NHL ROUNDUP : Richter, Rangers Top Flyers

Mike Richter withstood a first-period barrage and turned away 31 of 32 shots as the New York Rangers defeated the Flyers, 2-1, Thursday night at Philadelphia.

The victory extended the Rangers’ second-place advantage over Philadelphia to three points and snapped New York’s three-game road winless streak (0-2-1). For the Flyers, it was only their second defeat in their last 10 games at home (8-2-0).

The Rangers’ defense clamped down on the Flyers over the final 20 minutes. Philadelphia, despite having a power play at 6:39, didn’t get off a shot on goal in the third period until 10:38 remained.

Florida 6, Winnipeg 1--Scott Mellanby scored his 19th goal and led a second-period attack at Miami.

The Panthers became the first team to reach 50 points this season and stayed ahead of Atlantic Division rivals New York and Philadelphia. The Panthers began the night one-point ahead of the Rangers and two over the Flyers.

The Jets are 1-6 in their last seven games.

New Jersey 2, Tampa Bay 2--Paul Ysebaert and Roman Hamrlik scored third-period goals as the the Lightning battled back at St. Petersburg, Fla.

Ysebaert scored his 14th of the season from the slot at 3:00 and Hamrlik added his fifth at 7:47 on a shot from the left point that deflected off defenseman Shawn Chambers and past goaltender Martin Brodeur.

Steve Thomas had a goal and an assist and Brodeur made 34 saves for the Devils, who remained winless on the road in their last nine games (0-6-3) dating back to a 3-2 victory over Philadelphia on Nov. 12.

Dallas 3, New York Islanders 3--Stars rookie Grant Marshall scored twice, including the tying goal with 13:26 to play at Dallas.

Wendel Clark scored his 16th and 17th goals for the Islanders, but missed a penalty shot with 5:31 to play that would have given New York the lead. Zigmund Palffy added a goal and two assists for the Islanders, winless in their last five games (0-3-2).

Newly-acquired center Joe Nieuwendyk’s Dallas debut was delayed. Nieuwendyk was scratched from the lineup after getting little sleep and arriving in Dallas early Thursday.

Toronto 3, Chicago 3--The Maple Leafs’ Larry Murphy scored with 50 seconds remaining in the third period to force a tie at Chicago. With goaltender Felix Potvin on the bench for an extra attacker, Murphy pinched in from the blue line and fired a high shot over several sprawled players and off Ed Belfour’s glove at 19:10.

NHL Notes

Injured goaltender Dominik Hasek will sit out the next two games for the Buffalo Sabres because of a stomach injury.