NEW YORK, 20 December 2003 — The New York Rangers picked up goals from Petr Nedved, Mark Messier, Matthew Barnaby and Tom Poti before clinging on to edge the New York Islanders 4-3 Thursday. The Islanders usually excel in this series, having only lost twice in their previous 10 trips to Madison Square Garden.
Eric Lindros assisted on Barnaby’s goal, giving him 800 career points, and also on Poti’s. Jason Blake, Radek Martinek and Dave Scatchard scored for the Isles, Scatchard’s goal coming with 45 seconds left to give the home fans a scare.
Lightning 5 Flyers 4 (OT)
In Philadelphia, Martin St Louis netted two minutes into overtime to give the Tampa Bay Lightning a 5-4 triumph over the Flyers, whose winless streak reached five games.
St Louis scored at 11:58 of the third to force the extra period and also assisted on Vincent Lecavalier’s opening marker. Jeremy Roenick had put the Flyers up 4-3 with a goal eight minutes into the third. The Lightning won for the third time in 13 games.
Flames 5 Bruins 0
In Boston, Jarome Iginla scored twice and Josh Green, Jordan Leopold and Dean McAmmond added singles as the Calgary Flames thumped the Bruins 5-0 despite being outshot 30-14.
Jamie McLennan earned the shutout, his third of the season. The Flames won for the 10th time in 14 games while the Bruins fell to 1-5-2 in their last eight outings.
Hurricanes 2 Penguins 1 (OT)
In Raleigh, Rod Brind’Amour forced overtime with a goal at 18:50 of the third period before Jeff O’Neill tallied 2:14 into extra time to give the Carolina Hurricanes a 2-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
It was Peter Laviolette’s debut as Carolina’s coach after he replaced Paul Maurice on Monday. Konstantin Koltsov replied for the Penguins with an unassisted goal at 14:41 of the opening frame.
Senators 6 Blackhawks 1
In Ottawa, Marian Hossa scored twice and Wade Redden, Daniel Alfredsson, Martin Havlat and Radek Bonk added singles as the Senators routed the Chicago Blackhawks 6-1.
Mark Bell replied for Chicago to deny Ray Emery a shutout in his second NHL start.
Canadiens 5 Predators 4 (OT)
In Montreal, Sheldon Souray’s third goal 35 seconds into overtime gave the Canadiens a 5-4 win over the Nashville Predators. Saku Koivu scored with assists from Souray and Mike Ribeiro at 14:52 of the third to force the extra period. It was Ribeiro’s fourth assist of the game.
Devils 3 Thrashers 0
In Atlanta, Rob Skrlac, Colin White and Scott Gomez tallied as the New Jersey Devils blanked the Thrashers 3-0. Atlanta tested New Jersey netminder Martin Brodeur 15 times while the Devils produced 38 shots. It was Brodeur’s 72nd career shutout and eighth of the season.
Blues 4 Sharks 2
In St Louis, Scott Mellanby scored twice and Chris Pronger and Jamal Mayers added singles as the surging Blues overcame the San Jose Sharks 4-2.
Keith Tkachuk notched three assists as the Blues extended their unbeaten streak to eight games (7-0-1). Patrick Marleau and Alyn McCauley replied for San Jose.
Oilers 1 Wild 1
In Edmonton, Brad Isbister tallied on an assist from Ryan Smyth with two seconds remaining in regulation as the Oilers salvaged a 1-1 tie with the Minnesota Wild.
Isbister’s late goal cost Wild netminder Manny Fernandez the shutout. Ex-Oiler Sergei Zholtok scored for Minnesota late in the second period.
Kings 4 Coyotes 4
In Los Angeles, the Phoenix Coyotes overcame an early 3-0 deficit to earn a 4-4 tie with the Kings.
Alexander Frolov, Lubomir Visnovsky, Luc Robitaille and Mattias Norstrom netted for the Kings. Jan Hrdina, Jeff Taffe, Shane Doan and Ladislav Nagy replied for Phoenix. Nagy’s goal came with 1:10 remaining in regulation.
