NEW YORK, 28 December 2003 — Mats Sundin’s overtime goal earned the Toronto Maple Leafs a 6-5 win over New York Rangers on Friday, extending their consecutive games point streak to an NHL record equaling 16.
Having squandered a 5-2 second period lead, Sundin skated into the left faceoff circle with 1:25 remaining and snapped a shot between the pads of goaltender Jussi Markkanen to notch his 66th career game winner.
The goal blunted the New York comeback and kept Toronto at the top of the NHL’s overall standings.
With the victory the Maple Leafs have now gone 15 games without a regulation-time loss equaling the record that had been shared by the Colorado Avalanche set during the 2000-2001 season and New Jersey Devils a season earlier.
Toronto will have an opportunity to set a new mark when they make the short trip to Long Island to take on the Islanders.
The Leafs won all four meetings with the Rangers this season, sweeping them for the first time in 18 years.
Gary Roberts with his 14th, Darcy Tucker, Ken Klee, Ric Jackman and Joe Nieuwendyk had the other Toronto goals while Chris Simon, Greg de Vries, Alexei Kovalev, Martin Rucinsky and Matthew Barnaby answered for the Rangers.
Penguins 3 Senators 3
In Ottawa, Zdeno Chara scored a power-play goal with 5:11 remaining in the third period to earn the surging Ottawa Senators a 3-3 tie with the Pittsburgh Penguins, extending their unbeaten string to a season high five games. Tom Kostopoulos scored twice in a three-minute span in the opening stanza to give Pittsburgh a 2-0 lead but Todd White and Jason Spezza would answer before the end of the period as the Senators dominated the contest out-shooting the last place Penguins 44-11.
Blue Jackets 4 Blackhawks 1
In Chicago, Manny Malhotra and Rick Nash, with his league leading 22nd of the season, scored third period goals 86 seconds apart as the Columbus Blue Jackets recorded their first road win of the season with a 4-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks.
Buffalo 3 Hurricanes 1
In Buffalo, Mika Noronen made 30 saves as the struggling Sabres ended a season high eight game winless streak with 3-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. Alex Kotalik, Taylor Pyatt and Chris Taylor, into an empty net, while Sean Hill ruined Noronen’s shutout bid midway through the final period.
Islanders 4 Devils 3
In East Rutherford, Mark Parrish scored with 1:25 remaining in overtime to lift New York Islanders to a 4-3 win over Stanley Cup champion New Jersey Devils. Shutout in their previous three visits to Continental Airlines Arena, Dave Scatchard ended the dry spell when he opened the scoring midway through the opening period.
Wild 2 Red Wings 2
In Detroit, Kris Draper’s unassisted goal at 7:23 of the third period lifted the Western Conference leading Red Wings to 2-2 draw with the Minnesota Wild extending their home unbeaten run to nine games. Henrik Zetterberg also scored for the Red Wings while the Minnesota got goals from Marian Gaborik and Wes Walz as the Wild extended their unbeaten run to seven games.
Stars 2 Predators 1
At Dallas, Brenden Morrow and Jason Arnott each had a goal and Marty Turco made 23 saves as the Dallas Stars edged the Nashville Predators 2-1 to post their third consecutive win.
Canucks 2 Flames 0
In Calgary, Dan Cloutier stopped 31 shots to collect his second shutout of the season as the Vancouver Canucks blanked the Calgary Flames 2-0. One of Cloutier’s saves came on a penalty shot denying Oleg Saprykin, who sent the puck wide of the net.
Thrashers 3 Lightning 1
At Atlanta, Pasi Nurminen made 34 saves as the Atlanta Thrashers opened up an eight point cushion at the top of the Eastern Conference Southeast Division with a 3-1 decision over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Avalanche 3 Blues 3
In St. Louis, Adam Foote scored midway through the final period to earn the Colorado Avalanche a 3-3 tie with the St. Louis Blues.
Sharks 5 Kings 0
In San Jose, Patrick Marleau and Jonathan Cheechoo each scored twice and Evgeni Nabokov stopped 25 shots to earn the shutout as the San Jose Sharks pounded the Los Angeles Kings 5-0.
