NHL Roundup : Rangers Improve Playoff Hopes by Defeating Wounded Flyers, 3-1

Rookie Norm MacIver scored a goal and set up another Tuesday night at New York as the Rangers beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 3-1, and moved a step closer to a playoff spot.

In the National Hockey League, only five teams are eliminated from postseason play. Two of those who won’t make it are in the Patrick Division.

All season, the Rangers have been trying to catch the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New Jersey Devils. New York has pulled into fourth place--the last playoff spot--and opened up a three-point lead.

With 10 games left, the Rangers, after ending a six-game winless streak at Madison Square Garden against the Flyers, have the inside track.

If the Rangers (31-31-8) win the playoff spot, it will mean that the probable scoring champion, Mario Lemieux, and the highest-scoring defenseman, Paul Coffey, both of whom play for the Penguins, will be merely spectators at the Stanley Cup competition.

The Rangers, outshooting the Flyers, 18-6, in the first period, took a 2-0 lead on power-play goals by Kelly Kisio and MacIver but needed a brilliant play by MacIver late in the game to clinch it. MacIver set up Chris Nilan on a 2-and-1 breakaway for an easy score.

With Tim Kerr and several other regulars injured, the Flyers brought up six players from their Hershey, Pa., farm team. One of them Brian Dobbin, scored the Flyers goal.

Only the brilliant goaltending of Ron Hextall kept the Rangers from winning easily.

Calgary 8, Hartford 6--The Flames have established themselves as the early Stanley Cup favorite. And Hakan Loob has established himself as the league’s hottest shooter.

Loob’s second consecutive hat trick helped the Flames win a shoot-out at Hartford and improve their NHL-best record to 42-21-8.

His fifth three-goal game of the season gave Loob a career-high 46. He scored twice in a five-goal first period, then opened the second period with a short-handed score that put the Flames in command.

Quebec 3, Toronto 2--Anton Stastny scored the winning goal on a power play in the second period at Quebec and, for the first time since Jan. 9, the Nordiques climbed out of the Adams Division cellar.

Stastny’s goal--his 25th--came on the rebound of a shot by defenseman Terry Carkner. Carkner’s shot caromed off a Toronto player’s stick to Stastny for an easy goal.

St. Louis 7, Chicago 7--Herb Raglan scored his 10th goal with 2:21 left in regulation at St. Louis to give the Blues a tie.

Brent Hull, recently obtained in a trade with Calgary, scored twice. The tie enabled the Blues to stay three points ahead of the Blackhawks in the battle for second place in the Norris Division.

Edmonton 6, Buffalo 4--In his third game with the Oilers, Geoff Courtnall, pointless in the first two, scored three goals at Edmonton.

The Oilers made it easy for the former Bruin by putting him on a line with the all-time assist king, Wayne Gretzky. Gretzky set up two of Courtnall’s goals and another by Craig MacTavish. Gretzky trails Lemieux, the scoring leader, by 12 points with 9 games left.

The Oilers’ Craig Simpson scored his 50th goal. Simpson had 13 goals in 21 games before Pittsburgh traded him to Edmonton.