What we learned in the NHL

Lessons learned from the last week of NHL play:

• A 4-0-2 surge had the New York Rangers hitting stride before they got a three-day break. They have a four-game winning streak at Madison Square Garden and outscored opponents, 15-3, in that span. Norway-born Mats Zuccarello recorded a hat trick against Toronto on Friday after being reunited with early-season linemates Rick Nash and Derick Brassard. The Rangers return to the ice Tuesday at home against Washington.

• Last season, the Calgary Flames were the NHL’s darlings, a young team that staged many spirited comebacks. Not so much this season, although they pulled out a 5-4 victory over Edmonton on Saturday. Goaltending has been a weakness, and they took a hit last week when Jonas Hiller suffered a lower-body injury. Defenseman Dougie Hamilton (minus-nine) has struggled and the Flames have given up four goals or more in five consecutive games. Only a hat trick by Michael Frolik spared them a loss to the Oilers in the latest edition of the Battle of Alberta.

• Ducks goaltender Frederik Andersen had been playing well despite getting little scoring support, and his teammates finally repaid him Sunday in a 4-2 victory over Nashville. But the Ducks (2-7-2) are too scrambly defensively to be out of the woods. They should be happy with the strong play of center Rickard Rakel — he leads them with two goals and four points — but Corey Perry, Ryan Kesler, Jakob Silfverberg and Patrick Maroon have been strangely silent and must start chipping in. The Ducks are lucky to be in the relatively weak Pacific Division, where they can get a playoff spot by finishing third.

• The Toronto Maple Leafs must have been happy to see October end after starting the season 1-7-2, including 0-3-1 at home. They got their first win of the season at the Air Canada Centre on Monday, with Joffrey Lupul scoring twice in a 4-1 victory over Dallas. Goaltender James Reimer stopped 43 shots as Toronto ended a four-game losing streak.

• The Penguins (7-4-0) have won four games in a row and seven of eight since an 0-3 start. Remarkably, they’ve reversed course even though Sidney Crosby has contributed only one goal and five points. Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury recorded his 40th shutout Saturday, third among active goalies behind Roberto Luongo (68) of Florida and Henrik Lundqvist (55) of the Rangers.