NEW YORK (AP) -- A late-game mistake by Eric Lacroix cost the New York Rangers their longest winning streak in six seasons.

Lacroix was given a four-minute penalty for high-sticking late in the game, and Steve Thomas scored with 60 seconds left in regulation as the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Rangers 4-3 Thursday night.

	New York's Adam Graves, right, hauls down Toronto's Garry Valk.

"We had them on the run and then we made the mistake of taking that penalty," Rangers coach John Muckler said. "That's the game, I guess."

The Rangers came back for the second straight game from a 3-1 deficit and were giving the Maple Leafs fits just before the penalty, with 1:56 left in regulation. Thomas came from behind the net to sweep a loose puck into the open right side.

"You don't try to hit somebody in the face or cut somebody when the score's 3-3 with a couple of minutes to go," Lacroix said. "I was covering my point, and (Kevyn) Adams was cutting into the middle and I was just trying to slow him down. Unfortunately, my stick got up."

The Rangers entered the game with a seven-game winning streak, their longest since the 1993-94 season.

The win for Toronto ended a three-game winless streak (0-1-2) and ended a streak of futility at Madison Square Garden. It was the first victory for the Maple Leafs in 10 tries in New York (1-8-1) since a 3-1 victory Dec. 19, 1990.

"Knowing that we haven't won here since 1990 was a motivating factor," Thomas said. "Otherwise, our biggest motivation was just to go out and play well."

Toronto scored on its first power play, at 13:39, to take a 1-0 lead when Jonas Hoglund fired a rebound past goalie Mike Richter.

Theoren Fleury answered back for the Rangers 57 seconds later when his slap shot from the outer left circle hit off the inside of goalie Glenn Healy's glove, popped up in the air and landed behind him in the net.

"When you don't play often, sometimes you don't pick up pucks like you should," Healy said. "I had to battle back from a goal like that, and I did."

Toronto moved ahead 3-1 with goals 47 seconds apart early in the second period. Adams scored at 3:39 off a rebound of Garry Valk's slap shot that Richter came out of the net to save. And at 4:26, Thomas beat Richter cleanly through the legs.

John MacLean flipped a rebound into an empty net at 5:57 to cut the deficit to 3-2. In the third period, New York opened with a power play and Michael York tied the score at 1:07 when he flipped Adam Graves' feed over Healy.