Carl Hagelin scored twice to help lift the New York Rangers to the top of the Eastern Conference with a 3-0 win over city rivals the Islanders Monday. The Rangers returned from a two-day break to win their fifth game in a row and move a point ahead of the Boston Bruins, although it's a lofty position that New York is refusing to get carried away with. Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist made 28 saves for the shutout, while his Islanders counterpart Evgeni Nabokov also stopped 28 shots in a losing effort. Hagelin put the Rangers (22-8-4) ahead early in the second period then made it 2-0 early in the third. Marian Gaborik netted his league-leading 22nd goal of the season late in the third period to send the Islanders to their third straight defeat. Hurricanes 4, Devils 2: Cam Ward made 23 saves and was credited with a bizarre empty-net goal, leading host Carolina. Ward's first career goal came at the end of a strange sequence. Ilya Kovalchuk's errant pass for Adam Henrique from the end line wound up going the length of the ice and into an empty net with 29.4 seconds left. David Clarkson had a goal and an assist for the Devils, who had won seven of nine. Blackhawks 4, Blue Jackets 1: Viktor Stalberg scored two goals, Corey Crawford made 37 saves and Chicago beat visiting Columbus. The Blackhawks are 9-1-1 in their last 11 games and lead the NHL with 50 points. (AP) Avalanche 4, Wild 2: Jan Hejda scored the go-ahead goal at 10:20 of the third period and Colorado snapped a nine-game road losing skid. Blues 5, Stars 3: Adam Cracknell, recalled from the minors earlier in the day, put St. Louis ahead for good in the second period and the host Blues scored two rare power-play goals. (AP) Sabres 4, Capitals 2: Brayden McNabb capped host Buffalo's four-goal first period with his first NHL goal. Red Wings 4, Predators 1: Valtteri Filppula scored a pair of goals to lead Detroit in Nashville. Other results: Chicago 4, Columbus 1; Vancouver 5, Edmonton 3; Los Angeles 4, Phoenix 3; Anaheim 3, San Jose 2.
