Lindros Gets Bounce, Rangers Get OT Win

The New York Rangers have clawed their way back into the Eastern Conference race, and now they’re getting lucky bounces too.

Eric Lindros scored a goal with his knee 56 seconds into overtime, giving the Rangers a 3-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday night at New York.

“We’re in that groove where we are getting some bounces,” Lindros said. “Good things happen when you fire the puck at the net and when you head to the net. There’s always that opportunity that a mistake will be made or some luck will bounce your way.”

Theo Fleury chipped a high pass from behind the net to Lindros, who was stationed in the crease. The puck caromed in off his leg.

“I think we got a break because we have been working hard,” Fleury said.

The Rangers, on a five-game winning streak, are now only one point behind the conference-leading New York Islanders.

“This was a huge two points in the standings,” Ranger Coach Ron Low said.

Defenseman Brian Leetch said the team has been paying attention to the standings.

“Any time you gain some points, you think about who’s ahead of you,” Leetch said.

Jan Bulis had a goal and an assist, and Oleg Petrov also scored for the Canadiens.

Andreas Johansson and Mike York had the other Ranger goals.

Both goalies were extremely sharp. Mike Richter made 20 saves for New York, none bigger than the one at 16:18 of the third when he made a stretching catch of Bulis’ shot.

“That was definitely the game-saver,” said Mark Messier, who got the Rangers going with several board-rattling hits in the second period. “Those are the kinds of things that, when you’re on a roll, keep the winning streak alive.”

Fleury gave the save a rating of “100” on a scale of 1 to 10.

Low, a former goalie, added it was “as good as you’re going to get. I’m sure it will make the highlight film. It will likely be the No. 1 save of the night.”

Montreal’s Jose Theodore had 29 saves.

Chicago 3, San Jose 2--Tony Amonte scored at 1:01 of overtime at Chicago, extending the Blackhawks’ home unbeaten streak to 11 games.

Amonte ripped a shot past Evgeni Nabokov after taking a pass from Alex Zhamnov, who swerved down the slot.

Mark Bell and Eric Daze also scored for the Blackhawks, 9-0-2 at the United Center. Overall, the Blackhawks have won four in a row and have lost only one of 14 (10-1-3).

Edmonton 1, Carolina 1--Jeff Daniels scored for the first time in 53 games and Tom Barrasso stopped a penalty shot at Raleigh, N.C., as the Hurricanes tied the Oilers to run their unbeaten streak to six games.

Carolina is 4-0-2 during that stretch. The point gave the Hurricanes 24 to match the New York Islanders for best in the Eastern Conference.

Vancouver 5, Minnesota 0--Markus Naslund had a goal and an assist, and Dan Cloutier made 18 saves for his third shutout of the season to lead the Canucks at St. Paul, Minn.

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Buffalo Sabre forward Vaclav Varada was suspended for three games by the NHL for the careless use of his stick against the New York Rangers’ Eric Lindros on Saturday. Varada struck Lindros, who has a history of concussions, in the forehead in the third period. No penalty was called....

The Atlanta Thrashers sent goalie Norm Maracle back to the minor leagues.