NHL

Fluke goal lifts Rangers past Blues in OT

By wire services
Published December 11, 2005

ST. LOUIS - Martin Rucinsky's weird goal gave the Rangers a 5-4 overtime victory over the Blues on Saturday.

Rucinsky, who had two goals and an assist, took a slap shot from just inside the blue line. It hit off the glass behind the goal and deflected in off goaltender PatrickLalime's back.

Jaromir Jagr added to his league-leading point total with a goal and three assists. He has 50 points on 23 goals and 27 assists and is on pace for 128 points, which would be his highest since 121 in 2000-01.

And New York has won 9 of 11 and has 44 points.

The Rangers took a 4-3 lead with 3:18 left when Petr Prucha scored from a bad angle. But with 7.8 seconds left, Mike Sillinger whacked a puck out of the air from just to the left of the net and past Kevin Weekes.

FLYERS 3, WILD 2: Branko Radivojevic scored with 53 seconds left for host Philadelphia. Peter Forsberg, returning for Philadelphia after missing six games with a strained groin, had a goal and an assist. The Flyers also got back No.1 goalie Robert Esche. He had missed three games with a strained groin before dressing as the backup. Mike Knuble set up Radivojevic's goal, breaking in from the slot and getting a shot on Manny Fernandez, who made a glove save. But Radivojevic put in the rebound.

DUCKS 5, CANADIENS 3: Petr Sykora had a goal and an assist for Anaheim, which won its first game in Montreal in more than six years. Since a 5-4 victory on March21, 1998, the Ducks had gone 0-3-1 there. The Canadiens have lost 9 of 12 since starting 12-3-1. They got back Andrei Markov and Mike Komisarek, who missed three games because of a suspension and family death, respectively. But Komisarek was on the ice for Anaheim's first four goals.

KINGS 3, PANTHERS 1: Pavol Demitra scored on a power play and short-handed, his seventh and eighth goals in 11 games, for host Los Angeles, which scored more than two goals for the first time in seven games. The Kings, 3-for-53 on the power play during their previous eight games, took a 1-0 lead with 1:35 left in the first.

With two seconds left on a five-on-three, Demitra tried to pass the puck through the crease. But it deflected off the skate of defenseman Jay Bouwmeester and the pad of goalie Roberto Luongo before trickling in. Then with teammate Eric Belanger in the box, Demitra took a long lead pass from Craig Conroy, made a head fake and beat Luongo with a backhander to make it 2-0 with 5:02 left in the second.

STARS 2, LEAFS 1: Jon Klemm and Jere Lehtinen scored first-period goals for visiting Dallas, whose former goalie, Ed Belfour, failed in his fourth try to move into second all time in wins. Klemm jumped out of the penalty box and skated in on a breakaway. Belfour stopped the shot but not Klemm's rebound at 6:07. Then 2:06 later, Lehtinen scored on a one-timer off Mike Modano's pass.

PENGUINS 4, AVALANCHE 3: Mark Recchi had a goal and an assist for host Pittsburgh, which ended a six-game losing streak. Recchi entered with a minus-20, the worst of the league's 749 players, and no goals in his past 10 games. Recchi made it 1-0 in the first, standing in the slot and putting in a rebound of Matt Murley's shot.

After taking Recchi's pass from behind the net, Dick Tarnstrom put in his own rebound with 1:32 left in the first. And Eric Christensen made it 3-1 1:22 into the second by redirecting Sergei Gonchar's shot.

ISLANDERS 3, OILERS 2 (SO): Alexei Yashin and Trent Hunter scored in the shootout for host New York, which ended a three-game losing streak. Hunter put the Islanders up 2-1 with 9:16 left in the third, redirecting Chris Campoli's shot. But Chris Pronger tied it with 1:04 left. He was left alone in the slot, took a pass from Ales Hemsky and wristed a shot past Rick DiPietro.

[Last modified December 11, 2005, 02:15:36]