Hurricanes Continue Hot Streak

Martin Gerber made 37 saves to help the NHL-leading Carolina Hurricanes beat the New York Rangers, 2-1, on Monday night at New York, spoiling goalie Henrik Lundqvist’s first start since leading Sweden to the Olympic gold medal.

Lundqvist, in goal for New York for the first time since beating Toronto on Feb. 10 in the Rangers’ last home game before the Olympic break, made 17 saves. New York has lost two straight after a seven-game winning streak.

Justin Williams and Kevyn Adams scored for Carolina, playing the second game of a five-game trip. The Hurricanes have won five straight to open a three-point lead over Detroit in the overall standings. They have won 20 of 24.

Steve Rucchin scored the Rangers’ lone goal at 3:28 of the third period.

Washington 5, New York Islanders 2 -- Rookie Alex Ovechkin scored his 40th and 41st goals and the Capitals opened a five-game homestand with a victory.

Ottawa 4, Tampa Bay 0 -- Ray Emery stopped 31 shots for his second shutout of the season and the Senators won at Tampa, Fla.

Philadelphia 5, Montreal 4 -- Petr Nedved scored the decisive goal in a shootout at Philadelphia, helping the Flyers end a four-game losing streak.

Atlanta 4, Florida 3 -- Slava Kozlov scored the lone goal in the shootout to help the Thrashers win at Atlanta.