen Metropolit on the final shot of the shootout to lift the New York Rangers to a 3-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Saturday in New York.

Valiquette gave up a bad goal on the first shot he saw in making a rare appearance in place of Henrik Lundqvist, but turned aside all 19 shots he faced over the final two periods of regulation and overtime to give New York a much-needed win.

It was his first NHL victory since March 27, 2004.

Karel Rachunek had a goal and assisted on Sean Avery’s tying tally with 2:53 left in the third. Michael Nylander, Jaromir Jagr, and Marcel Hossa scored against Curtis Sanford in the shootout for the Rangers, who began the day 11th in the Eastern Conference.

Predators 6, Kings 3: At Los Angeles, Paul Kariya scored twice, defenseman Shea Weber recorded his first two-goal game in the NHL, and Nashville beat Los Angeles for its fourth straight victory.

J.P. Dumont had a goal and an assist in his 500th NHL game, Marek Zidlicky scored one of Nashville’s three power-play goals and Peter Forsberg had three assists for the Western Conference-leading Predators.

Bruins 3, Canadiens 1: At Boston, Glen Murray scored his team-leading 28th goal, and Tim Thomas made 16 of his 31 saves in the third period to lead give Boston a win over Montreal.

Petr Tenkrat and Brandon Bochenski also scored for the Bruins, who snapped a three-game losing streak and moved six points behind eighth-place Carolina in a crowded race for the Eastern Conference’s final playoff spot.

Islanders 6, Capitals 2: At Washington, Ryan Smyth scored his first goal with New York and Miroslav Satan added two goals as the Islanders defeated Washington.

Mike Sillinger, Marc-Andre Bergeron and Chris Simon also scored for the Islanders.

Panthers 6, Lightning 2: At Sunrise, Fla., Nathan Horton and Stephen Weiss each scored two goals and Ville Peltonen scored on a penalty shot to lead Florida to a season-high fourth straight victory, a win over Tampa Bay.

Olli Jokinen also scored for the Panthers, who improved to 7-1-2 in their last 10 games. Ed Belfour stopped 31 shots.

Sabres 3, Maple Leafs 1: At Toronto, Toni Lydman, Drew Stafford and Nathan Paetsch scored to lead injury-riddled Buffalo to a victory over Toronto.

The Sabres are 3-0 in Toronto this season.

Blue Jackets 4, Coyotes 3: At Glendale, Ariz., Rick Nash scored two goals to lead Columbus to a win over Phoenix.

Fredrik Modin broke a 2-2 tie early in the third period with a power-play goal. Modin’s 17th goal of the season was the 199th of his NHL career.

Calgary 4, Edmonton 2: At Edmonton, Alberta, David Moss, Jerome Iginla, Stephane Yelle and Daymond Langkow all scored goals to lead the Flames past the Oilers.