NHL PLAYOFFS ROUNDUP : Nicholls Helps Power Rangers Past Capitals, 6-0

The New York Rangers ended the regular season at a low ebb. After leading the Patrick Division from the start, they had an eight-game winless skid and settled for second place.

The Rangers have turned it around. Goaltender Mike Richter and former King Bernie Nicholls led the Rangers to a 6-0 romp over the Washington Capitals Sunday night at Landover, Md., giving them a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven first-round playoff series.

Richter, seldom called upon for a difficult save, stopped 37 shots, while Nicholls scored twice and assisted on another goal.

During the time they dominated the division, the Rangers were best at power-play goals and killing penalties. During the slump, they couldn’t score with an advantage and couldn’t stop their foes when short-handed.

Even in the first two games of this series, the Rangers had no success on power plays. They had failed on 15 chances until Mike Gartner scored his first playoff goal late in the first period on a power play.

That gave the Rangers a 2-0 lead. Goalie Don Beaupre, who shut them out Friday night, had gone more than 91 minutes without giving up a goal until Kris King scored eight minutes into the game.

Beaupre lasted only two periods. The Rangers fired 27 shots at him and scored on four of them. Mike Liut took over in the last period and gave up two more goals.

Buffalo 5, Montreal 4--Defenseman Mike Ramsey flipped a shot over goalie Patrick Roy’s shoulder early in the third period at Buffalo and the Sabres gained their first victory of this series.

The victory made certain there would be no sweeps in the first round of the playoffs.

The Sabre-Canadien series is also the first one in which home ice has been an advantage for the first three games.

Christian Ruuttu scored a short-handed goal to give the Sabres a 2-1 lead before the game was six minutes old.

“It was rather a lucky goal,” Ramsey said. “I just got it off the toe of my stick. I thought I was shooting to the other side of the net, so it surprised me, too.”

But Montreal scored twice before the first period ended. After two periods, it was 4-4.

Before winning in his first start, Clint Malarchuk had to make several good saves after Ramsey gave him the lead.

Pittsburgh 4, New Jersey 3--Mark Recchi scored with 50 seconds left in regulation at East Rutherford, N.J., and it gave the Penguins back the home ice advantage. The Penguins lead, 2-1, with the fourth game Wednesday night.

With another overtime looming, New Jersey defenseman Eric Weinrich botched a play in front of his goal. Trying to glove the puck, which had been knocked in the air, Weinrich fumbled it.

Recchi came skating down the middle, lunged at the puck, got his stick on it and knocked it between goalie Chris Terreri’s legs for the winner.

Three times the Devils fought back from one-goal deficits to catch up. But the fourth time, they didn’t have enough time left.

The last time they caught up, Doug Brown sent a 45-foot shot that went past goalie Tom Barrasso with 5:14 left. Barrasso stopped 33 shots, Terreri 30.

Boston 6, Hartford 3--Dave Christian and Garry Galley scored 18 seconds apart at Hartford in the third period to break open a close game.

The score was 2-2 when Galley scored his first playoff goal at 6:49. Shortly thereafter Christian scored his first playoff goal and the Bruins scored two more times before Hartford finished the scoring.

With a 2-1 lead the Bruins, winners of the Adams Division, are back to home ice advantage in the best-of-seven series.

Andy Moog, who gave up two easy goals during Game 2, kept the Bruins in this one until they broke it open. On a power play late in the first period, he stopped three shots in 15 seconds.