Newsmakers in the NHL: Rangers Back on Top

The New York Rangers spent one day in second place of the Atlantic Division, as their 4-0 win over Pittsburgh vaulted them back over Philadelphia, reclaiming the top spot in the division. New York's special teams chipped in three goals (two power play, one shorthanded) while Henrik Lundqvist was a wall in net, stopping all 27 shots he faced to pick up his first shutout of the season.

After Pittsburgh's Max Talbot was sent off for a boarding penalty just 31 seconds into the first period, Nigel Dawes scored his seventh goal of the season, giving the Rangers a 1-0 lead just a minute into the game. Paul Mara added another power play goal late in the second period, one-timing a clean faceoff win by Scott Gomez behind Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. Chris Drury would add his 11th goal of the season midway through the third period, while Gomez finished off the scoring with an empty net goal.

The Rangers entered the game in a minor slump, winning only once in their previous five games.

Speaking of slumps, the loss for Pittsburgh is its fifth in a row, and 11th in its past 15. Nothing is going right for the Penguins, including the power play unit which is clicking with all the power of a moped. Head coach Michel Therrien tried to change up the lines for the game, and received the same results.

Miroslav Satan was relegated to fourth-line duty and played a whopping nine-minutes (and only four-minutes through two periods) and finished as a -1 with a penalty. Alex Goligoski, the team's leading scorer among defensemen, was a healthy scratch.

Oilers 3, Islanders 2: Despite jumping out to a 2-0 lead after one period, the Islanders still managed to lose for the 17th time in their past 20 games, dropping a 3-2 decision in Edmonton. Kyle Brodziak and Jason Strudwick scored a pair of goals just four-minutes apart in the second period to tie the game for the Oilers, while Andrew Cogliano scored the game-winner with 10:02 remaining in regulation. Dwayne Roloson stopped 25-of-27 shots to pick up the win in net for Edmonton. Kyle Okposo and Blake Comeau scored for the Islanders, as they registered 13 shots on goal as a team in the first period. They managed only 14 the remainder of the game.

Leftover's From Sunday

I don't know how I missed this initially, but Atlanta Thrashers head coach John Anderson had this to say following his team's 4-1 loss to Tampa Bay on Sunday: