NHL ROUNDUP : Rangers Finally Make the Playoffs

The New York Rangers had a long, long road to the Stanley Cup last season. This year, the defending champions needed a similar journey merely to get to the playoffs.

“A lot of times it’s not the journey, it’s the end result,” said the Rangers’ Brian Leetch, who scored both Ranger goals in a 2-0 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday at Philadelphia. “It took us until game 47, but we got there.”

The Rangers needed the next-to-last game of the season to clinch a playoff spot. And they did it without captain Mark Messier, who missed the game because of back spasms.

The Flyers were without captain Eric Lindros after he left the game with 4:25 gone in the first period. He was hit by a puck under his left eye, suffered a cut and was taken to a hospital for precautionary X-rays.

St. Louis 4, San Jose 3--Thrown up against a playoff-hungry team, the Blues didn’t lose their cool and beat the Sharks at San Jose with a balanced offense and defense. Brendan Shanahan contributed a goal and an assist.

The Sharks, on the other hand, played an uneven but passionate game. San Jose (18-25-3) continued to battle for the eighth playoff spot in the conference, tangled in a race with Winnipeg, Edmonton and the Kings. The Sharks, Jets and Kings each have 39 points, with the Oilers one point behind.

Washington 2, Florida 2--Keith Jones scored two goals to help the Capitals tie the Panthers at Miami, eliminating Florida from playoff contention.

Washington rookie goaltender Jim Carey, now 19-6-3, faced little pressure from the Panthers, who managed only 16 shots.

Boston 5, Pittsburgh 2--Mariusz Czerkawski’s two goals helped Boston end more than two years of futility against Pittsburgh as the Bruins held the Penguins to 19 shots and won at Boston.

The Bruins had lost 12 consecutive games to Pittsburgh since winning, 7-0, on Jan. 14, 1993.

Chicago 4, Detroit 0--Ed Belfour made 27 saves to record his league-leading fifth shutout, and the Blackhawks beat the Red Wings at Detroit.

Vancouver 6, Calgary 4--Roman Oksiuta had the tie-breaking goal as the Canucks scored four consecutive times in the third period to beat the Flames at Vancouver.

New Jersey 4, Quebec 2--The Devils set up a playoff rematch with Boston by getting a goal and an assist from both John MacLean and Neal Broten in defeating the Nordiques at East Rutherford, N.J.