Gretzky Rules All of Hockey

Wayne Gretzky came through with another milestone goal, this time the game winner on his own rebound with 2:07 left Monday night, leading the desperate New York Rangers to a 3-1 victory over the New York Islanders at Madison Square Garden.

With the goal, Gretzky not only surpassed Gordie Howe as the leading goal scorer in pro hockey history, he also gave the Rangers hope for a playoff berth.

With eight games to go, the Rangers moved into a tie with Florida, five points behind Boston for the eighth playoff spot in the East.

Gretzky’s goal was the 1,072nd of his career--accumulated in 20 NHL seasons and one season in the WHA. That includes both regular-season and playoff goals.

The goal ignited a standing ovation from the sellout crowd of 18,200 that lasted several minutes.

Gretzky already holds the NHL record for goals, having surpassed Howe on March 23, 1994, when he scored his 802nd goal while with the Kings.

The Rangers lost center Petr Nedved when he suffered a rib-cage injury in the first period. He’s listed as day-to-day.

Gretzky had 56 goals in the WHA with Indianapolis and Edmonton to go along with his total of 1,016 in the NHL, including 894 regular-season goals. Gretzky tied Howe’s total when he scored his 1,071st against Vancouver on Feb. 4.

But Gretzky then missed 12 games with a disc injury in his neck.

Vancouver 1, Phoenix 0--Garth Snow stopped 22 shots at Vancouver for his second consecutive shutout against the Coyotes, and rookie Peter Schaefer scored the lone goal.