NEW YORK — New York Rangers' defenseman Marc Staal was struck near the eye by a deflected shot Tuesday in a frightening moment in the third period of the Rangers' 4-2 NHL victory over the Philadelphia Flyers. Staal departed the contest at 5:45 of the third after a slapshot by the Flyers' Kimmo Timonen was deflected by Jakub Voracek. The puck struck Staal, who plays without a visor, near his right eye. He crumpled to the ice bleeding profusely before he was led to the locker room. Staal, who missed the first 36 games of last season after suffering a concussion, has two goals and nine assists in 21 games this lockout-shortened season. “It's a tough, tough one,” said Rangers right wing Rick Nash — who scored the go-ahead goal and the insurance goal in the third period. “We're hoping the best for him,” added Nash, although the team had no immediate update on Staal's injury after the game. Ryan Callahan notched two early scores for the Rangers, who were without Brad Richards after he was hurt Sunday following an illegal check by Buffalo's Patrick Kaleta. Wayne Simmonds and Voracek scored power-play scores for the Flyers, who nevertheless fell below .500 (11-12-1). Islanders 6, Canadiens 3: Radek Martinek's tie-breaking goal 7:56 into the third period gave the New York Islanders the lead for good in an upset 6-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens at Nassau Coliseum. The Islanders (10-11-2) won their second straight game for the fifth time this season to vault into playoff contention in the Eastern Conference. The Canadiens (14-5-4) had their streak of 11 straight games with a point stopped. Lightning 5, Devils 2: Nate Thompson scored twice, the first two-goal game of his career, and added an assist, leading the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 5-2 victory over the sputtering New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center. The win enabled the Lightning (10-12-1) to snap a five-game losing streak, while the Devils, the defending Eastern Conference champions, lost for the sixth straight time and dropped to 10-8-5 overall. In a span of three weeks, the Devils have dropped from first place in the Eastern Conference to now holding a share of the eighth spot with the Philadelphia Flyers. Hurricanes 4, Sabres 3: Third-string goalie Justin Peters stopped 37 shots and Jiri Tlusty scored his 11th goal in 13 games as the Carolina Hurricanes extended their winning streak to four straight with a 4-3 victory over the Buffalo Sabres. Carolina swept the season series 3-0, outscoring Buffalo 13-7 and securing its hold on first place in the Southeast Division. Capitals 4, Bruins 3 (OT): Eric Fehr completed a three-point night and a four-goal comeback when he scored 37 seconds into overtime to give the Washington Capitals a stunning 4-3 win over the Boston Bruins at Verizon Center. Red Wings 2, Avalanche 1: Jimmy Howard made 34 saves and the Detroit Red Wings held off the Colorado Avalanche 2-1 at Joe Louis Arena. Blue Jackets 4, Oilers 3 (SO): The Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 in a shootout in Nationwide Arena, thanks to a flawless relief performance by goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who stopped all 21 shots he faced in regulation and two more in the shootout. Panthers 4, Jets 1: The Florida Panthers, led by rookie goalie Jacob Markstrom in only his third start of the season, defeated the Winnipeg Jets 4-1 at the BB&T Center. In other games it was: Chicago 5, Minnesota 3; San Jose 3, Vancouver 2; Los Angeles 6, St. Louis 4. — Agencies
