STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS : Rangers Take Over Series With 5-1 Victory

The Rangers have turned “The Battle of New York” into a rout.

With another strong goaltending effort from Mike Richter, the Rangers defeated the New York Islanders, 5-1, on Thursday night at Uniondale, N.Y., and took a 3-0 lead in their first-round playoff series.

“The idea is to eliminate your opponent as soon as possible,” Ranger forward Glenn Anderson said. “Any good team has a killer instinct.”

The Rangers, who won the first two games by identical 6-0 scores, can finish a sweep Sunday at the Nassau Coliseum. The Islanders won the season series from their rival, 2-1-2.

“We’re playing very well defensively, with confidence and poise,” Ranger Coach Mike Keenan said. “We’ve played some of our most intelligent games.”

The Islanders have never been swept in a seven-game series. Only two teams in NHL history have come back from 3-0 deficits in the playoffs.

New Jersey 2, Buffalo 1--Martin Brodeur stopped 29 shots and the Devils killed off five of six power plays at Buffalo to take a 2-1 lead over the Sabres in the Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.

For the third time in the best-of-seven series, the game turned on a defensive lapse. This time, it was Petr Svoboda’s turnover 15:43 into the second period that gave the Devils a 2-0 lead.

The two-goal lead seemed insurmountable, considering that neither team could score three times in either of the first two games.

“When it’s tight like that, that’s the way it’s going to be,” Sabre Coach John Muckler said. “Whoever gets the break, whoever makes the mistake, (that’s the way) it will go.”

The teams had the NHL’s two toughest goaltenders during the regular season and gave up only five goals in splitting the first two games. Buffalo won the opener 2-0, and the Devils won the second, 2-1.

Washington 2, Pittsburgh 0--Don Beaupre stopped 27 shots and Joe Reekie had two goals as the Capitals handed the Penguins their first shutout in 95 playoff games to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round series at Landover, Md.