| |
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) -- The New York Rangers had to do the unthinkable and root for the New York Islanders to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins. It didn't work.
Led by four points from Tyler Wright (two goals, two assists) and three each from Jaromir Jagr (two goals, one assist) and Pat Falloon (three assists), the Penguins walloped the New York Islanders 8-2 on Tuesday night.
|  | | Pittsburgh's Tyler Wright, left, congratulates Steve Leach after Leach beat Kevin Weekes for a second-period goal. |
The win gives the Penguins 76 points, three more than Montreal and Buffalo and four more than the Rangers and Carolina. Pittsburgh has two games in hand on the Rangers, one game in hand on Buffalo and is even in games with Montreal and Carolina.
"It's a fight every night for us," Pittsburgh forward Matthew Barnaby said. "Us and Buffalo have the hardest schedules left and Carolina has the easiest."
Pittsburgh took a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals by Rene Corbet and Wright. Corbet, who beat starting goalie Kevin Weekes with a wrist shot on a power play, suffered a shoulder injury later in the game.
Olli Jokinen cut the lead in half 51 seconds into the second period on a bang-bang play that beat goalie Jean-Sebastien Aubin. The Islanders were pushing for the tying goal when Pittsburgh erupted for four goals in a 2:07 span.
Stephen Leach scored on a 2-on-1 break at 10:44. Jiri Slegr beat Weekes with a one-timer at 11:13. Jagr sent his own one-timer past Weekes at 11:44. And then Wright ended Weekes' night by stuffing the puck past him at 12:11.
"We have to keep things in perspective," Wright said. "We got a huge win, and I play on the third line, which is more of a checking line. It's nice to be able to take some of the pressure off our top two lines."
Weekes, who stopped 16 shots, was pulled for Stephen Valiquette.
"It's not easy to forget, because the game happened," Weekes said. "It wasn't a fantasy - it really happened."
Valiquette allowed a pair of goals in 25 seconds to Wright and Jagr late in the period, and then stopped all nine shots in the final period and 14 overall.
The only highlight of the final period was when New York's Tim Connolly was awarded a penalty shot at 15:51 while going in on a short-handed breakaway. Connolly beat Aubin with a backhand fake and a forehand tuck.
"It was nice that it went in," Connolly said, "but it was still kind of an embarrassing game."
For Islanders coach Butch Goring, the score was a reflection of the game.
"It was like getting caught in the middle of a storm with no cover," Goring said. And when told that the Rangers had lost, he sarcastically cracked, "Gee, that's too bad."
| |
ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Pittsburgh Clubhouse
NY Islanders Clubhouse
RECAPS
Boston 4
Tampa Bay 0
Ottawa 7
Atlanta 1
Carolina 5
New Jersey 0
Pittsburgh 8
NY Islanders 2
Florida 4
NY Rangers 3
Philadelphia 2
Nashville 0
Chicago 3
Phoenix 0
Anaheim 5
Los Angeles 2
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Rene Corbet fires a shot past Kevin Weekes.
avi: 644 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
|
