STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS : Rangers Show Islanders Who’s Boss, 6-0

Round one of the battle of New York went to the Rangers.

On an early knockout.

“Everything went right for us, especially in the second period,” defenseman Brian Leetch said after the Rangers defeated the Islanders, 6-0, Sunday at Madison Square Garden in the opener of their NHL playoff series. “You try to set the tone in the first game and this was really a good win.”

It was the worst margin of defeat for the Islanders in 215 playoff games. They have lost by five goals on six occasions.

Mark Messier had a goal and two assists and led a decisive four-goal second period as the Rangers dominated the Islanders.

The Rangers led, 2-0, after the first period and 6-0 after two, making it easy for goaltender Mike Richter.

Richter made 21 saves in recording his third playoff shutout.

Dallas 5, St. Louis 3--Coach Bob Gainey gambled and won, using Darcy Wakaluk in goal instead of veteran Andy Moog, as the Stars won their first playoff game at Dallas.

Wakaluk stopped 33 shots in his first playoff game and Grant Ledyard and Trent Klatt scored late third-period goals.

“The decision was not too difficult to make because I felt I couldn’t go wrong,” Gainey said. “I have confidence in both. Darcy has been playing very well.”

Buffalo 2, New Jersey 0--In this playoff opener at East Rutherford, N.J., Dominik Hasek gave the Sabres just what they expected--great goaltending.

And Todd Simon provided the unexpected--a goal.

Hasek, who had a 1.95 goals-against average during the regular season, stopped 30 shots, and the seldom-used Simon provided his first NHL goal.

“I had a good season, that’s why I feel confident now,” said Hasek, who stopped a league-high 93 percent of the shots he faced this past season. “I think I saw every shot except one in the third. Fortunately it hit me in my pad.”

Simon, who played only 15 games with the Sabres after spending most of the season in the AHL, put the Sabres ahead on his first shift of the game with 11 seconds left in the first period.

Standing on the edge of the goalie’s crease, Simon deflected a Dale Hawerchuk shot from the right point into Devils goalie Martin Brodeur. The puck came out and Simon pushed the rebound back into the goalie only to be stopped again. On his third try, he chipped it over the prone goalie.

Washington 5, Pittsburgh 3--The Capitals wore down the Penguins with patience and defensive pressure, sealing the playoff victory at Pittsburgh on Joe Juneau’s breakaway goal at 10:34 of the third period.

“We talked about playing abrasive, aggressive hockey and we did,” Capitals coach Jim Schoenfeld said. “We were aggressive defensively, but we were also aggressive offensively by attacking the net. You’ve got to play intelligently against a team with the firepower they have, and we did.”

The Penguins responded with the same passive, mistake-prone style that led to their second-round playoff series loss to the New York Islanders last season.

“We were a little flat, and we didn’t have the intensity we should have had from everybody,” said Mario Lemieux, who scored twice.