Mike Gartner scored one for the books, and then one for good measure.
"It was a great feeling of relief," the New York Rangers' forward said after scoring his 600th goal in Sunday's night's 8-3 victory over the New Jersey Devils."It's been kind of hovering for a few games and to get it done at MSG (Madison Square Garden) in front of the fans here was pretty exciting. I could sense, after the last few games, that people wanted to see it. Everybody wants to be there for a milestone goal, so I was picking up on that for the fans."
Gartner scored at 6:16 of the third period to join an exclusive club. Only five other players in NHL history have scored 600 or more goals - Gordie Howe (801), Wayne Gretzky (780), Marcel Dionne (731), Phil Esposito (717) and Bobby Hull (610). Gartner added No. 601 less than two minutes later before an appreciative Garden crowd.
"It's over," said Gartner, whose milestone goal stopped the game for several minutes while teammates rushed onto the ice to congratulate him. "There was a lot of hype about this and it was something I wanted very much."
Whalers 3, Senators 2
Geoff Sanderson scored two goals, including the game-winner in overtime, as the suddenly revived Whalers defeated the Senators. The victory extended the Whalers' winning streak to four games - their longest in two seasons.
Sanderson's second goal of the game came at 4:10 of overtime on a backhander after Ottawa goalie Craig Billington, who finished with 34 saves, stopped Bryan Marchment's blast from the left point.
Islanders 4, Sabres 3
Benoit Hogue's goal between the legs of goaltender Dominic Hasek at 2:28 of overtime lifted New York over Buffalo, extending the Islanders' winning streak to six games.
The Sabres almost won the game in regulation, but Randy Wood's 35-foot slap shot clanged off the right post with one second left.
Blues 3, Blackhawks 2
Brendan Shanahan scored three goals, including the game-winner with 4:14 to play, as the Blues stretched their winning streak to five.
Shanahan took a backhand feed from Igor Korolev near the Chicago blue line and shot from the left circle. Goalie Jeff Hackett got a piece of the puck, but it trickled into the net off his pads.
Capitals 7, Penguins 3
The Capitals ended an eight-game winless streak against Pittsburgh, getting two goals from Randy Burridge.
Don Beaupre stopped 29 shots and Mike Ridley had a goal and two assists for the Capitals.
Panthers 3, Lightning 1
John Vanbiesbrouck made 36 saves to lead the Panthers over the Lightning.
Kings 3, Mighty Ducks 2
Pat Conacher scored twice and Shawn McEachern got the tie-breaking goal late in the second period as the Kings beat the Mighty Ducks in their first regular-season visit to Anaheim Arena.
The victory was only the fifth in 20 games for the struggling Kings, who tied the Ducks and idle San Jose Sharks for ninth place in the NHL's Western Conference.