Islanders move to top of East standings
NEW YORK: The Islanders beat the Rangers 3-0 on Tuesday in their all-New York clash, taking over the lead in the NHL Eastern Conference.
The victory moved the Islanders a point above previous East leaders Tampa Bay, which lost a close game at Boston.
Nashville took over sole leadership of the West, above idle Anaheim, by cruising to victory over Vancouver, while Winnipeg turned in the performance of the day by routing Florida 8-2.
The Islanders score all their three goals in the second period, with Anders Lee, Nikolay Kulemin finding the net. Jaroslav Halak made 27 saves to shore things up at the other end.
The Rangers had won 13 of their previous 14 games but could not sustain that run against an Islanders team that finished off a seven-game road trip with a third successive win.
Nashville’s Colin Wilson had two goals and two assists to lead the Predators to a 5-1 win against Vancouver.
Craig Smith added a power-play goal while Filip Forsberg and Mike Fisher also scored as the Predators notched their fourth straight win.
The victory came at cost, with goalie Pekka Rinne — who leads the NHL with 29 wins — being forced off in the third period after a collision with Vancouver forward Chris Higgins and Nashville defenseman Anton Volchenkov.
Alexander Edler had the lone goal for the Canucks, who have lost their past three.
Boston rookie David Pastrnak scored twice for the second straight game as the Bruins edged Tampa Bay 4-3.
Milan Lucic had a goal and an assist while Brad Marchand also scored for the Bruins, who held the Lightning to 16 shots and notched their fourth straight win.
Steven Stamkos scored twice for Tampa Bay, giving him 25 for the season.
Winnipeg’s Mathieu Perreault scored four goals to tie a franchise record as the Jets cruised past Florida 8-2.
Dustin Byfuglien added two goals and an assist and Jay Harrison and Evander Kane also scored for the Jets, who have coach Paul Maurice his 500th win as a head coach. The eight goals was a season high for the Jets, one short of the franchise record.
Pittsburgh almost matched Winnipeg’s scoring feat, as David Perron scored twice and added an assist to lead the Penguins to a 7-2 win against Minnesota.
Paul Martin, Kris Letang and Chris Kunitz each had a goal and an assist while Marcel Goc and Brandon Sutter also scored for Pittsburgh.
Jonas Brodin and Justin Fontaine scored for the Wild, who never led and suffered a sixth straight loss.
San Jose’s Brenden Dillon scored his first goal of the season to help the Sharks edge Arizona 3-2.
Dallas’ John Klingberg scored twice in a four-goal second period as the Senators beat Ottawa 5-4.