Rangers Have Only Devils to Blame

Even a threatened major shake-up wasn’t good enough to help the New York Rangers beat the New Jersey Devils, who keep finding new ways to win.

Rookie defenseman Sheldon Souray scored his first NHL goal with 4:58 to play and the Devils won their sixth in a row with a 4-3 victory over the struggling Rangers at East Rutherford, N.J., on Tuesday night.

“Why wouldn’t you be disillusioned when you lose a game like that?” Ranger Coach Colin Campbell said. “We did a lot of good things against their systems. . . . It wasn’t meant to be. It hasn’t been meant to be.”

The Rangers, threatened Sunday with roster moves by General Manager Neil Smith, are 1-7-4 in their last 12 games.

For the Devils, it was their 15th win in the last 19 games and improved their record to 23-9-0, the best start in team history.

Calgary 4, Chicago 3 (OT)--Michael Nylander scored 3:42 into overtime to give the Flames, who trailed 3-1 at one point, their fourth win in a row in the game at Calgary. It was Calgary’s NHL-leading fourth overtime victory.

San Jose 5, Detroit 1--Al Iafrate scored his first goal in 11 months as the Sharks extended their season-best undefeated streak to five games with the victory at San Jose.

Iafrate missed the final 30 games of last season and the first 28 games of this season while recovering from back surgery. Since his return Dec. 1, the Sharks have gone 4-1-1.

Pittsburgh 1, Tampa Bay 1--Tom Barrasso made 35 saves as the Penguins tied the NHL’s worst road team in the game at Pittsburgh.

Jaromir Jagr scored midway through the second period to help the Penguins salvage a tie in their only home game in a 20-day stretch. Tampa Bay is 2-16-2 on the road.

Carolina 2, Ottawa 1--Nelson Emerson’s 10th goal, early in the second period, helped the Hurricanes snap a four-game winless drought and extend their home dominance of Ottawa with the victory at Greensboro, N.C.

The Carolina franchise is 13-1-0 at home against Ottawa.

Ottawa’s Magnus Arvedson left in the first period with a concussion after being hip-checked into the boards, and did not return.

Washington 2, New York Islanders 2--New York goaltender Tommy Salo stopped Peter Bondra’s point-blank shot with 11 seconds left in regulation to force overtime, then stopped four more shots in the extra period as the Islanders and Capitals fought to a tie in Washington.

Bondra had an assist to give him a point in the last 15 games in which he’s played.

NHL Notes

Swedish forward Daniel Alfredsson of Ottawa will be out of the Senator lineup for at least six weeks because of a broken leg that may cost him a shot at the Olympics. He suffered a fractured fibula in his right leg against St. Louis on Thursday, an injury that may prevent him from playing for Sweden during the Winter Olympic Games, which start Feb. 7. Also, Ottawa center Bruce Gardiner will be sidelined from six to eight weeks after suffering a torn knee ligament during a 3-1 loss Saturday to Tampa Bay. . . . Alexander Mogilny (groin strain) and Dave Scatchard (hip) of the Vancouver Canucks will miss a two-game trip after being injured during Monday’s victory against the Kings. . . . New Jersey Coach Jacques Lemaire and Dallas Coach Ken Hitchcock will coach the North American and World teams respectively at the NHL All-Star game Jan. 18, the league announced. Hitchcock will be assisted by Colorado Coach Marc Crawford, Lemaire by Pittsburgh Coach Kevin Constantine.